Alleima is implementing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool to accurately measure and calculate the carbon footprint of advanced materials and products. Customers will be provided with third-party verified and precise data, which supports them on their own journeys to reduce environmental footprints.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become an increasingly important methodology in modern industry to quantify environmental impact and identify hotspots in a product’s life cycle. LCA studies can be used to cover all stages, from raw material extraction to when the product reaches the market. They can provide calculations of the many different types of environmental impacts in product manufacture, including carbon footprint.
Advancing greener choices for the industry
One of the key advantages of LCA is that it pinpoints the areas within a product’s lifecycle with the most significant environmental impact. With this information at hand, Alleima can then specifically target areas for improvement, effectively reducing the product’s carbon footprint. By analyzing resource usage, for example, it is also possible to optimize the utilization of resources, such as switching to materials with lower carbon footprints.
Alleima is dedicated to transparency and actively reports its LCA results and sustainability efforts to strengthen trust among customers and stakeholders. By collaborating with customers and implementing sustainable solutions, we contribute to making greener choices for the industry.
"By providing third-party verified LCA data, we help our customers to achieve their climate goals and promote a sustainable future."
Nicole Holmgren
LCA Specialist at Alleima
The story behind LCA
LCA is rooted in the global commitment to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by 196 parties worldwide, sets ambitious targets for reducing carbon emissions and drives society to align with these goals. As a key player in Sweden and globally, Alleima assumes a crucial role in minimizing carbon emissions by focusing on reducing its own environmental footprint.
Strong interest from customers
There is a significant and steadily increasing interest among customers for LCA data. Many are aware of their own environmental footprint and seek access to information about the carbon footprint of products, to compare offerings from different suppliers and make informed decisions. They specifically request actual data to incorporate in their scope 3 emissions calculations, thus determining their own environmental impact. Currently, customers rely on average industry data to calculate their scope 3 emissions, which often exceed the actual data we can provide.
Marcus Hillbom, Business Development Manager at Alleima, firmly believes that LCA will play a crucial role in the businesses of the future. LCA is gaining momentum as an important litmus test and compass in the modern industrial environment.
"Just a few weeks ago, a customer mentioned that they would be selecting materials based on the lowest carbon footprint. If you cannot provide this data, you are not in the game."
Marcus Hillbom
Business Development Manager at Alleima
Extracting the data
Addressing the challenge of documenting the carbon footprint of Alleima in every production step required specialized expertise. Nicole Holmgren, with a background in engineering design and sustainability, is now systematically analyzing the product range and verifying the data with support from IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.
Advancing a sustainable journey
To start with, we will release LCA data for its rock drill steel products, supporting the sustainable shift in the mining industry. The next step involves expanding this approach across the entire production chain, verifying downstream products in the production flow. Each product will have a third-party verified carbon footprint added to the material certificate – similar to the information currently provided on recycled materials. By offering a verified carbon footprint, Alleima demonstrates its leading position and establishes itself as a benchmark in the industry for environmental efforts. The LCA results serve as measurable evidence of environmental performance at Alleima and create a transparent image of the company.
“We’re proud to be an industry role model by showcasing our transparent data. It’s incredibly exciting to see how our performance compares to competitors and how it will influence future environmentally conscious choices. We are on the right track, and this is just the beginning.”
Johan Josefsson,
Sales & Marketing Manager, Long & Piping Products at Alleima