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Environmental Statement Life cycle assessment study on resilient floorcoverings
Environmental Statement All members of ERFMI should provide to any person involved in the production, use or disposal of their products or services, information on all aspects which will have a health, safety or environmental impact. ERFMI will work to improve the public understanding of the impact on mankind and the environment, the quality and the utilisation of its members’ products. The members recognise the need to take full responsibility for the impact of their products, services and actions. ERFMI is working towards a target of sustainability within the industry with the overall objective of decreasing the consumption of resources and reducing the impact on the environment. It will continue to work with its members to minimise the use of non-renewable raw materials, reduce the level of waste, improve energy efficiency and prevent pollution. The members will implement all relevant national and European legislation especially that which incorporates environmental regulations. ERFMI will provide a forum for the discussion of these matters and a means of communicating the industry’s views to the relevant legislators. ERFMI believes that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is important to establish all environmental impacts and to identify any areas where improvements need to be made, in either products or processes, to reduce the environmental impact. ERFMI encourages its members to use LCA to assess their own products and services.
Life cycle assessment study on resilient floorcoverings
The objectives given to the Fraunhofer Institute were as follows: To establish all environmental impacts, accessible by the given scientific state-of-the-art from the cradle to the grave, of each product in order to have available relevant and factual information for customers and users. To identify any areas where improvements could be made to the product or process which, when acted upon, would reduce the environmental impact. Although the ERFMI did not question the integrity of Fraunhofer Institute in providing an unbiased report, it was agreed at that outset that to ensure total impartiality a Critical Review would be undertaken at the end of the study. This review as recommended in ISO 14040, ensures that the correct procedures are followed and any data used has a sound, scientific base. The independent Critical Review was carried out by three eminent experts in the field of life cycle analysis and their findings are included with the Fraunhofer Institute report. The members of the ERFMI recognise that measuring the environmental impact of flooring products is only the starting point. Life cycle analysis is dynamic and as greater knowledge becomes available it will become necessary to review the environmental impact on a regular basis. Only then can the industry be sure that the products they manufacture are based upon technology which minimises the environmental impact both now and in the future. All questions regarding this study should be directed to
Fraunhofer Institute Process Engineering and Packaging
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