Ecolabelling of printed matter - part II
Summary article
New perspective on environmental impact of printed matter
Introduction
The results of a new life cycle analysis have changed the scientific basis of the criteria, which have been used up until now for the Swan ecolabel. Including chemicals to a much greater extent than in previous studies, the LCA now focuses much more on production and the use of chemicals in determining the overall environmental impact. The environmental criteria behind the Swan label for printed matter have previously been and are to some extent still currently linked to a number of earlier studies, which have all identified paper as by far the most significant environmentally damaging factor from printed matter. These studies only looked at the use of chemicals to a limited degree.
Background and purpose
Printed matter has been the most successful area for the Swan label. Currently, around 130 licences have been awarded for the product group, which outstrips any other Swan labelled types of products. The criteria document for printed matter is comprehensive, and the terms are demanding for those who wish to maintain their licences. Within the document there is an implicit balance of which phases and processes are of greater or lesser importance from an environmental perspective, and this is also based on the art of the possible in regard to current technologies and what the market can accept.
In recent years there have been lively discussions about revisions to the criteria document, as there are different views as to what weight should be placed on the many requirements the document contains, and how they should be formulated. The project was conducted largely in an attempt to illuminate these discussions. Using a complete life cycle analysis and the latest data, along with the EDIP method, meant that it was possible to update the data to form a better impression of environmental impacts generated by producing printed matter and so to make a new assessment as to whether the criteria for the Swan label actually cover all the knowledge available.
Another main reason for conducting the project was that the EU has begun the process of drawing up the initial criteria document for the Flower label in regard to printed matter. Through this project, Denmark can make a significant contribution to the scientific basis of the Flower label as well as trying to harmonise the Flower and Swan labels.
What does the life cycle analysis show?
The results of the life cycle analysis provide a picture of the varying importance of the environmental impacts generated by producing printed matter. This is the only method, which makes it possible to accord the right value to all the aspects of a product throughout its lifetime, from the extraction of raw materials through the production process, use and disposal. The EDIP method is an internationally recognised procedure for conducting a life cycle analysis, and was developed in Denmark in the 1990s, since when it has been used in a large number of both Danish and international projects.
Principal conclusions
The key conclusions of the project are summarised below:
- Including chemical data in the LCA to a greater extent than in previous studies gives a different environmental profile for printed matter than has been the case until now.
- The analyses thus could suggest that changes should be made to the existing Swan label criteria document. This applies both to the weighting of requirements for raw materials and processes in relation both to the overall production process and for the individual steps within this process.
- The results of the LCA study provide a basis for drawing up a criteria document for the EU Flower label for printed matter (sheet fed offset).
- The results of the LCA study make it possible for printing companies to work in a targeted manner with their suppliers regarding environmental aspects on a more solid scientific basis than previously, as those companies which work with standardised environmental management systems now have an improved tool for identifying their most significant environmental impacts.
A large proportion of the companies in the graphics sector have environmental management systems in place and ecolabelling licences, and allocate a lot of resources to environmental work. In the light of this data, it is even more important, both for individual companies and society as a whole that these resources are used as optimally as possible by controlling the key parameters. In the future, as a result of this project, printing companies will be able to organise their environmental work and use their resources with much more benefit for the environment than before, and also individual companies will be able to construct a more credible basis for their marketing activities.
The project has resulted in two reports, one about the LCA study itself, and another, which lays out the conclusions from the LCA, study and examines the synergy effects between environmental management systems and environmental labelling.
Project results
Life cycle analysis of the production of printed matter
The aim of this study as been to identify the spread of environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle of printed matter produced using the sheet-offset method. The functional unit taken was one tonne of printed matter.
The contribution to the environmental impact is presented for each different phase of production and using the impact categories defined by the EDIP method. Paper has been dealt with separately, because previous LCAs have shown that it is a dominant environmental factor in printed matter. However, this project has shown that if the chemicals are included on a more comprehensive basis, that printing contributes significantly more (41%) than paper (31%), see figure below. In terms of resource usage, paper is still dominant, at 48%, not least because of the energy intensive method of paper production, see report II, figure 16.
The results appear to cover the average production of printed matter both in the Nordic countries and other European countries where sheet fed offset is used. In addition to the reference scenario, seven other scenarios and various sensitivity analyses were developed in the project, with variations from the reference scenario regarding consumption, emissions, methods etc: Data used in the scenarios is, among others, based on investigations in Nordic printing companies, referring to the table 2 in the report part II. This has given rise to the following conclusions for the overall environmental impact incl. paper:
- Applying biological treatment of wastewater could reduce the environmental impact by approximately26%.
- Reducing ink use from 26.5 kg to 1.8 kg could reduce the overall environmental impact by approximately 56%. (consumptions figures from a published Swedish survey)
- Replacing the biocide benzalkonium chloride with Kathon (the active agents are two isothiazolinoner) mainly from process where water is recycled could reduce the overall environmental impact by approximately 69% (excluding wastewater treatment). The scenario is a worst case, and reference could be found in the report part II, figure 28)
- The environmental impact can be reduced with approximately 16% by using exclusivelyrecycled paper instead of exclusively virgin paper.
- The environmental impact can be reduced with approximately 26% by using entirely volatile aliphatic cleaning agents instead of entirely vegetable-based cleaning agents.
The LCA study not only provides a picture of the environmental impacts from the various phases and processes, but also, through the sensitivity analysis supports the robustness of the conclusions. One example is the surprising finding that there is only a 16% difference between using recycled or virgin paper, whereas it is clear that using the most environmentally friendly biocide makes a difference of 69%.
It should be mentioned here, however, that the LCA study, as is typical with life cycle assessments, does not include the working environment and so nor does it include any occupational health and safety consequences of, for example, substituting chemicals. These conditions therefore need to be assessed separately within the Working place assessments routines.
It was not possible to deal with some issues fully, especially because of a shortage of data. Although it is considered that including these conditions would probably not affect the overall result, some significance cannot be completely excluded.
- Other upstream chemical emissions, such as those not included in producing ink.
- Degassing of methane from paper disposed of as land fill in the cases where paper is not recycled or incinerated. The volume of methane, which ends up in the atmosphere, is not known.
- Final disposal of chemical or other waste.
Review and establishment of environmental label criteria and suppliers’ environmental statements
In terms of the criteria for printed matter under the Swan label and the LCA studies up till then, the new study shows that the distribution between the environmental impacts from printed matter produced using the sheet offset method is different than previously thought.
Structure
An analysis of the criteria document shows that the current form is inconsistent in the requirements placed on the same appropriate substances throughout the processes. It is therefore proposed that the document be structured in a more rigorous way, where criteria are set in general for various substances and groups of substances and can then be adjusted (tightened or relaxed) for specific processes and materials.
Lack of knowledge
A lack of knowledge has been identified in the following areas:
- Should the focus be on the choice of inks, or on cleaner technology and emission control instead?
- How can energy be saved in the life cycle of printed matter?
- Is it possible to establish criteria for the use of transport?
- Is weight the real functional unit or should a different parameter, such as surface area, be used?
Establishing databases
For the environmental labels it would be an advantage to construct simple LCA databases, for example, for each product group or printing technique. Over time such data would make it easier to assess the consequences of such things as substitution and reduction of emissions. A common LCA data foundation would also make integration with other product-oriented schemes, such as environmental product declarations, easier.
Existing environmental product declarations
Paper Profile is an environmental product declaration, which the Nordic paper industry has developed. This scheme includes the most significant relevant emissions and requirements for energy accounting, but from an LCA perspective it can be said that energy produced internally from excess wood is not taken into account, and emissions of chemicals only include AOX. It can also be seen that the declaration scheme consists of an ISO 14020 type III (third party assessment), but as it has not been possible to fully verify it, it can be considered that it should rather be treated as a type II self-declaration. An integrated scheme on the same technical LCA basis could be used as type II, III or I scheme would be a great benefit.
Chemicals upstream
It can often be difficult to obtain data for chemicals used “upstream” in production. The reason is often because of confidentiality regarding production, but also because most suppliers to the graphics sector in Denmark are from abroad and have a different tradition for and perception of what environmental information should be given. In this study, emission data for production of pigments has been estimated with the help of a new method of estimating upstream chemical emissions developed by DTU. This has shown to have a concrete significance (17%) for the results of the life cycle study.
Supply-chain collaboration and synergy effects of incorporating environmental labels into environmental management systems
The last part of the project examines experience from Danish graphics companies' work with environmental management and the Swan label. The experience is taken from over 50 graphics companies, which have certified environmental management systems, and most of them also have a Swan licence.
The results are described systematically by firstly describing the experience of environmental management and environmental labelling, and then a number of combined effects which are typically achieved by incorporating the Swan label criteria into environmental management work and vice versa. Finally, a number of proposals are made for product-orientation of environmental management systems.
The examples of the synergy effects generated by environmental management in combination with environmental labelling selected are:
- Environmental strategy
- Environmental conditions, significant impacts and areas of initiative
- Evaluation of raw materials - waste
- Evaluating the production equipment
- Consumption of raw materials
- Advising customers
- Audit and monitoring
Despite a certain divergence between significant environmental conditions pointed out in environmental management systems in general and the significant environmental conditions contained in the Swan label criteria document, it can be said that an important synergy can be achieved to the benefit of the environment if the criteria document is used as the basis for the environmental management system in the areas mentioned above. It is considered that carrying out this LCA study will further strengthen this.
Throughout the course of the project the results have been incorporated in the Swedish Standards Institute’s work for the European Commission with the aim of producing criteria for a European environmental label for printed matter. In general, the use of environmental management systems in graphics companies in Europe has spread to a certain degree, and it can be stated that the criteria document for the environmental Flower label, based on experience gathered from Denmark, would be able to provide a supportive and positive influence on the environment in terms of graphics production in Europe. This work would allow Denmark to contribute to a positive development on markets much larger than the Nordic one.
Other sources
www.miljonet.org
www.ecolabel.dk
www.paperprofile.com
www.lca-center.dk
www.ga.dk
Version 1.0 August 2006, © Danish Environmental Protection Agency