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By its very nature, glass is green. It's pure. It's made of natural raw materials. It's infinitely recyclable. It can be reused. O-I's sustainability initiatives are rooted in this nature attributes of glass. This commitment to sustainability is the bedrock of our corporate strategic priorities.
A comprehensive global study, O-I's LCA measured the carbon emissions generated by each phase in the life cycle of a glass container.
Addressing calls from consumer packaged goods makers, retailers and environmental groups for greater clarity in LCA reporting, O-I's study is the first in the packaging sector to follow the complete life of a package - from the extraction of raw materials to the reuse or recycling of the container. The model used for the study also allowed an assessment of cradle-to-cradle life cycle data on aluminum and plastic Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) containers, enabling the first true comparisons between packaging materials.
Jay Scripter, O-I's vice president of sustainability, discusses the results of O-I's LCA, explaining why not all LCAs are the same and how consumer product makers can find out if they're getting the complete LCA story from their packaging suppliers.
QUESTION: What is an LCA?
SCRIPTER: A life cycle assessment or LCA is a comprehensive study where the carbon emissions generated by each phase in a product's life cycle are calculated.
QUESTION: Don't all LCAs review each phase of the life cycle?
SCRIPTER: Unfortunately, no. O-I's assessment represents the packaging industry's first complete carbon footprint assessment. While this complete approach might seem like common sense, international standards for measuring and reporting carbon footprints are open to interpretation. As a result, there are wide variations in the ways companies and industries measure carbon footprints.
QUESTION: How do LCAs differ?
SCRIPTER: Some assessments ignore what happens before the raw materials reach the factory and after they leave (a “gate-to-gate” assessment). In instances where raw materials require extensive processing, like extracting and processing petroleum to make plastic pellets for Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) water bottles, this can comprise a sizeable portion of the product’s complete carbon footprint. In the case of the PET water bottle, extraction and processing of raw material is responsible for more than 50 percent of the container’s carbon emissions.
Other assessments disregard what happens after the finished product leaves the manufacturing plant (a “cradle-to-gate” assessment). The remainder of the product’s life cycle – the transportation of finished products to distributors and retailers, use by consumers and reuse, recycling or disposal of material – are not included.
Still another type of assessment doesn’t reflect the impact of recycling or reuse (a “cradle-to-grave” assessment) on the carbon footprint. In the example of the PET water bottle, this type of assessment doesn’t take into account the fact that most PET containers are “downcycled” into plastic chairs and clothing, creating a new phase of the product’s life cycle. This is in sharp contrast to glass, which can be infinitely recycled into new glass containers. When the recycled version of a material can be used directly in the manufacture of a new version of that same product, it is called closed-loop recycling.
QUESTION: How can someone be sure they’re getting the complete story on a packaging materials’ carbon footprint?
SCRIPTER: You can ask the following questions to determine if a complete assessment of all stages of the life cycle has been done:
· Is the extraction and treatment or processing of raw materials included?
· What standard does the LCA follow?
· What baseline assumptions are being made?
· Has the LCA been validated or endorsed?
· How does the assessment address end-of-life?
QUESTION: What are the results of the O-I LCA?
SCRIPTER: Our LCA findings challenge several misconceptions about glass, including the impact of transportation and use of recycled content. For example, we found that transportation of finished glass containers only comprises a small portion – 4 to 5 percent – of the complete carbon footprint of glass packaging. We also found that using recycled glass directly reduces the amount of energy needed to extract and process raw materials. Every 10 percent of recycled glass used in production cuts carbon emissions by about 5 percent and reduces energy use by some 3 percent.
O-I’s current use of recycled glass – 36 percent globally – already generates enough savings to completely offset the emissions produced by our finished goods transportation.
In comparing glass with other packaging materials, our assessment shows that glass clearly has the most favorable carbon footprint. When you look at the complete life cycle of glass, commonly held misconceptions are disproved.
Food and beverage makers concerned about sustainability should choose glass.
QUESTION: Has O-I’s LCA been validated?
SCRIPTER: Yes, O-I’s life cycle assessment model was tested and validated byAMR Research, a respected firm specializing in supply chain and sustainability research.
QUESTION: What will O-I do with the LCA results?
SCRIPTER: O-I has used this study to establish aggressive sustainability goals. Details on those goals will be shared publicly shortly. In addition, the LCA data will provide a benchmark for assessing the impact of sustainability program efforts.