By using the LCA methodology the environmental impact of a product or service can be evaluated. This involves the systematic calculation of all material and energy flows used throughout each of the individual stages of a product in addition to all the products and wastes emitted during each of the product or service life phases – from cradle to the grave. An ecological appraisal then indicates how critical the individual material or energy flows are for the environment. An LCA can provide your company with a sound basis for decisions on improvement measures regarding product related environmental protection.

From consumers and producers to legislators and NGOs, people are becoming increasingly aware about the relationship between purchasing decisions and environmental impact. A Carbon Footprint provides information about the CO2 emissions that a product generates throughout its entire life cycle. With minimal effort, potential improvements and alternatives can be compared. The Carbon Footprint allows the climate impact of products to be communicated and understood easily and transparently.

The water footprint is an indicator of water use that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or producer. The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. This information can then be used to optimize efficiency gains and reduce raw material costs all while improving environmental performance. denkstatt is a pioneer participating in the commercial development of measuring the human derived impact on this invaluable environmental resource.

Ecodesign (or product development) is an approach to design of a product with special consideration for the environmental impacts of the product during its whole life cycle. In a life cycle assessment the life cycle of a product is usually divided into procurement, manufacture, use and disposal. The development of a product is seen as a decisive activity for achieving sustainability in industrial society – most of the environmental attributes are determined and built into the product during the design stage when materials are selected and constructions designed. denkstatt offers different ways of using LCA and life cycle based approaches for the greening of product design.

This service concentrates on environmental information flows between customers and suppliers and instruments to convey such information. Covered by the international standard on environmental labeling and declarations (ISO 14020:2000), our services can help your business to choose the proper environmental market instruments to promote your products or services.