The life cycle assessments of GF Piping Systems and VITO cover the environmental impact over the whole life cycle – from cradle to grave. The environmental impacts of the plastic systems are based on calculations with GF PS specific data. Subsequent the following materials and applications were compared:
GF Piping Systems calculates Life Cycle Assessment for its industrial systems and provides Environmental Product Declarations
Jul 29, 2014 5:00 PMIn cooperation with the independent Belgian institute VITO, GF Piping Systems calculated the life cycle assessments (LCA) for four selected GF Piping Systems specific industry systems and compared them to a competing system with the same application.
| Plastic | Competing material | Application |
| PP | Stainless steel | Chemical conveyance |
| PVC-U | Stainless steel | Dosing of chemicals |
| PE | Glass reinforced plastic (GRP) | Cooling water intake for a power plant |
| PB | Copper | Water distribution on a cruise ship |
Compared to the competing systems, the Georg Fischer systems show a
smaller environmental impact The studies confirm the results of other
studies and make clear the importance of plastics in building piping
systems that are ecologically sound.
The results of the study can be found on the website www.gfps.com/studies.
Standardized Environmental Product Declarations
Furthermore, the results of the LCAs for the plastic systems were
summarized in so called Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). This
standardized tool for the communication of environmental impacts is
more and more requested by customers. Additionally to the mentioned
systems, an EPD for a PVDF system for the circling and distribution of
purified water was issued. The EPDs are issued according to standards
(EN 15804) and are verified by an independent expert.
The EPDs are available on the website www.gfps.com/materials as well.
