A product’s complete life cycle—from cradle to grave—is an important metric for how we measure and gauge modern sustainability efforts
By Elisa Seddon, Technical Fellow, Lubrizol
May 30, 2022
How do we define sustainability? The answer to that question grows increasingly important, and it’s one that many organizations across industries are looking for.
There are many drivers for an ongoing push toward sustainability. Among them is consumer demand—recent research shows that consumers across all generations are willing to pay more for sustainable products. And importantly, sustainability is about more than just developing more recyclable or eco-friendly products and services. It’s also about how organizations conduct their businesses more sustainably from top to bottom. Sourcing raw materials and managing supply chains efficiently are a major part of doing so. The heavy-duty commercial vehicle industry, which includes fleets, logistics suppliers and OEMs responsible for developing efficient vehicle technology, is a big part of that broader sustainability picture.
At Lubrizol, producing materials sustainably, and helping our customers do the same, is a key focus. Here’s how we’re doing it—and what it can mean for your business today and into the future:
Digging Deeper
One critical aspect of sustainability—and one that’s becoming increasingly important for organizations of all types—is a product’s overall effect on the environment, including how it was made and how it will be disposed of. This includes the product’s impact on global warming, which is compared to the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2). Calculating these figures, taking into account the entire history of how the product is made, involves a methodology called life cycle analysis (LCA).
Let’s use engine oil as an example. If producing 1 metric ton (MT) of Oil ABC has an overall global warming impact of 1.5 MT CO2 eq, then every 1 MT of Oil ABC has an impact on global warming equivalent to the release of 1.5 MT CO2. This can also be referred to as the product carbon footprint. For comparison, 1.5 MT of CO2 is the equivalent of what growing 25 tree saplings for 10 years would remove from the atmosphere.
However, a product’s calculated global warming impact may be different due to actual sourcing or processing differences, or due to differences in the calculation approach. To truly discern the impact, it is ideal to obtain data from raw material suppliers that has been validated by an independent reviewer. When this is not possible, the relevant LCA ISO standards require the use of expert judgement, which can introduce a range of possible calculation results. The underlying assumptions in this data typically contribute to an uncertainty of ± 20%.
Particularly within the realm of industrial chemistry (including the formulation of high-performance lubricants), LCA processes have become increasingly important. At Lubrizol, over the past several years, we have developed an internal LCA system that seeks to grant us a clearer picture of our products’ carbon impact across our entire supply chain. Given the footprint of our operations and the reach of our products, we consider the entire life cycle of our products in our commitment to sustainability, from raw materials, manufacturing and supply chain to in-use impacts, all the way through the end of the product’s life. It’s part of our commitment to our customers and their ongoing pursuit of enhanced sustainability.
Reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions
LCA procedures can be particularly useful in determining, and then reducing, an organization’s scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. The GHG Protocol defines these different types of emissions as follows:
Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy. Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions.
Scope 1 emissions are associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles and other applications. Scope 2 emissions are associated with buying electricity, steam, heat or cooling for a facility. While they typically occur at the facility where generated, they are accounted for in your GHG inventory because they result from your energy use. Scope 3 emissions include all sources not within scope 1 and 2; the scope 3 emissions for one organization are the scope 1 and 2 emissions of another organization. Importantly, scope 3 emissions often represent the majority of your total GHG emissions.
From an overall sustainability perspective, many mainstream conversations tend to focus on direct (or scope 1) emissions—they are, after all, those that can be most easily impacted by direct initiatives. But as the EPA notes, and as LCA procedures can help illustrate, upstream scope 3 emissions represent a potentially more important, and more difficult to influence, target. Though scope 3 emissions are not under your direct control, you may be able to impact the activities by working with suppliers that can demonstrate sound sustainability practices in how they source and develop their products and solutions. Sound LCA practices can help illuminate these decisions.
Sustainability Case Study: FA- 4 Lubricants
Two other terms are useful for understanding what LCA processes seek to evaluate and how they can better inform truly sustainable solutions: footprint and handprint.
In product development, the footprint is the effect a person, company or activity directly has on the environment. This includes such factors as the amount of natural resources they consume or the harmful gases they produce. In contrast, handprint focuses on the positive effect of a product during use.
Handprint can be better understood by thinking about low-viscosity API FA-4 lubricants in the heavy-duty trucking market, which are explicitly designed to provide fuel economy benefits for trucks in which they are used. Though they have not achieved widespread use within the marketplace, they have potential to make a significant impact for any organization choosing to apply them. It has been shown that low-viscosity FA-4 formulations can deliver up to a 2% fuel economy increase versus comparable API CK-4 15W-40 options, which are the most commonly used heavy-duty diesel lubricants today. And while 2% may sound like a small figure, a fleet choosing FA-4 also necessarily means that CO2 emissions have also been reduced by 2%. Over the course of a year, it adds up to a tremendous impact for both the end user’s total operating costs and the environment. Meanwhile, organizations that can demonstrate positive LCA data for these kinds of lubricant solutions across their entire lifespan can help make an even greater impact.
Sustainability is an increasingly urgent goal for companies everywhere, and it’s something you need to be actively thinking about. As new benchmarks are set, you should be thinking comprehensively about sustainability across scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, and how sound LCA practices can help reveal new areas of opportunity. It will require evaluating your supply chain and investigating how your suppliers source materials to make their products—and how those products in turn can help elevate your fleet’s operation and services offered to your customers. And as your customers seek sustainable improvements in their supply chains, they will favor logistic solutions that align with their goals.
For these reasons, close collaboration with the right suppliers is more important than ever. Start having these important conversations with your suppliers today to understand how their products contribute to your sustainability journey.
About the Author
Elisa Seddon is a Technical Fellow at The Lubrizol Corporation. Since joining Lubrizol in 2000, Elisa has focused mainly on detergents for lubricants and fuels, and developing fundamental knowledge around structure-performance relationships. More recently, Elisa has been responsible for increasing Lubrizol’s capabilities with Life Cycle Analysis in support of Lubrizol’s sustainability journey and working to embed LCA thinking both internally and throughout our supply chain.
