In today’s supply chains, a commitment to sustainability is expected from each company to minimise the total environmental impact. For steel manufacturers like Lionweld Kennedy Group, this means not only keeping up with the demand for high quality products but also ensuring that products are environmentally sustainable. While we have made significant improvements across our factories and offices to reduce our carbon emissions, Lionweld Kennedy have invested in a certification to raise the standards within the manufacturing industry; an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
Understanding EPD’s
An EPD transparently reports the environmental performance of a product within its entire lifespan. This is measured from the material extraction for manufacturing, transporting the product, to its usage stage to its end-of-life removal. Unlike alternative reporting such as eco-labels, EPD’s cover the full life cycle assessment (LCA) which considers the environmental impacts associated with each product stage.
Lionweld Kennedy have invested in developing an EPD for our ‘Safegrid’ open mesh flooring as part of our efforts to lead a better change in steel manufacturing. Safegrid, our core range of steel flooring, is low-carbon and infinitely recyclable, but we want to be clear with our customers on how it performs environmentally. Alongside it’s environmental credentials, Safegrid also complies with both UK and EU standards for 35mm and 20mm loading and ball-proof requirements.
Securing an EPD for Safegrid allows Lionweld Kennedy to once again set the benchmark for steel manufacturing worldwide due to us being the first steel flooring manufacturer to receive an EPD! In this blog, we investigate the immense value this provides for us, our customers and our entire supply chain..
The value of our EPD
Supply chain expectations
Driven by our ESG strategy, Lionweld Kennedy have been working hard to reduce our carbon emissions, from the installation of solar panels, to fully replacing our fleet of forklifts with electric models and using 100% Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to heat our factories.
Our EPD for Safegrid signifies a remarkable milestone for the steel manufacturing industry, being the first of its kind. Operating as a key manufacturer within the construction industry, our new EPD certification will meet many of the sustainability requirements expected within the supply chains we serve.
For more information on our ESG initiatives, click here.
Market Competitiveness
When specifying steel grating, a specifier/buyer will be more likely to choose a supplier that is transparent about the environmental performance of its products. Lionweld Kennedy are the first manufacturer globally to obtain an EPD for steel grating, meaning we are best placed to work with buyers and specifiers who are looking for steel flooring and access products with sustainability criteria.
Obtaining the first EPD for steel grating demonstrates our commitment to credible environmental information for our products. Lionweld Kennedy are market leaders and technical experts and now our products are continuing to set us apart as we make important differentiations between comparative products.
Operational Efficiency
In 2020, when Lionweld Kennedy’s carbon emissions were baselined and our Carbon Reduction Plan was developed, we looked to improve sustainability across our organisation, including the manufacturing process for our Safegrid product range. Design changes resulted in Lionweld Kennedy offering the most efficient compliant flooring specification available on the market and a reduction in steel use of over 185 tonnes per year, alongside estimated electricity savings of at least 6% (6.5kwh/te reduction).
Rationalising the product range with material use and electricity savings reduces the overall carbon usage, whilst increasing our operational efficiencies.
Influence on the industry
Having the only EPD for steel grating, Lionweld Kennedy can now influence the industry. We are leading the environmental change within the market and now with our EPD certification and our technical expertise, we can continue to promote the virtues of using an environmentally conscious supply chain.
Supplying our products to a wide range of customers for use in a variety of applications, we can promote more sustainable product use with full life cycle tracking to contribute towards decarbonisation within the built environment.
Compliant with standards
EN 15804 is considered the most popular global standard for producing EPD’s for products in construction. This defines how data is collected, reported, verified and presented for an EPD. An EPD aligns manufacturers with international standards including EN 15804 and ISO 14025.
These standards have been put in place to ensure the information that is provided is accurate and reliable, eliciting trust within the business and the product itself. Having an EPD for Safegrid ensures Lionweld Kennedy are compliant with the highest standards for sustainability.
Continuous improvement
An EPD must be maintained over time, to ensure we continue to track the embodied carbon within our products and maintain high standards which is part of our commitment to continuous improvement at Lionweld Kennedy.
Like many of the initiatives we mentioned previously within our ESG plan, Lionweld Kennedy are striving to continue to reduce our environmental impact and adopt sustainable practices.
An EPD is a powerful tool which empowers us as steel manufacturers to build a better future. We are proud to be the world’s first manufacturer to have an EPD for steel grating and receiving this EPD is a testament to the hard work put in across our business.
To view our EPD certification, click here.
For more information on the sustainability of our Safegrid products, click here.
Contact our sales team today if you’d like to learn more about our access solutions in both steel and GRP.