Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
The Rockwool LCA is a comprehensive assessment of data undertaken in accordance with the requirements of ISO 14040. It analyses the total energy consumed in the pre-production, production, delivery and end of life phases of a manufactured product, including the energy consumed at electric utilities. To better understand the performance of its products, Rockwool has benchmarked itself against a wide range of insulation materials. One such study was undertaken by dk-Teknik to assess the performance of materials sometimes described as natural. In addition to a typical Rockwool product, the investigation included insulation products manufactured from flax and cellulose. Rockwool was shown to have the lowest primary energy consumption and global and regional environmental impacts falling between the other two material.
Why is an LCA important?
The Life Cycle Analysis presents a more comprehensive picture of the impact of a product than simply looking at the production process. It also goes beyond carbon foot printing.
In our opinion, whilst it is important to be able to measure and set targets against greenhouse gas production, it is only a small part of the story. The LCA approach goes beyond carbon foot-printing to provide a fuller picture of environmental impact.
Primary energy
The all encompassing methodology used to produce an LCA calculates the Primary Energy in order to provide and accurate measure of energy usage associated with the products. Primary Energy is the sum of energy used in extracting raw materials, pre-production, manufacture, transport and end of life disposal.
Embodied energy is a term which is sometimes, confusingly, used to describe only part of the total energy impacts associated with a products’ life cycle.
