The Italian company calculates with the support of SPIN360 the life cycle assessment (LCA) of its main products and processes: a crucial step towards understanding the environmental impact of its operations and identifying areas for improvement.

Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges facing our planet, and businesses are increasingly prioritising the reduction of their ecological footprint. Anthropogenic activities, such as burning fossil fuels and industrial processes, release carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. However, customers and consumers often find it challenging to know the true environmental impact of a product, in terms of carbon footprint, water consumption, resource usage, and presence of harmful substances. To address this, many companies are conducting Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies to determine the environmental impact of their products and processes.

Silvateam, an Italian leading producer of tannins and chemicals for the leather industry, has adopted a cutting-edge LCA data generation system with the support of SPIN360 as a sustainability partner. The system is based on ISO 14040 standards and calculates the LCA of its chestnut tannin and more than 40 products. The company aims to extend this assessment up to 100 products by 2024.

The LCA reports generated by this system will be verified by third parties, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the data. This system evaluates the environmental impact of Silvateam’s products and processes from cradle to gate, identifying areas of improvement and developing strategies to mitigate these impacts. The goal is to have a proper set of data on the environmental impact of products, engage suppliers by requesting LCA performance of the raw materials used in production, and define priorities for reducing the environmental footprint. The LCA data can also be provided to tannery partners upon request.

In 2015, Silvateam was the first leather chemical company to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment of some of its vegetable extracts for tanning and retanning, as well as synthetic tannins. This work allowed Silvateam and SPIN360 to take part in the working group for the assessment of the environmental performance for the tanning chemicals Product Category Rules (PCR). Site-specific data were collected for all individual processes under the financial or operational control of the organisation, including the production of raw materials and precursors at supplier facilities.