EcoReview’s expertise in Life Cycle Assessment is the foundation of our Sustainability Reporting and Certification services. Using this expertise, along with the EcoChain tool, we build up our client’s bespoke environmental monitoring and reporting system, as well as providing them with a full Life Cycle Assessment analysis and producing Environmental Product Declarations for all their manufactured goods.
EcoReview is an approved Enterprise Ireland Environmental Service Provider: Enterprise Ireland and IDA client companies can avail of up to 80% funding support for our services.
We use the EcoChain tool to benchmark, monitor, improve and report on our clients’ environmental performance. Environmental performance reporting is an important element of mandatory non-financial reporting for large businesses. EcoReview provide this service cost-effectively and efficiently. We train and upskill businesses so that they themselves can monitor, measure and report on their environmental performance on an annual basis, using the EcoChain tool.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is at the core of the services we provide. An LCA is a comprehensive measurement of the environmental impacts of a product or service over its entire life cycle, from sourcing raw materials through manufacturing and use, to end of life. The LCA is carried out using the EcocChain tool, and the LCA forms the basis of the environmental reporting for the enterprise, as well as being the foundation data for an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for manufactured goods or service.
As a leading Irish LCA practitioner in the construction industry in Ireland, we are playing a pivotal role in bringing the application of LCAs and EPDs to the market. We have assisted the Irish Green Building Council in the development of an Irish platform for implementation and operation of EPDs. We have provided expert advice to government departments, semi-state bodies and policymakers in the Netherlands and Ireland on integrating strong sustainability criteria into procurement procedures
We provide Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for manufactured goods. An EPD is an objective and independent declaration of the full environmental impact of a manufactured product. EPDs are the essential currency for communicating the environmental impacts of products. EPDs are carried out in accordance with I.S. EN15804.
Product EPDs used in the construction industry count for additional credits under the BREEAM and LEED systems, as well as the Irish Green Building Council’s Home Performance Index. Products that have EPDs are used preferentially on these projects over products without EPDs, because product EPDs increase the BREEAM/LEED rating of the building. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) also require EPDs for the carbon footprinting of road and rail infrastructure projects.
EcoReview’s expertise in Life Cycle Assessment is the foundation of our Sustainability Reporting and Certification services. Using this expertise along with the EcoChain tool we build up our client’s bespoke environmental monitoring and reporting system, and also provide them with full LCA analysis and produce EPDs for all their manufactured goods..
EcoReview has a well-established track record in Life Cycle Assessments, through research and industry experience, and also EPD certification for manufactured goods and products in the construction, chemical and food sectors.
Commissioned by Bord Bia, EcoReview carried out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) environmental footprint of Irish dairy and meat products. The LCA modelling quantified the environmental impacts of milk and beef at the farm level (at farm gate). The project was carried out in collaboration with Teagasc. Three different farm scenarios were modelled using the Ecochain LCA tool, and footprints demonstrated that Irish milk and beef has one of the lowest footprints in the developed world. The output values of milk and beef were used in further studies on dairy and beef products from Irish food processers.
Food packaging is increasingly being manufactured from recycled plastic materials. A major Irish food packaging manufacturer engaged EcoReview to carry out an LCA and product environmental footprint of their food packaging range, using the Ecochain LCA tool. The analysis covered a review of all materials used in the forming of the packaging. The results have shown that the use of recycled plastics make a significant contribution to the lower environmental impacts of their packaging products. The manufacturer’s use of fully renewable energy is reflected also in the relatively low environmental footprints of the packaging products.
PIR insulation is one of the most widely-used insulation types in construction. It has very good insulation characteristics, and it can be coated with a wide variety of facing materials, such as foil, paper, plasterboard, bitumen and more. EcoReview has carried out LCAs on a wide variety of different PIR insulation product types manufactured in Ireland. These LCAs have all been used to develop Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for these products.
These projects have been supported by Green Start Grants from Enterprise Ireland.
Smartply OSB and Medite MDF boards are manufactured from managed forest trees, and sawmill sandings. Off-cuts from the manufacturing processes are recused as biofuels in the process. The sequestered CO2 is also ‘credited’ to the CO2 footprint of these products. This means that the net CO2 footprint of these products is a negative CO2 value. EcoReview were commissioned to carry out an LCA on the Smartply and Medite products, which was used to obtain EPDs for the full range of Smartply and Medite panel products.
These projects have been supported by Green Start Grants from Enterprise Ireland.
EcoReview have carried out LCAs on floor screed and cement/sand mortar products. These LCAs have been used to obtain EPDs for these products which are now used to gain credits for LEED, BREEAM and HPI certified projects.
As part of a commission from Bord Bia, LCA carried out on manufacturing of cheese and whey at a major manufacturing plant in southern Ireland. The cheese and whey LCA product footprints are based on the impacts from energy used and consumption of materials used in the cheese and whey manufacturing process. These impacts are aggregated and allocated to the individual food products to give the footprints per product. The main processing operations, cooling, pasteurization, cheese making, whey production and maturation were modelled in the Ecochain LCA tool. Packaging, internal transport and waste impacts were also included in the LCA.
A pilot project is currently under development to create valuable by-products from a biorefinery that compresses cut silage to squeeze out liquids for further processing for use as sugars, proteins, and mineral concentrate. The remaining press-cake silage is used as a more efficient feed for cattle. EcoReview carried out an LCA to determine the environmental footprints of the various by-products of the biorefinery process. This measurement has enabled the project designers to promote the by-products as having much lower environmental footrpints than the products they will replace in the market.
Ireland’s first fully certified recycle aggregate manufacturer (IMS Materials) have engaged EcoReview to carry out an LCA to footprint their recycled aggregate products, manufactured close to Dublin city. The LCA we carried out has shown that the recycled aggregates have an environmental footprint that is approximately one-tenth of that of virgin aggregates. This LCA has also been used to obtain an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the recycled aggregates – giving documented and verified evidence of the superior performance of these recycled aggregates.
EcoReview have carried out a range of LCAs on structural precast concrete products and concrete blocks. These LCAs have also included calculations on the sequestration (carbonation) of CO2 over the lifetime of these products. The LCAs have been used to obtain EPDs for these products which are now used to gain credits for LEED, BREEAM and HPI certified projects.
EcoReview have carried out full Life Cycle Analyses (LCA) on windows in accordance with I.S. EN 17213, “Product category Rules for windows and pedestrian doorsets”. The LCAs have covered the full life cycle of the products, covering manufacturing, installation, deconstruction, disposal and recycling. These LCAs have led to the manufacturers obtaining EPDs for their window products, which are now used to gain credits for LEED, BREEAM and HPI certified projects.
As part of a commission from Bord Bia, LCA carried out on manufacturing of dried milk powder and cream at a major manufacturing plant in southern Ireland. The dried milk powder and cream product footprints are based on the impacts from energy used and consumption of materials used in the manufacturing process. These impacts are aggregated and allocated to the individual food products to give the footprints per product. The main processing operations, separation, evaporation and spray drying were modelled in the Ecochain LCA tool. Packaging, internal transport and waste impacts were also included in the LCA.
EPS is a versatile insulation product. It can be formed into an infinity of shapes to provide effective insulations in a wide variety of applications, from foundation insulation, to wall and roof insulation, to window-sills (coated with high-strength resins). EcoReview has carried out LCAs on a wide variety of different EPS product types manufactured in Ireland. These LCAs have all been used to develop Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for these products.
These projects have been supported by Green Start Grants from Enterprise Ireland.
Ecocel in Cork manufacture blown insulation from 100% recycled paper, supplied from a local printing company. This diverts the waste-paper from landfilling or incineration, and gives the product an extremely low CO2 footprint. EcoReview carried out a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) on the manufacturing process and product. This LCA has also been used to obtain an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for the recycled paper insulation – giving documented and verified evidence of the low footprint of this recycled paper insulation.
EcoReview have carried out LCAs on both concrete and fibre/cement roof tiles and slates. These LCAs have also included calculations on the sequestration (carbonation) of CO2 over the lifetime of these products, as well as the product end-of-life scenarios. The LCAs have been used to obtain EPDs for these products which are now used to gain credits for LEED, BREEAM and HPI certified projects.
Cement and ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS) are essential materials in construction. Their footprints make a notable contribution to the footprint of the built environment. EcoReview have carried out LCAs on the manufacture of ordinary Portland cement, as well as manufacture of GGBS, at a variety of installations in Europe. The footprints of these materials are used to build up the footprints of downstream products such as concrete products, mortars and screeds. The EPDs that have been obtained for these products are now used on projects to gain credits on LEED, BREEAM and HPI certified projects.
EcoReview’s expertise in Life Cycle Assessment is the foundation of our Sustainability Reporting and Certification services. Using this expertise along with the EcoChain tool we build up our client’s bespoke environmental monitoring and reporting system, and also provide them with full LCA analysis and produce EPDs for all their manufactured goods.
EcoReview was founded in the Netherlands in 2011, to provide Life Cycle Analyses in sectors such as services, manufacturing, food and construction. Alongside with the provision of LCAs, EcoReview began to provide policy advice to assist clients to promote environmental policies and benchmark, reduce and report on their environmental impacts.
In 2015 EcoReview became a verified third-party independent auditor of LCAs and Environmental Product Declarations, and started providing its services to Irish clients. We now have an established track record in Ireland in the food, construction and service sectors. We are working with clients such as Bord Bia, Mannok Building Products, Kilsaran International, Ecocem cement, and Coillte Panel Products – Medite and Smartly.
EcoReview have been providing sustainability consultancy services in Ireland since 2012. The knowledge and experience we have gained in the Netherlands – where world-class sustainability practice is an everyday part of business – is now available to our Irish clients. Our first clients in Ireland availed of our LCA services to provide Environmental Product Declarations for their manufactured goods.
We have since worked closely with the IGBC in developing the system for the introduction and operation of Environmental Product Declarations in Ireland. This has involved developing the Irish Assessment Methodology for the implementation EPDs in Ireland, via the standards I.S. EN 15804 and I.S. EN 16790.
Since 2017 EcoReview have been the Irish licensee for the operation and implementation of EcoChain environmental management software, and we are currently implementing this software tool for Irish clients. EcoChain was established in the Netherlands in 2011, and has quickly grown to be one of the most successful environmental management (and reporting) software tools on the market.
EcoReview, through its’ expert knowledge and experience in environmental impact assessment and measurement, will advance a client’s knowledge and skills and promote the leadership necessary for the stewardship of both then natural and the designed environments.
Peter Seymour has a B.Eng. from University College Dublin. After graduating with a Master’s degree from University of Windsor, Ontario, he worked in R&D in the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management programme, followed by a period in the UK working for several geo-environmental consultancies on waste management and soil pollution. He has worked in Ireland in the building materials sector, and has played a key role in developing the market for sustainable building materials in Ireland. He is currently working in private practice on materials research and on Life Cycle Analysis of environmental impacts of a product throughout its life from manufacture to disposal/recycling. He is a Partner and Ireland manager of EcoReview.
Pieter Stadhouders holds an MSc degree in Sustainable Development from the University of Utrecht. Within this program, he has specialized in the areas of Energy & Resources. He has a particular interest in the development and application of renewable energies and recycling of materials. He has conducted numerous Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) across a wide spectrum of industries, gaining significant insights into manufacturing processes and their impacts on the environment. He is a fully approved LCA third-party independent verifier in accordance with the SBK regulations in the Netherlands.
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