Whole life standards

10 September 2021

Assessing something’s carbon footprint requires an understanding of its whole life story from cradle to grave. 

This was mentioned in an earlier blog post about Hilti’s emphasis on product circularity, in which the manufacturer explained its ability to track a tool’s entire history and, in turn, its green characteristics. 

Taking such a holistic view of equipment begs the question of how exactly you might quantify a carbon footprint. 

Hilti says it has done so with every one of its products, having assessed them to a specific standard: EN ISO 14040:2006 on ‘Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework’. 

Life cycle assessment (LCA), according to this standard, addresses the environmental aspects and potential environmental impacts throughout a product’s life cycle from raw material acquisition through production, use, end-of-life treatment, recycling and final disposal. 

ISO 14040 lists various parameters that can be assessed and Hilti says it has devised a means of achieving this in a systematic way.

Through initiatives like its Fleet Management service, Hilti says it can maintain a tool in peak condition and that, since this increases its lifespan, its overall carbon footprint decreases. 

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