Authentic sustainability comes from understanding the whole lifecycle of electric equipment.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance
The debate over choosing electric vehicles and equipment over internal combustion engines (ICE) to reduce carbon emissions is settled. As well as zero emissions during operation, electric outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment – such as ride-on mowers or sweepers and scrubbers – have proven to perform more efficiently than their ICE counterparts, saving organisations time and money.
While that debate has been settled, local councils and government departments in Australia are now increasingly aligning their corporate strategies with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies. They’re no longer solely focused on a cost and environmental-harms comparison when choosing outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment – they’re targeting the whole supply chain.
A growing awareness of ESG principles in the whole lifecycle of products and services means in some instances ESG is becoming a mandatory part of tender conditions. For businesses that want to submit a tender response, just meeting environmental goals alone may no longer be enough. For fleet managers responsible for purchasing outdoor landscaping and cleansing equipment products or services, they may now need to consider the entire supply chain and lifecycle – from raw-material extraction to eventual disposal – when setting assessment criteria for equipment.
While data and information about the environmental savings of operating and maintaining battery-powered equipment is plentiful, it’s more difficult to find ESG information regarding the manufacture and disposal of electric equipment. This is especially true when a manufacturer chooses to self-declare their green credentials rather than seek independent third-party inspections, assessment and accreditation, leading to a greenwashing of information.
ESG during the manufacturing stage
For electric indoor and outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment, this is the stage of the equipment’s lifecycle where it’s hardest to source evidence-based ESG information and data. A large part of this reason is because the raw materials used in batteries for electric equipment come from mines and ports controlled by China, where ESG transparency is lacking.
However, some manufacturers have opted to responsibly source raw materials and have adopted manufacturing processes to address ESG requirements and achieve authentic sustainability.
Batteries
Lithium-ion batteries used in commercial applications such as outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment are a hot topic. Many myths and misconceptions surround battery technology. See how EcoTeq busts these battery myths.
Environmental impacts of raw-material extraction
The environmental impacts of mining raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, essential to produce batteries for electric outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment, are significant.
Mining operations can lead to habitat destruction, water pollution, and high energy consumption. Lithium is predominantly extracted from Australia with significant lithium mines operating in Chile, Argentina and China. The extraction process often involves using large quantities of water, which can lead to water scarcity in arid regions.
Cobalt is mostly mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo where it poses severe environmental and social challenges. The extraction process can result in soil degradation and pollution of the local water supply with toxic substances.
Social impacts
Manufacturers must also consider the social impacts of raw-material extraction – including child labour and poor working conditions – in countries where workers are exploited and their rights are not recognised.
Mitigation initiatives
To address these issues, some manufacturers are implementing initiatives to mitigate the environmental impact of raw-material extraction. One such initiative is to source raw materials that have been certified and sourced responsibly.
Fimap is an Italian company that designs and manufactures professional floor-cleaning machines. It’s at the forefront of sustainability innovation and is a leader in sustainable practices within the industry. In 2019, the company achieved the first ISO 14067:2018 certified scrubbing-machine range in the world. Conquest is the exclusive distribution partner in Australia.
Fimap has implemented a traceability system that monitors its entire supply chain, from every raw material to every nut and bolt.
“We trace everything – from the supplier where the raw material comes from until the end of the product’s life. This comprehensive tracking helps us understand and mitigate the environmental impacts associated with these raw materials,” explained Nicola Flores, Head of International Sales at Fimap, who oversees an annual rigorous certification of its entire supply chain and manufacturing process by an external third party.
Ensuring sustainability and ethical sourcing
Manufacturers play a crucial role in ensuring the authentic sustainability and ethical sourcing of raw materials. By achieving the first ISO 14067:2018 certified scrubbing-machine range in the world, Fimap has pushed other European manufacturers to also follow rigorous certification to ensure their supply chains are responsibly sourced and free from unethical practices.
“We have the social accountability SA8000 certification, ensuring fair labour practices across our supply chain,” noted Flores. “This certification is crucial for verifying that the company maintains high social standards throughout its operations, including health and safety, worker rights, and anti-discrimination policies.
“We do not use child labour, our suppliers do not use child labour. They treat their employees fairly and give them permission to have unions,” said Flores.
Fimap has adopted initiatives aimed at reducing the reliance on virgin materials by increasing the use of recycled content in its water tanks and other components. These efforts help reduce the overall environmental footprint of their products and go a long way toward authentic sustainability.
Certifications and standards
Certifications and standards help manufacturers maintain responsible sourcing. These include:
● ISO 14067:2018 Carbon footprint of products: This standard specifies principles and requirements for quantifying and reporting the carbon footprint of products
● ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems: This standard sets out the criteria for a quality management system and is based on several quality management principles, including a strong customer focus and continuous improvement
● SA8000 Social Accountability: This social accountability standard provides a framework for ensuring fair treatment of workers, including safe working conditions and fair wages
● ISO 14001:2015 Environmental management systems (EMS): This standard provides a framework for organisations to design and implement an EMS, and continually improve their environmental performance, and.
● ISO 2631-1:1997 Mechanical vibration and shock: This standard defines methods for testing human exposure to whole-body vibration and shock in relation to human health, comfort and other factors.
Official certifications provide a framework for sustainable and socially responsible practices and offer transparency. Flores describes two ways to declare credentials: self-declaration and certification.
“We don’t want to declare things. We want to certify,” said Flores. “We want an independent third party to come to our premises every year and check that everything we say is true according to an international standard.”
By adhering to these standards, manufacturers like Fimap that take ESG seriously, demonstrate their commitment to reducing environmental impacts and being socially responsible.
Key environmental impacts of manufacturing processes and energy consumption
The manufacturing process of electric equipment, particularly batteries, involves significant energy consumption and environmental impact. The production of lithium-ion batteries, for instance, requires substantial amounts of energy and generates waste by-products. Key environmental impacts include greenhouse-gas emissions, water usage, and chemical waste.
To mitigate these impacts, manufacturers are adopting cleaner production technologies and more efficient manufacturing processes. For example, Fimap has implemented manufacturing techniques that reduce energy consumption and minimise waste.
Energy consumption
The energy consumed in manufacturing electric equipment can vary, but a notable proportion is increasingly sourced from renewable energy. Fimap uses renewable energy sources to power its manufacturing facilities. It also requires suppliers to use cleaner practices and renewable energy sources.
Use and maintenance of battery-powered equipment
EcoTeq has explored in depth the numerous benefits of electric machines — from low noise pollution, low vibration and WHS issues, through to better performance and increased efficiency — and has also examined the total cost of ownership (TCO) of electric equipment. This is one stage of the downstream phase that has been extensively covered in the following articles:
● Building a business case for electric equipment: A guide to cost of ownership analysis
● Comparing electric to electric: Here’s what to focus on
● Beyond the price tag: Exploring the true cost of ownership
● Beyond net zero: How transitioning to electric improved running costs, operator safety, and machine uptime
End-of-life management
Proper disposal and recycling of electric equipment and batteries are crucial to minimising environmental impact. In Europe, programs and partnerships exist to facilitate the recycling of electric equipment. However, in Australia, challenges remain in ensuring all equipment and components are dismantled, and valuable materials are recovered and reused. This is especially true for the recycling of lithium batteries. Australia has two operational battery recycling plants. As the demand for battery recycling increases locally, more facilities will be built to meet that demand.
Fimap has produced a Recycling Handbook for each of their products that details how each component can be recycled.
Recycling efficiency
The efficiency of recycling processes significantly impacts the overall sustainability of electric equipment.
Around 90% of LED batteries can be recycled. Currently, up to 50% of lithium batteries can be recycled, with ongoing research aimed at improving this rate. Advanced recycling techniques will help increase the recovery rates of valuable materials from batteries. These innovations are crucial for creating a circular economy where materials are continuously reused.
Old lithium batteries are put to use to help stabilise renewable energy plants. The batteries are not used to store the energy, just to help stabilise the supply.
Fimap collaborates with recycling centres that specialise in recovering and reusing valuable components, reducing their need for virgin materials.
For example, recovered water tanks are sent to a shredding plant and the output sent to Fimap’s water-tank manufacturer who mixes the recycled plastic with virgin material. At present, about 30% of materials used in Fimap machines are recycled materials, which it has found to be the present limit where quality is not compromised. Fimap sees this figure increasing in the years ahead as recycling processes become more innovative.
Environmental impact of disposal
The disposal of electric equipment poses potential environmental risks, particularly if not managed properly. However, investments in recycling infrastructure and innovations in battery technology are helping to mitigate these risks.
Manufacturers are committed to reducing the environmental impact of disposal. They are designing products with disassembly and recyclability in mind. By making it easier to separate components and recover materials, they help ensure that more of the equipment’s value can be recaptured at the end of its life.
Lifecycle assessment (LCA) data
A thorough lifecycle assessment (LCA) is critical to understanding the full environmental impact of outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment. Fimap’s LCA includes detailed analyses of the upstream, core, and downstream phases of its products.
“Upstream is all production of every raw material, the transportation, and the energy use of our suppliers. The core phase is Fimap’s manufacturing stage, so its energy consumption, all the waste produced and the disposal of manufacturing waste,” explained Davide Lanza, Environmental Specialist at Fimap. “But the most important phase is the downstream phase, because that has the most impact. For example, the use of resources, chemicals, the service, and the reuse and recycling of the machine is very important,” said Lanza. “We calculate all these phases and calculate the CO2 impact for each hour of machine operation.”
Providing transparent and actionable data sets Fimap apart from many of its competitors. The LCA data allows Fimap to identify hotspots in its supply chain and manufacturing processes where improvements can be implemented to reduce environmental impacts. It also gives buyers of outdoor maintenance and landscaping equipment evidence-based ESG information they need to make informed decisions that meet their ESG requirements.
A data-driven, evidence-based approach ensures that sustainability and social responsibility efforts are targeted and effective.
ESG-fuelled innovation
The adoption of ESG policies has fuelled innovation in all stages of the manufacturing phase, helping manufacturers to find technical solutions that reduce energy and water use, as well as carbon emissions.
For example, Fimap has developed technology that allows the right amount of cleaning solution and water to be dosed separately. It has also developed machines that can clean without chemical detergents.
The result is better, more efficient machines that reduce carbon emissions during downstream stages of use.
Applying authentic sustainability
Authentic sustainability in the lifecycle of outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment requires a comprehensive ESG approach to understand the full impact of raw material sourcing, manufacturing, use, and disposal. As the industry evolves, continuous improvement in recycling technologies and sustainable manufacturing will be essential in achieving authentic sustainability and applying genuine ESG principles.
To learn more about authentic sustainability in the whole lifecycle of outdoor maintenance and cleansing equipment, sign up to Ecoteq’s next webinar.