A Notable Advantage: Reducing Carbon Footprint
With mounting evidence of global warming and the recognition that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) are a key contributor, regulatory pressure to reduce CO2 emissions is gaining momentum.
So, too, is the demand for products and solutions that limit or offset a company’s carbon footprint. Adopting biodegradable bio-based fluid is an important step in promoting sustainability and social responsibility.
As utilities and other large electricity users address the issues of environmental preferability and long-term cost performance, many questions arise. Is a product automatically environmentally preferable if it has recycled content? Do environmentally preferable products always cost more?
There is an understandable, science-based method to answer questions such as these. The Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) software, developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Building and Fire Research Laboratory is a tool for selecting cost effective, environmentally-preferable building products.
Developed in 1994, BEES measures the environmental performance of products by using the internationally standardized and science-based life-cycle assessment approach specified in ISO 14040 standards. All stages in the life of a product are analyzed: raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and recycling and waste management. Economic performance covers the costs of initial investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and disposal.
One category in the BEES analysis, Global Warming Potential, is based on the product’s cradle-to-grave emission of greenhouse gases, including CO2 and its equivalents.