FERLICOM GROUP committed to calculating the product carbon footprint

Innovation and sustainability at the Ferlicom Group

The group, made up of Dilograf Labels, Vanguard Graphic, and Uay Events has defined a methodology to calculate the carbon footprint associated with each production. This calculation will provide clients with information on the greenhouse gas emissions of each production and, therefore, more data when choosing a more sustainable supplier.

FERLICOM GROUP is driving its commitment to preserve and protect the environment. This time, in line with its sustainability strategy, it has decided to take a further step by calculating the carbon footprint of each individual production. The calculation, inspired by the UNE-EN ISO 14067:2019 standard methodology, emission factors from recognized sources (Oficina Catalana del Canvi Climàtic, the GHG Protocol, and Ecoinvent), together with the expertise and support of Baker Tilly ECOGESA, has enabled the organization to automatically generate a calculated figure in its ERP system every time a client quotation is prepared.

The calculation includes variables such as the electricity consumption of the machines, the consumption of raw materials (paper, ink, plastic, solvents, metal, etc.), water consumption, and the management of the waste generated, each of them associated with the production of a customer order.

After adapting the ERP so that it automatically calculates CO2-equivalent emissions each time a quotation is prepared, an emissions value is generated that allows the client to choose the option that best suits their needs, taking into account a new variable: the atmospheric emissions associated with that production.

This is a success story due to the complexity of the calculation, the months of work involved, and the ERP adaptation. In addition, an Excel-based calculator has also been designed, unique and exclusive to the organization. Looking ahead, they will only need to update the emission factors when they are published, test them using the calculator, and upload them into the ERP.

Finally, as a reflection: when a client requests a quote from one or more suppliers, the choice is usually made based on price (assuming the same product quality). The idea behind pioneering projects of this kind is to have additional values—environmental ones in this case—so that decision-making objectively incorporates the environmental factor.