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Select SDGs to find out how we are taking action in support of the UN Substinable Development Goals
ICL’s holistic approach includes a Sustainability Index that evaluates the environmental impacts of new potential products during the R&D process (such as bioaccumulation, toxicity, etc.). Products that meet one of the categories defined as “no go” are halted and are not commercialized. During the use phase, clients are counseled by ICL on the best practices for using our products with minimal environmental impact.
Our target it to complete 50% of additional PCF assessments in 2022
The potential impact of climate change and the need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases are now recognised as critical issues around the world. The carbon footprint of ICL products in Israel, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and the United States are in the process, or have been calculated to date. The assessment is completed in keeping with PAS 2050:2011 Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services. This is a specification developed for assessing the life cycle GHG emissions of goods and services. The PAS 2050 is similar to the ISO 14040 standards but because it is publicly available and has a supplementary guide for the calculation of horticultural products it has more relevance for the sector that ICL is predominantly in. The requirements associated with Environmental Product Declarations (or Type III environmental declarations) will be adopted for reporting purposes.
The product carbon footprints completed to date have the following methodology steps:
The product carbon footprints are completed up to the point of storage by ICL prior to dispatch to customers. The functional unit is based on mass (weight) as per kg of product. Energy, water and raw material inputs are included for each product.
An emission factor is a coefficient that identifies the global warming potential of inputs to the product carbon footprint. A variety of sources of emission factors are used for the calculations from specific factors calculated for ICL based on power station operation or product outputs, some are also received from suppliers or country specific factors (such as for energy inputs). The Ecoinvent database is also used for identification of emission factors, this is a compliant data source for studies and assessments of this type.
This approach is part of ICL’s extended product responsibility which is being implemented also with regard to climate impacts and GHG emissions. As ICL explores its value chain (Scope 3) GHG emissions, products and the impact they have during the use phase are a particular point of interest.
$130K investment to calculate Products' Carbon Footprint
The EU has stated an ambition to be climate neutral by 2050. This commitment has been made as part of the EU Green Deal, which is a comprehensive package of tax and non-tax measures. The work includes key aspects such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) this is being introduced to try and reduce the risk of carbon leakage for some industries, including fertilizers. The risk is that production shifts offshore to countries with less stringent climate policy and so the CBAM will impose a fee on carbon-intensive goods from countries with less stringent climate policy. The CBAM will require importers of certain products into the EU to pay for the tons of carbon emissions embedded in those products in the form of CBAM certificates (the cost of emission allowances will be tied to the EU Emissions Trading System). The CBAM is expected to be phased in gradually from 2023. This is why understanding the carbon content of products is seen as critical to ICL operation to ensure ICL, and those in our supply chain, can meet upcoming legislative requirements in addition to responding to increasing customer awareness of this critical issue.
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