Environmental declarations help accelerate building supply chain decarbonization
When people think about reducing carbon in buildings, they tend to focus on improving operational efficiencies in areas such as heating, lighting, and energy consumption. And yet, the products that make up the construction supply chain – everything from steel, concrete, and glass – also represent one of the largest opportunities to reduce carbon emissions.
These materials and products have an embedded carbon footprint long before the products are even produced and assembled at the buildings. Which is why manufacturers are so keen to find new ways to reduce the environmental impact of the products they bring to market.
For example, in Sweden we’ve recently switched to using low-carbon steel to make our espagnolette bolts for windows, patio doors, and multipoint locks. Produced by the Finnish company Outokumpu, the steel is made using recycled material and fossil-free energy.
As a result, we can reduce the climate impact of these products by approximately 37 percent compared with the material we previously used.
Elsewhere, we’ve developed a programmable digital key system that powers itself using kinetic energy generated when a key is inserted and turned in a lock. As a result, it negates the need for batteries, cabling, or an external electrical feed, making it much more sustainable.
How sustainability is shaping design
These examples illustrate how innovation and sustainability can combine to shape product design. It’s all part of our commitment to reduce the CO2 climate footprint of our products and is embedded in our product development process to reduce every new product by at least 20 percent compared to its previous version
This ensures that sustainability becomes an integrated part of how we develop, test, and launch new products.
Indeed, to ensure that our sustainability work is grounded in facts and delivers real impact, we work in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This corporate climate action organization ensures our climate targets are independently validated, and our progress is reported every year as part of our annual report.
It’s not just about doing what’s right for the planet. According to a report published by the SBTi, science-based targets also help to deliver ‘competitive advantage’, with those companies that have validated targets reporting ‘stronger market positioning, increased investor confidence, and improved strategic cohesion’.
Indeed, the whole process of validation and independent scrutiny is essential to building confidence.
Compliance verification is key to building confidence
For instance, architects, designers, and developers want to include more sustainable products. But they also need proof that the products they choose make a genuine contribution to addressing climate change.
This is why schemes such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are so important. EPDs are internationally recognized, independently verified documents that provide standardized information about a product's environmental impact throughout its lifecycle.
In Europe, for example, EPDs will play an instrumental role at delivering carbon disclosure information that will support the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). This Directive is expected to apply from 1st January 2028 to all new large buildings, and from 2030 to all new buildings.
EPDs do not only help buildings become more sustainable but will also become mandatory in the context of the product regulations such as the new Construction Products Regulation (CPR) that integrate this information as part of the CE marking process.
While I can’t speak for the rest of the industry, here at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA, we now have around 90+ EMEA-wide EPDs in place for our products, and the number keeps on growing.
For me, this is an essential part of our work. By developing climate data for everything we make, we give our customers the confidence that the products they use meet the necessary documentation before this becomes part of legislation.
Of course, none of this happens by accident. Developing lower-carbon products, gathering environmental data, and producing independently verified EPDs require long-term investment, collaboration, and commitment. For us, sustainability is embedded within our product development process and guides how we think about innovation.
Sustainability as a catalyst for innovation
After all, focussing on sustainability forces businesses to rethink how they do things and to develop innovative ways to reduce environmental impact. As an industry, we’ve made great strides in using lower environmental impact materials where possible and designing them so that they are durable and long-lasting.
But we also have an eye on the future, so that when a product reaches the end of its lifecycle, it’s designed so that it can be reused, repaired, or recycled rather than sent to landfill.
But that can only happen if you empower your engineering and design teams to integrate principles based on the circular economy, where products are designed to last longer, and then either repaired, reused, or recycled at the end of their life.
Not only is this something we promote internally, but it’s also a message I share when I attend industry events and conferences. Why? Because we can only reach global environmental goals if the entire industry embraces the new benchmarks.
By Olympia Dolla, Head of Sustainability Program at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA
