Cradle-to-gate in a nutshell
Cradle-to-gate encompasses the entire production process of the product, starting with the production of raw materials and ending with the transport of the finished product to the factory gates before its journey to the world.
“This process includes the entire manufacturing process and the related energy consumption, waste, packaging material, and the effects calculated on their basis,” says Susanna Kiviniemi, Senior Manager, Sustainability Services at Greenstep Oy. Greenstep has carried out LCA calculations for Lappset’s products.
For Lappset’s products, the cradle-to-gate calculation therefore takes not only the main raw material, i.e. domestic pine, but also the journey of all metal components into account. The calculation starts from the fact that metal is ore in the ground and ends when the bolt is attached to the finished product.
It is a complex process with many phases that take both the product as the sum of its parts and each part individually into account.
“This calculation clearly shows the impact of the raw material’s origin: emissions depend greatly on where the raw material itself comes from,” Susanna Kiviniemi adds.
The importance of recycled plastic in Lappset’s products
Plastic and the use of plastic are now attracting widespread interest from both industry and consumers. Since Lappset manufactures outdoor sports equipment intended for human use, it must take not only the environment but also operational safety aspects of its products into account.
“In general, our products only contain about 10% plastic, if any,” says Lappset’s expert Matti Posti.
“Our value chain is implemented to the customer so that they can actively influence their own choices by choosing sustainable options. For example, the choice of metal or plastic slides is such a point,” Matti Posti continues.
“In general, questioning and challenging the use of plastic, even recycled, is constantly ongoing at Lappset. How many times can recycled plastic be recycled?”
Even though recycled plastic can be recycled, it often needs to be supplemented with so-called virgin material to guarantee sufficient durability and safety for the end user of the product, i.e. the consumer. In addition to plastic, at least stainless steel requires the addition of new raw material to the recycled raw material to utilise its good properties.