New Product Category Rules for the supply chain of electrical and electronic products

The United Nations Commission on the Environment and Development defines sustainable development (in the 1987 Brundtland report) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their own”. It means spurring economic growth that improves the quality of life while respecting the ecosystem.

The circular economy intends to put this latter concept into practice based on the possibility of not producing unnecessary waste and / or constantly reusing materials, resources and energy, enhancing what is recovered and / or maintained in the cycle of product life without using new ones. A model in contrast with the dominant model of the linear economy, based on the exploitation of raw materials destined to become waste.

Enel, a leader in the field of energy production and supply at an international level, has decided to undertake a sustainability policy, as it is considered a strategic element in the conduct, growth and development of its business.

To this end, Enel has launched a Circular Procurement project, which has as its objective the complete tracing of the incoming and outgoing materials of its business. Its suppliers become fundamental allies for the pursuit of their strategy.

As part of the supply chain sustainability improvement policy, thanks to the support of ICMQ, manager of the EPDItaly Program, Enel is achieving one of its priority objectives: the development of a system of analysis and qualification of its suppliers that mainly takes into account the environmental sustainability of processes and products in order to increase the eco-efficiency of the entire supply chain in the medium term.

Enel intends to use the EPD tool to qualify suppliers, helping to enhance the entire supply chain.

Enel’s path towards a more sustainable course of action

The first step towards the use of the EPD was the development by Enel of specific Product Category Rules (PCR) for five product categories: switches, insulators, meters, wind turbines and solar panels, within the Program Operator EPDItaly.

The PCR define a set of rules suitable to guarantee, for each individual product belonging to a certain category, a uniform approach for the conduct of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the consequent drafting of an EPD. In this case, the PCRs were prepared by Enel, as promoter, subjected to public inquiry, reviewed by an independent Review Committee and published on the EPDItaly website.

The document development process was guaranteed by EPDItaly, as Program Operator in accordance with the provisions of the EPDItaly Regulation and sector regulations.

Several important players participated in the development of the PCR, such as: Bticino, Cesi, Ecamricert, Take Care International and Lce Engineering.

The choice of Enel is a virtuous one. In the use of the EPD, this choice represents the beginning of an innovation path for an entire sector and sets itself as an example and reference point also for other sectors that have recently embarked on the path of sustainability.