Client StatementThis work is critical in supporting our message. If you are selling a product on environmental credentials, you need to be able to prove that you are looking at and understanding every aspect of your supply chain.«

Andrew Sweetman, Business Development and Sustainability Manager, Innovia Films

Innovia’s challenge Innovia Films is a world leading manufacturer of speciality, high performance polypropylene and cellulose films. As a supplier to some of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, food producers and specialist packaging companies, Innovia Films needed to establish a clear under-standing of the environmental impact of the com-pany’s products. Although industry data already existed for polypropylene film production, very little was available for cellulose film.

Our solution In 2007, the company asked PE INTERNATIONAL to deploy its GaBi software tool and undertake a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from Cradle to Gate for NatureFlex, Innovia Films’ renewable and compost-able cellulose film product. This was an in-depth ana-lysis of two versions of the company’s cellulose product – coated and uncoated films – and went far beyond simply establishing their carbon footprints. A wide range of impact categories were addressed, from acidification potential to primary energy usage, giving the company an understanding of where the hot-spots were and where improvements could be made. The report was used to develop a strategy for improving both product and process. The study included scenario analysis, providing an historical perspective on how process development changed over the past 30 years, covering the instal-lation of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant, process gas and heat recovery, and enhancements to waste-water treatment.

In 2008 a similar Cradle to Gate assessment of the company’s oriented polypropylene film product was undertaken.From 2009 onwards, three separate projects were com-missioned. Firstly, there was an updated LCA study of the NatureFlex product to assess the impact of changes undertaken since the LCA of 2007. Changes included raw material modifications, the closing of two old lines and the installation of a new, more effi cient production line at the company’s Wigton site in the UK. The other two projects involved ‘what if’ scenarios for alternative technologies. The work highlighted the potential benefi ts that would come from making these process changes and the scenarios were used to feed into the decision making process for possible capital investment.

Innovia Films has used the GaBi Cradle to Gate life-cycle assessment tool and scenario modelling software to establish sound environmental credentials for its products and processes. Working with PE INTERNATIONAL, the company now has the knowledge to drive informed sustainable choices about investment in manufacturing.

Innovia Films: Driving sustainable performance through informed decision makingInnovia Films: Driving sustainable performance through informed decision making

»»Client Statement»Client Statement

Innovia Film’s benefitsThe LCAs provided a valuable benchmark for Innovia Films and its cellulose based product. It enabled the company to look at the process step-by-step and to gain an appreciation as to where the hot-spots were and therefore where best to concentrate in-vestment.The € 10 m investment into the new cellulose fi lm pro-duction line at Wigton, Cumbria, has resulted in substantial environmental benefits and efficiencies. Improvements include the recovery and recycling of process gases, reduced steam consumption due to the increased efficiency of the casting line and a fully-enclosed dryer and exhaust heat recovery sys-tem designed to reduce energy usage.These advances, coupled with reduced energy requirements have already lowered the company’s product carbon footprint by 17 per cent since 2007.Now when Innovia Films are looking towards poss-ible process changes the company is able to see if there might be any impacts, positive or negative, as-sociated with those changes – helping to lead the company’s investment programme through having informed choices between different options before committing to capital investment.

The resultTracking the environmental performance of both prod-uct and process are an ongoing project for Innovia Films. The company is using the data proactively to drive the business forward. The company has moved from viewing the work from purely a communications perspective and is now also engaged in using GaBi as a process improvement tool.

What started out as a marketing lead initiative has been embraced by Innovia Films and used to trans-form both the product and manufacturing process, aligning the business with a changing, more sus-tainable world.

Innovia’s Solution in brief

Customer Industry & Headquarters: Speciality and cellulose films, United KingdomScope:LCA from Cradle to Gate for cellulose film productServices & Solutions:GaBi Software solution, Cradle to Gate life-cycle assessment, scenario modellingBenefits:Identifi cation of hot-spots where investment in environmental improvements should concentrate

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»As we develop new products we will put them through an LCA and as we look to make further investments on plant, we will look to track those changes through the LCA process using GaBi – it will be very much an ongoing process.« Andrew Sweetman, Business Development and Sustainability Manager, Innovia Films

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