Syntegon, and its local partner Nupac Industries, is offering pharmaceutical and food industry companies full transparency on the carbon footprint of all Syntegon machines, with a software-based approach certified by TUV Rheinland.
The calculation, which was developed by Syntegon, covers parameters such as electricity, compressed air, media and packaging materials. Both packaging and processing equipment can be examined with this flexible methodology.
It relates the defined parameters to the individual CO2 emissions, identifying consumption in a holistic and customer-specific manner.
“Our analysis covers the machines’ lifecycle, from manufacture and transport use. The latter accounts for around two thirds of the entire equipment lifecycle,” explained Steffen Carbon, responsible for eco-friendly product design at Syntegon.
“With the collected data, we effectively support customers in improving their machines and processes, in terms of sustainable production and cost reduction.
“Our approach allows us to examine all machines in our portfolio, as well as various production scenarios, on demand – and thus, gain further insights into CO2 values beyond the pilot phase.”
Syntegon developed the methodology in 2021, also with its own sustainability goals in mind.
By 2025, the company wants to reduce the consumption of particularly energy-intensive equipment by 25 per cent – and achieve a consumption that is below industry standards for around 80 per cent of the equipment in its own portfolio.
Consumption plays a central role across the entire lifecycle of a machine – more than two thirds of the CO2 footprint is generated in the operational phase.
The newly developed calculation is part of the so-called Life Cycle Assessment, an evaluation of machine data across the entire lifecycle.
In 2021, Syntegon initiated an LCA project to record the CO2 emissions of its machines and reduce them in the long-term.
“We are extending our offer by another important module. It enables our customers to achieve their sustainability goals,” explained Marc Braeuninger, responsible for quality management and product compliance at Syntegon.
“By knowing the exact consumption and emissions of our machines, we can optimise them continuously – and make a further contribution to greater sustainability.”
For data collection and analysis, Syntegon relies on tested software from the Institute for Environmental Informatics in Hamburg, and a comprehensive database from the Zurich-based non-profit organisation Ecoinvent.
Following the successful pilot phase and certification, the Life Cycle Assessment is, however, still in an early stage.
In the coming months and years, Syntegon says it intends to expand its service portfolio continuously, among others, with a solution for identifying consumption and CO2 values, which will provide customers with useful information on how to reduce emissions and support them in their CO2 reporting.
The internal use of the generated data will also be intensified, for example, in the new or further development of machines for the pharmaceutical and food industries.
For Syntegon, the direct cooperation with its customers is crucial.
“We need to apply the calculation models in concrete projects to optimise them for customer-specific use – to the benefit of both sides,” Carbon concluded.
