Leather chemicals manufacturers urged to take up LCA challenge
The National Union of Italian Tanning Auxiliary Producers (UNPAC) is working with specialist consultancy Spin360 to encourage producers of leather chemicals to carry out lifecycle assessment (LCA) studies tailored to wet-end products.
Italian leather chemical manufacturers have developed products that are part of a wider national programme called ‘Made Green In Italy’. The aim of this programme is to boost the impression that qualifying products can make in the market.
Spin360 chief executive, Federico Brugnoli, attended two UNPAC workshops at the end of January, one in San Miniato in Tuscany, the other in Arzignano in Veneto, to encourage member companies to engage with LCA to boost their sustainability claims further. A third workshop will take place in the near future at Turbigo in Lombardy.
Mr Brugnoli used told the chemicals manufacturers that good LCA reports would help them stand out even more in the wider chemical market, providing them with what he called “a global platform to showcase their know-how and expertise, propelling the industry towards sustainability and innovation”.
To produce high-quality LCA studies, he impressed on them the need to use “primary data, for accurate insights”.
He provided examples of the detail that LCA exercises can yield from data companies have already submitted as part of ‘Made Green In Italy’. He also used data that leather chemicals group FGL International supplied following its own work in this area.
FGL said it was committed to dialogue and sharing, insisting this was the way to achieve growth and recognition for the whole leather chemicals supply chain.
