From 2024, environmental labelling will appear on products. To meet consumer expectations and distributor demands, food companies will have to industrialize the environmental assessment of their products, or even rethink them to reduce their impact.
The challenge for the food industry? Firstly, to assess the environmental impact of all their products and calculate their score. Then, to keep this new display data up to date. All this in a context where products are often numerous and constantly evolving. To cope with the scale of the task, Keendoo offers a solution designed to empower food industry professionals, and to massify and industrialize environmental impact and score calculations.
Industrialize environmental impact calculations with Keendoo PLM's Eco-design module
L'environmental labelling supported by ADEME, is based on assessing the environmental impact of products using life cycle assessment (LCA). This is a complex method, involving a large amount of product data. The environmental display calculation method will be consolidated by the end of the year, for deployment on shelves from 2024 (see the article Environmental labelling of food products: what do we know?)
Until now, manufacturers have had to rely on specialized firms equipped with expert software (Simapro, Open LCA, etc.) to carry out the LCA of their products. For a manufacturer, subcontracting the environmental impact calculations for all its products is a considerable, time-consuming and costly undertaking.
In order to facilitate and generalize the implementation of this new environmental display in the agri-food industry, Keendoo has developed the Eco-design module, in partnership with O2m groupe, an expert in impact calculations. This new module aims to make companies autonomous and industrialize these calculations in-house. This innovative solution was awarded the CFIA's Trophées de l'Innovation 2023.
The Eco-design module enables you to massify the environmental evaluation and calculation of the environmental display score for products, based on real data and semi-specific and specific impact data.
Rely on reliable data with the Keendoo product repository
To carry out an LCA of a product, the first step is to collect and consolidate impact data. This includes data on its components (raw materials, packaging, inbound transport), manufacturing processes, distribution (logistics, storage), consumption (shelf life, preparation) and waste treatment. This can be a long and tedious exercise.
And when the LCA is carried out by a consulting firm, the manufacturer has to repeat the exercise and transmit all this data for each product, and each time it has to be updated following a product modification. For manufacturers, the amount of data required to calculate the specific environmental score for all products is considerable. In practice, manual data entry is out of the question, due to the time required and the high risk of errors. This is a subject that is often underestimated by manufacturers.
Having a structured internal database to consolidate and update data is a key factor in meeting the challenge of widespread environmental assessment in agri-food companies. It is from this data repository that the Eco-design module draws all its power: relying on specific, verified, reliable and up-to-date data.
As a long-standing PLM vendor, Keendoo has extensive experience in data transfer. Keendoo offers two types of data transfer: importing data by file, and setting up interfaces with other company IS software, such as ERP. In some cases, these two methods complement each other. The data transfer strategy is implemented on a case-by-case basis, according to the data sources available within the company.
With the Eco-design module, manufacturers have reliable product data immediately available for impact and score calculations in real time.
Take into account data on the impact of agricultural production
Carrying out an LCA involves using impact data (called LCI for "Life Cycle Inventory") for farm-gate agricultural products, electricity, modes of transport, etc. These impact data are derived from LCA databases. These impact data are derived from LCA databases, of which Agribalyse® is the most widely used in the agri-food sector in France.
For food products, the stage of the life cycle that has the greatest impact on scale is upstream agriculture. Consequently, choosing the right impact data for raw materials is critical. For an agricultural commodity leaving the farm (for example, an egg), Agribalyse® generally offers several LCIs associated with different origins or production methods. Nevertheless, the data remain relatively generic and do not always reflect the reality of production methods.
If the Eco-design module module integrates Agribalyse® impact data by default, it can alsointegrate specific LCIs linked to agricultural production methods. The use of specific LCIs for the agricultural sector makes it possible to obtain more specific product LCAs, more representative of the real environmental impact of products. This level of precision makes it possible to calculate the specific environmental display score (level 3) and highlight the efforts made by the company.
Eco-design: a new way of innovating that needs to be generalized in the food industry
Measuring the environmental impact of products is the first step in a broader process aimed at reducing it: eco-design. Eco-design is a continuous improvement process that involves gradually moving products towards greater sobriety. Eco-design is now at the heart of companies' innovation-renovation processes, with a view to reducing the environmental impact of their products: all departments are concerned.
This is why it makes all the difference to have eco-design software based on the functionalities of product design and lifecycle management (PLM) software: it speeds up and secures eco-design projects. This is the strength of the Keendoo eco-design module. For those in charge of CSR, it makes it easy to calculate product LCA scores and visualize the breakdown of 16 impact indicators at each stage of the life cycle.
At a glance, they can identify action levers for eco-design, and simulate and compare different scenarios. With this software, they can share results and integrate eco-design approaches into innovation-renovation projects by involving their colleagues: R&D, purchasing, marketing, quality, production...
Avoid greenwashing: be ready to justify environmental labelling
For manufacturers, eco-responsible innovation is becoming a powerful lever for differentiation in the face of consumer expectations and the new demands of retailers. The aim is to achieve the best score and highlight the steps taken to reduce the impact of products. All this communication must be justified to avoid accusations of greenwashing, as provided for in the new European Green Claims Directive.
ADEME has set up control procedures to ensure compliance with environmental labelling requirements. With the Eco-design module, all calculation data and results are rapidly accessible, making audits safer and easier. Based on Keendoo PLM technology, this module keeps track of all product versions and assumptions made. It enables eco-design choices to be justified, and progress to be measured by comparing different versions.
Becoming autonomous and accelerating eco-responsible innovation: from theory to practice
The Keendoo Eco-design module is designed to be easy to use and educational. With the support of Keendoo for user training and O2m for methodological support, the software is designed to enhance the skills of corporate R&D/ESR teams in the fields of LCA and eco-design.
Keendoo offers two modes of use for its new Eco-design module:
- As "stand-alone software": this mode of operation is dedicated to companies not using Keendoo PLM. Good news: you don't need to have PLM to use the solution.
- As a PLM module : this mode of operation is aimed at manufacturers already using Keendoo PLM. Perfectly integrated with the PLM suite, this new module uses much of the product data linked to the "formulation" module, notably product compositions.
Keendoo and O2m are offering the Kompact package, which includes access to the software and in-depth support for initial eco-design projects. This package includes access to the software plus training services, so you can quickly become fully autonomous in these areas.
