This text is part of the special section 20 years of CIRAIG
The International Reference Center for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG) is regularly mandated by industrial partners to analyze the life cycle of their products or services. Here are some of the recent results.
HYDRO-QUÉBEC, OR THE VALUE OF A KILOWATHOUR
What could be more esoteric than a “kilowatt hour”? This is Hydro-Québec’s perennial problem when it wants to promote the environmental virtues of its only product, which it sells to millions of customers and exports throughout the northeast of the continent. Hence the need to turn to CIRAIG to compare its electricity with that of the sectors of neighboring provinces and states.
“There is no perfect tool to measure the environmental footprint. Life cycle analyzes [ACV] offer a global vision, ”explains Christian Turpin, environmental performance advisor at Hydro-Québec.
However, when we make the comparison on the basis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, hydropower does very well. Because an LCA considers everything: from the first shovelful of soil to the transport of the invoice to the customer, including the construction of the dam and the lines, spread over the entire lifespan of a dam, estimated over the life of the dam. installation life. “The study even takes into account the flooding of the reservoirs, which emit a lot of CO2 over the first ten years or so. Hence the fact that power plants with storage tanks emit more CO2 than run-of-river power plants. “
Christian Turpin explains that Hydro-Québec has done a lot of work to refine the data for this study, which dates back to 2014. “We are about to publish a paper which shows that our average would be a little higher than during the first study. “But beware: before concluding that hydropower produces more GHGs than claimed, it is also necessary to compare the networks, what the study calls the” energy mix “. Wind power, renewable but intermittent, is still used in combination with other forms of energy. “A network gets its supplies from various sources. Nobody recharges their electric car from a single power station, ”illustrates Christian Turpin.
This is where the hydro-Quebec advantage clearly emerges. For example, Ontario involves nuclear, coal, hydroelectricity and natural gas. An Ontario kilowatt hour therefore emits 15 times more GHGs than a Quebec kilowatt hour, produced almost 100% from renewable sources.
“We are very rigorous in our own evaluations, but it is good to be evaluated externally. We are very lucky to have CIRAIG in Quebec, which is a world authority in this area. “
Jean-Benoit Nadeau
OPTEL: MORE SUSTAINABLE, MORE PROFITABLE
We wanted our technological traceability platform to be able to allow our customers to clearly visualize the impact of their activities on the environment, says Florent Bouguin, vice-president and chief technology officer at Optel. We then called on CIRAIG for its expertise in carbon footprint. We were thus able to integrate algorithms into our platform capable of measuring its carbon footprint at each stage of a product’s life cycle. “
Founded thirty years ago, Optel is today one of the world’s leading suppliers of traceability systems. The company provides its customers with a technological platform that captures and analyzes data throughout the lifecycle of a product. “In the case of a battery, explains Mr. Bouguin, we start at the mine and we follow the product at each stage of its design and use, until the end of its life. at the time of recycling. “
The data collected assures the company that it is in compliance with the various government regulations in force, while allowing it to improve its operational efficiency since it can know exactly at what stage it must adapt its process.
The force of the war
Thanks to the integration of the data provided by the CIRAIG, the Optel platform now allows a company not only to know precisely the carbon footprint of its product and its processes, but also to know at what stage the footprint. is the highest. This allows him to correct the shot exactly where the shoe pinches.
“By implementing the appropriate corrective measures, adds Florent Bouguin, the company often gains in efficiency, which ultimately increases its profitability. “
One of his clients, a mining company whose fleet of trucks ran on gasoline, had the idea of integrating a few hybrid trucks, he illustrates. “Our platform made it possible to measure the reduction in the carbon footprint obtained by hybrid trucks, but it also revealed that their use increased profitability. This subsequently justified a greater investment in hybrid transport. “
This technological tool, Mr. Bouguin considers it essential in an economy which wants to be carbon neutral by the middle of the century. So, is he currently feeling the industry’s enthusiasm for this carbon footprint measurement?
“We haven’t yet reached the tipping point, which is when 20% of users adopt a new technology,” he admits. Measuring the carbon footprint appears to the industry as a valid environmental measure, but few already make the link between reducing the carbon footprint and efficiency gains and, therefore, reducing the carbon footprint. profitability. The sinews of war is to establish this link. “
Pierre Vallee
IN RECYC-QUÉBEC, WE DON’T “KNOW”
As of September 2022, the city of Montreal will ban all disposable plastic bags, whatever they are. This new policy stems directly from the life cycle analysis (LCA) of shopping bags in Quebec, which CIRAIG produced for Recyc-Quebec in 2017.
“This kind of study is a decision-making tool. The result is objective and scientific. This allows us to direct our recommendations to cities, businesses and citizens, ”explains Sophie Langlois-Blouin, Vice-President, Operations Performance at Recyc-Québec.
First conclusion of the study: it is better not to use a bag. If you have no choice, a reusable bag is ideal, but only if you reuse it at least 35 to 70 times. And if you absolutely need a disposable bag, you should go for… a plastic bag! Because even if it does not immediately make sense, the life cycle analysis shows it: the production of paper bags is very energy intensive, while 78% of plastic bags are reused at least once.
Recyc-Québec, which has commissioned numerous studies of the kind, such as for reusable cups, coffee cups and soon single-use masks, encourages all companies to do the same for their processes or their new products.
“This type of study is a good investment, and the Quebec Action Fund for Sustainable Development subsidizes them,” says Sophie Langlois-Blouin. The more companies and citizens who row in the same direction, the more we advance. “
Jean-Benoit Nadeau