18 April 2021

Development of the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of Glass Packaging

RDC Environment has developed the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of glass packaging for the FEVE federation.

Our Experience in LCA of Glass Packaging 

FEVE, the European Container Glass Federation, and RDC Environment have been working together for years to prepare the container glass industry for a sustainable future.

Notably, we have been carrying out studies concerning the environmental impact of new processes and hybrid furnaces, and we have made analyses on the recyclability of materials.

FEVE commissioned RDC to develop a web-based InstantLCA™ (Life Cycle Assessment) solution that should best reflect the reality of the sector while remaining easy to use for its members.

A Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of Packaging Glass

At the request of FEVE, RDC Environment has calculated the average life cycle inventory of one kg of packaging glass.

The life cycle inventory is a quantification of all the material and energy flows necessary for the manufacture of glass, a necessary building block for subsequent life cycle assessment (LCA) studies to evaluate the environmental impacts of products using glass packaging.

To do this, RDC Environment collected data from European container glass plants that are FEVE members, further allowing for calculation of the average European container glass inventory in a confidential manner.

This inventory data was then translated into the appropriate formats for integration within LCA databases.