Environmental Product Declaration – EPD
Leading in independent Environmental Product Declarations
Salzgitter Mannesmann Line Pipe is the first company in Germany to have received Environmental Product Declarations for its steel tube and pipe production from the Institute for Construction and Environment (IBU) in Berlin.
Four new Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) have been checked and verified for water line pipe, oil and gas line pipe, oilfield tubulars and steel hollow sections.
EPDs as a logical consequence
Konrad Thannbichler, Head of Sales at Salzgitter Mannesmann Line Pipe, was delighted at the handover of the Environmental Product Declarations by IBU Managing Director Dr.-Ing. Burkart Lehmann on the occasion of "Bau 2017" in Munich: "For more than a decade now, we have been limiting energy consumption in the production of our tube and pipe products to what is technically feasible. Given this, the issuance of Environmental Product Declarations in response to our policy of sustainability is a logical consequence." The EPDs were prepared in cooperation with the main department "Coordination resource efficiency and R&D" at Salzgitter Mannesmann Forschung GmbH. Independent verification was provided by the Institute for Construction and Environment (IBU) in Berlin.
Background and value
Structural steel hollow sections are manufactured to standards that are harmonized at European level and subject to the Construction Products Directive. According to the latter, any available EPDs should be referred to in the context of assessments of the environmental impact of buildings. EPDs contain information on the consumption of resources (e.g. primary energy and water) in the manufacture of a product and on emissions into the atmosphere, water and soil.
We expect energy efficiency and environmental compatibility to evolve into weightier order-placement criteria.Markus Westhoff, Technical Services, Salzgitter Mannesmann Line Pipe
IBU Managing Director Dr.-Ing. Burkart Lehmann presenting the verified EPDs to Konrad Thannbichler, Head of Sales at Salzgitter Mannesmann Line Pipe.
Another focal aspect is the product-specific environmental footprint, e.g. greenhouse and acidification potentials. EPDs thus allow products to be compared according to ecological benchmarks.
EPDs as decision criteria
Markus Westhoff, who was responsible for the introduction of Environmental Management at Salzgitter Mannesmann Line Pipe: "Meanwhile, EPDs are in demand in nearly all application areas, which is why we have also prepared EPDs for oil and gas line pipe and for oilfield tubulars. We expect energy efficiency and environmental compatibility to evolve into weightier order-placement criteria."