Comexi has been accorded with the FTA Sustainability Excellence Award in the innovations in Sustainability category for its Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of its Comexi F2 MC flexographic press. The 2019 FTA Excellence Awards in flexography were presented on 5 May, at the New Hilton Orleans Riverside (USA), where approximately 39 gold prizes, 41 silver prizes, 40 bronze prizes and 6 best of show awards were given.
The Comexi project aspires to continually acquire knowledge and communicate with the environmental impact of manufacture value chain of flexographic printing presses. Implementation of eco-designed products has given rise to a circular economy strategy providing the customers with goods of their choice. The LCA is known to examine the environmental, social and economic impacts of the machine in order introduce improvements and promote healthier working conditions. Olof Buelens, vice president of Comexi North America, says, “The target of this analysis is to identify our environmental impact of the whole life cycle of the Comexi F2 MC flexo machine.”
Life Cycle Analysis: A more sustainable way
LCA is a unique tool that allows the user to quantify the environmental impact associated with every stage of any product’s life cycle, starting from the initial method of raw extraction to the final waste product. It also helps in evaluating, quantifying and identifying how to use the matter and its energy, which also determines the manner in which these procedures have an impact on the environment giving way to different solutions that would lessen down the effect of the same. Environment Product Declaration (DAP), a type III ecolabel, plays an important role where the product’s life cycle environment impact is quantified and communicated. It is done under the guidelines of international standards and is verified by an independent third party, ensuring its credibility. The F2 MC was chosen due to its high versatile flexographic printing, which combines with ergonomics.
Buelens says, “With this process, we will reduce several impacts including: global warming, ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidation, eutrophication, and human health.” He further explains, “The aim of Comexi is to progressively increase the knowledge of the environmental impact of our entire range of products, with the objective of minimizing these impacts, and allowing for compatibility between industrial businesses and the environment.”
