Certifies products made with recycled materials such as textiles, packaging, green building materials, furniture products, publications, etc.
INFORMATION
Recycling and sustainability
The continuous expansion of the economy, which is recorded worldwide even in the current period of crisis, has as a corollary the increase in energy consumption and the exploitation of natural resources .
In this context, it becomes increasingly urgent to move towards a more sustainable production and consumption model that takes into consideration both energy consumption and the flow of resources used in production and, therefore, consumed and then transformed into waste.
One of the levers for sustainable development is the ” Recycling of materials ” which:
- helps to reduce the consumption of natural resources
- increases energy efficiency
- reduces the flow of waste destined for disposal
In recent years, the international market for recycled materials and products has continued to grow , also driven by the increase in demand and the price of raw materials. However, some critical aspects remain, such as the reduced market confidence due to the uncertainty of the quality of the recycled materials and the products obtained with these materials.
The ICEA certification scheme analyzes material and energy flows in order to determine the contribution of each product in terms of virgin raw materials saved, reduction of energy consumption and minimization of waste production.
The assessment extends to the entire life cycle of the product and is based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology , through which the flows of matter and energy identified along the entire life cycle of the product are sorted, classified and aggregated in different categories of environmental impact, also called aggregate impact indicators.
