Partnership with Imperial Chemical Industries and Streamline Life-Cycle Assessment

Business: Carillion Building

Over the last two years, Carillion has been working with Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and Forum For The Future (FFTF) in a unique research project set up with funding from Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The DTI Technology Programme Zero Emissions Enterprise (ZEE) scheme was developed to promote research into rethinking products towards zero emissions. In response, a partnership was set up to focus on paint. Partners included ICI as the manufacturers of all Dulux Paint, FFTF, as sustainable development experts, and Carillion as a major UK customer for paint. The full project was valued at £2 million.

Standard paint products present a number of problems in terms of sustainability. For instance, for every tonne of synthetic paint produced, ten tonnes of waste is created and with specialty paints, as much as 30 tonnes of waste can be created per tonne of product. Titanium dioxide is also a key ingredient in synthetic paints, which can be environmentally damaging during the purification process and cause severe water pollution. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which are used as paint thinners, can cause medical problems such as eye, lung and skin irritation as well as muscle weakness and liver and kidney damage.

Faced with this range of issues, the cross-organisational project team bought a range of perspectives and incentives together to re-think the manufacture, delivery and use of paint. To inform this process, it was necessary to carry out a Life Cycle Assessment of paint. This would account for the raw materials of paint and the manufacturing process, packaging and transportation, the use of paint and the end use and recycling of painted products. Carillion was able to offer expertise and experience at the later stages of paint use and recycling.

A full Life Cycle Assessment can be a complex and lengthy task. To ease this process, Forum For The Future developed the Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA), a tool that provides a quick assessment based on the four system conditions of The Natural Step through the life of the product. The first application of this unique SLCA approach in Dulux paint was used to develop strategies to improve the sustainability of paint. This included defining specific projects to reduce the emissions (solid, liquid and gaseous) profile of paint across its complete life cycle, from extraction/ production of raw materials through manufacture and use to ultimate end-of- life disposal.

Jas Dhami, Building Economist, has been the key member of the project team for Carillion. Jas has been able to offer ICI real-life trialling and feedback by using new products in large developments. For instance, a prototype water-based paint was trialled across the John Radcliffe Hospital, as opposed to the traditional oil-based paints, which removed many of the VOCs that previously were the cause of health problems. Carillion is also using a specialist Diamond Matt Sterishield paint that is water-based and helps to fight infections in hospitals by stopping bugs from growing on the painted wall surfaces. This specification is now standard on Carillion hospital projects.

Another issue to address was the packaging and procurement of paint. Traditionally, paint was always delivered in 10-litre plastic containers, even for jobs that used thousands of litres of paint. In addition to the obvious over-packing issue, Carillion reported the difficulties of recycling used plastic cans with paint on. In response to this, at the John Radcliffe, ICI trialled metal cans with an approved and established recycling route and therefore eliminated 5,000 plastic cans going to landfill.

At our Portsmouth project (Queen Alexandra Hospital) Carillion is testing a 500-litre bulk container. Although painting begins later in 2008, so far the response has been positive and ICI are predicting a waste reduction of 96% by using bulk containers.

The SLCA also highlighted the problems with the very end of the paint use, in terms of recycling materials that have been painted. Disposal and recycling of painted materials can be more problematic than raw materials, which led to further research into manufacturing paint that could be removed more easily. This enables the full life cycle of paint to have a much more beneficial ending by allowing products to be re-used and reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

The scope of the project with DTI also allowed Carillion to test out the SLCA with other product suppliers. A workshop was carried out with Forbo, a linoleum manufacturer that Carillion uses for flooring products in hospitals, schools and other sectors. The outcomes of this assessment revealed information not only about the sourcing and manufacture of the product, but also considered the installation and maintenance of flooring. The process highlighted the importance of sharing information between different stakeholders of the product to ensure it is used to perform efficiently. In addition to this, Carillion has also used the SLCA to engage with suppliers for doors, ceiling tiles and carpets. The tool is also being specified in tender documents for new projects and suppliers to highlight any potential impacts and to enable Carillion to work with the suppliers over the contract period to help eradicate or minimize any adverse effects.