HOW E-MAX ADVANCES SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
At E-MAX, sustainability is a core value—not just in the products we create, but in every step of our production process. A key part of this commitment is our Environmental Product Declarations (EPD certificates), which make our environmental performance transparent.
What is an EPD certificate?
An EPD is a standardized, independently verified document that outlines the ecological impact of a product throughout its entire life cycle. It provides detailed information about raw materials, production, transport, usage, and end-of-life processing or recycling.
With an EPD, our customers gain insights into the environmental footprint of their products and can compare them to others on the market. The certificate complies with international standards such as ISO 14025 and EN 15804.
The value of an EPD for E-MAX and its customers
For E-MAX, EPDs are essential for demonstrating that our products have minimal environmental impact. For instance, in our X-ECO product, we use premium circular aluminum, which helps us reduce our CO₂ emissions. Customers can use the EPDs to understand the carbon emissions associated with specific alloys and support their own sustainability goals.
“Our customers want to know not only the emissions from our factory, but also the impact of their specific product. With EPDs, we can offer that level of transparency,” says Hendrik Claes, Sustainability Manager at E-MAX.
How our EPDs are created
Creating an EPD is a thorough process involving several steps to ensure accurate and reliable information. It starts with calculating the CO₂ emissions of our factory in Kerkrade. These calculations follow the ISO 14064 standard, which helps us account for the emissions of the entire organization as a ‘black box’. This means we look at the total emissions from our factory, including both direct and indirect sources.
Next, we take it a step further by assessing the environmental impact of our products through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This LCA covers the full life cycle—from raw material sourcing, production, and energy consumption to transport, use, and end-of-life. This approach provides a detailed understanding of each production stage and its environmental effects.
Hendrik explains: “Preparing an EPD means mapping out all emissions in our value chain. We use various methods to measure and allocate environmental impact, such as the ‘cut-off’ approach, which allows recycled scrap to be included in the system without further benefits. This gives us a realistic view of our product’s impact without assuming future advantages.”
Once collected, the data is verified by an independent third party, such as DNV. This verification step is critical to ensure the data is trustworthy and compliant with the standards. Hendrik emphasizes: “The data in our EPDs is verified by an independent third party. This ensures our customers can rely on the accuracy of the information.”
Finally, the approved EPDs are published. They are publicly accessible on our website and on platforms such as the MRPI and Ecoportal websites, ensuring that clients and partners can always access our environmental data.
EPDs and the future
Our EPDs are reviewed every five years. This gives us the opportunity to implement improvements and reduce our environmental footprint even further. “Our ambition is clear: in the coming years, we aim to lower our CO₂ footprint as much as possible. We’ve already made significant progress, but we’re always striving for more,” Hendrik shares.
E-MAX continues to work toward a more sustainable production process. We conduct ongoing research to optimize our methods and involve both our employees and customers in the entire sustainability journey. By investing in renewable energy sources like solar panels and using premium circular aluminum, we are steadily moving toward a greener future.
Discover more about our sustainable solutions and how we can work together for a greener future on our website.
