ABB reinforces commitment to circularity

ABB’s PGS300 Gauge Pressure Transmitter is the first instrumentation product to be recognized with an Environmental Product Declaration by virtue of its demonstrable and continued commitment to circularity and sustainability. The all-rounder gauge pressure transmitter is typically used for measuring liquid, gas and steam pressure, and is a central component for ensuring the overall safety and efficiency in industries such as chemicals, oil and gas, and hydrogen. 

Environmental Product Declarations are based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which takes into account the product’s likely environmental impact over its entire life cycle, from resource extraction to end-of-life. EPDs are verified by a qualified assessor and being awarded with one is viewed as a major milestone in the relentless journey to help ensure that instrumentation does its part through its test and validation capabilities to ensure that their performance meets the existing, and increasingly very demanding environmental rules and regulations. ABB very much sees the way forward for sustainability as working with facts that are based on credible, verifiable numbers. The PGS300 provides ABB customers with a way to fully understand and accurately compare the footprint of products on the market.

As part of the verification process to earn the EPD designation, the professional assessor performed a rigorous audit of ABB’s factory in Ossuccio, Italy where the PGS300 is manufactured. The assessor also checked relevant documentation from the five Assembly-To-Order sites around the world where the PGS300 can be assembled.

EPDs are developed according to the so-called Product Category Rules (PCRs), mandatory for specific product categories. While waiting for sensor-specific PCRs, ABB achieved a “Pre-certified EPD” through program operator EPD International. In the future, ABB will participate in the development of a Complementary PCR (c-PCR) for the “Industrial Sensor” segment, which will specifically tailor the “Electric and Electronic Equipment” PCR to the measurement business.

EPDs are part of the ABB Circularity Roadmap, which includes products that fulfill the ABB Circularity framework. On gaining the EPD certification, these products are better positioned to meet the levels of circularity performance transparency required by the market.

This strategy focuses on preserving resources at every stage of a product’s lifecycle and is central to ABB’s sustainability agenda. It is well recognized that business models based on circularity can play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

ABB’s version of that circularity model aims to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency by recycling, reusing, and regenerating resources. This approach moves far beyond the wasteful linear model of "take-make-dispose", to embrace the circular model of "reduce-reuse-recycle". By valuing waste as a resource, we can reduce dependence on virgin materials, lower emissions, and restore ecosystems.

ABB will be showcasing a selection of industry-leading innovations at WWEM and AQE. AQE will feature the ACF5000 multi-component emissions analyzer, StackMaster gas flowmeter, and the innovative HoverGuard UAV solution for airborne gas leak detection. To see these and ABB’s other products and services for water and air quality monitoring applications, visit stands E4 and E5 at WWEM and stands H10 and I10 at AQE.