The First EPD-Certified Drinking Water Network PVC-A Piping System By FITT

 FITT, a company specialized in the production of complete thermoplastic material fluid transfer systems, was the first in Europe to obtain the EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) certified environmental label for its PVC-A drinking water network piping system.

FITT Bluforce and FITT Bluforce RJ

FITT Bluforce and FITT Bluforce RJ are polymer alloy pipes for the supply and distribution of water and irrigation networks. FITT Bluforce RJ is a step forward in the FITT Bluforce range: the latest generation piping system that comes with tensile resistant jointing system, ideal for Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) applications.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are labels based on a scientific approach that measure the activities of the company and the sustainability performance of its products and processes. And it is precisely this approach that FITT decided to follow for two leading products in the field of pressurised water supply networks: FITT Bluforce and FITT Bluforce RJ, according to ISO 14025 and EN 15804 standards. The EPD certification is internationally recognised as a demonstration of the attention of the company for the environment, and its commitment to reducing the impact that its production processes have on the same.

The choice of FITT, voluntary and transparent, is based on scientific, measurable and certified data, and confirms the company’s sense of responsibility towards the territory, the consumers and its stakeholders (bodies, integrated water utilities, construction companies). This is for FITT just another objective step around which to develop eco-design guidelines, in order to create increasingly “green” and efficient generations of products.

“Protecting the environment and biodiversity, reducing the consumption of raw materials, using energy from renewable sources, are now priorities on the world political agenda and for the community as a whole,” – says Alessandro Mezzalira, CEO of FITT. “The EPD® sets the link between this need for sustainability and economic and industrial activities: for FITT, the monitoring of its environmental management policy means becoming familiar with all its details, and the EPD® is a scientific map that allows us to identify areas for improvement on which to work during the creation of our products”

The Procedure

The path followed by FITT was based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of products, conducted according to rules and requirements defined in the PCR (Product Category Rules) discussed and shared among the various stakeholders in order to make the data and information relating to a given product category comparable. To ensure the highest standards, this process of collecting and analysing environmental data has also been extended to the main suppliers of the raw materials used in the production of FITT Bluforce and FITT Bluforce RJ.

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the tool that allows a holistic view of the potential environmental impacts associated with a product, process or human activity, from raw material extraction to end-of-life management. A holistic approach that avoids shifting the problem from one phase or category to the next and that takes into account the whole manufacturing chain. The environmental information obtained through the LCA was then transferred into the environmental product declaration, which was verified by SGS Italy, an independent and credited third party body, and published on the Environdec website, the international Program Operator chosen by FITT.

Source: FITT