A specialist in design and manufacture of industrial walkway solutions, R-taso has calculated the carbon footprint of the company’s production. The majority of the Raahe-based, family-owned company’s production footprint results from the use of steel as the main raw material. Thanks to clever design, the amount of steel R-taso’s products require is more than 30 % smaller, which reduces the carbon footprint by a third when compared to competing industrial walkway solutions by more traditional manufacturers. With the fresh data in hand, R-taso is looking into providing carbon footprint calculations to customers alongside their product offers. The carbon footprint calculations have been carried out by Macon, experts in bio and circular economy.
– R-taso specialises in demanding industrial environments, wherefore the reliability and safety of the walkways is a key aspect guiding production. This does not prevent the sensible use of materials nor taking the ecological viewpoint into consideration. The clever, modular structure of our products means we use just the right amount of raw material in the right places, explains CEO Ville Törmänen from R-taso.
– The clever design of R-taso walkways accounts for raw material savings of over 30%. The difference to traditional structures is substantial, Mr Törmänen adds.
– Our design principles also allow for climate benefits in logistics. The modular structure means our products can be loaded on to cargo containers more densely. As an example, emission reductions of a shipment to Uruguay come to roughly 150 tonnes when compared to the shipping of more traditional solutions. This is equivalent to driving a diesel car over 400,000 kilometres, explains Mr Törmänen.
When it comes to steel as a raw material, its origin accounts for a significant share of the product's final carbon footprint. European steel production, regulated by the EU, represents the low-emission end, and SSAB’s carbon dioxide emissions, for example, are even lower than the EU average, by 7 per cent.1) Steel produced in China, on the other hand, represents the high-emission end.
– To curb emissions, another aspect we can influence, is the origin of the raw material. R-taso acquires its raw materials from European suppliers, who have the smallest carbon footprint in the world. Much of the raw material we use comes from SSAB's Raahe plant, an environmental pioneer. Choosing steel produced domestically or in the EU is a responsible choice, not only environmentally but also socially, Mr Törmänen says.