Afera and IVK jointly have announced the launch of TACK (Tapes and Adhesive Calculation Kit), a unified PCF Calculation Tool for the adhesives and tapes industry.
“TACK is tailored to the specific needs of the adhesive and adhesive tape value chain, developed in a collaborative way by actors along the complete supply chain,” says Dr Pablo Englebienne, regulatory affairs and sustainability manager at Afera. “Downstream users welcome the tool for providing reliable and consistent data on environmental impact following established principles and guidelines.”
Designed for B2B use, TACK empowers manufacturers, converters and raw material suppliers. Its user-friendly design ensures simplicity, allowing even those without Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) expertise to accurately calculate PCF values.
“TACK is a real game changer for our member companies,” comments Dr Vera Haye, managing director at Industrieverband Klebstoffe. “Regardless of whether they are multinational or micro-enterprises, all of them can now easily calculate the PCF values of all their adhesive or adhesive tape products according to the TfS industry standard.”
A collaborative path to simplified PCF calculations
The two associations joined forces in 2023 to develop a standardised method to calculate the environmental impact of adhesives and adhesive tapes. PCF, one of the most established methods for determining the climate impact of a product, sums up the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by a product over the various stages of its life cycle. Teaming up with Sphera, Afera and IVK worked on a unified tool designed to streamline the calculation process of PCF specifically curated for these two sectors.
“TACK reflects the excellent collaboration between Afera and IVK, showing how associations can join efforts and work together, harmonising approaches and supporting member companies on their sustainability journeys,” shares Margarida Gama, senior consulting manager at Sphera. “The user-friendly tool simplifies the calculation of PCF results aligned with TfS guidelines, constituting great support to the individual companies.”
TACK leverages internationally recognised standards to deliver transparent, reliable and accurate PCF values available across the supply chain, including ISO 14067:2018 – Greenhouse Gases: Carbon Footprint of Products, enhanced by the Together for Sustainability (TfS) PCF guideline, and ISO 14040:2006 – Environmental Management: Life Cycle Assessment.
A validated calculation model has been developed specifically by and for the tapes and adhesives sectors. A common methodology across the sector increases the reliability of data provided to downstream users for the complete industry. The pre-customised, web-based tool provides access to a high-quality, curated database and ensures secure data transmission with end-to-end encryption.
To increase the credibility of self-declaration of carbon indicators for adhesive and tape products, Afera and IVK engaged DEKRA Assurance Services GmbH, a highly regarded auditing firm. DEKRA pre-verified the software model and the web tool's functionality, and reviewed them against the TfS PCF Guideline, delivering a thorough evaluation.
“TfS congratulates Afera and IVK on the launch of TACK,” states Alessandro Pistillo, co-chair of Together for Sustainability’s Scope 3 GHG emissions programme at BASF. “By aligning with the TfS PCF Guideline, the tool provides a clear, consistent and transparent calculation of PCF for adhesives and tapes. TfS is committed and honoured to support Afera and IVK on their sustainable transformation journey with its PCF Guideline and other standardisation activities.”
Downstream users welcome the tool
TACK received strong praise when presented in its development phase at Afera’s Annual Conference in Thessaloniki in September 2024. Highlighting the tool’s potential, Venla Hemmilä, material & technology engineer at IKEA states: “Tack in Swedish means thank you, and I would like to express my thanks for your TACK, Afera and IVK’s newly developed PCF calculation tool for adhesives and adhesive tapes. So, tack for TACK, because it will make our work easier! If we have your industry working on standardising the method of measuring LCAs, it will save a lot of time on this job of confirmation that we need to do inside our company.”
Enabling an affordable solution for member companies
Afera and IVK members can obtain a license to access TACK, a collaboratively developed tool designed to ensure accessibility and affordability for both new and existing members. Additionally, the shared maintenance costs among all members not only make it cost-effective but facilitate the regular implementation of new features.
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