ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATIONCOLOREX SD / EC
FORBO FLOORING SYSTEMSCONDUCTIVE HOMOGENEOUS VINYL FLOOR COVERING

Colorex SD
Color 150221 Pacific and 150212 Lux

Colorex is an advanced technical flooring
system specifically designed to control static
discharge in sensitive areas such as
cleanrooms, operation theatres and theelectronic industry. Not only does Colorex
provide an advanced technical solution, it isalso aesthetically pleasing, enhancing any
commercial interior from industrial toeducational establishments.
Forbo was the first flooring manufacturer topublish a complete Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) report verified by CML in 2000.In
addition Forbo is now to publish
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)
for all products including full LCA reports.
This EPD is using all recognized flooring
Product Category Rules and is including
additional information to show the impacts
on human health and eco-toxicity. By
offering the complete story we hope that
our stakeholders will be able to use thisdocument as a tool that will translate theenvironmental performance of Colorex into
the true value and benefits to all ourcustomers and stakeholders alike.
For more information visit;www.forbo-flooring.com

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

This declaration is an environmental product declaration (EPD) in accordance with ISO 14025. EPDs rely
on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to provide information on a number of environmental impacts of products
over their life cycle. Exclusions: EPDs do not indicate that any environmental or social performancebenchmarks are met, and there may be impacts that they do not encompass. LCAs do not typically address
the site-specific environmental impacts of raw material extraction, nor are they meant to assess human healthtoxicity. EPDs can complement but cannot replace tools and certifications that are designed to address these impacts
and/or set performance thresholds – e.g. Type 1 certifications, health assessments and declarations, environmental
impact assessments, etc. Accuracy of Results: EPDs regularly rely on estimations of impacts, and the level of accuracy
in estimation of effect differs for any particular product line and reported impact. Comparability: EPDs are notcomparative assertions and are either not comparable or have limited comparability when they cover different life cycle
stages, are based on different product category rules or are missing relevant environmental impacts. EPDs from different
programs may not be comparable.

DECLARATION NUMBERUL Environment
333 Pfingsten Road
Northbrook, IL 60611
Forbo Flooring B.V.
Industrieweg 12
P.O. Box 13
NL-1560 AA Krommenie
4788294459.116.1

DECLARED PRODUCTColorex SD / EC (Conductive Homogeneous vinyl Floor Covering)

PROGRAM OPERATORDECLARATION HOLDERREFERENCE PCRDATE OF ISSUEPERIOD OF VALIDITY

CONTENTS OF THE
DECLARATION

EN 16810: Resilient, Textile and Laminate floor coverings – Environmental productdeclarations – Product category rules
October 11, 2018
5 Years
Product definition and information about building physics
Information about basic material and the material’s origin
Description of the product’s manufacture
Indication of product processing
Information about the in-use conditions
Life cycle assessment results
Testing results and verifications

The PCR review was conducted by:

PCR Review Panel

This declaration was independently verified in accordance with ISO
14025 by Underwriters Laboratories☐ INTERNAL☒ EXTERNAL
Grant R. Martin, UL Environment
This life cycle assessment was independently verified inaccordance with ISO 14044 and the reference PCR by:Thomas P. Gloria, Industrial Ecology Consultants

This EPD conforms with EN 15804

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Product Definition
Product Classification and description
This declaration covers a wide range of colors. Colorex is an advanced technical flooring system, specifically designed
to control static discharge in sensitive areas such as cleanrooms, operating theatres and electronics industry,complying with all the requirements of EN-ISO 10581: Specification for homogeneous poly(vinyl chloride) floor
coverings. Colorex is made basically from PVC which is the most widely used polymer today, DOTP, a non-phthalate
plasticiser, in the lowest possible amount among the standard vinyl flooring, very fine and white Calcium Carbonate
coming from the marble quarries of Carrara (Italy), conductive water based binder, containing a special carbon blackcompound, forming the network of conductive veins in the finished tiles.
Colorex is produced by Forbo Flooring for more than 50 years and is sold worldwide. This declaration refers to Colorex
SD / EC tiles of 2.0 mm nominal thickness.
Colorex is build up in one homogeneous layer as illustrated in the figure 1.

Figure 1: Typical construction

This declaration refers to the declared/functional unit of 1 m 2 installed flooring product.
Range of application
Colorex is classified in accordance with EN-ISO 10581 to be installed in the following use areas defined in EN-ISO10874:
Area of application
Class 34
Commercial

Class 43
Industrial

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Product Standard
The products considered in this EPD have the following technical specifications:o Meets or exceeds all technical requirements in EN-ISO 10581 Resilient floor coverings – Homogeneous
polyvinyl chloride floor coverings – Specificationo Meets or exceeds all technical requirements in ASTM F 1700 Standard Specification for solid vinyl floor tile

Colorex meets the requirements of EN 14041
EN 13501-1
Reaction to fireBfl – s1
EN 13893
Slip resistance
DS: ≥ 0,30
EN 1815
Body voltage< 2 kVEN ISO10456 Thermal conductivity 0,25 W/mK
Fire Testing:o Class 1 when tested in accordance with ASTM E 648/NFPA 253, Standard Test Method for Critical RadiantFlux.
o Meets 450 or less when tested in accordance with ASTM E 662/NFPA 258, Standard Test Method for Smoke
DensityCompliant with CHPS 01350 requirements for VOC emissions and indoor air quality.
Accreditation
o
o
o
o
o

ISO 9001 Quality Management System
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
AgBB requirements
French act Grenelle A+
CHPS section 01350

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Delivery Status
Table 1: Specification of delivered productCharacteristics

Nominal Value

Unit

Product thickness

2.00

mm

Product Weight

3.20

kg/m2

Tiles

Width x Length

mm615 x 615

Material Content
Material Content of the Product
Table 2: Composition of Colorex

Origin of raw
material

Nonrenewable – limited
Nonrenewable - limited

Amount[%]45
13

Abundant mineral

37

EuropeNonrenewable - limited

2

EuropeNonrenewable - limited

3

EuropeComponent

Material

Availability

Binder

PVC
DOTP

FillerStabilizers andprocess additives
Pigments

Calcium carbonate
proprietary mixtures &lubricants
Titanium Dioxide, carbon
black and inorganic pigments

EuropeProduction of Main Materials
PVC: Polymer which is produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer.
DOTP: A non-phthalate plasticizer, being the diester of terephthalic acid and the branched-chain 2-ethylhexanol. This
colorless viscous liquid used for softening PVC plastics is known for chemical similarity to general purpose phthalates
such as DEHP and DINP, but without any negative regulatory pressure.
Stabilizer Ca/Zn: Mixed metal stabilizer made from Calcium and Zinc stearate. It is used to avoid PVC degradation
during processing at relative high temperature.
Calcium carbonate: An abundant mineral found in all parts of the world as the chief substance in rocks (i.e., marble
and limestone). It can be ground to varying particle sizes and is widely used as filler.
Titanium dioxide: A white pigment produced from the mineral rutile, a naturally occurring form of titanium dioxide. The
production of the pigment is a large-scale chemical process.
Carbon black: Carbon black is a black pigment used in various applications as an electric conductive agent

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Production of the Floor Covering

Colorex is produced starting with a first neutral premix with: PVC, Plasticizer, Process Aids, Filler and Titanium dioxide
mixed together in a horizontal mixer.
A portion of this premix is transferred in a heated mixing system adding pigments, reused waste (if applicable) andcolored chips (made before, with the same process). At the end of the mixing process, a hot colored soft mass isobtained.
The mass is fed directly into the calender obtaining a hot vinyl sheet which is gradually brought to room temperature.
The solid vinyl sheet is milled into tiny square pieces called ''chips''. The chips are coated with a conductive coating.
This coating will later be the path for the drainage of electrostatic charges.
After a drying process, the coated chips are placed into steel molds and pressed in as static press. As the blocks arestill hot they are sliced horizontally into tiles obtaining a perfectly homogeneous structure.
After slicing, the surface of the tiles is grinded, brushed and polished to obtain a perfectly smooth and pore-freesurface. This will ease maintenance, cleaning and disinfection in hygiene critical areas.
To release any internal stresses and thus ensure a perfect dimensional stability, the tiles are relaxed in a tempering
oven prior to final cutting to size and automatically stacked on pallets, ready for delivery. Residual material from press,
grinding, cutting and rejected products are reused.
Health, Safety and Environmental Aspects during ProductionoooISO 14001 Environmental Management System
OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
SA 8000 Social Accountability standard

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Production Waste
Rejected material and the cuttings of the trimming stage are being reused in the manufacturing process of homogeneous
vinyl.
Packaging materials are being collected separately and externally recycled.

Delivery and Installation of the Floor Covering
DeliveryA worldwide distribution by truck and container ship is considered. On average every square meter of Colorex istransported as follows:o Transport distance 40 t truck
400 kmo Transport distance 7.5t truck (Fine distribution)
300 kmo Capacity utilization trucks (including empty runs)
85 %o Transport distance Ocean ship
1250 kmo Capacity utilization Ocean ship48%
Installation
Because of the specific techniques used during the installation of Colorex approximately 1.2% of the material is cut off
as installation waste. For installation of Colorex on the floor a scenario has been modeled assuming 0.22 kg/m2 ofadhesive is applied to the sub-floor. Waste during the installation process may be recycled through the manufacturer’s
facility or disposed of via landfill or incineration.

Health, Safety and Environmental Aspects during Installation
Forbo flooring recommends to use (low) zero emission adhesives for installing Colorex floorcovering.
Waste
Waste during the installation process may be recycled as floor covering through the manufacturers’ facilities ordisposed of via land fill or thermally recycled in a waste incineration plant.
Packaging
Cardboard boxes and packaging paper can be collected separately and should be used in a local recycling process. In
the calculation model 100% incineration is taken into account for which there is a credit received.

Use stage
The service lifetime of a floor covering for a certain application on a floor is too widespread to give one common
number. For this EPD model the reference service lifetime (RSL) is set to one year. This means that all impacts for theColorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

use phase are based on the cleaning and maintenance model for one year. Depending on the area of use, thetechnical lifetime advised by the manufacturer and the estimated time on the floor by the customer, the service lifetime
can be determined. The use phase impacts should be calculated with the foreseen service life to arrive at the total
environmental impact.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Level of use

Cleaning Process

Cleaning Frequency

Commercial/Residential

Vacuuming
Wet Cleaning

Twice a week
Once a week

Consumption of energy
and resources
Electricity
Hot water
Neutral detergent

For the calculations the following cleaning regime is considered:- Dry cleaning with a 1.5 kW vacuum cleaner for 0.21 min/m 2, twice a week. This equates to 0.55
kWh/m2*year.
- Once a week wet cleaning with 0.062 l/m 2 water and 0.0008 kg/m 2 detergent. This result in the use of
3.224 l/m2*year water and 0.04 kg/m2*year detergent. The wet cleaning takes place without power machine
usage. Waste water treatment of the arising waste water from cleaning is considered (Data sourced from
Forbo GABI model).
The cleaning regime that is recommended in practice will be highly dependent on the use of the premises where thefloor covering is installed. In high traffic areas more frequent cleaning will be needed compared to areas where there is
low traffic. The use of an entrance mat of at least four steps will reduce the cleaning frequency.
The cleaning regime used in the calculations is suitable for high traffic areas.
Prevention of Structural Damage
All newly laid floor covering should be covered and protected with a suitable non-staining protective covering if otherbuilding activities are still in progress. Use protective feet on chairs and tables to reduce scratching. Castor wheels
should be suitable for resilient floor coverings
Health Aspects during Usage
Colorex is complying with:o AgBB requirementso CHPS section 01350
o French act Grenelle: A+
Low emissions & phthalate free manufacturing ensures Colorex can contribute to a healthy indoor environment.

End of LifeThe deconstruction of installed Colorex from the floor is done mechanically and the electrical energy needed for this isestimated to be 0.03 kWh/sqm. This amount of energy is included into the calculations.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

For the End of Life stage 100% incineration is taken into account, the average distance to the incineration plant perlorry is set to 200 km.

Life Cycle Assessment
A full Life Cycle Assessment has been carried out according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.
The following Life Cycle Stages are assessed :o A1-3 : Product Stage (Raw material acquisition, transportation to Manufacturing and Manufacturing)o A4-5 : Construction stage (Transport Gate to User, Installation flooring)o B2 :
Use Stage (Maintenance of the floor)o C1-4 : End of Life Stage (Deconstruction, transport, waste processing, disposal)
o D:
Benefits and loads beyond the system boundary (Reuse, recovery, recycling potential)
Product stage(A1-3)

Construction process stage(A4-5)

Use stage (B2)A5 :Construction or
installation
process

B2 :Maintenance
Cleaning
regimeBenefits andloads beyond thesystem boundary(D)End-of Life stage(C1-4)

A3 :Manufacturing
A1 : Raw
Material
Extraction andProcessing

A2 : Transport

Batching &mixingCalendaring,
Coating

A3 :Manufacturing
Energies with
regionalreference

A4 : Transport

Pressing,

C1 : Deconstruction
demolition

C2 :Transport

C3 : Waste
processing

C4 :DisposalD:
Reuse,
recovery,recycling
potential

CuttIng
Packaging

Figure 2: Flow chart of the Life Cycle Assessment

Comparisons of different floor coverings are only allowed, where EN 15804 consistent and/or preverified backgrounddata and EN 15804 consistent calculation methods and database versions are used and when the building context istaken into account, i.e. on the basis of the same use-classification (EN ISO 10874), same service life and comparable
assumptions for the end of life.
Description of the Declared Functional Unit
The functional unit is one square meter of installed product and the use stage is considered for one year of service life.
Cut off Criteria
The cut-off criteria shall be 1% of renewable and non-renewable primary energy usage and 1% of the total mass of theunit process. The total neglected input flows per module shall be a maximum of 5% of energy usage and mass.
In practice, in this assessment, all data from the production data acquisition are considered, i.e. all raw materials usedas per formulation, use of water, electricity and other fuels, the required packaging materials, and all direct productionwaste. Transport data on all considered inputs and output material are also considered.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Allocations
In the present study some allocations have been made. Detailed explanations can be found in the chapters below.
Co-product allocation
No co-product allocation occurs in the product system.
Allocation of multi-input processes
The Production and End of Life stage include incineration plants. In these processes different products are treated
together within a process. The allocation procedures followed in these cases are based on a physical classification of
the mass flows or calorific values.
Credits from energy substitution are allocated to the production stage, because the gained energy from energy
substitution is lower than the energy input in this stage. The same quality of energy is considered.
Allocation procedure of reuse, recycling and recovery
The installation waste and end of life waste is fed into incineration processes. Incineration processes include
cogeneration processes which give thermal and power energy as outputs. It is assumed that this recovered energy
offsets that produced by the European average grid mix and thermal energy generation from natural gas.
Description of the allocation processes in the LCA report
The description of allocation rules in of this LCA report meets the requirements of the PCR.
LCA Data
As a general rule, specific data derived from specific production processes or average data derived from specificproduction processes have been used as the first choice as a basis for calculating an EPD.
For life cycle modeling of the considered products, the GaBi 6 Software System for Life Cycle Engineering, developedby Thinkstep has been used. All relevant LCA datasets are taken from the GaBi 6 software database. The datasetsfrom the database GaBi are documented in the online documentation. To ensure comparability of results in the LCA,
the basic data of GaBi database were used for energy, transportation and auxiliary materials.
Data Quality
The requirements for data quality and LCA data correspond to the specifications of the PCR.
Foreground data are based on 1 year averaged data (year 2017). The reference ages of LCA datasets vary but are
given in the table in the Appendix. The time period over which inputs to and outputs from the system is accounted foris 100 years from the year for which the data set is deemed representative. The technological LCA of the collected
data reflects the physical reality of the declared product. The datasets are complete, conform to the system boundaries

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

and the criteria for the exclusion of inputs and outputs and are geographical representative for the supply chain ofForbo flooring.
For life cycle modeling of the considered products the GaBi 6 Software System for Life Cycle Engineering, developedby Thinkstep, is used. All relevant LCA datasets are taken from the GaBi 6 software database. The last revision of theused data sets took place within the last 10 years.
System Boundaries
Production Stage includes provision of all materials, products and energy, packaging processing and its transport, as
well as waste processing up to the end-of waste state or disposal of final residues during the product stage.
Transport and Installation Stage includes provision of all materials, products and energy, as well as waste processing
up to the end-of-waste state or disposal of final residues during the construction stage. These information modules
also include all impacts and aspects related to any losses during this construction stage (i.e. production, transport, andwaste processing and disposal of the lost products and materials). For the transportation a worldwide distribution isconsidered.
Use Stage includes provision and transport of all materials, products and related energy and water use, as well as
waste processing up to the end-of-waste state or disposal of final residues during this part of the use stage. These
information modules also include all impacts and aspects related to the losses during this part of the use stage (i.e.
production, transport, and waste processing and disposal of the lost products and materials).
End of Life Stage includes provision and all transports, provision of all materials, products and related energy andwater use. It also includes any declared benefits and loads from net flows leaving the product system that have notbeen allocated as co-products and that have passed the end-of-waste state in the form of reuse, recovery and/or
recycling potentials.
Power mix
The selection of LCA data for the electricity generation is in line with the PCR.
The products are manufactured in Giubiasco, Switzerland. The GaBi 6 Hydro power and biomass datasets havetherefore been used (reference year 2018). The energy supplier is providing Forbo with a certificate every year.
CO2-Certificates
No CO2-certificates are considered in this study.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
In table 3 the environmental impacts for one lifecycle are presented for Colorex. In table 4 the environmental impacts
are presented for all the lifecycle stages.
Table 3: Results of the LCA – Environmental impacts one lifecycle (one year) – Colorex

Impact Category : CML 2001 – Jan. 2016

Colorex

Unit

Global Warming Potential (GWP 100 years)

1,32E+01

kg CO2-Equiv.

Ozone Layer Depletion Potential (ODP. steady state)
Acidification Potential (AP)
Eutrophication Potential (EP)5,56E-08
4,58E-02
4,25E-03

kg R11-Equiv.
kg SO2-Equiv.
kg Phosphate-Equiv.

Photochem. Ozone Creation Potential (POCP)
Abiotic Depletion Potential Elements (ADPE)
Abiotic Depletion Potential Fossil (ADPF)

3,08E-03
3,12E-05
1,44E+02

kg Ethene-Equiv.
kg Sb-Equiv.
[MJ]

Table 4: Results of the LCA – Environmental impact for Colorex (one year)
Impact Category :Manufacturing
Installation
Use (1yr)
CML 2001 – Jan. 2016
Parameter
Unit
A1-3
A4
A5
B2
GWP
[kg CO2-Eq.]
5,89E+00
2,91E-01 5,57E-01
3,16E-01
ODP[kg CFC11-Eq.]
5,31E-08
4,57E-15 4,21E-10
2,06E-09
AP[kg SO2-Eq.]
3,43E-02
2,17E-03 1,04E-03
7,82E-04
EP[kg PO43-- Eq.]
3,67E-03
2,92E-04 1,56E-04
1,07E-04
POCP[kg Ethen Eq.]
3,10E-03-8,55E-05 9,96E-05
5,51E-05
ADPE[kg Sb Eq.]
2,78E-05
1,15E-08 1,11E-07
1,58E-07
ADPF[MJ]
1,41E+02
2,36E+00 1,04E+01 3,53E+00

End of Life
C1
6,60E-03
2,93E-14
1,87E-05
1,76E-06
1,17E-06
3,51E-09
7,02E-02

C2
2,21E-02
6,02E-16
5,36E-05
1,36E-05-1,85E-05
1,81E-09
3,00E-01

Credits
C3
8,11E+00
7,22E-13
1,08E-02
3,74E-04
1,96E-04
3,65E-06
1,39E+01

D-2,01E+00-4,37E-12-3,38E-03-3,66E-04-2,65E-04-5,68E-07-2,77E+01

GWP = Global warming potential; ODP = Depletion potential of the stratospheric ozone layer; AP = Acidification potential of land and water; EP = Eutrophication potential; POCP
= Formation potential of tropospheric ozone photochemical oxidants; ADPE = Abiotic depletion potential for non-fossil resources; ADPF = Abiotic depletion potential for fossil
resources

The relative contribution of each process stage to each impact category for Colorex is shown in figure 3.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Figure 3: relative contribution of each process stage to each impact category for Colorex for a one year usage.

Interpretation
The interpretation of the results has been carried out considering the assumptions and limitations declared in the EPD,
both methodology- and data-related for a one year usage.
In all of the impact categories, except GWP, the production stage has the main contribution to the overall impact. The
raw material supply is the key contributor for all of these impact categories with a share of 52 – 98% of the total impactof the production stage mainly caused by the use of PVC, DOTP and Titanium dioxide.
Although Forbo declares in the EPD a worldwide distribution by truck (700 km) and container ship (1250 km) thetransport stage has a limited effect on most of the impacts. Only AP and EP have a significant share which is mainly
due to the ocean ship used for transporting the material overseas.
For AP, EP, GWP, POCP, and ADPF the adhesive as main contributor for the flooring installation has a minor impactof 2 – 6% of the total environmental impact of Colorex.
In the Use stage ADPF, AP, EP, GWP, ODP and POCP have a share between 1½ to 4% of the total impacts. This isColorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

mainly caused by the electricity needed to vacuum the floor and to a lower extent by the detergent used to clean thefloor. The cleaning regime used in the calculations is a worst case scenario which will be in practice almost always belower.
Energy recovery from incineration and the respective energy substitution at the end of life results in a small credit for
ADPF and POCP in the End of Life stage. For EP and ODP the End of Life stage has a small impact on the total. Thisis mainly due to the fact that the waste at the End of Life stage is considered as being incinerated.
For GWP, ADPE and AP the End of Life stage has got a substantial influence of respectively 46, 10 and 16% on the
total impacts of these impact categories. Also for these three categories this is caused by the incineration of the waste
at the End of Life stage.
Resource use
In table 5 the parameters describing resource use are presented for all the lifecycle stages for a one year usage.
Table 5: Results of the LCA – Resource use for Colorex (one year)
Manufacturing
Installation
Parameter Unit
A1-3
A4
A5
PERE
[MJ]
6,66E+01
PERM[MJ]
0,00E+00
PERT[MJ]
6,66E+01
9,37E-02 3,71E-01
PENRE
[MJ]
1,28E+02
PENRM[MJ]
2,44E+01
PENRT[MJ]
1,52E+02
2,36E+00 1,06E+01
SM[kg]
7,90E-03
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
RSF[MJ]
8,63E-07
8,97E-30 4,60E-21
NRSF
[MJ]
1,09E-05
1,36E-28 5,40E-20
FW[m3]
5,63E-02
1,73E-04 1,91E-03

Use (1yr)
End of Life
B2
C1
C2
C3
1,58E+00 4,53E-02 1,66E-02
2,79E+00
5,40E+00 1,21E-01 3,01E-01
1,54E+01
0,00E+00 0,00E+00 0,00E+00 0,00E+00
3,48E-24 0,00E+00 1,63E-30
1,09E-20
4,09E-23 1,79E-31 2,47E-29
1,28E-19
2,38E-03 6,17E-05 3,06E-05
1,68E-02

Credits
D-6,77E+00-3,52E+01
0,00E+00
0,00E+00-2,67E-29-9,23E-03

PERE = Use of renewable primary energy excluding renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PERM = Use of renewable primary energy resources
used as raw materials; PERT = Total use of renewable primary energy resources; PENRE = Use of non-renewable primary energy excluding non-renewable primaryenergy resources used as raw materials; PENRM = Use of non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PENRT = Total use of non-renewableprimary energy resources; SM = Use of secondary material; RSF = Use of renewable secondary fuels; NRSF = Use of non-renewable secondary fuels; FW = Use of
net fresh waterColorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Waste categories and output flows
In table 6 other environmental information describing different waste categories and output flows are presented for all the lifecycle
stages.
Table 6: Results of the LCA – Output flows and Waste categories for Colorex (one year)
Manufacturing Transport Installation Use (1yr)Parameter
Unit
A1-3
A4
A5
B2
C1
HWD
[kg]
2,24E-06
9,61E-08
3,26E-09
2,17E-09
5,65E-11
NHWD
1,02E+00
1,43E-04
3,81E-03
1,30E-02
8,49E-05
[kg]
RWD
[kg]
3,94E-03
3,11E-06
9,26E-05
7,17E-04
2,00E-05
CRU[kg]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
MFR[kg]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
MER[kg]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
EE Power[MJ]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
2,14E-01
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
EE Thermal
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
3,85E-01
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
energy[MJ]

End of Life/credits
C2
C3
1,74E-08
9,76E-08
2,52E-05 5,03E+00
4,12E-07
6,05E-04
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
0,00E+00 8,31E+00

D-1,43E-08-1,51E-02-2,98E-03
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00

0,00E+00

0,00E+00

1,52E+01

HWD = Hazardous waste disposed; NHWD = Non-hazardous waste disposed; RWD = Radioactive waste disposed; CRU = Components for re-use; MFR = Materials
for recycling; MER = Materials for energy recovery; EE = Exported energy per energy carrier

Additional Environmental Information
To be fully transparant Forbo Flooring does not only want to declare the environmental impacts required in the PCR,
but also the impacts on human health and eco-toxicity. Furthermore the outcome of the calculations according to theeuropean Standard EN15804 are published in this section.
Toxicity
For this calculations the USEtoxTM model is used as being the globally recommended preferred model forcharacterization modeling of human and eco-toxic impacts in LCIA by the United Nations Environment Programme
SETAC Life Cycle Initiative.
According to the "ILCD Handbook: Recommendations for Life Cycle Impact Assessment in the European context" therecommended characterization models and associated characterization factors are classified according to their quality
into three levels:o Level I (recommended and satisfactory),o level II (recommended but in need of some improvements)o level III (recommended, but to be applied with caution).
A mixed classification sometimes is related to the application of the classified method to different types of substances.
USEtoxTM is classified as Level II / III, unlike for example the CML impact categories which are classified as Level I.
Table 7: Results of the LCA – Environmental impacts one lifecycle (one year) – Colorex
Impact Category : USEtox
ColorexUnit
Eco toxicity
2,76E-02
PAF m3.day
Human toxicity, cancer
6,46E-10
Cases
Human toxicity, non-canc.
2,37E-10
Cases

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

In the following table the impacts are subdivided into the lifecycle stages.
Table 8: Results of the LCA – Environmental impact for Colorex (one year)
Impact Category : USEtox

Unit

Production

Transport

Installation

Use (1yr)

End of Life

Eco toxicity

PAF m3.day

2,56E-02

5,50E-04

1,07E-03

4,43E-04-5,36E-05

Human toxicity, cancer

cases

7,12E-10

5,23E-13

1,89E-11

1,23E-11-9,79E-11

Human toxicity, non-canc.

cases

1,70E-10

2,28E-13

6,88E-11

7,13E-13-2,35E-12

Interpretation
The interpretation of the results has been carried out considering the assumptions and limitations declared in the EPD,
both methodology- and data-related for a one year usage.
In all the Toxicity categories the production stage is the main contributor to the total overall impact. The raw material
supply has a share of 56-91% of the production stage, mainly caused by the manufacturing of PVC. For the
manufacturing of Colorex a mixture of electricity from hydro power and biomass is being used, for the toxicity
categories biomass is showing a rather negative result for this life cycle stage.
The transport stage is negligible for Human toxicity (cancer) and Human toxicity (non-canc.). For Ecotoxicity it has aminor impact of 2%, mainly caused by the use of diesel for the trucks.
The adhesive used for the installation of Colorex is the dominant contributor for all toxicity categories, where especially
Human toxicity (non-canc.) is having a significant share of 28% over the total impacts of the life cycles.
The Use stage has a very small impact for all three impact categories. This is mainly due to the use of electricity anddetergent for the cleaning of the floor. The cleaning regime used in the calculations is a worst-case scenario which will
be in practice almost always be lower.
Energy recovery from incineration and the respective energy substitution at the end of life results in a credit for all
three toxicity categories.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

References
GABI 6 2012
GABI 6 2012DUL ENVIRONMENTTHINKSTEP 2012
ILCD Handbook: General
guide for Life Cycle
Assessment - Detailed
guidance
STANDARDS AND LAWSDIN EN ISO 14044
ISO 14025 2006
ISO 14040 2006
CEN/TR 15941
EN 16810
EN 15804
CPR

EN-ISO 10874
EN-ISO 10581

Thinkstep AG; GaBi 6: Software-System and Database for Life Cycle Engineering. Copyright,
TM. Stuttgart, Echterdingen, 1992-2017.
GaBi 6: Documentation of GaBi 6: Software-System and Database for Life Cycle
Engineering. Copyright, TM. Stuttgart, Echterdingen, 1992-2017. http://documentation.gabisoftware.com/
UL Environment’s Program Operator Rules
Description of Selected Impact Categories, Thinkstep AG, 2012
European Commission-Joint Research Centre - Institute for Environment and Sustainability:
International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook- Recommendations forLife Cycle Impact Assessment in the European context. First edition November 2011. EUR
24571 EN. Luxemburg. Publications Office of the European Union; 2011
Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Requirements and guidelines (ISO14044:2006); German and English version EN ISO 14044
DIN EN ISO 14025: Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental
declarations — Principles and procedures
Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework (ISO14040); German and English version EN ISO 14040
Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product declarations - Methodology forselection and use of generic data; German version CEN/TR 15941
Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings - Environmental product declarations - Productcategory rules
EN 15804: Sustainability of construction works — Environmental Product Declarations —Core rules for the product category of construction products
REGULATION (EU) No 305/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonized conditions for the marketing of
construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC
Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings – Classification
Resilient floor coverings – Homogeneous poly(vinyl chloride) floor coverings - Specification

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Life Cycle Assessment
Colorex

LCA study conducted by:
Forbo Flooring
Industrieweg 121566 JP Assendelft
The Netherlands

September 2018

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Authors:
Floris Zeitler, Forbo

Forbo Flooring BV

Industrieweg 121566 JP Assendelft, The NetherlandsTel.
+31 (0) 75 6477477
Fax+31 (0) 75 6477707
E-mailfloris.zeitler@forbo.com
Internet
www.forbo-flooring.com

Nomenclature
Abbreviation
ADPF
ADPE
AP
BLBSB
CRU
EE
EP
EPD
FCSS
FW
GWP
HWD
LCA
LCI
LCIA
MER
MFR
NRSF
ODP
PENRE
PENRM
PENRT
PERE
PERM
PERT
PCR
POCP
RSF
RSL
RWD
SM

Explanation
Abiotic Depletion Potential Fossil
Abiotic Depletion Potential Elements
Acidification Potential
Benefits and Loads Beyond the System Boundary
Components for re-use
Exported energy per energy carrier
Eutrophication Potential
Environmental Product Declaration
Floor Covering Standard Symbol
Use of net fresh water
Global Warming Potential
Hazardous waste disposed
Life Cycle Assessment
Life Cycle Inventory analysis
Life Cycle Impact Assessment
Materials for energy recovery
Materials for recycling
Use of non-renewable secondary fuels
Ozone Layer Depletion Potential
Use of non-renewable primary energy excluding non-renewable primary energy resources used as
raw materials
Use of non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials
Total use of non-renewable primary energy resources
Use of renewable primary energy excluding renewable primary energy resources used as raw
materials
Use of renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials
Total use of renewable primary energy resources
Product Category Rules
Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential
Use of renewable secondary fuels
Reference Service LifeRadioactive waste disposed
Use of secondary material

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

GeneralThe present LCA study of the company Forbo Flooring, a manufacturer of resilient floor coverings, has been performed
by Forbo Flooring and has been conducted according to the requirements of the European Standard EN15804 andEN16810 “Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings – Environmental product declarations – Product categoryrules. The LCA report was sent to verification on 28/09/18.

Scope
This document is the LCA report for the “Environmental Product Declaration” (EPD) of "Colorex SD / EC".
The provision of an LCA report is required for each EPD of the EPD-program holder (UL Environment). This documentshows how the calculation rules were applied and describes additional LCA information on the Life Cycle Assessmentin accordance with the requirements of ISO 14040 series.

Content, structure and accessibility of the LCA report
The LCA report provides a systematic and comprehensive summary of the project documentation supporting theverification of an EPD.
The report documents the information on which the Life Cycle Assessment is based, while also ensuring the additional
information contained within the EPD complies with the requirements of ISO 14040 series.
The LCA report contains all of the data and information of importance for the details published in the EPD. Care isbeen given to all explanations as to how the data and information declared in the EPD arises from the Life Cycle
Assessment.
The verification of the EPD is aligned towards the structure of the rule document based on ISO 14025, EN15804 andEN 16810.

Goal of the study
The reason for performing this LCA study is to publish an EPD based on EN 16810, EN 15804 and ISO 14025.
This study contains the calculation and interpretation of the LCA results for Colorex SD / EC complying with EN-ISO
10581: Resilient floor coverings – Homogeneous polyvinyl chloride floor coverings - Specification.
Manufactured by
Forbo-Giubiasco SA
via Industrie 16
CH-6512 Giubiasco
Switzerland
The following life cycle stages were considered:- Product stage- Transport stage- Installation stage- Use stage- End-of-life stage- Benefits and loads beyond the product system boundary
The main purpose of EPD is for use in business-to-business communication. As all EPD are publicly available on thewebsite of UL Environment and therefore are accessible to the end consumer they can also be used in business-toconsumer communication.
The intended use of the EPD is to communicate environmentally related information and LCA results to support theassessment of the sustainable use of resources and of the impact of construction works on the environment

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Scope of the study
Declared / functional unit
The declaration refers to the declared/functional unit of 1m² installed flooring product.
Declaration of construction products classes
The LCA report refers to a manufacturer declaration of type 1a): Declaration of a specific product from amanufacturer’s plant.
Colorex SD / EC is produced at the following manufacturing site:
Forbo-Giubiasco SA
via Industrie 16
CH-6512 Giubiasco
Switzerland

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Product Definition
Product Classification and description
This declaration covers a wide range of colors. Colorex is an advanced technical flooring system, specifically designed
to control static discharge in sensitive areas such as cleanrooms, operating theatres and electronics industry,complying with all the requirements of EN-ISO 10581: Specification for homogeneous poly(vinyl chloride) floor
coverings. Colorex is made basically from PVC which is the most widely used polymer today, DOTP, a non-phthalate
plasticiser, in the lowest possible amount among the standard vinyl flooring, very fine and white Calcium Carbonate
coming from the marble quarries of Carrara (Italy), conductive water based binder, containing a special carbon blackcompound, forming the network of conductive veins in the finished tiles.
Colorex is produced by Forbo Flooring for more than 50 years and is sold worldwide. This declaration refers to Colorex
SD / EC tiles of 2.0 mm nominal thickness.
Colorex is build up in one homogeneous layer as illustrated in the figure 1.

Figure 1: Typical construction

This declaration refers to the declared/functional unit of 1 m 2 installed flooring product.

Range of application
Colorex is classified in accordance with EN-ISO 10581 to be installed in the following use areas defined in EN-ISO10874:
Area of application
Class 34
Commercial

Class 43
Industrial

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Product Standard
The products considered in this EPD have the following technical specifications:o Meets or exceeds all technical requirements in EN-ISO 10581 Resilient floor coverings – Homogeneous
polyvinyl chloride floor coverings – Specificationo Meets or exceeds all technical requirements in ASTM F 1700 Standard Specification for solid vinyl floor tile

Colorex meets the requirements of EN 14041
EN 13501-1
Reaction to fireBfl – s1
EN 13893
Slip resistance
DS: ≥ 0,30
EN 1815
Body voltage< 2 kVEN ISO10456 Thermal conductivity 0,25 W/mK
Fire Testing:o Class 1 when tested in accordance with ASTM E 648/NFPA 253, Standard Test Method for Critical RadiantFlux.
o Meets 450 or less when tested in accordance with ASTM E 662/NFPA 258, Standard Test Method for Smoke
DensityCompliant with CHPS 01350 requirements for VOC emissions and indoor air quality.

Accreditation
o
o
o
o
o

ISO 9001 Quality Management System
ISO 14001 Environmental Management System
AgBB requirements
French act Grenelle A+
CHPS section 01350

Delivery status
Characteristics

Nominal Value

Unit

Product thickness

2.00

mm

Product Weight

3.20

kg/m2

Tiles

Width x Length

615 x 615mm

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Material Content
Component
BinderFillerStabilizers andprocess additives
Pigments

Material
PVC
DOTP
Calcium carbonate
proprietary mixtures &lubricants
Titanium Dioxide,
carbon black andinorganic pigments

Availability

Mass %

Origin of raw material

Nonrenewable – limited
Nonrenewable - limited
Abundant mineral

45
13
37

EuropeNonrenewable - limited

2

EuropeNonrenewable - limited

3

EuropeEuropeProduction of Main Materials
PVC: Polymer which is produced by the polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer.
DOTP: A non-phthalate plasticizer, being the diester of terephthalic acid and the branched-chain 2-ethylhexanol. This
colorless viscous liquid used for softening PVC plastics is known for chemical similarity to general purpose phthalates
such as DEHP and DINP, but without any negative regulatory pressure.
Stabilizer Ca/Zn: Mixed metal stabilizer made from Calcium and Zinc stearate. It is used to avoid PVC degradation
during processing at relative high temperature.
Calcium carbonate: An abundant mineral found in all parts of the world as the chief substance in rocks (i.e., marble
and limestone). It can be ground to varying particle sizes and is widely used as filler.
Titanium dioxide: A white pigment produced from the mineral rutile, a naturally occurring form of titanium dioxide. The
production of the pigment is a large-scale chemical process.
Carbon black: Carbon black is a black pigment used in various applications as an electric conductive agent.

Production of the Floor Covering
Colorex is produced starting with a first neutral premix with: PVC, Plasticizer, Process Aids, Filler and Titanium dioxide
mixed together in a horizontal mixer.
A portion of this premix is transferred in a heated mixing system adding pigments, reused waste (if applicable) andcolored chips (made before, with the same process). At the end of the mixing process, a hot colored soft mass isobtained.
The mass is fed directly into the calender obtaining a hot vinyl sheet which is gradually brought to room temperature.
The solid vinyl sheet is milled into tiny square pieces called ''chips''. The chips are coated with a conductive coating. Thiscoating will later be the path for the drainage of electrostatic charges.
After a drying process, the coated chips are placed into steel molds and pressed in as static press. As the blocks arestill hot they are sliced horizontally into tiles obtaining a perfectly homogeneous structure.
After slicing, the surface of the tiles is grinded, brushed and polished to obtain a perfectly smooth and pore-free surface.
This will ease maintenance, cleaning and disinfection in hygiene critical areas.
To release any internal stresses and thus ensure a perfect dimensional stability, the tiles are relaxed in a tempering ovenprior to final cutting to size and automatically stacked on pallets, ready for delivery. Residual material from press,
grinding, cutting and rejected products are reused.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Health, Safety and Environmental Aspects during ProductionoooISO 14001 Environmental Management System
OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
SA 8000 Social Accountability standard

Production Waste
Rejected material and the cuttings of the trimming stage are being reused in the manufacturing process of homogeneous
vinyl.
Packaging materials are being collected separately and externally recycled.

Delivery and Installation of the Floor Covering
DeliveryA worldwide distribution by truck and container ship is considered. On average every square meter of Colorex istransported as follows:o Transport distance 40 t truck
400 kmo Transport distance 7.5t truck (Fine distribution)
300 kmo Capacity utilization trucks (including empty runs)
85 %o Transport distance Ocean ship
1250 kmo Capacity utilization Ocean ship48%

Installation
Because of the specific techniques used during the installation of Colorex approximately 1.2% of the material is cut off
as installation waste. For installation of Colorex on the floor a scenario has been modeled assuming 0.22 kg/m2 ofadhesive is applied to the sub-floor. Waste during the installation process may be recycled through the manufacturer’s
facility or disposed of via landfill or incineration.

Health, Safety and Environmental Aspects during Installation
Forbo flooring recommends to use (low) zero emission adhesives for installing Colorex floorcovering.

Waste
Waste during the installation process may be recycled as floor covering through the manufacturers’ facilities ordisposed of via land fill or thermally recycled in a waste incineration plant.

Packaging
Cardboard boxes and packaging paper can be collected separately and should be used in a local recycling process. In
the calculation model 100% incineration is taken into account for which there is a credit received.

Use stage
The service lifetime of a floor covering for a certain application on a floor is too widespread to give one common
number. For this EPD model the reference service lifetime (RSL) is set to one year. This means that all impacts for theuse phase are based on the cleaning and maintenance model for one year. Depending on the area of use, thetechnical lifetime advised by the manufacturer and the estimated time on the floor by the customer, the service lifetime

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

can be determined. The use phase impacts should be calculated with the foreseen service life to arrive at the total
environmental impact.

Cleaning and Maintenance
Level of use
Commercial/Residential/Industrial

Cleaning Process
Vacuuming
Damp mopping

Cleaning Frequency
Twice a week
Once a week

Consumption of energy
and resources
Electricity
Hot water
Neutral detergent

For the calculations the following cleaning regime is considered:- Dry cleaning with a 1.5 kW vacuum cleaner for 0.21 min/m 2, twice a week. This equates to 0.55
kWh/m2*year.
- Once a week wet cleaning with 0.062 l/m 2 water and 0.0008 kg/m 2 detergent. This result in the use of
3.224 l/m2*year water and 0.04 kg/m2*year detergent. The wet cleaning takes place without power machine
usage. Waste water treatment of the arising waste water from cleaning is considered.
The cleaning regime that is recommended in practice will be highly dependent on the use of the premises where thefloor covering is installed. In high traffic areas more frequent cleaning will be needed compared to areas where there is
low traffic. The use of an entrance mat of at least four steps will reduce the cleaning frequency.
The cleaning regime used in the calculations is suitable for high traffic areas and is a worst-case scenario.

Prevention of Structural Damage
All newly laid floor covering should be covered and protected with a suitable non-staining protective covering if otherbuilding activities are still in progress. Use protective feet on chairs and tables to reduce scratching. Castor wheels
should be suitable for resilient floor coverings

Health Aspects during Usage
Colorex is complying with:•AgBB requirements•

CHPS section 01350•

French act Grenelle: A+

Low emissions & phthalate free manufacturing ensures Colorex can contribute to a healthy indoor environment

End of LifeThe deconstruction of installed Colorex from the floor is done mechanically and the electrical energy needed for this isestimated to be 0.03 kWh/sqm. This amount of energy is included into the calculations.
For the End of Life stage 100% incineration is taken into account, the average distance to the incineration plant or
landfill facility per lorry is set to 200 km.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Life Cycle Assessment
A full Life Cycle Assessment has bee carried out according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.
The following Life Cycle Stages are assessed :o A1-3 : Product Stage (Raw material acquisition, transportation to Manufacturing and Manufacturing)o A4-5 : Construction stage (Transport Gate to User, Installation flooring)o B2 :
Use Stage (Maintenance of the floor)o C1-4 : End of Life Stage (Deconstruction, transport, waste processing, disposal)
o D:
Benefits and loads beyond the system boundary (Reuse, recovery, recycling potential)
Product stage(A1-3)

Construction process stage(A4-5)

Use stage (B2)A5 :Construction or
installation
process

B2 :Maintenance
Cleaning
regimeBenefits andloads beyond thesystem boundary(D)End-of Life stage(C1-4)

A3 :Manufacturing
A1 : Raw
Material
Extraction andProcessing

A2 : Transport

Batching &mixingCalendaring,
Coating

A3 :Manufacturing
Energies with
regionalreference

Pressing,

A4 : Transport

C1 : Deconstruction
demolition

C2 :Transport

C3 : Waste
processing

C4 :DisposalD:
Reuse,
recovery,recycling
potential

CuttIng
Packaging

Figure 2 : Flow chart of the Life Cycle Assessment

Comparisons of different floor coverings are only allowed, where EN 15804 consistent and/or preverified backgrounddata and EN 15804 consistent calculation methods and database versions are used and when the building context istaken into account, i.e. on the basis of the same use-classification (EN ISO 10874), same service life and comparable
assumptions for the end of life.

Description of the declared Functional Unit
The functional unit is one square meter of installed product and the use stage is considered for one year of service life.

Cut off Criteria
The cut-off criteria shall be 1% of renewable and non-renewable primary energy usage and 1% of the total mass of theunit process. The total neglected input flows per module shall be a maximum of 5% of energy usage and mass.
In practice, in this assessment, all data from the production data acquisition are considered, i.e. all raw materials usedas per formulation, use of water, electricity and other fuels, the required packaging materials, and all direct productionwaste. Transport data on all considered inputs and output material are also considered.

LCA Data
As a general rule, specific data derived from specific production processes or average data derived from specificproduction processes have been used as the first choice as a basis for calculating an EPD.
For life cycle modeling of the considered products, the GaBi 6 Software System for Life Cycle Engineering, developedby THINKSTEP, has been used. All relevant LCA datasets are taken from the GaBi 6 software database. The datasets

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

from the database GaBi are documented in the online documentation. To ensure comparability of results in the LCA,
the basic data of GaBi database were used for energy, transportation and auxiliary materials.

Data Quality
The requirements for data quality and LCA data correspond to the specifications of the PCR.
Foreground data are based on 1 year averaged data (year 2017). The reference ages of LCA datasets vary but are
given in the table in the Appendix. The time period over which inputs to and outputs from the system is accounted foris 100 years from the year for which the data set is deemed representative. The technological LCA of the collected
data reflects the physical reality of the declared product. The datasets are complete, conform to the system boundaries
and the criteria for the exclusion of inputs and outputs and are geographical representative for the supply chain ofForbo flooring.
For life cycle modeling of the considered products the GaBi 6 Software System for Life Cycle Engineering, developedby THINKSTEP, is used. All relevant LCA datasets are taken from the GaBi 6 software database. The last revision of
the used data sets took place within the last 10 years.
Table 1: LCA datasets used in the LCA model

Data set
Polyvinyl chloride granulate
Di-Isononyl Phthalate (DOTP)
Titanium dioxide
Inorganic pigment
Calcium-Zinc Stearate
Calcium carbonate
Carbon black
Fat acid ester
Water (desalinated; deionised)
Detergent (ammonia based)
Tap water
Adhesive for resilient flooring
Waste incineration of PVC
Electricity from Hydro power
Electricity from Biomass
Power grid mix
Thermal energy from fuel oil
Thermal energy from natural gas
TrucksMunicipal waste water treatment (Sludge incineration).
Container ship
Diesel mix at refinery
Heavy fuel oil at refinery (1.0wt.% S)
Wooden pallets
Corrugated board

RegionGermany
Germany
EuropeGermany
EuropeGermany
Germany
GlobalGermany
Germany
Germany
Germany
EuropeSwitzerland
Switzerland
EuropeSwitzerland
EuropeGlobalEuropeGlobalEuropeEuropeGermany
EuropeThe documentation of the LCA data sets can be taken from the GaBi documentation.

Reference year
2018
2012
2012
2010
2012
2018
2007
2007
2018
2007
2018
2012
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2006
2018

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

System Boundaries
Production Stage includes provision of all materials, products and energy, packaging processing and its transport, as
well as waste processing up to the end-of waste state or disposal of final residues during the product stage.
Transport and Installation Stage includes provision of all materials, products and energy, as well as waste processing
up to the end-of-waste state or disposal of final residues during the construction stage. These information modules
also include all impacts and aspects related to any losses during this construction stage (i.e. production, transport, andwaste processing and disposal of the lost products and materials). For the transportation a worldwide distribution isconsidered.
Use Stage includes provision and transport of all materials, products and related energy and water use, as well as
waste processing up to the end-of-waste state or disposal of final residues during this part of the use stage. These
information modules also include all impacts and aspects related to the losses during this part of the use stage (i.e.
production, transport, and waste processing and disposal of the lost products and materials).
End of Life Stage includes provision and all transports, provision of all materials, products and related energy andwater use. It also includes any declared benefits and loads from net flows leaving the product system that have notbeen allocated as co-products and that have passed the end-of-waste state in the form of reuse, recovery and/or
recycling potentials.

Power mix
The selection of LCA data for the electricity generation is in line with the PCR.
The products are manufactured in Giubiasco, Switzerland. The GaBi 6 Hydro power and biomass datasets havetherefore been used (reference year 2018). The energy supplier is providing Forbo with a certificate every year.

CO2-Certificates
No CO2-certificates are considered in this study.

Allocations
In the present study some allocations have been made. Detailed explanations can be found in the chapters below.

Co-product allocation
No co-product allocation occurs in the product system.

Allocation of multi-Input processes
The Production and End of Life stage include incineration plants. In these processes different products are treated
together within a process. The allocation procedures followed in these cases are based on a physical classification of
the mass flows or calorific values.
Credits from energy substitution are allocated to the production stage, because the gained energy from energy
substitution is lower than the energy input in this stage. The same quality of energy is considered.

Allocation procedure of reuse, recycling and recovery
The installation waste and end of life waste can be fed into incineration processes. Incineration processes include
cogeneration processes which give thermal and power energy as outputs. It is assumed that this recovered energy
offsets that produced by the European average grid mix and thermal energy generation from natural gas.

Description of the allocation processes in the LCA report
The description of allocation rules in of this LCA report meets the requirements of the PCR.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Description of the unit processes in the LCA report
The modeling of the unit processes reported for the LCA are documented in a transparent way, respecting theconfidentiality of the data present in the LCA report.
In the following tables the type and amount of the different input and output flows are listed for 1m² produced flooring;
installed flooring includes the material loss during installation (1.2%):
Table 2: Composition of Colorex

Process data
PVC
DOTP
Calcium carbonate
CaZn-Stabilizer
Titanium Dioxide (main pigment) plus others
Carbon black
Fat acid ester

Unit
kg/m2
kg/m2
kg/m2
kg/m2
kg/m2
kg/m2
kg/m2

Colorex
1.48
0.39
1.15
0.05
0.10
0.003
0.01

Table 3: Production related inputs/outputs

Process data
INPUTS
Colorex
Electricity
Thermal energy from fuel oil
OUTPUTS
Colorex
Waste

Unit

Colorex

kg
MJ
MJ

3.80
14.8
9.4

kg
kg

2.73
0.62

Table 4: Packaging requirements (per m2 manufactured product)

Process data
Wooden pallet
Corrugated board
PE foil

Unit
kg
kg
kg

Colorex
0.172
0.048
0.001

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Table 5: Transport distances

Process data
PVC
DOTP
Calcium carbonate
CaZn-Stabilizer
Titanium Dioxide (main pigment) plus
othersCarbon black
Fat acid ester
Corrugated board
Wooden pallet
PE-foilTransport to construction site :-Transport distance 40 t truck

Unit
km
km
km
km

Road
514
501
334
86

km
km
km
km
km
km
km

790
836
86
50
50
50
700
400

-Transport distance 7.5t truck (Fine
distribution)

Truck size

14 - 20t grossweight / 11,4t
payload capacitykm-

34 - 40 t grossweight / 27t
payload capacity
7,5 t - 12t grossweight / 5t
payload capacity
7,5 t - 12t grossweight / 5t
payload capacity

300

Waste transport to incineration

Ship
-

200

1250

-

Table 6: Inputs/outputs from Installation

Process data
INPUTS
Colorex
Adhesive (30% water content)- Water- Acrylate co-polymer- Styrene Butadiene co-polymer- Limestone flour- SandOUTPUTS
Installed Colorex
Installation Waste

Unit

Colorex

kg
kg

3.22
0.22

kg
kg

3.18
0.04

Table 7: Inputs from use stage (per m2.year of installed product)

Process data
Detergent
Electricity
Water

Unit
kg/yearkWh/yearkg/yearColorex
0.04
0.55
3.224

Unit
%

Colorex
100

Table 8: Disposal

Process data
Post-consumer Colorex to incineration

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
In table 9 the environmental impacts for one lifecycle are presented for Colorex. In the table 10 the environmental
impacts are presented for all the lifecycle stages.
Table 9: Results of the LCA – Environmental impacts one lifecycle (one year) – Colorex

Impact Category : CML 2001 – Jan 2016

Colorex

Unit

Global Warming Potential (GWP 100 years)

1,32E+01

kg CO2-Equiv.

Ozone Layer Depletion Potential (ODP. steady state)
Acidification Potential (AP)
Eutrophication Potential (EP)5,56E-08
4,58E-02
4,25E-03

kg R11-Equiv.
kg SO2-Equiv.
kg Phosphate-Equiv.

Photochem. Ozone Creation Potential (POCP)
Abiotic Depletion Potential Elements (ADPE)
Abiotic Depletion Potential Fossil (ADPF)

3,08E-03
3,12E-05
1,44E+02

kg Ethene-Equiv.
kg Sb-Equiv.
[MJ]

Table 10: Results of the LCA – Environmental impact for Colorex (one year)
Impact Category :Manufacturing
Installation
Use (1yr)
End of LifeCML 2001 – Jan 2016
Parameter
Unit
A1-3
A4
A5
B2
C1
C2
GWP
[kg CO2-Eq.]
5,89E+00
2,91E-01 5,57E-01
3,16E-01
6,60E-03 2,21E-02
ODP[kg CFC11-Eq.]
5,31E-08
4,57E-15 4,21E-10
2,06E-09
2,93E-14 6,02E-16
AP[kg SO2-Eq.]
3,43E-02
2,17E-03 1,04E-03
7,82E-04
1,87E-05 5,36E-05
EP[kg PO43-- Eq.]
3,67E-03
2,92E-04 1,56E-04
1,07E-04
1,76E-06 1,36E-05
POCP[kg Ethen Eq.]
3,10E-03-8,55E-05 9,96E-05
5,51E-05
1,17E-06 -1,85E-05
ADPE[kg Sb Eq.]
2,78E-05
1,15E-08 1,11E-07
1,58E-07
3,51E-09 1,81E-09
ADPF
[MJ]
1,41E+02
2,36E+00 1,04E+01 3,53E+00 7,02E-02 3,00E-01

Credits
C3
8,11E+00
7,22E-13
1,08E-02
3,74E-04
1,96E-04
3,65E-06
1,39E+01

D-2,01E+00-4,37E-12-3,38E-03-3,66E-04-2,65E-04-5,68E-07-2,77E+01

GWP = Global warming potential; ODP = Depletion potential of the stratospheric ozone layer; AP = Acidification potential of land and water; EP = Eutrophication potential; POCP
= Formation potential of tropospheric ozone photochemical oxidants; ADPE = Abiotic depletion potential for non-fossil resources; ADPF = Abiotic depletion potential for fossil
resources

The relative contribution of each process stage to each impact category for Colorex is shown in figure 3.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Figure 3 relative contribution of each process stage to each impact category for Colorex for a one year usage.

Interpretation
The interpretation of the results has been carried out considering the assumptions and limitations declared in the EPD,
both methodology- and data-related for a one year usage.
In all of the impact categories, except GWP, the production stage has the main contribution to the overall impact. The
raw material supply is the key contributor for all of these impact categories with a share of 52 – 98% of the total impactof the production stage mainly caused by the use of PVC, DOTP and Titanium dioxide.
Although Forbo declares in the EPD a worldwide distribution by truck (700 km) and container ship (1250 km) thetransport stage has a limited effect on most of the impacts. Only AP and EP have a significant share which is mainly
due to the ocean ship used for transporting the material overseas.
For AP, EP, GWP, POCP, and ADPF the adhesive as main contributor for the flooring installation has a minor impactof 2 – 6% of the total environmental impact of Colorex.
In the Use stage ADPF, AP, EP, GWP, ODP and POCP have a share between 1½ to 4% of the total impacts. This ismainly caused by the electricity needed to vacuum the floor and to a lower extent by the detergent used to clean thefloor. The cleaning regime used in the calculations is a worst-case scenario which will be in practice almost always beColorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

lower.
Energy recovery from incineration and the respective energy substitution at the end of life results in a small credit for
ADPF and POCP in the End of Life stage. For EP and ODP the End of Life stage has a small impact on the total. Thisis mainly due to the fact that the waste at the End of Life stage is considered as being incinerated.
For GWP, ADPE and AP the End of Life stage has got a substantial influence of respectively 46, 10 and 16% on the
total impacts of these impact categories. Also for these three categories this is caused by the incineration of the waste
at the End of Life stage.

Resource use
In table 11 the parameters describing resource use are presented for all the life cycle stages for a one year usage.
Table 11 : Results of the LCA – Resource use for Colorex (one year)
Manufacturing
Installation
Use (1yr)
End of Life
Parameter Unit
A1-3
A4
A5
B2
C1
C2
C3
PERE
[MJ]
6,66E+01
PERM[MJ]
0,00E+00
PERT[MJ]
6,66E+01
9,37E-02 3,71E-01 1,58E+00 4,53E-02 1,66E-02
2,79E+00
PENRE[MJ]
1,28E+02
PENRM[MJ]
2,44E+01
PENRT[MJ]
1,52E+02
2,36E+00 1,06E+01 5,40E+00 1,21E-01 3,01E-01
1,54E+01
SM[kg]
7,90E-03
0,00E+00 0,00E+00 0,00E+00 0,00E+00 0,00E+00 0,00E+00
RSF[MJ]
8,63E-07
8,97E-30 4,60E-21 3,48E-24 0,00E+00 1,63E-30
1,09E-20
NRSF[MJ]
1,09E-05
1,36E-28 5,40E-20 4,09E-23 1,79E-31 2,47E-29
1,28E-19FW[m3]
5,63E-02
1,73E-04 1,91E-03 2,38E-03 6,17E-05 3,06E-05
1,68E-02

Credits
D-6,77E+00-3,52E+01
0,00E+00
0,00E+00-2,67E-29-9,23E-03

PERE = Use of renewable primary energy excluding renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PERM = Use of renewable primary energy resources
used as raw materials; PERT = Total use of renewable primary energy resources; PENRE = Use of non-renewable primary energy excluding non-renewable primaryenergy resources used as raw materials; PENRM = Use of non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; PENRT = Total use of non-renewableprimary energy resources; SM = Use of secondary material; RSF = Use of renewable secondary fuels; NRSF = Use of non-renewable secondary fuels; FW = Use of
net fresh water

Waste categories and output flows
In table 12 other environmental information describing different waste categories and output flows are presented for all
the life cycle stages.
Table 12: Results of the LCA – Output flows and Waste categories for Colorex (one year)
Manufacturing Transport Installation Use (1yr)Parameter
Unit
A1-3
A4
A5
B2
C1
HWD
[kg]
2,24E-06
9,61E-08
3,26E-09
2,17E-09
5,65E-11
NHWD
1,02E+00
1,43E-04
3,81E-03
1,30E-02
8,49E-05
[kg]
RWD
[kg]
3,94E-03
3,11E-06
9,26E-05
7,17E-04
2,00E-05
CRU[kg]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
MFR[kg]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
MER[kg]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
EE Power[MJ]
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
2,14E-01
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
EE Thermal
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
3,85E-01
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
energy[MJ]

End of Life/credits
C2
C3
1,74E-08
9,76E-08
2,52E-05 5,03E+00
4,12E-07
6,05E-04
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
0,00E+00 0,00E+00
0,00E+00 8,31E+00

D-1,43E-08-1,51E-02-2,98E-03
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00
0,00E+00

0,00E+00

0,00E+00

1,52E+01

HWD = Hazardous waste disposed; NHWD = Non-hazardous waste disposed; RWD = Radioactive waste disposed; CRU = Components for re-use; MFR = Materials
for recycling; MER = Materials for energy recovery; EE = Exported energy per energy carrier

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Additional Environmental Information
To be fully transparant Forbo Flooring does not only want to declare the environmental impacts required in the PCR,
but also the impacts on human health and eco-toxicity. Furthermore the outcome of the calculations according to theeuropean Standard EN15804 are published in this section.

Toxicity
For this calculations the USEtoxTM model is used as being the globally recommended preferred model forcharacterization modeling of human and eco-toxic impacts in LCIA by the United Nations Environment Programme
SETAC Life Cycle Initiative.
According to the "ILCD Handbook: Recommendations for Life Cycle Impact Assessment in the European context" therecommended characterization models and associated characterization factors are classified according to their quality
into three levels:o Level I (recommended and satisfactory),olevel II (recommended but in need of some improvements)olevel III (recommended, but to be applied with caution).

A mixed classification sometimes is related to the application of the classified method to different types of substances.
USEtoxTM is classified as Level II / III, unlike for example the CML impact categories which are classified as Level I.
Table 13: Results of the LCA – Environmental impacts one lifecycle (one year) – Colorex

Impact Category : USEtox
Eco toxicity
Human toxicity, cancer
Human toxicity, non-canc.

Colorex
2,76E-02
6,46E-10
2,37E-10

Unit
PAF m3.day
Cases
Cases

In the following table the impacts are subdivided into the lifecycle stages.
Table 14: Results of the LCA – Environmental impact for Colorex (one year)

Impact Category : USEtox
Eco toxicity
Human toxicity, cancer
Human toxicity, non-canc.

Unit
PAF m3.day
cases
cases

Production
2,56E-02
7,12E-10
1,70E-10

Transport
5,50E-04
5,23E-13
2,28E-13

Installation
1,07E-03
1,89E-11
6,88E-11

Use (1yr)
4,43E-04
1,23E-11
7,13E-13

End of Life
-5,36E-05-9,79E-11-2,35E-12

Interpretation
The interpretation of the results has been carried out considering the assumptions and limitations declared in the EPD,
both methodology- and data-related for a one year usage.
In all the Toxicity categories the production stage is the main contributor to the total overall impact. The raw material
supply has a share of 56-91% of the production stage, mainly caused by the manufacturing of PVC. For the
manufacturing of Colorex a mixture of electricity from hydro power and biomass is being used, for the toxicity
categories biomass is showing a rather negative result for this life cycle stage.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

The transport stage is negligible for Human toxicity (cancer) and Human toxicity (non-canc.). For Ecotoxicity it has aminor impact of 2%, mainly caused by the use of diesel for the trucks.
The adhesive used for the installation of Colorex is the dominant contributor for all toxicity categories, where especially
Human toxicity (non-canc.) is having a significant share of 28% over the total impacts of the life cycles.
The Use stage has a very small impact for all three impact categories. This is mainly due to the use of electricity anddetergent for the cleaning of the floor. The cleaning regime used in the calculations is a worst-case scenario which will
be in practice almost always be lower.
Energy recovery from incineration and the respective energy substitution at the end of life results in a credit for all
three toxicity categories.

Interpretation main modules and flows
The interpretation of the main modules and flows contributing to the total impact in each category is presented infollowing figure and table.
Figure 4: relative contribution of each process stage to each impact category for Colorex for a one year usage.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Table 15: Main modules and flows contributing to the total impact in each impact category for Colorex for a one year usage
ImpactCategoryStage

ModuleRaw Material
Extraction

Production

Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing

GWP
Transport

Installation

Use

Use

Installation
Use

Use

EOL

EOL

Production

Raw Material
Extraction

Transport
ODP

AP

Installation

Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing
Transport Gate
to User
Installation

Use

Use

Transport

EOL

Production
EP

Transport
Installation

0.02 kg
CO2equiv.
0.07 kg
CO2equiv.

EOL
Raw Material
Extraction
Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing
Transport Gate
to User
Installation

Production

5.83 kg
CO2equiv.

Transport Gate
to User

Installation

EOL

Main contributor

96%< 0.05%
4%

Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing
Transport Gate
to User
Installation

Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels

77%
<0.5%
23%

52%
< 0.5%
47%

Main contributing flows

Production : Inorganic emissions to air,Carbon dioxide

95% Thermal energy
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
78% Adhesive
22% Disposal of PVC
installation waste
72% Electricity
18% Detergent
Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration
81% DOTP
13% Titanium dioxide
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
100% Packaging
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
100% Adhesive
100% Detergent

EOL

Raw Material
Extraction

DOTP (1.55 kg CO2-eq.)
PVC (3.83 kg CO2-eq.)
Titaniumdioxide (0.47 kg CO2eq.)

Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration
21% PVC
11% DOTP
63% TiO2
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
96% Electricity biomass
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
93% Adhesive
83% Electricity
12% Detergent
Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration
11% Fat acid ester
48% PVC
19% CaZn-stearate
14% DOTP
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
89% Electricity Biomass
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
90% Adhesive

Transport & Installation : Inorganic
emissions to air, Carbon dioxide
Use : Inorganic emissions to air, Carbon
dioxideEOL : Inorganic emissions to air, Carbon
dioxideProduction : Halogenated organic emissions
to air, R11 (trichlorofluoromethane),
R114 (Dichlorotetrafluorethane)
Transport & Installation : Halogenatedorganic emissions to air, R114
(Dichlorotetrafluorethane)
Use : Halogenated organic emissions to air,
R11 (trichlorofluoromethane),
R114 (Dichlorotetrafluorethane),
EOL: Halogenated organic emissions to air,
R22 (chlorodifluoromethane)
Production : Inorganic emissions to air, NOx
and Sulphur dioxide
Production : Inorganic emissions to fresh
water, Hydrogen chloride
Transport & Installation : Inorganic
emissions to air, NOx and Sulphur dioxide
Use : Inorganic emissions to air, NOx and
Sulphur dioxide
EOL : Inorganic emissions to air, Hydrogenchloride, NOx and Sulphur dioxide

Production : Inorganic emissions to air,Ammonia, NOx
Production : Inorganic emissions to fresh
water, Nitrate, Nitrogen, Phosphate

Transport & Installation : Inorganic
emissions to air, NOx

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

ImpactCategory

Stage
Use
EOL

Production

Transport

ModuleUse
EOL
Raw Material
Extraction
Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing
Transport Gate
to User

75%
1%
24%

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Main contributor

Main contributing flows

57% Electricity
16% Detergent
27% Waste water treatment
Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration
57% PVC
16% DOTP
25% Titanium dioxide
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
96% Electricity Biomass
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels

Use : Inorganic emissions to air, NOx
Use : Inorganic emissions to fresh water,
Ammonium / ammonia, Nitrate, Phosphorus

POCP
Installation

Installation

96% Adhesive

Use

Use

74% electricity
22% Detergent

EOL

Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration

EOL

Transport

Transport Gate
to User

61% PVC
33% CaZn stabilizer
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
64% Electricity Hydro
30% Electricity Biomass
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels

Installation

Installation

98% Adhesive

Use

Use

76% Electricity
19% Detergent

EOL

EOL

Production

Raw Material
Extraction
Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing

ADPe

Production

Transport
Installation
Use
EOL

Eco toxicity

Production

<0,1%
3%

Transport Gate
to User

Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration
66% PVC
29% DOTP
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
51% Electricity Biomass
37% Waste treatment
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels

Installation

99% Adhesive

Raw Material
Extraction
Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing

ADPf

97%

98%
<0.5%
2%

67% electricity
30% Detergent
Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration

Use
EOL
Raw Material
Extraction
Transport of56%

91% PVC< 0.5%

Means of transport (truck,

EOL : Inorganic emissions to air, NOx andAmmonia
Production : Inorganic emissions to air,Carbon monoxide, NOx, Sulphur dioxide
Production : Halogenated organic emissions
to air, Butane (n-butane), NMVOC(Unspecified), Propane, MethaneTransport & Installation : Inorganic
emissions to air, Carbon monoxide, NOx,
Sulphur dioxide
Transport & Installation : Halogenatedorganic emissions to air, NMVOC(Unspecified),
Use : Inorganic emissions to air, Sulphur
dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide
EOL : Inorganic emissions to air, Carbon
monoxide , NOx, Sulphur dioxide
EOL : Organic emissions to air (Group
VOC), NMVOC (Unspecified)
Production : Nonrenewable resources,
Colemanite ore, Sodium chloride (Rock salt)
Production : Nonrenewable elements, Lead,
CopperTransport & Installation : Nonrenewable
resources, Sodium chloride (rock salt)
Transport & Installation : Nonrenewableelements, Lead, Silver, Copper
Use : Nonrenewable resources, Sodium
chloride (Rock salt)
Use : Nonrenewable elements, Copper
EOL : Nonrenewable resources, Magnesium
chloride leach (40%)
Production : Crude oil resource, Crude oil (inMJ)
Production : Natural gas (resource), Naturalgas (in MJ)
Transport & Installation : Crude oil(resource)
Transport & Installation : Natural gas(resource),
Use : Hard coal (resource), Natural gas(resource), Hard coal (resource)
EOL : Hard coal (resource), Natural gas(resource), Lignite (resource), Crude oil(resource)
Production : Hydrocarbons to fresh water,
Phenol (hydroxy benzene), Anthracene,
Benzene, Toluene (Methyl benzene)Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

ImpactCategory

Stage

Transport
Installation

Humantoxicity, cancer

ModuleRaw materials
Manufacturing
Transport Gate
to User

44%

Main contributor

Main contributing flows

container ship) and their fuels
97% Electricity Biomass
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels

Production : Pesticides to fresh water,
Alachlor
Transport & installation : Hydrocarbons tofresh water, Phenol (hydroxy benzene),
Anthracene, Benzene, Toluene (Methyl
benzene), Methanol
Transport & installation : Pesticides to fresh
water, Alachlor
Use : Hydrocarbons to fresh water, Phenol(hydroxy benzene), Anthracene, Benzene,
Toluene (Methyl benzene)
Use : Pesticides to fresh water, Alachlor
EOL : Hydrocarbons to fresh water, Phenol(hydroxy benzene), Anthracene, Benzene,
Toluene (Methyl benzene)
EOL : Pesticides to fresh water, Alachlor

Installation

99% Adhesive

Use

Use

10% Detergent
88% Electricity

EOL

EOL

Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration

Production

Raw Material
Extraction
Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing
Transport Gate
to User

Transport
Installation

Use

EOL

EOL
Raw Material
Extraction
Transport ofRaw materials
Manufacturing

Transport
Installation
Use
EOL

83%
< 0.5%
17%

Installation

Use

Production

Humantoxicity, noncanc.

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

84% PVC
12% DOTP
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
97% Electricity Biomass
Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels
99% adhesive
84% Electricity
15% Detergent
Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration

91%

95% PVC< 0.05%Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels

9%93% Electricity Biomass

Production : Organic emissions to air (Group
VOC), Vinyl chloride (VCM; chloroethene),
Formaldehyde (Methanal)
Transport & Installation : Organic emissions
to air (Group VOC), Formaldehyde(Methanal)
Use : Organic emissions to air (Group VOC),
Formaldehyde (Methanal)
EOL : Organic emissions to air (Group
VOC), Formaldehyde (Methanal)
Production : Organic emissions to air (Group
VOC), Vinyl chloride (VCM; chloroethene),
Formaldehyde (Methanal)
Production : Halogenated organic emissions
to fresh water, Vinyl chloride (VCM;
chloroethene)

Transport Gate
to User

Means of transport (truck,
container ship) and their fuels

Installation

100% adhesive

Use

76% electricity
24% detergent

Use : Organic emissions to air (Group VOC),
Formaldehyde (Methanal), Xylene (dimethyl
benzene)

EOL

Incineration of post-consumer
Colorex. Energy substitution
from incineration

EOL : Organic emissions to air (Group
VOC), Formaldehyde (Methanal)

Transport & Installation : Organic emissions
to air (Group VOC), Formaldehyde(Methanal), Methyl Methacrylate (MMA)

Description of Selected Impact Categories
Abiotic Depletion Potential
The abiotic depletion potential covers all natural resources such as metal containing ores, crude oil and mineral raw
materials. Abiotic resources include all raw materials from non-living resources that are non-renewable. This impact
category describes the reduction of the global amount of non-renewable raw materials. Non-renewable means a timeframe of at least 500 years. This impact category covers an evaluation of the availability of natural elements in general,
as well as the availability of fossil energy carriers.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

ADP (elements) describes the quantity of non-energetic resources directly withdrawn from the geosphere. It reflects
the scarcity of the materials in the geosphere and is expressed in Antimony equivalents. The characterization factors
are published by the CML, Oers 2010.
Are fossil energy carriers included in the impact category, it is ADP (fossil). Fossil fuels are used similarly to theprimary energy consumption; the unit is therefore also MJ. In contrast to the primary fossil energy ADP fossil does notcontain uranium, because this does not count as a fossil fuel.
Primary energy consumption
Primary energy demand is often difficult to determine due to the various types of energy source. Primary energy
demand is the quantity of energy directly withdrawn from the hydrosphere, atmosphere or geosphere or energy source
without any anthropogenic change. For fossil fuels and uranium, this would be the amount of resource withdrawn
expressed in its energy equivalent (i.e. the energy content of the raw material). For renewable resources, the energycharacterized amount of biomass consumed would be described. For hydropower, it would be based on the amount ofenergy that is gained from the change in the potential energy of water (i.e. from the height difference). As aggregatedvalues, the following primary energies are designated:
The total “Primary energy consumption non-renewable”, given in MJ, essentially characterizes the gain from theenergy sources natural gas, crude oil, lignite, coal and uranium. Natural gas and crude oil will both be used for energy
production and as material constituents e.g. in plastics. Coal will primarily be used for energy production. Uranium will
only be used for electricity production in nuclear power stations.
The total “Primary energy consumption renewable”, given in MJ, is generally accounted separately and comprises
hydropower, wind power, solar energy and biomass. It is important that the end energy (e.g. 1 kWh of electricity) andthe primary energy used are not miscalculated with each other; otherwise the efficiency for production or supply of theend energy will not be accounted for. The energy content of the manufactured products will be considered as
feedstock energy content. It will be characterized by the net calorific value of the product. It represents the still usableenergy content.
Waste categories
There are various different qualities of waste. For example, waste can be classed according to German and European
waste directives. The modeling principles have changed with the last GaBi4 database update in October 2006. Now all
LCA data sets (electricity generation, raw material etc.) already contain the treatment of the waste with very low waste
output at the end of the stage. So the amount of waste is predominantly caused by foreground processes during the
production phase. This is important for the interpretation of waste amounts.
From a balancing point of view, it makes sense to divide waste into three categories. The categories
overburden/tailings, industrial waste for municipal disposal and hazardous waste will be used.
Overburden / tailings in kg: This category consists of the layer which must be removed in order to access raw
material extraction, ash and other raw material extraction conditional materials for disposal. Also included in thiscategory are tailings such as inert rock, slag, red mud etc.

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Industrial waste for municipal disposal in kg: This term contains the aggregated values of industrial waste formunicipal waste according to 3. AbfVwV TA SiedlABf.
Hazardous waste in kg: This category includes materials that will be treated in a hazardous waste incinerator or
hazardous waste landfill, such as painting sludge’s, galvanic sludge’s, filter dusts or other solid or liquid hazardous
waste and radioactive waste from the operation of nuclear power plants and fuel rod production.
Global Warming Potential (GWP)
The mechanism of the greenhouse effect can be observed on a small scale, as the name suggests, in a greenhouse.
These effects are also occurring on a global scale. The occurring short-wave radiation from the sun comes into contact
with the earth’s surface and is partly absorbed (leading to direct warming) and partly reflected as infrared radiation.
The reflected part is absorbed by so-called greenhouse gases in the troposphere and is re-radiated in all directions,
including back to earth. This results in a warming effect on the earth’s surface.
In addition to the natural mechanism, the greenhouse effect is enhanced by human activities. Greenhouse gases thatare considered to be caused, or increased, anthropogenically are, for example, carbon dioxide, methane and CFCs.
Figure A1 shows the main processes of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect. An analysis of the greenhouse effectshould consider the possible long term global effects.

Absorption
Reflection
UV - radiation
T

Infraredradiation

ra

ce

re
sphe
tmo

CH4

a
he
nt

Figure A1:

i
es

CFCs
CO2

s
ga

The global warming potential is calculated incarbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-Eq.). Thismeans that the greenhouse potential of anemission is given in relation to CO2. Since theresidence time of the gases in the atmosphere isincorporated into the calculation, a time range
for the assessment must also be specified. A
period of 100 years is customary.

Greenhouse effect (KREISSIG 1999)

Acidification Potential (AP)The acidification of soils and waters predominantly occurs through the transformation of air pollutants into acids. This
leads to a decrease in the pH-value of rainwater and fog from 5.6 to 4 and below. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
and their respective acids (H2SO4 and HNO3) produce relevant contributions. This damages ecosystems, whereby
forest dieback is the most well-known impact.
Acidification has direct and indirect damaging effects (such as nutrients being elutriated from soils or an increased
solubility of metals into soils). But even buildings and building materials can be damaged. Examples include metals
and natural stones which are corroded or disintegrated at an increased rate.
When analyzing acidification, it should be considered that although it is a global problem, the regional effects ofColorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

acidification can vary. Figure A2 displays the primary impact pathways of acidification.
The acidification potential is given in sulphur
dioxide equivalents (SO2-Eq.). The acidification
potential is described as the ability of certain
substances to build and release H+ - ions. Certain
emissions can also be considered to have an
acidification potential, if the given S-, N- andhalogen atoms are set in proportion to themolecular mass of the emission. The reference
substance is sulphur dioxide.

NOX
SO2
H2SO44
HNO3

Figure A2: Acidification Potential (KREISSIG 1999)

Eutrophication Potential (EP)
Eutrophication is the enrichment of nutrients in a certain place. Eutrophication can be aquatic or terrestrial. Air
pollutants, waste water and fertilization in agriculture all contribute to eutrophication.
The result in water is an accelerated algae growth, which in turn, prevents sunlight from reaching the lower depths.
This leads to a decrease in photosynthesis and less oxygen production. In addition, oxygen is needed for thedecomposition of dead algae. Both effects cause a decreased oxygen concentration in the water, which can eventuallylead to fish dying and to anaerobic decomposition (decomposition without the presence of oxygen). Hydrogen sulphideand methane are thereby produced. This can lead, among others, to the destruction of the eco-system.
On eutrophicated soils, an increased susceptibility of plants to diseases and pests is often observed, as is adegradation of plant stability. If the nutrification level exceeds the amounts of nitrogen necessary for a maximum
harvest, it can lead to an enrichment of nitrate. This can cause, by means of leaching, increased nitrate content ingroundwater. Nitrate also ends up in drinking water.
Nitrate at low levels is harmless from a toxicologicalpoint of view. However, nitrite, a reaction product ofnitrate, is toxic to humans. The causes of
eutrophication are displayed in Figure A3. The
eutrophication potential is calculated in phosphate
equivalents (PO4-Eq). As with acidification potential,
it’s important to remember that the effects ofeutrophication potential differ regionally.

Air pollution
NOX

N2O
NH3

Fertilisation

NO3 -Waste water
Figure A3:

PO4

-3

Eutrophication Potential (KREISSIG 1999)

NH4+

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP)
Despite playing a protective role in the stratosphere, at ground-level ozone is classified as a damaging trace gas.
Photochemical ozone production in the troposphere, also known as summer smog, is suspected to damage vegetationand material. High concentrations of ozone are toxic to humans.
Radiation from the sun and the presence of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons incur complex chemical reactions,producing aggressive reaction products, one of which is ozone. Nitrogen oxides alone do not cause high ozone
concentration levels. Hydrocarbon emissions occur from incomplete combustion, in conjunction with petrol (storage,
turnover, refueling etc.) or from solvents. High concentrations of ozone arise when the temperature is high, humidity islow, when air is relatively static and when there are high concentrations of hydrocarbons. Today it is assumed that theexistence of NO and CO reduces the accumulated ozone to NO 2, CO2 and O2. This means, that high concentrations ofozone do not often occur near hydrocarbon emission sources. Higher ozone concentrations more commonly arise inareas of clean air, such as forests, where there is less NO and CO (Figure A4).

In Life Cycle Assessments, photochemical ozone
creation potential (POCP) is referred to in
ethylene-equivalents (C2H4-Äq.). When
analyzing, it’s important to remember that theactual ozone concentration is strongly influenced
by the weather and by the characteristics of thelocal conditions.

Hydrocarbons
Nitrogen oxides

Ozone

Dry and warm
climateHydrocarbons

Nitrogen oxides

Figure A4:

Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
Ozone is created in the stratosphere by the disassociation of oxygen atoms that are exposed to short-wave UV-light.
This leads to the formation of the so-called ozone layer in the stratosphere (15 - 50 km high). About 10 % of this ozone
reaches the troposphere through mixing processes. In spite of its minimal concentration, the ozone layer is essential
for life on earth. Ozone absorbs the short-wave UV-radiation and releases it in longer wavelengths. As a result, only asmall part of the UV-radiation reaches the earth.
Anthropogenic emissions deplete ozone. This is well-known from reports on the hole in the ozone layer. The hole iscurrently confined to the region above Antarctica, however another ozone depletion can be identified, albeit not to thesame extent, over the mid-latitudes (e.g. Europe). The substances which have a depleting effect on the ozone canessentially be divided into two groups; the fluorine-chlorine-hydrocarbons (CFCs) and the nitrogen oxides (NOX).
Figure A5 depicts the procedure of ozone depletion.
One effect of ozone depletion is the warming of the earth's surface. The sensitivity of humans, animals and plants to
UV-B and UV-A radiation is of particular importance. Possible effects are changes in growth or a decrease in harvest
crops (disruption of photosynthesis), indications of tumors (skin cancer and eye diseases) and decrease of sea
plankton, which would strongly affect the food chain. In calculating the ozone depletion potential, the anthropogenicallyreleased halogenated hydrocarbons, which can destroy many ozone molecules, are recorded first. The so-calledColorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) results from the calculation of the potential of different ozone relevant substances.

This is done by calculating, first of all, a scenario fora fixed quantity of emissions of a CFC reference(CFC 11). This results in an equilibrium state of totalozone reduction. The same scenario is considered
for each substance under study whereby CFC 11 is
replaced by the quantity of the substance. This
leads to the ozone depletion potential for each
respective substance, which is given in CFC 11
equivalents. An evaluation of the ozone depletion
potential should take the long term, global andpartly irreversible effects into consideration.

UV - radiation

Stratosphere15 - 50 km

Absorption

Absorption

CFCs
Nitrogen oxide

Figure A5:

Ozone Depletion Potential (KREISSIG 1999)

Colorex SD / EC 2.0 mm
Conductive Homogeneous Vinyl Floor Covering

According to ISO 14025 and EN 15804

References
GABI 6 2012
GABI 6 2012DUL ENVIRONMENTTHINKSTEP 2012
ILCD Handbook: General
guide for Life Cycle
Assessment - Detailed
guidance
STANDARDS AND LAWSDIN EN ISO 14044
ISO 14025 2006
ISO 14040 2006
CEN/TR 15941
EN 16810
EN 15804
CPR

EN-ISO 10874
EN-ISO 10581

Thinkstep AG; GaBi 6: Software-System and Database for Life Cycle Engineering. Copyright,
TM. Stuttgart, Echterdingen, 1992-2017.
GaBi 6: Documentation of GaBi 6: Software-System and Database for Life Cycle
Engineering. Copyright, TM. Stuttgart, Echterdingen, 1992-2017. http://documentation.gabisoftware.com/
UL Environment’s Program Operator Rules
Description of Selected Impact Categories, Thinkstep AG, 2012
European Commission-Joint Research Centre - Institute for Environment and Sustainability:
International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook- Recommendations forLife Cycle Impact Assessment in the European context. First edition November 2011. EUR
24571 EN. Luxemburg. Publications Office of the European Union; 2011
Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Requirements and guidelines (ISO14044:2006); German and English version EN ISO 14044
DIN EN ISO 14025: Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental
declarations — Principles and procedures
Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework (ISO14040); German and English version EN ISO 14040
Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product declarations - Methodology forselection and use of generic data; German version CEN/TR 15941
Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings - Environmental product declarations - Productcategory rules
EN 15804: Sustainability of construction works — Environmental Product Declarations —Core rules for the product category of construction products
REGULATION (EU) No 305/2011 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonized conditions for the marketing of
construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC
Resilient, textile and laminate floor coverings – Classification
Resilient floor coverings – Homogeneous poly(vinyl chloride) floor coverings - Specification