LCA results & interpretation EcoPower® HE Urinal Flush Valve
Scope and summary
- Cradle to gate
- Cradle to gate with options
- Cradle to grave
Functional unit
One flushometer valve for urinals used in an average commercial environment over the estimated service life of the building. The expected service life (ESL) of a building is 75 years, and all use stage activity and impacts are accounted for in that full ESL period. The reference service life (RSL) of the flush valve is 10 years, which is an industry-accepted average lifespan based on the economic lifespan of the product.
Maintenance
Regular cleaning is assumed to use 10mL of a 1% sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) solution daily in a commercial setting for 75 years, which is the building estimated service life. The use of 10mL/clean over 260days/year for 75 years gives a total of 195L of solution. Using a density of 1.01kg/L for a 1% SLS solution, 195kg of solution will be needed over the course of 75 years. Therefore, 2kg of SLS plus 195kg of water were included in the model.
Replacement
At the end of its RSL, the flush valve is assumed to be replaced. Therefore, an additional 6.5 products are included as replacements, with all life cycle modules considered, over the building's ESL of 75 years.
Manufacturing data
Manufacturing data has been collected and compiled for TOTO Vietnam.
Data reporting period: 2023.
What’s causing the greatest impacts
All life cycle stages
The use stage [B1-B7] dominates the results for all impact categories. The replacements module [B4] is highly dominant in all categories because of the amount of water consumed during operation and the necessity to consider an additional 6.5 products as replacements. All life cycle modules are considered throughout the estimated service life (ESL) of the building, which is 75 years. The production stage [A1-A3] itself is slightly significant but does not dominate in any impact category. Additionally, the processes associated with dismantling the product and final waste treatment during the end-of-life stage do not have a significant impact.
Production stage [A1-A3]
Bronze and zinc parts, together with the printed wiring board, have significant material contributions to the production stage. Stainless steel materials are relevant to the carcinogenics category. The electroplating process is a major contributor to the ozone depletion category while the die casting process is relevant to the ecotoxicity and non-carcinogenics categories. Because these products are manufactured in Vietnam but sold in the US market, the transportation via oceanic freighter appears as a relevant contributor to the fossil fuel depletion and smog categories. The other parts and processes contribute between 3% and 15% of the overall impacts in the remaining categories.
Construction stage [A4-A5]
Installation of the product dominates impacts in the construction stage. Transportation by truck for delivery to the installation site contributes the most, and this stage contributes less than 1% of the total global warming potential impacts throughout the product's life cycle.
Use stage [B1-B7]
Product replacements dominate impacts in the use stage. The use stage itself dominates all impact categories (>95%) due to the consideration of an additional 6.5 products as replacements. The water consumed during use and embedded electricity used for the water supply are also contributors in this stage.
End-of-life stage [C1-C4]
The transportation to landfill dominates impacts in the end-of-life stage. Transportation and the processes for dismantling the product contribute to a relatively low portion (<1%) of total results for all impact categories.
Operational energy and water use
The flush valve uses 0.5 gallons of water per flush and is assumed to be used 60 times per day in a commercial environment. With commercial use at 260 days per year over 75 years, the flush valve uses a total of 585,000 gallons of water over its lifetime. An electricity factor of 0.000961 kWh per liter of water is used to represent energy for upstream municipal water collection, treatment, supply, and downstream management. This use stage electricity was modeled using a United States grid mix.
How we're making it greener
TOTO PeoplePlanetWater™ programs improving environmental performance
- Dual-Max®, E-Max®, Tornado Flush™, 1G®, and EcoPower® reduce water consumption in the use phase
- Energy efficiency programs optimize the firing process
- Modular packing methods increase the fill rate of a trailer, cutting down on the number of trips needed
- 100% of post-industrial ceramic waste is recycled
LCA results
| Life cycle stage | Production | Construction | USE | End of Life |
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Information modules: |
(X) A1 Raw materials | (X) A4 Transportation/ Delivery | (X) B1 Use | (X) C1 Deconstruction/ Demolition |
| (X) A2 Transportation | (X) A5 Construction/ Installation | (X) B2 Maintenance | (X) C2 Transportation | |
| (X) A3 Manufacturing | (X) B3 Repair | (X) C3 Waste processing | ||
| (X) B4 Replacement | (X) C4 Disposal | |||
| (X) B5 Refurbishment | ||||
| (X) B6 Operational energy use | ||||
| (X) B7 Operational water use | ||||
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SM Single Score
Learn about SM Single Score results| Impacts per flush valve | 35.8 mPts | 0.07 mPts | 1,507 mPts | 0.02 mPts |
| Materials or processes contributing >20% to total impacts in each life cycle stage | Bronze and zinc parts together with the printed wiring board in addition to manufacturing processes such as die casting and electroplating. | Transportation of the product to installation site or consumer and disposal of packaging. | Volume of water used during operation and the number of product replacements needed over the building's service life. | Transport to waste processing and disposal of material flows transported to a landfill. |
TRACI v2.1 results per functional unit
| Life cycle stage | Production | Construction | USE | End of Life |
Ecological damage
Human health damage
Additional environmental information
| Impact category | Unit | ||||
| Carcinogenics | CTUh Comparative Toxic Units of Human cancerous toxicity Carcinogens have the potential to form cancers in humans. |
2.77E-06 | 9.25E-09 | 3.39E-04 | 2.51E-09 |
| Non-carcinogenics | CTUh Comparative Toxic Units of Human non-cancerous toxicity Non-Carcinogens have the potential to causes non-cancerous adverse impacts to human health. |
3.24E-04 | 8.65E-08 | 5.16E-03 | 1.78E-08 |
| Ecotoxicity | CTUe Comparative Toxic Units of Ecotoxicity Ecotoxicity causes negative impacts to ecological receptors and, indirectly, to human receptors through the impacts to the ecosystem. |
5.25E+02 | 1.63E+00 | 1.15E+04 | 2.19E-01 |
| Fossil fuel depletion | MJ surplus Mega Joule, lower heating value Fossil fuel depletion is the surplus energy to extract minerals and fossil fuels. |
5.85E+01 | 1.17E+00 | 9.77E+03 | 4.53E-01 |
References
LCA Background Report
LCA background report of TOTO Faucets, Flush Valves, and Residential Toilets, 2024; SimaPro Analyst 9.5; ecoinvent and USLCI databases; TRACI 2.1.
ISO 14025, “Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works — Core rules for environmental product declarations of construction products and services”
ISO 21930:2017, "Sustainability in Building Construction — Environmental Declaration of Building Products" serves as the core PCR along with Sustainable Minds Part A.
SM Part A: LCA calculation rules and report requirements, version 2023
August, 2023. PCR review conducted by the Sustainable Minds TAB, [email protected].
SM Part B: Commercial flushometer valves, v3.0
March, 2024. PCR review conducted by Hugues Imbeault-Tétreault, ing., M.Sc.A., Chair (Groupe AGÉCO) [email protected]; Rebe Feraldi, LCACP, CLAR (TranSustainable Enterprises, LLC); Rifat Karim (Sphera).
Download PDF SM Transparency Report/EPD
SM Transparency Reports (TR) are ISO 14025 Type III environmental declarations (EPD) that enable purchasers and users to compare the potential environmental performance of products on a life cycle basis. They are designed to present information transparently to make the limitations of comparability more understandable. Environmental declarations of products that conform to the same PCR and include the same life cycle stages, but are made by different manufacturers, may not sufficiently align to support direct comparisons. They therefore cannot be used as comparative assertions unless the conditions as defined in ISO 14025 Section 6.7.2. ‘Requirements for Comparability’ are satisfied. In order to support comparative assertions, this EPD meets all comparability requirements stated in ISO 14025:2006. However, differences in certain assumptions, data quality, and variability between LCA data sets may still exist. Any EPD comparison must be carried out at the building level per ISO 21930 guidelines, use the same sub-category PCR where applicable, include all relevant information modules, be limited to EPDs applying a functional unit, and be based on equivalent scenarios with respect to the context of construction works. Some LCA impact categories and inventory items are still under development and can have high levels of uncertainty. To promote uniform guidance on the data collection, calculation, and reporting of results, the ACLCA methodology (ACLCA 2019) was used.
SM Transparency Report (EPD) 