Product environmental profile (PEP)
LCA: Life-cycle assessment ISO 14040

An assessment on the impact of the construction and use of a product on the environment, in compliance with standard ISO 14040, Environmental management, life-cycle assessment (LCA), principles and framework . For PowerPacT, this assessment is carried out using the standardised EIME (Environmental Impact and Management Explorer) software, which makes possible comparisons between the products of different manufacturers.

It includes all stages, i.e. manufacture, distribution, use and end of life, with set usage assumptions:

• use over 20 years at a percent load of 80 % for 14 hours per day and 20 % for ten hours

• according to the European electrical-energy model.

It provides the information presented below.

• Materials making up the product: composition and proportions, with a check to make sure no substances forbidden by the RoHS directive are included.

• Manufacture: on Schneider Electric production sites that have set up an environmental management system certified ISO 14001.

• Distribution: packaging in compliance with the 94/62/EC packaging directive (optimised volumes and weights) and optimised distribution flows via local centres.

• Use: no aspects requiring special precautions for use. Power lost through Joule effect in Watts (W) must be < 0.02 % of total power flowing through the circuit breaker. Based on the above assumptions, annual consumption from 95 to 200 kWh.

• End of life: products dismantled or crushed. For PowerPacT circuit breakers, 81 % of materials can be recycled using standard recycling techniques. Less than 2 % of total weight requires special recycling.