Collaborating with Kazakh alloy producer to improve transparency of environmental impact
Stainless steel is used in all kinds of applications, from kitchenware to construction materials and machinery. But how is stainless steel made? In Kazakhstan, the world’s largest producer of ferrochrome, the main raw material used in stainless steel, can be found: Kazchrome. Our LCA team calculated the environmental impact of Kazchrome’s product throughout its life cycle. With this LCA, Kazchrome was able to obtain an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
Our colleagues Gaukhar Makashova and Branco Schipper were involved in this challenging and unique project on behalf of SGS Search. They worked together with colleagues from the local SGS office in Kazakhstan and with experts from Kazchrome.
First project in Central Asia
You might wonder: how did this assignment end up with SGS Search in the Netherlands, where the LCA calculations were carried out more than 5,000 kilometres away from the production sites in Aktobe and Aksu? SGS’s international network proved very useful for this project, Gaukhar explains: “After Kazchrome had contacted SGS Kazakhstan, they passed the request on within SGS. Our LCA team was assigned the project: our very first LCA project for a manufacturer located in Central Asia.”
Working towards greater transparency
Obtaining an EPD was ultimately the goal of the collaboration. This type of declaration makes the environmental impact of a product more transparent. With an EPD, Kazchrome can demonstrate that its products comply with international standards, and it also provides a competitive advantage over producers that do not have an EPD.
Alignment and coordination
In the first phase of an LCA, a large amount of data needs to be collected. This is usually no easy task. Where did the main challenges lie? Gaukhar explains: “In the beginning, there was a lot of back-and-forth emailing to align on which data was needed, including information about the production process, energy consumption and raw materials.”
Kazchrome also experienced this step as the biggest challenge, as the company’s Strategic Development Manager, Dmitriy Sukhanov, explains in a written response: “Reliable data had to be collected across the entire production chain, from raw material extraction to the pre-processing of raw materials and final production. This required good coordination between different departments.”
Kazakh, Russian and English
And then, of course, there was the language barrier. The project involved a considerable amount of translating, as both Kazakh and Russian are spoken in Kazakhstan. The data and reports were mainly prepared in Russian. SGS Kazakhstan took the lead in the first phase by collecting all the data and providing it in English to our LCA team in the Netherlands. Our colleagues Branco and Gaukhar then carried out the calculations and delivered the LCA report in English.
Positive result
Despite all the challenges, all parties look back on the project positively. “It was a challenging and intensive project, but in the end we achieved a result which all parties are content with,” says Gaukhar. The manager at Kazchrome is also positive about the collaboration and describes it as “constructive and professional throughout the entire process”.
As for the result itself: the first EPD for high-carbon ferrochrome has been published. The EPD provides Kazchrome not only with the competitive advantage mentioned above, but also with insights into how it can improve sustainability further. “The LCA results do not only consider the direct production process; they also show that we are moving in the right direction, for example by improving raw material consumption and our recycling technology, and by reducing waste production,” says Yerzhan Abdulabekov, CEO of JSC TNK Kazchrome. “Sustainable development remains a priority for us, and the LCA results delivered by your team help us with this.”