According to the global assessment of KONE’s carbon footprint (carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions), the environmental impact of our elevators and escalators throughout their lifetime use is about ten times bigger than the impact of our own operations while manufacturing and installing them. The life cycle assessment (LCA) of elevators has indicated the same: most of the environmental impacts of an elevator relate to its use during its lifetime in a building, which averages 25 years.
Consequently, the most effective way of reducing KONE’s environmental impact relates to developing eco-efficient solutions for our products and for servicing. We also work with our customers to design, plan and implement people flow solutions that optimize the usage of our elevators and escalators.
A life cycle analysis investigates and evaluates the environmental impacts of a product or service through its lifetime. It is carried out by a third party based on information gathered from the product manufacturer and service provider. The procedure of LCA based on the ISO 14040 standard is part of the ISO 14000 environmental management standards family.
KONE’s LCA covers the essential environmental aspects for different stages of the lifetime from raw material production, component manufacturing, transportation, installation, use, maintenance and end of life treatment.