Ragn-Sells
Proving Climate Benefits of Recycling and Reuse
How can we contribute to increased material recycling and reduced use of virgin resources? With support from 2050, Ragn-Sells has developed data demonstrating the climate benefits of material recycling and reuse, with the aim of guiding organizations in making more sustainable, circular decisions.
”We wanted to help our customers better understand the true value of recycling and reuse, and how their own actions contribute when using these services.”
Camilla Sonnentheil, Head of Business Development, Ragn-Sells
Challenge: Difficulty Demonstrating the Climate Benefits of Recycling and Reuse
Ragn-Sells manages a wide range of material flows and works to create circularity where it is lacking through recycling and reuse solutions. However, the company has faced challenges in clearly and consistently communicating the climate benefits of these solutions. Ragn-Sells therefore needed to:
- Map material flows for recycling and reuse for selected key products
- Develop comparative examples of linear flows
- Calculate greenhouse gas emissions for both circular and linear flows
Solution: Interactive Calculation Model
Together, 2050 and Ragn-Sells developed the underlying data for calculating climate benefits, tailored specifically to Ragn-Sells’ operations. This included activity data for the processes the products undergo, alternative flows, relevant emission factors, and assumptions. This formed the basis for a customized calculation model that Ragn-Sells can update on an ongoing basis, and that calculates:
- The climate benefits of recycling or reusing various construction products (e.g., flat glass, plastics, gypsum, and doors) compared to producing new products
- The climate benefits of purchasing reused products via Ragn-Sells’ reuse hub compared to buying newly manufactured products
- Greenhouse gas emissions at each stage of the value chain (collection, pre-treatment, recycling, transportation, landfilling, etc.)
Results: Climate Performance Metrics for Multiple Products
Based on the developed calculations, one-pagers have been created that, in addition to presenting the climate benefits, also inform customers about the products and how the comparisons were conducted. With these, Ragn-Sells can:
- Communicate the climate benefits of its services externally
- Train sales teams and other key roles within the organization
- Anchor the understanding of climate benefits internally and establish a foundation for improved ways of working
