Products + Tools

With the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) being one of the most established methods for determining the climate impact of a product, Afera, the European Adhesive Tape Association, and IVK, the German Adhesives Association have developed a web-based tool for PCF calculation of both adhesives and adhesive tapes using an aligned, straightforward, affordable method.  

Unveiled in Thessaloniki at Afera’s 67^th Annual Conference, the TACK – Tapes and Adhesives Calculation Kit – has been developed through a collaboration with Sphera, a specialised provider of sustainability consulting services and is in the final stages of development for B2B utilisation by adhesive tape manufacturers, converters and raw materials suppliers who are either Afera or IVK members.

PCF sums up the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by a product over the various stages of its lifecycle and is becoming increasingly important within the tape and adhesive industry for estimating the environmental impact of all types of adhesive tapes – in particular, a ‘cradle to grave’ (entire lifecycle) or ‘cradle to gate’ (defined life cycle phase) assessment of PCF. This is all based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, which includes factors such as the raw materials, manufacturing, distribution and end of life stages for B2B reporting.   

Experts will be able to work with the pre-customised, web-based interface which can also be linked to corporate ERP systems. Users have the option to input primary data from suppliers or utilise a high-quality secondary data set curated from Sphera’s LCA database. TACK’s current database for adhesive tapes consists of 74 raw materials incorporated into adhesive tapes, as well as 17 recipes for generic adhesives and release coatings, totalling 91 entries. 

TACK is currently in the modelling and preparation stage of development, after which it will be reviewed, adjusted and then validated by DEKRA, a specialist in the field of testing, inspection and certification in Q1 2025.