Guidance: Assessment Method – Take-Back Guarantee
When preparing environmental declarations, a take-back guarantee is sometimes used to substantiate an alternative end-of-life scenario. In practice, its application can raise questions among LCA practitioners and LCA verifiers.
This guidance provides further clarification on Chapter 2.6.3.9 of the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Buildings and provides LCA practitioners and LCA verifiers with a consistent approach to applying take-back guarantees in environmental declarations.
The guidance “Take-Back Guarantees in Environmental Declarations” provides LCA practitioners and LCA verifiers with a consistent approach to applying take-back guarantees in environmental declarations. The key principle is that an alternative end-of-life scenario may only be applied if the take-back system can be demonstrated to work in practice and meets all specified requirements.
The guidance supports both LCA practitioners and LCA verifiers in applying take-back guarantees consistently and reproducibly.
What is this guidance and when should you use it?
This guidance describes the conditions under which a take-back guarantee may be included in an LCA and how it should be correctly incorporated into an environmental declaration. You should use this guidance when considering an end-of-life scenario based on a take-back system.
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Frequently asked questions
No. The effectiveness, scalability, logistics, economic incentives, technical processing capacity and end market must be demonstrable and plausible. Current practice serves as the basis for this assessment.
The take-back percentage used must reflect the proportion that is actually taken back under current practice. First, the percentage of products returned is determined, followed by the proportion of those products that can actually be reused or recycled.
Yes. The explanatory notes accompanying the environmental declaration must always state that a take-back guarantee has been applied, including the take-back percentage, reuse percentage and the K-factor applied. In addition, Stichting NMD requests that an environmental declaration using the default end-of-life scenario also be added to the NMD alongside the environmental declaration with the take-back guarantee.
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