Climate Impact of a Nutrunner

Abstract: Climate change is an existential threat to the world, causing environmental degradation and destruction of ecosystems. The EU acknowledges that several alarming tipping points are about to be reached, and the current level of action is not enough to avert global warming. Industries are a big part of the problem, and they must transition to fit in a low-carbon society. This thesis was conducted at an industrial company which have committed to reduce their carbon footprint; every new design must have a significantly lower carbon footprint than a comparable tool. The main task of this thesis was to investigate the carbon footprint of a nutrunner, and to compare it to a similar tool. In addition, the recycled material content in the nutrunner was investigated to provide an initial evaluation of circular aspects of the nutrunner. The climate impact was calculated by utilizing the life cycle assessment framework to perform a carbon footprint analysis. This provided the carbon footprint over the entire life cycle of the nutrunner. It was concluded that the raw material and use phase dominates the carbon footprint, accounting for 21 and 79 percent of the footprint, respectively. Further, it is suggested that new technology may have a reduced footprint, mainly due to reduced power consumption and the in-built controller function. However, this does not necessarily mean that new technology has less environmental impact. It was concluded that a holistic approach is needed when assessing environmental impact; carbon footprint reduction is not necessarily coherent with avoidance of resource depletion. The future might demand moving beyond product carbon footprint.