How Genuit reduced 45,000t of CO2e in drainage products | One Click LCA

Creating a more sustainable built environment

Founded in 1980, Genuit Group is an FTSE 250-listed MEP supplier and manufacturer of sustainable construction solutions. With 26 production sites, the group provides a range of solutions, from low-carbon heating and cooling, clean healthy air, and resilient surface water management to low-carbon choices for drainage and plumbing. Currently, Genuit's team consists of 3,300 employees.

Sustainability is at Genuit's core, alongside growth, business systems, and people and culture. Over the past 10 years, the group — which covers multiple business units with tens of thousands of products and product families — has been decreasing its carbon intensity and absolute carbon emissions from the peak of just over 60,000 tonnes in 2016 to 15,000 tonnes in 2023. 

By leveraging One Click LCA, Genuit has turned environmental product declaration (EPD) data into actionable sustainability improvements while positioning itself as the lowest-carbon MEP supplier of choice.

Using EPDS to demonstrate product-level sustainability

The only way we can become the lowest carbon supplier of choice is by using EPDs that show we are making verifiable reductions in embodied carbon.

 — Lee Adcock, Sustainability Director at Genuit Group

While global carbon emissions are undoubtedly important, Lee Adcock, Genuit's Sustainability Director, said that some key questions Genuit faced were: How do we demonstrate evidence and information that we are the "lowest-carbon choice" to customers? How do we affect the embodied carbon of individual products? 

That's where life-cycle assessment (LCA) and EPDs come in. Not only do they provide third-party-verified evidence and information on the environmental impact to customers, but they also provide insights that help identify opportunities for operational improvement and business planning. 

Leveraging One Click LCA to improve products and manufacturing processes

With the goal of being the lowest carbon supplier of choice for its customers, Genuit uses One Click LCA tools to measure, analyse, and reduce embodied carbon across its product range. The software provided Genuit's team with LCA values and EPD data that informed material selection, manufacturing efficiency, and improved product life-cycle design.

Key findings from product-level LCAs to make better decisions

Using One Click LCA's EPD software, Genuit was able to assess the global warming potential (GWP) of its products and pinpoint key areas of improvement to reduce carbon emissions.

Pipes:

• For the GRS.DUO — a radiator pipe guide and seal — the most significant contributor (69.6%) to embodied carbon was the A1 stage virgin raw materials, so the focus is to move toward increasing the use of recycled materials.

• For Polyplumb — a barrier/flexible polybutylene pipe for heating and plumbing — A1 raw materials contributed nearly a third of the emissions, while the A2 transport value was the largest contributor since the product it transported a significant distance. Since the British standard for manufacturing specifies virgin material, the improvement focus is on finding more locally sourced raw materials with the support of One Click LCA's Materials Compass, an LCA database with more than 250,000 construction products from across the globe.

Drains:

• For Ridgidrain 450-660mm — non-pressurised surface and sub-surface drainage for highway projects — raw materials have the highest percentage of embodied carbon (82.4%) despite being made from 100% recycled raw materials. One Click LCA data highlighted that installation-related emissions were the second biggest contributor. This insight prompted Genuit to lower the carbon footprint associated with the installation.
• For Ridgidrain 750-900mm, the data showed the larger diameter resulted in an increase in manufacturing GWP per meter of pipe.

High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes

• For Terrain PVC — solvent-weld soil and waste pipe system — a large portion of carbon comes from raw materials and a significant amount from waste disposal. This insight prompted Genuit to examine design improvements for better recycling and re-use to minimize end-of-life emissions.

Lower-carbon MEP products as a result

In response to One Click LCA's EPD data, Genuit has implemented an array of carbon reduction strategies, including increasing recycled PVC content, rainwater harvesting, biofuels, electric vehicles, alternative materials, and lightweighting. 

Several products have also shown an improvement in environmental impact performance:

• Polypipe Terrain Underground — made from a 65% recycled PVC foam core — achieves a 1.01 GWP kg CO2e footprint, compared to 1.52 kg CO2e for a generic virgin PVC and 7.46 kg CO2e for a cast iron pipe
• Polypipe Ridgidrain 300 mm pipe — made from 100% recycled HDPE pipes and 100% renewable electricity — achieves a 3.6 kg CO2e compared to 27 kg CO2e for concrete pipes

Transforming data into measurable impact

Genuit's data-driven approach, supported by One Click LCA's EPD generator, not only benefits the company but also provides customers with verified, low-carbon solutions — contributing to a more sustainable built environment. By continually optimising material choices, refining manufacturing processes, and leveraging EPD data for product innovation, Genuit is paving the way for a lower-carbon construction industry.