ARCOSYSTEM® Gains Major Environmental Certification
Complete Composite Systems (CCS) is delighted to announce that it has published official Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its innovative ARCOSYSTEM® cable management system.
Complete Composite Systems (CCS) is delighted to announce that it has published official Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its innovative ARCOSYSTEM® cable management system.
An EPD is a formal document that demonstrates a firm commitment to environmental responsibility and transparency. It is based on a detailed and independently verified life cycle assessment (LCA) that determines the environmental impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, of a certain product throughout its entire lifespan.
There were two LCAs conducted for ARCOSYSTEM®. One relating to the installation of the system via ground-mounted sigma posts, and the other based on attaching the flexible ARCO troughing to bridges or walls.
Our LCAs were conducted under what is specified as a ‘cradle to gate with options’ boundary. This covers the extraction/cultivation of raw materials, the processing of raw materials, the production of the finished product (including packaging), all transportation and waste stages throughout the supply chain, and the end-of-life of the product.
This robust study was conducted in line with ISO 14040/44, ISO 14025 and EN 15804 by the independent consultancy Fishwick Environmental Ltd. It was then critically reviewed by an accredited independent verifier, and published by The International EDP System, the world’s first and longest-running operational EPD programme, founded in Sweden in 1998.
ARCOSYSTEM® is an elevated cable containment system that safely encloses and protects high-voltage and digital communication cables for long runs alongside railway tracks. Manufactured from pultruded glass fibre reinforced polymers (GRP/FRP) for long-term durability, the troughing can span up to six metres between support posts. Due to its lightweight composite construction and its bespoke range of supporting laser-cut steel bracketry, ARCO can be adjusted for height and directional changes with ease during installation.
Manufactured by our Swiss partners Castioni Kabelführungssysteme GmbH and exclusively distributed in the UK by CCS, ARCOSYSTEM® carries cable loads of up to 90kg/m. Resistant to heat, water, corrosion, UV rays and a wide range of chemicals, it has a constant working temperature range from -40˚C to +80˚C.
This certification serves as a quantitative environmental profile of ARCOSYSTEM®’s creation, manufacturing, distribution, and end-of-life. The product-specific results allow customers, contractors, engineers, and other stakeholders or interested parties to view impartial evidence of the environmental profile of ARCO, and invites comparisons with similar products that also have a published EPD.
The sigma post-mounted EPD for ARCOSYSTEM® can be viewed here, and the bridges and wall-mounted version is available here.
CCS has previously released EPDs for two of its other products, TouchSAFE composite palisade fencing and our composite ballast boards. The TouchSAFE composite palisade fencing EPD document can be viewed here and the composite ballast boards EPD document is available here.
“The publication of these new EPDs for ARCOSYSTEM® is further testament to our core values of developing products with strong and demonstrable eco-friendly benefits. On the back of achieving EPD certification for our composite ballast boards and fencing products, this marks another notable milestone for CCS in our ongoing commitment to sustainability. This independently verified data makes our decarbonisation measures transparent to clients and prospective customers who want to work with companies such as ourselves who take their environmental responsibilities seriously.”
For more information about the benefits of ARCOSYSTEM® or our other eco-friendly products, contact our technical experts at CCS.
Pictures of ARCOSYSTEM® being installed in a variety of settings via ground-mounted posts or fastened to trackside features such as bridges and walls can be seen here.