Carbon footprint

At Vinga, addressing our carbon footprint is a top priority. We’ve tracked our company’s impact since 2019 and, as of 2023, have been fully transparent about the CO2 emissions. Every product on our website clearly shows its carbon footprint*. This footprint is calculated through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This footprint was our first step to offering our customers a choice of selecting products with a lower impact.
*Not all items on our gift cards display this.

WHAT IS AN LCA?

A Life Cycle Assessment (or LCA) is the calculation of the impact of a product during its lifetime. This method is most commonly used for CO2 footprint calculations. A product’s life consists of several life cycle phases such as raw materials; production; packaging; transport; usage; and end-of-life/disposal.
 

THE SCOPE

Scope is very important when working with LCAs, especially when comparing LCA data between products (or even companies). A scope refers to the boundaries you can set within the complete product life cycle. The most common examples are:

- Cradle-to-gate: from raw materials to the gate of the factory.

- Cradle-to-grave: from raw materials to the disposal of the product by incinerating or landfill.

- Cradle-to-cradle: from raw materials to the recycling of a product, returning it to a base material which can be the ‘raw material’ of a new item.

We want to offer as accurate as possible a scope for our LCA given the information and tools at our disposal. Vingas’ LCA is cradle-to-grave; this compares to cradle-to-cradle, which assumes the recycling of the product after usage. Our choice of scope as cradle-to-grave is because, even though we know the recyclable nature of our materials, we cannot guarantee that recycling is offered for our product or that the country where it is disposed of has sufficient recycling options. A material can be very well recyclable but if a country does not offer this service it will be disposed of without recycling.

We use a licensed calculation tool developed in collaboration with EcoAct. The methodology of the LCA is based on ISO14067 and is verified by Bureau Veritas, an independent third party auditing and certification agency. Using a licensed tool also means that any adjustments around data or method of calculation must be done in coordination with EcoAct.

Increasing number of products with traceability certification

Certification and the accompanying claims are a great way to encourage conscious purchasing. These certifications represent better, more responsible socio-environmental conditions in supply chains. They’re our compass to genuine positive shifts, something close to our hearts. Let’s dive in!

Increasing demand for responsible materials
The purchasing of certified goods – by consumers or businesses – increases the demand for the responsible materials compared to their conventional alternatives. This way, more funds are channeled towards responsible supply chains processing lower-impact materials, rather than supply chain with less or no consideration for ESG topics such as responsible sourcing, chemical usage, or human rights.

Socio-environmental conditions in the supply chain
Although our ESG certifications focus on materials, GRS and FSC® have additional requirements related to working conditions. GRS-certified organisations are also audited on social and environmental processing requirements and chemical restrictions exist. FSC® requires all certified organisations to uphold the FSC® Core Labour Requirements which are based on the principles of the International Labour organisation core conventions.

Note that (1) producers are often certified according to multiple standards and (2) Vinga runs a dedicated track for social audit compliance among our suppliers (BSCI, Smeta, SA8000). This way producers with an RCS certification, for example, are also addressing social topics, even when this is not required under that standard.

Traceability and accountability
At Vinga, we place a premium on transparency. We firmly believe that it’s instrumental in fostering genuine engagement with our customers on ESG matters. This ethos not only propels us toward our strategic objectives but also underscores our commitment to accountability. In the realm of certifications, traceability is paramount, signaling clear transparency throughout our supply chain. For each of our certified products, we have a comprehensive understanding of its entire supply chain journey.

Scope 1
Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources, such as company vehicles and lease cars.

Scope 2
Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heating and cooling, such as what is necessary to power our office and decorating facility.

Scope 3
All other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain not already included in Scope 2. This includes the manufacturing of our items.