Durian, based in Maharashtra, manufactures a wide range of furniture products, represented by three average products such as Mesh Chairs, Leatherette Chairs, and Tables. Mesh chair includes variants such as Nature, Zurich, Jordan, Marvel, Artline, Stanford, Modern & Arete. Leatherette chairs have variants such as Laura, Craze, Interio, Bliss, Marshal, President & Poise. Table consists of Workstation 65 series & Work Station Cluster variants.  

Durian partnered with Monk Spaces to quantify the environmental impacts through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Monk Spaces also supported in a critical review assessment which is a prerequisite for registration of the product in the GRIHA Product Catalogue.  

The LCA study followed stringent standards such as ISO 14040, ISO 14044, and EN 15804+A2 and adhered to the requirements of PCR 2019:14 – ‘Construction products’ and c-PCR-021- Furniture and components of furniture. The PCR also defines the requirements of impact indicators to be included in the assessment as defined by the International EPD System. The functional unit chosen for the LCA study is one piece of furniture manufactured, in accordance with c-PCR.

The PCR defines the mandated life cycle modules, which collectively represent the system boundary: manufacturing (A1-A3), end of life (C1-C4) & beyond life cycle (D). The manufacturing stage (A1-A3), covers raw material extraction such as aluminium, steel, and timber (A1), transport of raw materials to the unit (A2). Module A3 includes production activities, ancillary materials, electricity consumption and packaging. End-of-life stage (C1-C4) includes demolition, waste transport & waste recycling of the furniture. The default scenarios for the module C1-C4 are assumed based on the PCR 2019:14. Module D quantifies the environmental benefits recovered through material recycling and reuse, reduces the need for virgin material production.

Once the requirements were defined, a comprehensive input sheet was prepared for the manufacturer’s convenience. The sheet collects primary data on raw materials procurement, manufacturing process, ancillary materials, transport, energy consumption, packaging and waste generation. The composition was then averaged across multiple product variants to obtain representative input data. Since the manufacturing unit produces products outside the scope of the study, allocation was performed for shared inputs such as electricity and water consumption.

The LCA results are quantified using the primary data collected from manufacturer & secondary data from the Ecoinvent database. LCA results quantified across core categories such as global warming potential (GWP-Total), additional & other impact indicators, natural resources, wastes, output flows & biogenic carbon content. The estimated results were documented as an LCA report.

The quantified results were examined to determine plant performance under current conditions. Major contributors across life cycle stages were analysed for the different product variants. A comprehensive assessment covering key evaluations for secondary data quality was done. The assessment concluded with checks on completeness, consistency and sensitivity. The assessment helped Durian to identify key environmental impacts and provided insights for operational improvement.

Following the LCA report completion, an independent critical review was performed to verify compliance with ISO 14071:2024 standard requirements. Once the critical review assessment was finalised, Monk Spaces coordinated with the GRIHA Product Catalogue team to facilitate GRIHA certification. This collaboration was essential to validate the verified LCA and facilitate successful ecolabel certification.