Background
Established in 2015, LUR is a joint venture between Lucchini RS and Unipart Rail Ltd dedicated to serving the UK rail industry. Based in the UK with facilities in Manchester and Doncaster, LUR specialises in wheelset and wheel machining, the overhaul of wheelsets, gearboxes, and bogies, as well as the manufacturing of wheels and axles. As leading experts within the field, LUR has extensive manufacturing and engineering experience, as well as the advantages of vertical integration with their steel forge in Italy. This enables them to offer a range of solutions to leading operators in the passenger and freight markets.
In addition to their services, LUR provides Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and component maintenance services available both on-site and at its facilities.
With a manufacturing site in Trafford Park, Groundwork have been supporting the local team with various aspects of sustainability for over 5 years.
Earlier this year, LUR approached us for support in developing a product carbon footprint for one of their wheels. Customers had started to request emission data at a product level and the team were also keen to start monitoring and tracking more Scope 3 emission factors so felt it was a good time to develop in this area.
How we supported them
Our consultants undertook a cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis (LCA), using a simplified process map which outlined the route a wheel takes from raw materials to being sold.
This process included reviewing raw materials, steelwork, transport and machining and covered the following categories:
- Electricity consumption of machines
- Fuel consumption
- Waste in the manufacturing process
- Water use and disposal
- Material use
- Transport emissions
Outputs and next steps
We provided the carbon footprint for one of LUR’s wheels, information that they plan to share with their stakeholders.
The report also provided details on the machining process, the areas which were the most impactful, so that the various contributing factors (material use, electricity, gas, waste, water etc.) could be understood.
In addition, several carbon saving opportunities were highlighted to help reduce the carbon footprint of the wheel moving forward, including self-generation of electricity through solar panels, electric FLTs, and technological advancements of industrial machines.
Continuing from this project, the next stage for LUR is to begin monitoring and tracking more Scope 3 emission categories within their whole operation, to provide a more holistic understanding of their impact on the climate.
Working with Groundwork to map out the Carbon Footprint of one of our train wheels has been an invaluable experience, as this was our first time working on a project beyond our in-house capabilities. Eleanor, our consultant provided expert advice and guidance, making the process seamless and highly insightful. This project has helped us meet stakeholders and customer demands for product-level emission data. Thanks to Eleanor’s work in mapping the Carbon Footprint we are now in a better position to keep this information regularly updated.
Sarah Rodger, Marketing Manager, LUR
