Rheem – Yash Srivastava – 2021

Goals

As part of Rheem’s Sustainability initiative, the company identified the need to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study for their manufacturing plant located in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Rheem brought on board Yash Srivastava to conduct the LCA study, with a focus on quantifying the supply chain impacts due to raw material sourcing for the plant to inform the company’s supply chain sustainability strategy.

Solutions

Yash began by classifying all the material flows for the system under study. He then worked with cross-functional teams to obtain relevant supply chain and product information. This information was organized and analyzed to create a master list of purchased components for the LCA model.

He used the SimaPro LCA software to create a dynamic supply chain model, which included production processes to allow for easy extension in future work. Using the SimaPro model, he identified the hotspot materials for three impact categories: kg CO2-eq, Cumulative Energy Demand, and Water consumption.

Potential Impact

Based on Yash’s LCA model, Rheem now has a clear understanding of the highest contributing materials for the Fort Smith plan supply chain and can therefore prioritize its sustainability actions accordingly. This pilot LCA study will also support the business case to conduct similar analyses across other global Rheem plants.