Embedded Resources

Resources that are hidden, or embedded, within a product or service. The use or consumption of product will often provide the visible aspect of a resource, for example, the amount of energy and related emissions used to power a machine. However, the processes involved in the manufacture and distribution of a product have limited visibility to the end user. The negative impacts processes can have on the environment are often not accounted, unless a life cycle assessment is carried out.

A range of resources might be embedded within a product, especially CO2 emissions from energy production and consumption, as well as deforestation to create ‘productive land’; water used within manufacturing processes or for grass or food production; land use (especially for products having wood components); unprocessed materials from which desirable materials, such as metals, are extracted.

The production of 1m3 of potable water used for irrigating turfgrass swards produces 0.271kg of CO2e emissions embedded within its abstraction, treatment and distribution, excluding the energy used to pump the water to pop-up sprinklers, if used. (Greenhouse gas emissions of water supply and demand management options, Science Report, Environment Agency, 2008, p.26 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7cbfd4e5274a38e5756843/scho0708bofv-e-e.pdf)

If water was to be supplied to a football pitch to replace the theoretical (maximum?) evapo-transpiration of 25mm of water per m2 (which equates to 1/40th m3) per week during the summer, then over a 6,500m2 pitch this would equate to 162.5m3 of water used (which can be classed as embedded into the production process of a pitch), as well as 44.04kg of CO2e emissions, excluding emissions from energy used in operating a pump to transport water from an irrigation tank to pop-up sprinklers. These two types of embedded resource are common within the grounds care industry and whilst water will be metered, accounting for CO2e from its use is generally not reflected in management data, even though it must be if sustainability of pitch management is to be evaluated holistically.

Even common items such as PPE have embedded resources, for example, one safety shoe (uvex 1 G2 with a knitted shaft) produces 8.5kg of CO2 emissions, excluding other embedded resources, so significant improvements could be made to a grounds team’s sustainability trend by focusing on procuring PPE with reducing embedded resources. (Verena Keller, ‘Purchasing PPE: why sustainability data is becoming crucial’, 09 February 2024, British Safety Council, https://www.britsafe.org/safety-management/2024/purchasing-ppe-why-sustainability-data-is-becoming-crucial)