Abstract
Abstract Background Labeling of carbon foot-prints (CFPs) for products and services is regarded as a convenient and effective method for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a useful tool for examine CFP of relevant products and services. However, the corresponding standards for CFP of products and services can hardly be satisfactorily adopted. Also, most of the previous studies were based on an individual indicator, which can hardly reflect multiple dimensions of sustainable implications of products and services. Results Thus, in this research, a hybrid life cycle analysis (LCA) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method was proposed for helping evaluate CFP of products and services under multiple environmental indicators. The results indicated: (a) Air pollution caused by coal consumption was the primary environmental impact in China’s paper-production industry, and (b) in printing industry, air pollution caused by VOC was the primary environmental impact in China. At the same time, CFP of 1,000 kg copying paper was 1,415.39 kg CO2e based on LCI data of a paper factory in China. CFP of printing services was varied from each printing activity. Conclusions When purchasing copying paper, consumers should pay attention on coal consumption of the product. In printing industry, VOC of printing services should be taken serious consideration in China.
Highlights
Labeling of carbon foot-prints (CFPs) for products and services is regarded as a convenient and effective method for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
2) CFP of copying paper in China Using the model described in Section 2.2, the cradle-to-grave CFP of 1000 kg of copying paper was found to be 1415.39 kg CO2e
Results of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) of paper-making and printing industries in China were: (a) Air pollution caused by coal consumption was the primary environmental impact in China’s paper-production industry, and (b) in printing industry, air pollution caused by VOC was the primary environmental impact in China
Summary
Labeling of carbon foot-prints (CFPs) for products and services is regarded as a convenient and effective method for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a useful tool for examine CFP of relevant products and services. The corresponding standards for CFP of products and services can hardly be satisfactorily adopted. It is not convenient for consumers to identify and single out products and services with reduced environmental impacts and GHG emissions. Many efforts were undertaken for estimating carbon foot-prints (CFPs) of products by the methods of LCA. Among them, according to the Publicly Available Specification 2050 (i.e., PAS 2050) advanced by British Standards Institution (BSI 2008) in 2008, it was recommended that the method of life cycle analysis (LCA) be effective in evaluating CFPs of
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call