Abstract
Eco-design is included within the framework of the standard for “Environmental management systems—Guidelines for incorporating Eco-design” (ISO 14006:2011). Eco-design process, as defined in standard, has six steps: (i) Specify product functions; (ii) Environmental assessment of products; (iii) Strategies of improvement; (iv) Environmental objectives; (v) Product specification; and (vi) Technical solutions. Step (ii), determination of the stage or process of the product life cycle that has the highest environmental impact; this is perhaps the most controversial step because the standard does not specify which tool should be used. This lack of specification has generated some distrust with regard to eco-design, hindering its development. In order to make a trustworthy eco-design, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) should be applied as a tool for environmental impact quantification. The main objective of this work is to apply standardised eco-design methodology for the reduction of the environmental impact of an industrial product in Spain using LCA as a tool for the environmental product assessment. LCA standardised process (ISO 14040,14044:2006) is included in the eco-design process. A glass container intended for cough syrup delivery has been selected as an industrial product to be eco-designed. Following the methodology described, the overall normalised impact decreased 35.1% when a PET container substituted a glass container. Environmental impacts have been reduced following standardised eco-design and LCA methodologies, serving as an example to industry and administration regarding how to eco-design with the confidence of obtaining reliable results.
Highlights
Eco-design is defined as “the integration of environmental aspects into product design and development with the aim of reducing adverse environmental impacts throughout a product’s life cycle” [1]
Because the interest of pharmaceutical companies on reducing the use of glass containers, this study proposes the substitution of glass with polyethylene terephthalate (PET), previously tested by pharmaceutical companies and recognized as an excellent primary container with similar barrier properties as those of glass
The main objective of this work has been to apply eco-design methodology described in ISO 14006:2011 for reducing the environmental impacts of an industrial product using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool for the environmental product assessment
Summary
Eco-design is defined as “the integration of environmental aspects into product design and development with the aim of reducing adverse environmental impacts throughout a product’s life cycle” [1]. The scientific literature has provided very few studies following the eco-design process described by ISO 14006:2011 [5] with the objective of the environmental impact reduction of an industrial product. PET containers were modelled using the PET granules manufacturing process from PlasticsEurope database linked with an injection process from the PE International database Fossil resources such as natural gas and crude oil are the main raw materials limestone, sodium chloride, recycled glass, and clay. With the aim of establishing a more reliable use of the LCA tool throughout Europe, the Joint Research Centre [46,47] has recently created a handbook to help eco-designers to make the correct choice for calculating environmental indicators These recommendations are helpful when interpreting results because they determine the reliability of the results [48]. The software GaBi 6.0® Pro. automatically completes the inventory analysis data transformation to EIIs using the characterization methods explained
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