Eco-efficiency Index Research Articles

Eco-development aspect in modernization of industrial system

In financing mechanism of National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management it is necessary to achieve energy savings of at least 20%. However, not always achieving such energy savings means an increase in economic and ecological efficiency. Therefore, the article presents possibilities of investment leading to energy savings, reducing consumption of primary energy contained in the fuel by increasing production efficiency and reducing energy losses directly in the source. This solution will allow to keep economic and ecological savings. Proposed solutions are crucial for the implementation of investment. The improvements proposed in the article, if they have not been implemented so far, should give significant effects in all cases. The study was conducted for the medium-sized Polish company. The company can be considered as representative of food processing industry. The study was conducted on basis of energy efficiency auditing. Based on the obtained results it can be stated that the use of cogeneration, heat recovery and alternative methods of cooling at an appropriate balancing may allow the average annual primary energy saving of 563 toe/year and the reduction in CO2 emissions by 2,413 t/year. Thus achieved energy efficiency index may reach approx. 20%, eco-efficiency index may reach approx. 40% and economic efficiency index may reach approx. 30%.

Life cycle assessment and eco-efficiency Indicator for ulos weaving using loom machine in Toba Samosir Regency of North Sumatra

Toba Samosir Regency is one of the centers of ulos weaving in North Sumatera. Most of the weaving processes are carried out traditionally by small-size enterprises. However, it is identified that there are 8 ulos weaving industries that utilize loom machine. To date, no holistic environmental impact assessment has yet been conducted on weaving industry in Toba Samosir. This study aims to assess potential environmental impact caused by weaving industry in Toba Samosir. The scope of this study covers gate-to-gate stages in ulos production, consisting mangiran, washing, dipping, drying, dying, boiling, sun-drying, weaving, and manirat. The functional unit of this study is 182 kg of ulos, representing one batch of production. The assessments are conducted by two approaches; these are Life Cycle Assessment and Eco-efficiency Index measurement. The LCA modeling and computation of environmental impacts are aided by openLCA software. From LCA, it is revealed that the potential environmental impacts associated with ulos weaving are Eutrophication Potential (5.28E+01 kg PO4 eq - 8.41E+01 kg PO4 eq), Climate Change Potential (7.17E+02 kg CO2 eq - 5.74E+02 kg CO2 eq), and Photochemical Oxidation Potential (3.40E+00 kg CFC-11 eq - 4.68E+01 kg CFC-11 eq). The major stressors causing these impacts are using firewood. The calculation result of Eco-Efficiency Index (EEI) for weaving industry in Toba Samosir Regency falls between 0,1 and 0,4, which indicates the product is affordable but not sustainable..

Eco-efficiency Analysis of Furniture Product Using Life Cycle Assessment

Furniture is one of Indonesia’s main commodities strategically role in economic growth and employment in Indonesia. In their production process there many wastes resulted, such as such as sawdust, cuttings - pieces of wood, components that do not conform to specifications and the edges of wood from a log. Contrast with requirement of timber for furniture industries, availability of raw material sources decrease because of limited forest areas. Beside that, using electricity and chemical material in furniture production process have impact to environment. This study aim to assess the eco-cost and eco-efficiency ratio of the product so strategic recommendations to improve the eco-efficiency of products can be designed. The results of data processing showed the environmental costs of the furniture production process amount Rp 30.887.84. Eco-efficiency index of furniture products studied was 4,79 with the eco-efficiency ratio of 79,12%. This result means that the measured furniture products already profitable and sustainable, as well as its production process is already fairly efficient. However, improved performance of the production process can still be done to improve the eco-efficiency by minimizing the use of raw materials.

Assessing environmental impacts of major vegetable crop production systems of East Azerbaijan province in Iran

ABSTRACTIn the present study, environmental effects of carrot, tomato, potato and onion production systems were evaluated using the quantitative indices of energy efficiency, global warming potential (GWP), economic indicators, pesticide risk (field environmental impact quotient – FEIQ), tillage impact (TI), fertilizer, land and water use efficiency, and the eco-efficiency index (ratio of gross production to environmental impact for GWP, FEIQ and TI). Data was collected from 110 farmers by survey to determine crop production in the region. The results showed that the energy index for the potato production system was the most efficient; however, the carrot production system was the best in terms of the economic and environmental indices of GWP, FEIQ and TI. For irrigation water productivity (IWP) and land production efficiency (LPE), the potato production system was superior. The carrot production system had the highest values for economic irrigation water productivity (EIWP), economic land production efficiency (ELPE) and phosphorous and potassium use efficiency. The tomato production system recorded the lowest nitrogen use and highest nitrogen use efficiency. It can be concluded that the onion production system was furthest from sustainability goals based on the aforesaid indices.

Clariant and Enviral announced first licence agreement on sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology

For successful implementation of sustainability in industry, robust assessments of products and processes are necessary that quantify environmental aspects while also considering a product or processes’ total cost of ownership. Challenges exist as sustainability needs vary greatly according to region, market sector, customer-specific requirements, and stakeholder demands. BASF has developed a toolbox for Eco-Efficiency assessments that addresses the broad range of in-house and external needs, allowing flexibility while ensuring that relevant and sufficient environmental impact and costs are covered. The toolbox is based on standard practice for life cycle assessment but goes further to better support strategic decisions, product development, and marketing. Environmental impact assessment follows ISO 14040 and 14044. The underlying Eco-Efficiency methodology is based primarily on standard assessment models as implemented in the product environmental footprint methodology of the European Union (EU PEF). Impacts are aggregated to an overall environmental impact expressed in terms of person time. Life cycle costs are similarly determined and may be combined with environmental impact to an overall Eco-Efficiency Portfolio and Eco-Efficiency Index. The automated relevance check ensures coverage of main impact categories and environmental impact. Normalization with meaningful figures is applied as well as a weighting scheme that was developed together with the external partner TNS infratest by using a panel weighting approach. Weighting factors are updated on a regular basis and are applicable for all regions of the world. Eco-Efficiency results support strategic business decision-making and customer and external stakeholder engagement based on quantified, credible sustainability assessments.

A methodological framework of eco-efficiency based on fuzzy logic and Life Cycle Assessment applied to a Mexican SME

In this paper an eco-efficiency analysis methodology that takes into account Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and fuzzy logic is presented. It consists of four stages: (1) perform LCA and basic cost analysis, (2) normalize the environmental and economic impact categories results, (3) integrate economic and environmental impact categories by means of a fuzzy treatment and (4) obtaining the fuzzy eco-efficiency index. The result is a preference hierarchy that indicates an order of scenarios according to their degree of eco-efficiency. The methodology proposed is applied to a Mexican SME: a plastic products manufacturer. Six different supplier locations of polypropylene were considered: United States of America (transporting by land and by water), China, Singapore, Europe, and United Arab Emirates. The robustness of the methodological framework was tested by means of a comparative analysis with a decision surface graph, an eco-efficiency index, and random runs to prove their variability. Results show that USA is the most preferable supplier location when polypropylene is transported by land. The comparative analysis with the random series results and the decision surface graph, allowed to corroborate the stability of the fuzzy preference orders and to identify clusters of scenarios with an equally eco-efficient performance. Thus, the robustness of the methodology proposed was validated.

SUSTAINABILE INTENSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE – THE OPERATIONALIZATION DIRECTIONS

In the paper a systematic review of the works concentrated on the operationalization of the concept of sustainable agriculture intensification has been carried out. In the analyzed source literature, research was conducted mostly at the microeconomic level and concerned agriculture in Europe. Four main methods of operationalization have been identified as – synthetic indicators, modeling, eco-efficiency indices and statistical analysis. These methods were mainly used to assess whether agriculture is developing in line with sustainable intensification concept, to determine the impact of economic policy on this development, to determine the possibilities for implementing sustainable intensification in specific cases and the impact of other factors on the effectiveness of these processes.

Assessing the potential sustainability benefits of agricultural residues: Biomass conversion to syngas for energy generation or to chemicals production

Crop residues represent more than half of the world’s agricultural phytomass. Residual biomass, from agriculture or forestry, can be converted into synthesis gas (syngas) to generate energy (electrical or thermal) or chemicals. The paper uses eco-efficiency as a tool to compare these two options. A basis of 1000 kg/hour of residual pecan nut shell residue was considered to estimate the material flow of chemicals that can be produced, as well as the power that can be generated through residual biomass gasification. This study compares two alternate routes: (1) gasification with air, which renders a gas stream with hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and other hydrocarbons, as well as nitrogen; and (2) gasification with steam, where a residual biomass amount is used as fuel, rendering a gas stream like the first route, but without nitrogen. The eco-efficiency index shows that a decrease of environmental influence leads to a high output material flow for the alternative process with higher economic values, thus a higher proportion of input raw materials can be transformed into chemical products. The paper highlights that eco-efficiency can be used as a decision-making tool to choose between transformation processes by combining scientific and technical issues with economic ones. This can help to move towards a better and more sustainable use of natural resources through the utilisation of residual biomass.

Desenvolvimento de solução ecoeficiente para data center

The survey evaluated the benefits, in terms of eco-efficiency, of IT virtualization from the main data center of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). The eco-efficiency index chosen was the energy consumption of servers. The survey quantified CNEN's data center servers, and through exploration, identified the traditional servers, virtualization cluster servers, as well their respective virtual machines. The energy consumption of the servers was estimated using the tool Cost comparison toolkit: Calculating server power usage. The results show that all analyzed servers have low processing usage; the virtualization cluster of CNEN operates with excess resources on a scale that would allow the shutdown of two servers without compromising the operation of the cluster; a single cluster server is enough to house all non-virtualized servers in terms of processing and memory. The survey concludes that virtualization of traditional servers is the best way for CNEN to achieve a reduction in the energy consumption of its data center and that the virtualization cluster is wasting energy because it operates underutilized. This research contributes to a deeper look at virtualization as an alternative to data center management in public administration.

Assessing incremental cost-efficiency of eco-footprint saving measures for school buildings: The case of the Inner Mongolia region in China

Reducing energy and resource consumption as well as emissions by building projects are important goals in sustainable development of modern society. In this article, a method based on the concept of life-cycle ecological footprint is proposed to assess the efficiency of the incremental cost brought about by eco-footprint saving measures taken in building projects. This method is then utilized to provide guidelines for school building decision makers to select design plans with higher ecological and financial efficiency. In this method, a set of eco-footprint models is developed to compute the efficiency of incremental cost. Two indices are presented and adopted for assessing the life-cycle incremental cost-efficiency of eco-footprint-saving measures: the life-cycle eco-efficiency index and financial efficiency index for per unit incremental cost. The procedure for applying this method to assessing projects aimed at improving the efficiency of building energy consumption is also introduced. A case study of a school building in China is used to demonstrate the features of this method and the advantages of adopting the method. The results show that this method helps to identify inefficient design plans and provide an effective tool for decision making.

Applying Eco-Efficiency and Emergy Theory to the Quantitative Evaluation of Tourism Industry Ecologicalization

Non-ecological phenomenon of tourism industry makes it improve eco-efficiency and sustainable development. Eco-efficiency and emergy methods are the useful instrument for eco-system, and indicate an empirical relation between environment cost and environment impact. The paper puts forward 4 steps of the tourism industry ecological evaluation by eco-efficiency and emergy analysis. They are: draw tourism industry emergy system diagram; decision research area and set up an emergy evaluation table; set up eco-efficiency index system of tourism industry; collect data and calculate the eco-efficiency of tourism industry. Finally, some questions are discussed: how does the eco-efficiency of tourism industry compare to other sectors of the national and global economy; how to improve eco-efficiency of tourism industry; can eco-efficiency assess the sustainability of tourism industry?

Research of eco-efficiency index in evaluating enterprise production processes

The necessity of searching optimally balanced economic and environmental solutions of an enterprise activity within the environmental concern of humanity and business was substantiated in this paper. A thorough theoretical literature review of domestic and foreign scholars on this issue was made. The essence and role of the eco-efficiency strategy was revealed, its main ideas, characteristics and features were given. In addition, the scientific instrument of the eco-efficiency strategy, implemented on the basis of the life cycle concept was presented, the areas where the enterprise should work to be eco-efficient were given, the benefits, which it can receive from the implementation of this strategy in their activity were given. As a result of the studies, the eco-efficiency indicator for domestic enterprises was calculated. The obtained results of calculations indicate the need and benefits of implementing the eco-efficiency strategy in the activities of domestic enterprises, as this will improve both economic and environmental indicators of the enterprise activity.

Eco-footprint-based life-cycle eco-efficiency assessment of building projects

The prominent conflict between today's rapidly growing building projects and the deteriorating natural environment demands proper assessment of the ecological efficiency of a project in its life cycle, and this problem is addressed in this paper. First, to express the environmental impact of the project throughout its life cycle, the concept of life-cycle eco-footprint of a building project is defined, and corresponding computational models are proposed. The former scope of application of eco-footprint mainly in the construction phase of a building project is thus expanded. Moreover, as a building has the functional values of accommodating people and providing space for activities, two comprehensive eco-efficiency indices based on life-cycle eco-footprint are developed: per capita annual efficiency and space efficiency, which are used to assess the efficiency of the eco-footprint consumed by the project throughout its life cycle and determine if the eco-footprint consumed in realizing the abovementioned functional values is ecologically sustainable. The proposed method is then applied to analyzing the eco-footprint and eco-efficiency in each phase of the life cycle of an exhibition hall in Wuhan, China; moreover, based on the analysis result, measures are proposed to improve the eco-efficiency and reduce the life-cycle eco-footprint of the project. The new method proposed in this paper is expected to play an important role in minimizing the environmental impact of building projects and achieving sustainable development in their life cycle.

基于能值分析法的矿区循环经济系统生态效率分析

从系统的角度界定了循环经济和矿区循环经济的内涵，提出了煤炭矿区循环经济系统的基本框架，并以能值分析法为基础构建了矿区循环经济系统生态效率评价指标体系与方法。运用所构建的评价指标体系与方法对山东某矿区进行了研究，得出该矿区循环经济系统2007-2011年5年间的能值效率变化趋势图和生态效率指数趋势图，研究结果与该矿区的实际发展趋势基本一致。表明运用能值分析法所建立的评价指标体系具有较强的有效性，并且对煤炭矿区发展循环经济、提高生态效率具有重要指导意义和参考价值。;This paper takes the recycling economy as a theoretical basis and systematically defines the recycling economy and recycling economy of coal mining areas. A basic framework for the recycling economy system in coal mining areas is put forward and a brief analysis of its systematic features is carried out. The author proposes that this is a complex interrelated system involving elements such as the environment, economy, resources, population, science, technology and culture. This paper starts with current problems faced by coal mining areas in China. By looking into the results of research and related references in this field from home and abroad, this paper briefly describes the basic rules and steps of Emergy Analysis and constructs an evaluation system for the eco-efficiency of the recycling economy in coal mining areas. It first sets up an emergy flow evaluation criterion which entails emergy efficiency evaluation criteria, sustainable development index and eco-efficiency index making it possible to analyze and study the sustainability and eco-efficiency of the recycling economy system in coal mining areas. By adoping this evaluation system, the paper carries out empirical research on a coal mine in Shandong province. By looking up statistical yearbooks, coal mine data and empirical surveys, an emergy data chart for the recycling economy system of this mine and an emergy evaluation chart will be presented. On this basis, the author drafted graphs of the variation tendency in emergy efficiency and eco-efficiency index in the five years from 2007 to 2011. Two tables have been devised and the predicted result is basically consistent with the real trends developing in the coal mining area. Finally, the author proposes that for future development, the proportion of investment in the environment should be increased while improving its overall investment so as to realize a coordinated development between the economy and environment, prolonging the useful years of the coal mine and improving the sustainability of the recycling economy system of this coal mine. The results also show that the established evaluation system, based on Emergy Analysis, has a high level of reliability and effectiveness. It will play an important role in advancing the recycling economy, promoting energy conservation and emission reduction and realizing sustainable development of the recycling economy system.

Do social norms regarding carbon offsetting affect individual preferences towards this policy? Results from a stated choice experiment

This study investigates the idea that people’s willingness to offset flight-related carbon emissions is a function of the collective participation rate, which can be regarded as a social norm, towards carbon offsetting. Additionally, we reveal people’s preferences toward two other environmental policies; a baggage allowance and airline eco-efficiency index. A discrete choice experiment is designed and administrated among a sample of air travelers. The results indicate that carbon offsetting generates utility, with people gaining more utility when the collective participation rate is high. Additionally, it was found that the baggage allowance and the eco-efficiency index strongly influenced respondents’ airline choices. People also became more sensitivity towards a baggage allowance and the eco-efficiency label, when the collective offsetting rate was high.

녹색기업의 사업활동 전 과정에 대한 환경성 평가 -1. 공정 흐름 및 원단위 분석

In this paper, an environmental assessment was carried out on the whole process of industrial business activities to establish a basic plan for climate change mitigation and energy independency. The whole process was divided into each discharge process in terms of water, air, solid waste, green house gases and refractory organic compounds. The flowcharts and basic unit of process were analysed for three years (2008-2010), being utilized as basic information for the life cycle assessment. It was found that the unit loading for the whole process significantly depends on changes in the operation rate change and highly concentrated wastewater inflow. About 35% of solid waste production was reduced by improving the incineration method with co-combustion in coal boiler, generating about 57% of electricity used for the whole process, and consequently reducing the energy costs. As the eco-efficiency index was found to be more than 1, compared to the previous years, it can be said that improvement in general has taken place.

Evaluation on Circular Economy Development in Provincial Region-Based on Eco-Efficiency Perspective

The core of eco-efficiency is to make maximum use of resources to increase the value of products or services, and to reduce the hazard to the environment as far as possible. The essence of circular economy is to improve eco-efficiency. With reference to related eco-efficiency research at home and abroad, to assess circular economy in provincial region, an eco-efficiency index system is constructed in this paper, linear weighted method is applied to evaluate eco-efficiency of circular economy of central six provinces in 2010. According to the results, the rank of circular economy development level is given in six provinces. Aiming at the shortages of eco-efficiency and developing circular economy, some corresponding policies and suggestions are put forward in six provinces.

Eco-efficiency of circular economy development of Guangdong Province

根据循环经济的本质和生态效率的内涵, 在借鉴国内外循环经济研究中所建立的生态效率指标体系的基础上, 构建了度量广东省循环经济发展状况的生态效率指标, 并分析了1990~2007年间广东省经济增长及生态效率要素的变化趋势。结果表明, 广东省GDP在18年间呈快速增长的趋势, 自然输入要素的生态效率和劳动生产率不断上升, 尤其是用水产出率和建设用地产出率, 年均增长率分别达21.29%和17.28%, 但均低于GDP的年均增长速度。人类环境影响方程(IPAT)衍生公式预测结果显示, 如果维持目前经济增长模式, 到2015年广东省可以实现经济发展的战略目标, 但同期的能源消耗和环境负荷将逐年上升, 生态环境压力会越来越大。

Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Economics of Corn Production

Nitrogen fertilizer plays an important role in corn cultivation in terms of both economic and environmental aspects. Nitrogen fertilizer positively affects corn yield and the soil organic carbon level, but it also has negative environmental effects through nitrogen-related emissions from soil (e.g., N20, NOx, NO3(-) leaching, etc.). Effects of nitrogen fertilizer on greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain are investigated via life cycle assessment. Ecoefficiency analysis is also used to determine an economically and environmentally optimal nitrogen application rate (NAR). The ecoefficiency index in this study is defined as the ratio of economic return due to nitrogen fertilizer to the greenhouse gas emissions of corn cultivation. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain decrease as NAR increases at a lower NAR until a minimum greenhouse gas emission level is reached because corn yield and soil organic carbon level increase with NAR. Further increasing NAR after a minimum greenhouse gas emission level raises greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain. Increased greenhouse gas emissions of corn grain due to nitrous oxide emissions from soil are much higher than reductions of greenhouse gas emissions of corn grain due to corn yield and changes in soil organic carbon levels at a higher NAR. Thus, there exists an environmentally optimal NAR in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The trends of the ecoefficiency index are similar to those of economic return to nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain. Therefore, an appropriate NAR could enhance profitability as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with corn grain.

산업단지형 물질흐름분석(MFA) 적용방안 연구

The material flow analysis (MFA) methodology for industrial complex which used input-output table and field data of industrial complex was developed for the purpose of information utilization to quantify the material flow and to promote efficient resources management in industrial complex. Utilization value of the macro-analysis method that used input-output table application is easy when we plan environmental policy, and the more quality of statistical data is high, the more reliability of the results is high. Developed model was applied to Shiwa-Banwol industrial complex and resource intensity index and eco-efficiency index derived from industrial categories. The main resources consumption category of business was ascertained through the derived results, and analyzed the cause. The result was that category of business that eco-efficiency index was largest was given to the chemical categories of business, by the following index list index appeared high in order nonmetallic minerals, a general machine, wood-paper and transportation equipment. In case of electric electronic categories of business, DMO (Domestic Material Output) index was highest compare with other categories of business, and eco-efficiency index showd lowest.