Environmental Assessment Of Products Research Articles

The European Union's Ecodesign Directive – Analysis of Carbon Footprint Assessment Methodology and Implications for Photovoltaic Module Manufacturers

With an increasing shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy sources within the European Union (EU), photovoltaics (PV) are projected to see substantial growth with estimates of nearly 600 GWp of capacity by 2030. As the use of PV technology continues to expand, the European Commission has introduced various policy instruments, enabling consumers to make informed choices. Among those, the Ecodesign directive 2009/125/EC sets a carbon footprint threshold as a minimum qualification for the European market to cut out the least sustainable PV modules. For this directive, the methodological guidelines for the complex carbon footprint calculation of PV modules are under development. To this end, this analysis compares the two methodologies, namely Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) and the Ecodesign adaptation of Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR), emphasizing the implications of choosing one over the other for the PV industry. This study illustrates how varying parameters, like module lifetime, degradation rate, and purchased renewable electricity certificate allowance limit, stemming from the differing methodological approaches can influence the carbon footprint calculation. Apart from the strengths and weaknesses of each methodology, this article emphasizes the need for globally harmonized standards to ensure consistency in evaluating the carbon footprint of PV modules. The observations made in this study should be considered not just for Ecodesign directive but for any such market regulation policy like the recently passed EU Net Zero Industry Act or the EU Ecolabel for PV modules. It underlines the significance of choosing a transparent and fair approach to ensure the credibility of carbon footprint labels and meet the EU's decarbonization objectives successfully, propelling the transition toward a more sustainable energy landscape.

Blockchain-based governance implications for ecologically sustainable supply chain management

PurposeThe authors explore the impact of an emerging technology, blockchain technology, on diverse governance mechanisms and sustainable supply chain practices and how its relationships with the linkage of these elements.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology incorporates a literature review and a qualitative empirical analysis of the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) standards. Expert opinions from various firms and organizations within the electronics sector are assessed. Through a thematic analysis, the relationships are identified and examined.FindingsData immutability, transparency and traceability capabilities of blockchain technology enhance the relationship between environmental standards and ecological supply chain sustainability practices. Although immature, the blockchain can influence the governance of supply chain sustainability practices. Immaturity of technology, lack of expertise, sharing information and trust have delayed adoption.Originality/valueThere is limited empirical evidence regarding blockchain's impact on governance mechanisms, specifically hybrid public-private mechanisms and sustainable supply chain practices. The study further evaluates how particular blockchain features may exert varying influences on these aspects and different sustainable supply chain traits. As an exploratory study, it proposes new areas for further research, including how blockchain's traceability function can improve sustainability standard adoption. Additionally, there is a call for integrating blockchain with technologies like IoT and sensors which may influence supply chain governance mechanisms, standards and sustainability practices.

Contribution of glass jar packaging to the environmental assessment of canned seafood products: Albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) and Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) as case studies

Canned seafood is a practical option for consumers with high nutritional value. However, packaging plays a key role in its environmental impacts due to the production of metal cans made by aluminium or tinplate and glass jars. The aim of this study was to perform a life cycle assessment of four seafood canned products in glass jars with Atlantic chub mackerel and albacore tuna. The contribution of end-of-life options for glass jar (reuse, recycle or landfill) was also evaluated, as well as environmental burden of storage at home scenarios of canned, chilled and frozen fish productspotential seafood waste in the different supply chains.Glass jar packaging contribution to environmental assessment of products was half compared with metal cans. The production of ingredients was the life cycle phase with highest contribution in all products followed by primary packaging for climate change impact category. Results pointed out the benefits of recycling glass jar with 8% GHG emissions reduction on average. Storage at the consumer stage represented less GHG emissions for canned products when compared to frozen when considering a period of more than one month.

Contribution of Life Cycle Assessment for the objective of carbon neutrality: Bibliographic review

The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 (UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2015) set the objective of containing the rise in the average temperature of the planet well below 2°C, ideally at 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2018), this requires achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This objective has become a major issue and has led to the development of multiple scenarios, responding to specific questions from different sectors (ADEME, 2021; Ministère de la Transition Ecologique, 2020; négaWatt, 2021; RTE, 2021) and supporting various strategies at the international, national and even regional level. France, as a signatory of the Paris Agreement, has thus developed a trajectory, described in the National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC) (Ministère de la Transition Ecologique, 2020) to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, this issue raises many methodological questions on quantification metrics. Furthermore, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a recognized method for the environmental assessment of products and services, taking into account the entire life cycle. Carbon neutrality strategies would benefit from being enriched by the LCA method, on two counts: in order to extend the carbon dimension to a broader, multi-criteria environmental dimension, and in order to take into account the entire life cycle rather than just emissions from the territory. Nevertheless, the question of the feasibility of translating carbon neutrality scenarios into LCA modeling arises. This article reviews the literature on this subject. Research has highlighted the growing interest in these two subjects for several years, while revealing an ill-defined semantic around carbon neutrality: the term is mainly used to contextualize decarbonization projects. Thus, no article dealing with the carbon neutrality of France assessed by an LCA study has been identified. A test case would make it possible to understand the feasibility of such an approach: the scenario of the SNBC (Ministère de la Transition Ecologique, 2020) seems to be a relevant support for such an exercise.

Advancing in the digitalization of data for a better analysis of electrical and electronic equipment

The availability of digital tools is key for reproducible, robust, and transparent analysis. Life cycle assessment has become a well-established tool to perform environmental assessment of products and systems. However, despite the existence of diverse commercial software, data availability is still one of the major limitations. This paper introduces one database that aims to shed light in the analysis of electric and electronic equipment: the database of SEmiconductors and other components (DoSE®) and its use along with the Life Cycle Assessment database (LCADB®). DoSE® is a database that aims to provide data for a better analysis of electronics. It contains information of the material composition of semiconductors and other components, and a second section where the material composition of printed circuit boards can be modelled. Data from DoSE® are exportable to excel format to allow for a further use. It can also be exported as an activity to the LCADB® database to develop new life cycle inventories of electronics. All these functionalities are due to be further expanded and tested for the case of batteries and electronics in electric vehicles as part of the digital platform for circular economy developed in the scope of the DigiPrime project.

Can Blockchain Capabilities Contribute to Sustainable Supply-Chain Governance?

Environmental regulations and standards play critical roles in corporate sustainable supply-chain practices. We explore and reflect on how blockchain can play a role. To answer that question, a small survey was distributed to blockchain experts and evaluated the relationship to implement the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) sustainability standards. We initially find that some characteristics of blockchain provided greater support for specific standards. Conclusions include that information transparency and traceability are more valuable for EPEAT environmental sustainability standards.

Environmental Assessment of Products over the Complete Life Cycle

Environmental Assessment of Products over the Complete Life Cycle

Analysis of Selected IT Tools Supporting Eco-Design in the 3D CAD Environment

The concept of eco-design is an area of interest of many manufacturers. Its implementation provides a framework that allows companies to adapt to the requirements of sustainable development related to the design and manufacturing of environmentally-friendly products. Implementation of eco-design in the industry requires dedicated information technologies. Many types of software tools are offered which support eco-design, and the choice of the one which suits the user best is not easy. The paper describes an analysis of three selected IT tools dedicated to the environmental assessment of products, integrated with the 3D CAD environment. The analysis has been carried out on the basis of specially developed reference models of sets (assemblies) imitating small household appliances. The models have been designed to support the creation of various configurations of connections between elements (parts of the assembly). The study experiments consist in changing the configurations and observing how the changes affect the environmental parameters of the modelled structure. The results have been used to describe the scope of support offered by each of the tools under analysis and their suitability for the environmental assessment of products.

Facing climate change: Environmental evaluation of gypsum-like CO2 utilization Mg-based materials

The product environmental assessment quantifies possible further improvements during the life cycle of a product, from flue gas extraction, through adsorption, carbonation, rinsing, activation and utilization. In this study, the carbon footprint, water footprint and energy footprint of magnesium carbonate product (MCC) has been estimated, following the life cycle assessment method. Though the analysis, the species of alkali, efficiency of alkali using, seawater desalination technology and substitution ratio have strongly influenced on the overall CO2 footprint, water footprint and energy footprint balance of the CO2 mineralization process. Several scenarios using ammonia or waste alkali would produce a negative carbon footprint MCC material, to substitute plasterboard. Energy consumption for scenarios with 100% substitution is -2 MJ to 14 MJ per kg of final MCC for scenarios using waste alkali.

Product environmental assessment as vector of differentiation – ACéVOIL, a new tool for the vegetable oil sector

Environmental impacts of human activities, heightened consumer concern over the food they eat, and business survival hinging on increasing performance mean there is pressure from all sides to reduce product environmental impacts—a strategic challenge to help keep businesses in business and improve competitiveness. Conscious of this challenge, the oilcrop commodity chain wanted to provide vegetable oil producers and users with a tool for assessing the environmental impacts of vegetable oil-based foods. The tool is called ACéVOIL, and can be used to validate the environmental value benefit of ecodesign initiatives as-deployed or as-designed. ACéVOIL accounts for every stage in the end-to-end commodity production and distribution process, making it possible to control and contain any pollution transfers between two distinct environmental impacts or two lifecycle stages. The tool also outputs results that can be readily communicated out to clients and/or consumers as part of a product information backbone to differentiate from competitor products and up-value the ecodesign initiatives implemented. However, communicating LCA results out to the general public can prove tricky business, so the exercise needs to be managed with care and forethought. Several upgrades are envisioned to extend the scope of ACéVOIL out to biomass-based products made from pure or processed vegetable oils.

Application of Eco-Design and Life Cycle Assessment Standards for Environmental Impact Reduction of an Industrial Product

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.

Life Cycle Impact Assessment in the Arctic: Challenges and Research Needs

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used for environmental assessment of products and production processes to support environmental decision-making both worldwide and in the Arctic. However, there are several weaknesses in the impact assessment methodology in LCA, e.g., related to uncertainties of impact assessment results, absence of spatial differentiation in characterization modeling, and gaps in the coverage of impact pathways of different “archetypal” environments. Searching for a new resource base and areas for operation, marine and marine-based industries are continuously moving north, which underlines the need for better life cycle impact assessment in the Arctic, particularly to aid in industrial environmental management systems and stakeholder communications. This paper aims to investigate gaps and challenges in the application of the currently available impact assessment methods in the Arctic context. A simplified Arctic mining LCA case study was carried out to demonstrate the relevance of Arctic emissions at the midpoint and endpoint levels, as well as possible influences of the Arctic context on the impact assessment results. Results of this study showed that significant research gaps remain in Arctic-dependent life cycle impact assessment, particularly on: (i) the possible influences of the Arctic-specific features on characterization factors for impact assessment (such as seasonality, cold climate, precipitation, and marine dependence); and (ii) the coverage of impact pathways, especially on the under-addressed marine impacts and marine/near-shore dispersion processes. Addressing those identified research gaps and demand for future Arctic life cycle impact assessment could increase the credibility of LCA as an environmental decision-making support tool for Arctic industries and better support sustainable Arctic development.

Carbon footprint of oil palm planted on peat in Malaysia

The carbon footprint of palm oil on mineral soils based on primary data from Malaysia was published in 2011, but a study for palm oil grown on peat is missing. The estimation of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of oil palm planted on peat in Malaysia was divided into three main components, namely GHG emissions from land use change, peat oxidation due to the establishment of oil palm plantations, and operations during cultivation and milling processes. The study collected comprehensive primary data for the latter and derived a best estimate for the other emissions to provide guidance for the most appropriate values and uncertainty range for oil palm planted on peat. The study highlights uncertainties and gaps in knowledge and provides recommendations for reducing GHG emissions for oil palm planted on peat. GHG emissions were estimated based on published data (LUC and peat oxidation) as well as from comprehensive primary data from operations at plantations mainly on peat in Sarawak and the palm oil mills for the period of 3 years. For this study, the data is partitioned into three case scenarios: (a) base case, where oil palm plantation is assumed from previously logged-over (PSF) with medium level of peat oxidation and 50% of the mills have the facilities to capture methane; (b) best-case scenario, where oil palm is assumed planted from previously degraded PSF or land with lowest estimation of peat oxidation and mills with methane capture facilities; and (c) worst-case scenario, where oil palm is assumed planted from previously virgin PSF with the highest estimation of peat oxidation and mills with methane capture facilities. GHG emissions from cultivation and milling stage were modeled using the System for Integrated Environmental Assessment of Product (SimaPro, version 8) with Ecoinvent database (ver 3). Total GHG emissions for oil palm planted on peat for three scenarios arising from three main components range from 12.4 t CO2 eq ha−1 (best case) to 76.6 t CO2 eq ha−1 (worst case). These variations depend on C stock of previous vegetation, depth of drainage, length of time of drainage, amount of nitrogen fertilizer used, and use of methane capture facilities at the palm oil mills. GHG emissions for oil palm planted on peat can be reduced by developing plantations from degraded PSF or grassland with low carbon stock, with effective water management coupled with methane capture facilities at the mill and judicious application of nitrogen fertilizers using precision application according to requirement of the site based on diagnosis of nutrient requirement from soils and foliar analyses. In Malaysia, only 13% of the areas planted with oil palm are on the peat soil. Therefore, the overall GHG emission at the national level (13% planted on peat and 87% on mineral soils) can be further reduced by around 4.1 t CO2 eq ha−1 year−1.

Estimating 20-year land-use change and derived CO2 emissions associated with crops, pasture and forestry in Brazil and each of its 27 states.

Land-use change (LUC) in Brazil has important implications on global climate change, ecosystem services and biodiversity, and agricultural expansion plays a critical role in this process. Concerns over these issues have led to the need for estimating the magnitude and impacts associated with that, which are increasingly reported in the environmental assessment of products. Currently, there is an extensive debate on which methods are more appropriate for estimating LUC and related emissions and regionalized estimates are lacking for Brazil, which is a world leader in agricultural production (e.g. food, fibres and bioenergy). We developed a method for estimating scenarios of past 20-year LUC and derived CO2 emission rates associated with 64 crops, pasture and forestry in Brazil as whole and in each of its 27 states, based on time-series statistics and in accordance with most used carbon-footprinting standards. The scenarios adopted provide a range between minimum and maximum rates of CO2 emissions from LUC according to different possibilities of land-use transitions, which can have large impacts in the results. Specificities of Brazil, like multiple cropping and highly heterogeneous carbon stocks, are also addressed. The highest CO2 emission rates are observed in the Amazon biome states and crops with the highest rates are those that have undergone expansion in this region. Some states and crops showing large agricultural areas have low emissions associated, especially in southern and eastern Brazil. Native carbon stocks and time of agricultural expansion are the most decisive factors to the patterns of emissions. Some implications on LUC estimation methods and standards and on agri-environmental policies are discussed.

Integrating environmental impact assessment into new product development and processing-technology selection: Milk concentrates as substitutes for milk powders

Environmental-impact reduction potential is great early in new product development. To exploit this potential, this study evaluates novel combinations of existent processing technologies. Process engineering is combined with an environmental product assessment along the supply chain.In the dairy sector, drying milk into milk powders is a highly energy-intensive process. This study investigates whether switching from milk powders to new products known as milk concentrates diminishes the overall environmental impact along the supply chains of dairy-containing products. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted, which considers individual processing steps that can be combined and operated in various ways to generate a multitude of different skim milk concentrates. For relevant environmental indicators such as cumulative energy demand, global warming potential, eutrophication potential, and acidification potential, concentrates were found to have a lower environmental impact than powders, even if the former are trucked up to 1000 km. This break-even distance is a conservative estimate. It depends upon the environmental impact of raw-milk production. The concentrate with the lowest environmental impact is produced by a combined concentration with reverse osmosis and evaporation to a dry-matter content of 35% and preservation via subsequent pasteurization. This holds for all indicators except eutrophication potential, for which this concentrate is the second-best option.This study identifies the frame within which milk concentrates are an advantageous substitution for milk powder and demonstrates the value of applying environmental assessment to product development and processing-technology selection.

Using Design Requirements for Environmental Assessment of Products: A Historical Based Method

Due to the increasing pressure on industries for more environmentally friendly processes, the environmental assessment of products emerges as a key indicator to determine if created goods align with the organization's targets. A review of published literature reveals that the tools available for such assessments can be applied primarily when at least an embodiment of the product design is achieved. However, the environmental impacts of the product may be determined in earlier design stages. The objective of this research is to study if the environmental performance of a product can be predicted from the requirements list elicited early on in the design process. For this purpose, an environmental assessment tool (SLCA) is used to estimate the environmental performance of final products, while a rubric is developed to evaluate the requirements list of those same products in terms of environmental impacts. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) structures (18,900) are used to relate the information gained from the rubric to predict the SLCA scores calculated for corresponding products. The products used for training and testing are drawn from student design projects. The results show that the predictions are stable, with residual errors of less than half the range of target values. The maximum prediction error was found to be 27% while the average prediction error was 10%. However, the accuracy of the predictions depends on the selection of the training and test sets. Moreover, the scalability of this approach to industrial applications should be explored. Opportunities for future work are identified to improve the method for early assessment of environmental impacts of products.

The foundations of the environmental rebound effect and its contribution towards a general framework

The study of the so-called rebound effect has traditionally pertained to the domain of neoclassical energy economics. In recent years, other disciplines have applied this concept in the context of the environmental assessment of products and policies, and multiple perspectives have unfolded more or less in parallel. Among these, the environmental rebound effect (ERE) perspective, focused on efficiency changes and indicators that go beyond energy to multiple environmental issues, has remained relatively unnoticed. This article thus asks the following questions: What are the foundational aspects of the ERE and how these relate to other perspectives? Are there irreconcilable differences between perspectives? And what is the value of the ERE towards a general framework? We map the fundamental ideas behind the ERE and find that the lack of articulation has resulted in inconsistent usage and lack of clarity. We also argue that the ERE offers many valuable insights for rebound assessment, such as the study of broader efficiency changes and of innovations aimed at tackling multiple environmental issues. Perhaps most importantly, the ERE helps bringing together the existing rebound perspectives, as its application shows that it is both possible and valuable to articulate broader definitions for the rebound effect.

Life Cycle Assessment of Household Water Tanks—A Study of LLDPE, Mild Steel and RCC Tanks

A case of household water tanks, 1000 L capacity, made of RCC, LLDPE and mild steel (stainless steel) was evaluated for life cycle analysis. The scope of the research comprised of the raw materials, energy inputs and corresponding emissions during all phases of product making such as extraction of raw material, it’s processing, followed by manufacturing and transport, as well as use and reuse of the product. Simapro 8 (System for Integrated environMental Assessment of PROducts), a modelling software, from Dutch PRe Consultants was used to conduct the life cycle analysis. Simapro 8 enables systematic and transparent modelling and analysis of complex life cycles based on the recommendations of the ISO 14040 series of standards. In the present study the most common method which is acceptable worldwide “Recipe Endpoint method” (ReCiPe) was employed. ReCiPe computes the impact categories and classifies them into two classes based on relevant arrays of characterization factors. Simapro addresses impact categories viz. ozone depletion, human toxicity, ionizing radiation, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, climate change, terrestrial ecotoxicity, agricultural land occupation, urban land occupation, natural land transformation, marine ecotoxicity, marine eutrophication, fresh water eutrophication, fresh water ecotoxicity, fossil fuel depletion, minerals depletion, fresh water depletion at the midpoint level. While at the Endpoint level, the impact categories are multiplied by corresponding damage factors and integrated to be represented as three Endpoint level categories, viz. human health, ecosystems and resource depletion. The three endpoint categories are normalized, weighted, and aggregated into a single score. LCA studies indicate that household water tanks of LLDPE have least environmental implications considering impacts on human health, ecosystems and resource depletion as compared to its counterparts viz. Household water tanks made up of mild steel and RCC. The sequence of the material with decreasing impacts is concrete tanks > mild steel tank > LLDPE tanks. The overall assessment is centred on the elements such as material inputs, energy inputs and environmental emissions.

A comparative human health, ecotoxicity, and product environmental assessment on the production of organic and silicon solar cells

AbstractA life cycle assessment case study involving organic photovoltaic technology using phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester and poly(3‐hexylthiophene) is presented. Although solar technology converts freely available solar radiation into more useful forms of energy, potential environmental impacts can occur during the life cycle of the product. A cradle‐to‐gate life cycle assessment is completed, comparing organic solar cells with traditional silicon‐based cells across 18 multiple criteria. The functional unit is defined as the production of 1 watt‐peak of electricity produced. The inventory is based on prospective organic solar cell technology and two traditional silicon technologies. The results demonstrate that from a life cycle perspective, organic solar cells can outperform conventional silicon solar cells with impacts reduced by 93%. The energy payback time for the default organic photovoltaic cell was 0.21 years (75 days) compared with multicrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon's 2.7 and 2.2 years, respectively. The minimum required lifetime of the organic cells, so that their impacts were no worse than amorphous silicon's over 25 years, was measured between 1.2 and 8.9 years. Results of the sensitivity analysis demonstrate that consideration of manufacturing routes (e.g., fullerene or solar cell production) can be targeted using life cycle assessment for further improvements in the environmental, human health, and ecotoxicity profile of organic solar cells. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cloud Powered by EPEAT-Qualified Servers: New green procurement criteria for servers is in the works. Two standards organizations, the IEEE and NSF International (NSF) are writing standards for the Ele

Two standards organizations, the IEEE and NSF International (NSF) are writing standards for the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) program for computer servers, raising the prospect that, in the near future, data centers may be powered by EPEAT-qualified servers. This article briefly describes the EPEAT program and provides a general description of the emerging standards for computer servers.