Environmental Sustainability Of Products Research Articles

Hedonic Analysis of Dried Pasta Prices Using E-Commerce Data-An Explorative Study.

Italy is the world leader in the production of pasta and the Italian market is characterized by strong price competition among large industrial producers. Thus, recently, many small and medium firms have started to differentiate their products as a way to achieve higher margins and escape from price competition. Using data on the prices and characteristics of dried pasta sold online in the Italian market and a hedonic price model, we estimated the implicit prices associated with several attributes that are currently available for dried pasta. We find that the "artisanal" statement on pasta labeling is associated with the highest price premium. Also, results show that protected geographical indication, Halal and Kosher certifications, and the use of ancient wheat varieties are valuable features of dried pasta sold in the Italian market. Instead, a positive, albeit limited in magnitude, price premium is associated with dried pasta made using 100% Italian durum wheat semolina, the organic method, enriched with additional ingredients. Findings suggest that producers can differentiate their products by mostly emphasizing their small-scale production methods, the territorial connotation, and the cultural and environmental sustainability of production. Otherwise, certifying dried pasta as Halal or Kosher can represent a complementary or alternative strategy to differentiate the product and achieve a higher price.

Enhancing life cycle assessment framework to support product ecodesign through index decomposition analysis

In ecodesign, life cycle assessment (LCA) has not only been used to evaluate a product's environmental sustainability but also serves as a tool for designers to identify areas for sustainability improvement. Conventionally, this is achieved by ranking all contributing LCA variables to identify high-impact areas. However, interpreting and translating this information into actionable design variables can be challenging. An LCA variable can be influenced by multiple design variables, each of which might affect the design's environmental sustainability to varying degrees. Presently, there is a lack of tools capable of analysing the influence of each design variable. To bridge this gap, this study proposes an LCA disaggregation methodology that uses Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA) to assess the environmental sustainability significance of the considered design variables. Using the methodology, designers can make informed decisions that prioritise design effort on design variable with the greatest potential for enhancing the product's environmental sustainability. The proposed methodology is demonstrated through a case study involving the design of a desk fan cover, considering material choice, geometry, and manufacturing process as key design variables.

Consumer Preference Heterogeneity and Preference Segmentation: The Case of Ecolabeled Salmon in Danish Retail Sales

Popularity of sustainably produced food products has grown rapidly in recent years. Ecolabels are used to indicate the environmental sustainability of products and have been implemented in the seafood market, with the leading ecolabel being that of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild fish. However, the effect of ecolabels in consumer decision making remains unclear in regard to actual purchasing behavior. This study analyzes scanner data from a household panel in Denmark, accounting for consumer heterogeneity using random parameter and latent class logit models to identify the effect of ecolabels. The results indicate substantial consumer preference heterogeneity with respect to important salmon attributes. Salmon attributes that confer convenience to household fish consumption appear to be very important in consumer choices. Ecolabeling has a significant effect on household decision making, but the majority of consumers are more likely to choose non-labeled products, which may be due to the low availability of ecolabeled products. Five consumer segments are identified, revealing one consumer segment with a preference for organic labeled salmon, comprising 15% of households. However, a consumer segment for MSC-labeled salmon is not identified. The implication is that management can rely on a segment of consumers to implement organic principles in salmon farming, but the preference for sustainable salmon fishing is inconclusive due to uncertain confounding effects.

Using proximity in sustainable product design

This research examines proximity as a new interesting strategy to include in the design of more sustainable products. Drawing from the construal level theory, we posit that the environmental sustainability of a product embedding a form of proximity to an environmental solution in its design will be perceived as more concrete and will trigger higher prosocial product experience. To test this assumption, we used spatial proximity by manipulating the location from where the recycled plastic of a bottle of dishwashing soap was reclaimed. Based on the responses of 130 individuals recruited from a panel of consumers, we found that product environmental sustainability is perceived as more concrete and prosocial product experience is higher when proximity is embedded in product design than when far distance or no distance are embedded in the product design. This paper contributes by investigating how product design itself can help to enhance the acceptance of more sustainable products and by applying the Construal Level Theory to the field of product design.

Design of the conceptual implementation of an apparatus with the induced heat and mass transfer for vaporization and rectification

The need to find solutions to problems on the efficient use of energy resources has been substantiated, under conditions for meeting the requirements to the environmental sustainability of production in the process of executing such technological operations as vaporization and rectification. We have identified the prospects of searching for and applying the induced processes, which are characterized by high energy efficiency and are environmentally friendly. The kinetics of temperature have been investigated under the effect from the induced heat transfer of the components of the internal thermostat volume, under condition of using different liquids in its internal environment. Our study has established the impossibility for the liquid in the inner volume thermostat to achieve the boiling temperature under condition of the effect of the induced heat and mass transfer, proven by the visual observations and by the value of its temperature. In the experiment under atmospheric pressure, the thermostat temperature was equal to 115...116 °C, while the temperature of the volumetric water did not exceed 97 °C. It was established that at the thermostat temperature of 105...106 °C and under atmospheric pressure, the ethyl alcohol temperature did not exceed 72...73 °C, and for water ‒ 83...85 °C, under the condition of the effect of the induced heat-and-mass transfer. It was found that ethyl alcohol and water are transferred to the gas state under the effect of the induced heat-and-mass transfer separately. It is possible to register the removal of the liquid phase of the mixture components based on the jump-like transition in the kinetics of the fluid temperature. It was established that the liquid phase did not boil for a mixture of ethyl alcohol with water under the effect of the induced heat-and-mass transfer at the thermostat temperature of 105 °C and under atmospheric pressure. We have proposed a conceptual solution to the technical implementation of the universal device that employs the effect of the induced heat-and-mass transfer in order to execute technological operations of vaporization and rectification excluding the boiling phase. Based on a given conceptual solution, we have built a laboratory prototype of the installation, in which vaporization is carried out under atmospheric pressure at the liquid phase temperature of 83...85 °C. The economic effect from the installation is achieved through the simplified equipment and reduction in energy consumption per product unit by larger than 1.3 times compared to the vacuum-evaporator apparatus

Semi-quantitative method for task planning in product eco-design

Ensuring the environmental sustainability of products is challenging because it involves all the stages and processes throughout product life cycle. Product eco-design is essential to achieve it. In the proposed methodology, product eco-design is implemented based on five eco-design elements, namely, function, material, geometric structure, connection relationship and manufacturing process. However, because of the fragmentation of existing eco-design tools, the gap between eco-design evaluation and eco-design optimisation requires a new mechanism to seamlessly integrate them for efficient industrial applications. A new checklist tool called Checklist of Product Eco-design Optimisation Potential (CPEOP) is developed to assess product eco-design optimisation potential. Based on the new tool, optimisation effect of product eco-design can be quantitatively assessed. Furthermore, a novel semi-quantitative method for task planning in product eco-design is proposed, which involves evaluating the product with CPEOP, screening candidates for eco-design and determining the candidates’ optimisation directions. The uncertainties arising from CPEOP and enterprise design status quo are further analysed. Subsequently, a case study on a refrigerator is conducted to elucidate the process of the method and reveal its potential. The proposed method is then discussed through a comparison with two mainstream eco-design tools.

An enhanced bootstrap method to detect possible fraudulent behavior in testing facilities

The testing process determines the specified characteristics of an object. Testing is commonly used to verify the quality, safety, reliability, efficiency, and environmental sustainability of products and services. In Brazil, the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro) is responsible for accrediting the facilities that undertake testing and calibration activities. Typical accredited testing services include: water quality, clinical tests, emissions tests, and vehicle safety tests. Undertaking fraudulent behavior when testing processes can result in products that are dangerous to the ordinary citizen and to the environment. Further, fraudulent behavior produces unfair competition between concurrent organizations. This paper presents a method to detect possible fraudulent behavior in accredited testing facilities. The proposed technique combines the bootstrap method and the Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence, to investigate several fraudulent aspects at once. To validate the proposed method, we use a Brazilian real-world dataset with real cases of fraud. The proposed technique successfully detects the accredited testing facilities with fraudulent behavior.

Towards a Multidisciplinary Approach on Creating Value: Sustainability through the Supply Chain and ERP Systems

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) is a widely used approach through manufacturing environments in a variety of sectors. With a tendency to go to specialized, smaller lot sizes in several industries (e.g., the pharmaceutical sector), companies are dealing with capacity bottlenecks if the planning rhythm wheel is not well calibrated or when production lines are not flexible enough in terms of changeover (C/O) and set-up times (S/U) (OEE is too small). A well-established communication system including other enterprise resources or production factors (e.g., Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP) is favorable to any extent. More and more questions arise from stakeholder communities and end-users on whether or not supply chains and manufacturing environments are sustainable and safe. Departments such as Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS & S) and Product Stewardship are too often at the “blind” side of the ICT interface. When it comes to product and organizational sustainability, data seems to be lacking in order to conduct sustainability assessments proficiently. Years of intensive research and experience proved that primary data to perform sustainability assessments often are measured through equipment control sensors (e.g., flow rates, temperatures, etc.) and sent to PLCs and many other systems. Nevertheless, these data measurements are in many cases simply not penetrating through the Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) because these bottom-up engineering data seems to be of little value to planning, procurement, etc. This communication paper deals with how sustainability assessments can be embedded in business operational management systems. After all, who does not want a “live Carbon Footprint” for process improvements and external sustainability reporting instead of a series of expensive resource consuming studies of 4 to 6 months digging into data logs in traditional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)? This communication paper has taken one step further in coupling business ERP systems with environmental sustainability of products, services and enterprises.

Progress in breeding perennial forage grasses for temperate agriculture

Breeding of temperate forage grasses is aimed at improving the economic and environmental sustainability of production from cattle and sheep. The primary objective is to ensure that forage can be the main source of feed for ruminants. This requires consistent production of herbage with a high feeding value, usually under nitrogen-limiting conditions. The most important traits affecting the feeding value of herbage are in vitro dry matter digestibility (DMD), the ratios of crude protein, water-soluble carbohydrate and fibre, and the concentration of alkaloid toxins. Improvements in these primary quality traits must be combined with good plant persistency, adequate tolerance to a range of environmental stresses, adequate resistance to a large number of different pathogens and invertebrate pests, and adequate seed yield. Forage grasses also have considerable potential to produce material for refining, to provide protein extracts for feeding to monogastric animals and carbohydrate for fermentation into fuel or into feedstocks for other industries.