Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Product life cycle - Environmental aspects'
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Yu, Chuan, and 余川. "Life cycle analysis of different feedstocks of biodiesel production." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2012. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B49618027.
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The scarcity of fossil fuel and its environmental impact have shifted the world focus on green innovations At a time when the use of fossil fuel means increasing energy scarcity and an environmental crisis in the world in which we live, we need green innovations now more than ever. Growing attention has been drawn to the use of biofuels, such as bioethanol and biodiesel, which have gradually come to make up part of the total energy supply. Uncertainties about the environmental and ecological aspects of the production and consumption of biofuel still exist despite its rapid development.
A life cycle analysis (LCA) evaluates the two principal functional parameters 1) energy efficiency and 2) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) balance of different feedstocks for biodiesel production from the cradle to the grave. By accounting a life cycle analysis stage by stage, we can ascertain the change in GHG emissions and energy demand that result from the various uses of feedstocks for the production of biodiesel.
In this thesis, various life cycle analysis models are reviewed and evaluated with emphasis on specific biofuels. Different LCA models depend on different LCA calculation under different situations, including GREET, LEM, SimaPro, etc. The software SimaPro was used to compare the life cycle GHG emissions and energy demand from conventional petroleum fuels and several hydro-processed renewable green diesels. A consistent methodology was used for selected fuel pathways to facilitate relatively equitable comparisons. The building of life cycle flow tree in SimaPro combined the input and output with an emphasis on the following stages 1) raw material farming and acquisition, 2)liquid fuel production, 3)transport, 4)refueling, 5)liquid fuel conversion to biodiesel and 6) end uses. Consistent impact assessment methods were chosen for simulation, equitable comparisons and comprehensive analysis of selected fuel pathways for the calculation of Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Cumulative Energy Demand (CED).
However, the results of the entire lifetime estimates vary dramatically in production chains, which make it difficult to take a holistic view about energy intake and yields, economic costs and values, environmental impacts and their benefits. Apart from the diversity in system boundaries and life cycle inventories, a variance in terminologies and the limitations of interdisciplinary communication are the main factors that affect the quality of the results.published_or_final_version
Mechanical Engineering
Master
Master of Philosophy
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Emblemsvåg, Jan. "Activity-based life-cycle assessments in design and management." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/32855.
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Chan, Wah-man, and 陳華民. "Application of life cycle analysis (LCA) to consumer product development." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2002. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31255140.
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Pope, Stephen Michael. "Designing for technology obsolescence through closing the product life cycle : an investigation and evaluation of three successional audio-video products." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/23138.
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Newcomb, Patrick James. "Implications of modularity on product design for the life cycle." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/17593.
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Yiu, W. Y., and 姚泳儀. "Life cycle assessment in the construction industry." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2001. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B42576039.
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Muir, Michael Christopher. "Lifecycle Assessment for Strategic Product Design and Management." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/19878.
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With the advent of digital imaging technology, the options available to consumers in consumer imaging have increased tremendously. From image capture through image processing and output, many options have emerged; however, the relative environmental impacts of these different options are not clear cut. Simplistically, one might say that the use of a digital camera has a lesser environmental burden than the use of a reloadable film camera because the image produced as a result of using the digital camera avoids chemicals in film developing. However, digital cameras require electronics and computers that need energy; and, energy production is one of the contributors to greenhouse gasses like CO2. Assessment of the environmental impacts of these different options can help provide feedback to decision makers and insights that will help reduce environmental impact through product system design.
One tool that has been used to relate environmental impacts with functions provide to consumers through products or services is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA, which has been standardized by the International Standards Organization (ISO) in ISO14000, is used here to evaluate both traditional film and digital imaging systems. Data from publicly available databases and both external and internal Eastman Kodak Company studies were utilized to develop LCA modules for the different processes involved. Product and service business models are explored for both technologies through ten different imaging and output scenarios. The functional unit used is the capture, processing and output of one 4 x6 image. Four impact categories (energy use, greenhouse emission, water use and waste generation) across four life cycle phases (upstream, distribution, use, and end of life) are explored for the ten scenarios.
LCA is also evaluated as a tool to help facilitate strategic level environmental performance issues with both new and established business activities. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to evaluate the impact of assumptions made in the course of the assessment and comments are made regarding the effectiveness of LCA for strategic assessment and product service strategies in lowering environmental impact.
Results indicate that the lowest impact scenarios are Digital Capture to LCD Display for Greenhouse Emissions and Energy Use and Film Capture to Wholesale Print for Water Use and Waste Generation. Highest impacts were seen for Greenhouse Emissions in the Film Capture to Retail Print scenario. In the Energy Use and Water Use category, the Digital Capture to CRT Computer Display was the highest scenario. For Waste Generation, the Digital Capture to Inkjet Print was the highest impact scenario.
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Choi, Wing-Kei, and 蔡穎琪. "Environmental life-cycle assessment of viaduct construction in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31255814.
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Chang, Chi-wai, and 鄭志偉. "Sustainability of products: frameworks reviewand case study." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2012. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B48542830.
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Sustainability is a hot topic for years and sustainability assessment has been generally used as an approach to assess the level of sustainability. For the effect of general products to the development of sustainability, there are existing assessment frameworks in use. However, they are either environmental-focused, or relied mainly on life cycle assessment approach, which has many deficiencies especially in the social aspect. In this paper, history of development of sustainability and relevant principles related to sustainability are extensively reviewed. Those relevant in the context of product assessment, like the nested model of sustainability, strong sustainability, precautionary principle, design of environmental sustainability and sustainability assessment and measurement principles (BellagioSTAMP), are chosen as the foundation theories of development of the new product sustainability assessment framework. Even though the focus is put into assessment of social aspect of sustainability, the framework is designed for the assessment of overall sustainability. The framework comprises of a list of guiding principles, vision and goals and an assessment process. It is suitable for the evaluation of any product, no matter it is in conceptual stage, design stage or already in the market. It can be used for company in any level of maturity in sustainability assessment through allowing them to define their own position and targets. A standard list of measurement is defined and can be used for any product, while product-specific measurement can be defined within the process. A case study is done using iPad2and every step in the process is gone through.
The pilot study proves that the framework is logical, easy to use and practical enough to help identifying what needs to be done to contribute into sustainability. Issues are identified in the process of pilot study, including the lifecycle for some products is too short for a meaningful review and remediation follow up; social impacts could be associated with the whole series of product or the general technology instead of specific product under assessment; the comment given by participants in survey or focus group meeting may come from perceived impact instead of actual impact; knock-on effect to other existing products and services may be neglected; and the potential for companies to pretend they are contributing to sustainability but actually not. Nevertheless, these issues are not difficult to be resolved. Future research agenda includes handling of cumulative effect from sales of the product, formalizing the professional qualification of sustainability assessor and improving the practicality of economic and environmental sustainability assessment through the proposed framework. Through this paper, with the creation of a new and practical product sustainability assessment framework, it is believed that the effect of products on sustainability can be evaluated and actions can be identified for them to contribute into sustainability development.published_or_final_version
Environmental Management
Master
Master of Science in Environmental Management
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Joshi, Surabhi. "Guidelines to integrate life cycle assessment in building design." Thesis, Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31791.
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Thesis (M. S.)--Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.Committee Chair: Augenbroe, Godfried; Committee Member: Bayer, Charlene; Committee Member: Gentry, Russell. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.
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Pornprasitpol, Pornwan Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering Faculty of Engineering UNSW. "Selective disassembly for re-use of industrial products." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/24274.
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As a result of rapid product development, the product life cycle has become shorter, and thus the amount of waste from discarded industrial products has risen dramatically. An awareness of the world???s environmental problems has stimulated researchers to explore the opportunities to reuse, recycle and remanufacture end-of-life products. Disassembly is a systematic approach to separating products into components or subassemblies in order to facilitate recovery of components or materials. However, the full disassembly of a product tends to be unproductive due to technical and cost constraints and product conditions after usage. Therefore, selective disassembly has been introduced as a more practical approach, where only a limited number of disassembly paths that lead to selected parts with recovering potential are considered. This research focuses on the development of a selective disassembly methodology by reversing an assembly sequencing approach. The methodology uses a step-by-step approach to generate a disassembly sequence diagram. This involves listing all the parts within the product, generating a liaison diagram to illustrate part relationships and then establishing precedence rules describing prerequisite actions for each liaison. This is followed by segregating disassembly paths that lead to the removal of selected parts or subassemblies. Then a winnowing process is applied to these paths to eliminate invalid disassembly states and transitions. The last step is to select the optimal disassembly path by using the time requirement as the main selection criterion. In order to shorten the time for carrying out the sequencing process, a javabased program that is capable of performing the first three steps has been created. The program requires three basic inputs in forms of precedence rules, and user-required part (s) and disassembly rules, prescribing which liaison (s) should be done subsequent to a particular liaison. The viability of the methodology and the program is proved through seven case studies conducted on a fishing reel, a single-hole punch, a kettle, an entire washing machine and three washing machine subassemblies. The application of the program allows the users to determine an optimal disassembly sequence in a very short time and with only basic product information as the input.
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Fairbanks, Ronald. "Assessing the environmental impact of polystyrene, paperboard and polypropylene food packaging articles used in retail for fast food applications using product life cycle assessment methods." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5731.
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Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Over the last few years consumers have become more environmentally focused and have transferred this pressure upwards through the supply chain to retailers and manufacturers in turn. One of the areas under scrutiny is food packaging, as this does not form part of the product being consumed or used. Packaging's primary function is to protect the contents from the time of manufacture until it is used and the environmental footprint of packaging is only a small portion of the overall food chains'. In a study conducted by Oki and Sasaki (2000) they concluded that, a shortage of packaging materials in nations with inadequate social infrastructures causes extremely heavy losses of foodstuffs. In developed countries foodstuff waste is close to 1 %, whereas in less developed countries the waste can be as high as 50% to 75%. Functional packaging contributes to minimising this waste. Packaging media are often chosen for their ability to satisfy the product's requirements, but different materials are perceived by the public to be more or Jess environmentally friendly, independent of the functional requirements. The products with the better environmental reputation are generally those that are recycled and where companies have promoted the recycling efforts. However the perception does not necessarily reflect the actual environmental impact of the product type. In many instances, when one considers all of the energy costs and pollution effects associated with a particular product's manufacture and recycling, it can have a harsher impact than a single-use product that is disposed of after use. The long term business success of companies in the packaging industry will be linked to consumer preferences for functionally suitable, environmentally friendly packaging. To determine a product's environmental effect, a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is often used. LCA is a quantitative procedure to assess the environmental burdens associated with the life cycle of a product, process or service. The complete life cycle of a product includes the extraction of raw materials (including water), processing, transportation, manufacturing, distribution, the use and reuse of materials, maintenance, recycling and waste disposal. (Brent, A.C.: 2003, 115). In this report LCI's were compiled for three South African product categories, selected on the basis of volume used in the consumer market and suitable comparison products being available. Having completed the LCI based on realistic packaging products and production methods, the results per category can be presented. For a functional unit comparison of two cup types, a volume of 1000 litres was used. The results show that per functional unit, expanded polystyrene cups use 27% less energy, but produce 32% more C02 emissions than paper cups. The paper cups however use 51% more water. Neither product shows a significant overall environmental benefit over the other. For a functional unit comparison of two burger boxes, a functional number of 10 000 boxes was used. The results show that per functional unit the carton board boxes use 89% more energy, produce 268% more CO2 emissions and use 239% more water. Overall, the polystyrene burger box has a lower environmental impact. For a functional unit comparison of two protein packaging trays, a functional number of 10 000 trays was used. The results show that per unit, polypropylene trays use 94% more energy, produce 197% more C02 emissions, but only use 76% of the water compared to a foamed polystyrene tray. The LCI study has produced suitable data to provide a summary where aspects of the environmental impacts of the products can be compared. This information can be used to understand and improve the environmental footprint of the products or to educate the stakeholders who are involved in the packaging decisions. The LCI results differ from similar international studies due to the importation of most raw materials and high air emissions from local electricity production.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Verbruikers het die afgelope paar jaar baie meer omgewingsbewus geword en plaas dus al hoe meer opwaardse druk via die verskaffingsketting op kleinhandelaars en vervaardigers. Een van die areas onder verdenking is voedselverpakking, want dit vorm nie deel van die produk wat verbruik word nie. Verpakking se primere funksie is die beskerming van die inhoud daarvan vanaf vervaardiging tot dit verbruik word. Die omgewingsimpak van verpakking is slegs 'n klein gedeelte van die algehele voedselketting. Navorsing deur Oki en Sasaki (2000) toon dat 'n tekort aan verpakkingsmateriaal in nasies met skaars sosiale infrastrukture veroorsaak geweldige verliese in voedsel. In ontwikkelde lande is voedselvermorsing ongeveer 1% terwyl minder ontwikkelde lande se voedselvermorsing so hoog as 50% tot 75% is. Funksionele verpakking help om die vermorsing te verminder. Verpakkingsmedia word dikwels gekies vir hul vermoee om aan die produk se vereistes te voldoen, maar verskillende materiale word onafhanklik van hul funksionele vereistes deur die publiek as meer of minder omgewingsvriendelik beskou. Die produkte met die beter omgewingsvriendelike reputasie is gewoonlik die wat herwin word en ook waar die herwinningspogins deur die maatskappye bemark word. Die persepsie weerspieel egter nie noodwendig die eintlike omgewingsimpak van die produktipe nie. Dit gebeur dikwels dat wanneer al die energiekostes en besoedelingsgevolge wat met die vervaardiging en herwinning van 'n spesifieke produk in ag geneem word, dit 'n erger impak as 'n produk wat slegs eenmalig gebruik en dan weggegooi word, het. Die langtermyn sukses van maatskappye in die verpakkingsindustrie sal gekoppel word aan verbruikersvoorkeure vir funksionele gepaste, omgewingsvriendelike verpakking. 'n Lewensiklus Analise word dikwels gebruik om 'n produk se omgewingsimpak te bepaal. Dit is 'n kwantitatiewe prosedure wat die omgewingslaste wat met die lewensiklus van ' n produk, proses of diens verband hou assesseer. Die volledige lewensiklus van 'n produk sluit die ekstraksie van rou materiaal (water ingesluit), prossesering, vervoer, vervaardiging, verspreiding, die gebruik en hergebruik van materiaal, instandhouding, herwinning en afval verwydering in (Brent. A.C.: 2003. 115). In hierdie verslag word die Lewensiklus Analise van drie Suid-Afrikaanse produkkategoriee saamgestel. Die kategoriee is geselekteer op grond van die volume gebruik in die verbruikersmark en ook die gepaste vergelykbare produkte wat beskikbaar is. Nadat die Lewensiklus Analise afgehandel is, gebaseer op realistiese verpakkingsprodukte en produksiemetodes, is dit moontlik om die resultate per kategorie voor te stel. 'n Volume van 1000 liter was gebruik vir die funksionele eenheidsvergelyking van twee houertipes. Die resultate toon dat, per funksionele eendheid, die polistireen houers 27% minder energie verbruik, maar dit produseer 32% meer C02 uitlatings as papierhouers. Die papierhouers gebruik egter 51 % meer water. Nie een van die produkte toon egter 'n beduidende algehele omgewingsvoordeel oor die ander nie. 'n Funksionele nommer van 10000 houers was gebruik vir 'n funksionele eenheidssvergelyking van burgerhouers. Die resultate wys dat die kartonhouers, per funksionele eeheid, 89% meer energie verbruik, 268% meer C02 uitlatings produseer en 239% meer water gebruik. Die polistireen bugerhouer het oor die algemeen 'n laer omgewingsimpak. 'n Funksionele nommer van 10 000 houers is gebruik vir die funksionele eenheidsvergelyking van twee protiene verpakkinghouers. Die resultate toon dat, per eenheid, polypropylene houers 94% meer energie verbruik, 197% meer C02 uitlatings produseer, maar net 76% water gebruik in vergelyking met die polistireen houer. Die Lewensiklus eenheidsvergelyking het gepaste data voorsien wat 'n opsomming verskaf waar die aspekte van die omgewingsimpak van die produkte vergelyk kan word. Hierdie inligting kan gebruik word om die omgewingsinvloed van die produkte te verstaan en te verbeter en ook om die deelnemers betrokke by die verpakkingsbesluite op te voed. Die Lewensiklus Analise resultate verskil van soortgelyke internasionale studies as gevolg van die invoer van die meeste rou materiale en groter lug besoedeling van plaaslike elektrisiteitsproduksie.
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Wiegard, Jean, and JWiegard@groupwise swin edu au. "Quantification of Greenhouse Gases at Visy Industries using Life Cycle Assessment." Swinburne University of Technology. School of Engineering and Science, 2001. http://adt.lib.swin.edu.au./public/adt-VSWT20030729.140753.
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Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are vital components of the earth�s atmosphere, trapping heat around the earth, maintaining temperatures necessary for human existence. Until the Industrial Revolution, these gases existed in a natural equilibrium with the environment. Since that time, anthropogenic activities such as fossil fuel burning and land clearing have increased the quantity of GHGs, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), in the earth�s atmosphere. Evidence indicates that global warming is occurring as a result of the additional accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere.
International response to climate change resulted in the 1997 development of the Kyoto Protocol. If the Protocol is ratified, developed countries will be legally bound to reduce their GHG emissions in accordance with negotiated emission reduction targets. At the beginning of the year 2001, the Protocol was still to be ratified.
With the possibility of future GHG emission restrictions, some Australian companies have started quantifying their GHG emission levels. One such company is Visy Industries, the largest privately owned paper packaging manufacturing company in the world. Visy�s core business is the manufacture of cardboard boxes from recycled paper. As part of its future operations, a kraft pulp and paper mill is presently being built in New South Wales, Australia.
The environmental decision support tool, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), was used to quantify Visy�s CO2 and CH4 emissions across the entire life cycle of the Visy paper recycling and virgin papermaking processes. Commercially defined LCA models were developed for both papermaking processes.
GHG emissions estimated by each model were compared and the effect of different energy sources, technologies and manufacturing processes on CO2 and CH4 emissions were assessed. The majority of emissions in the two Visy papermaking models were due to fossil fuel derived energy sources and the decomposition of wood fibre in Solid Waste Disposal Sites (SWDSs). Results were used to propose appropriate GHG reduction strategies and business opportunities.
GHG reduction strategies included increasing the use of renewable energy, reducing the volume of solid waste rejects sent to SWDS, incinerating solid waste rejects with energy recovery and sourcing steam from third party providers. Proposed GHG business opportunities included increasing the production of Greenpower from the pulp and paper mill for sale to the grid.
This thesis is an example of the practical application of current GHG knowledge and LCA methodology that was undertaken in an environment where technical, political and commercial guidelines at both a national and international level were still evolving. Nevertheless, the thesis is not a critical review of LCA methodology.
The LCA support tool was able to quantify CO2 and CH4 emissions across the life cycle of the Visy recycling and virgin papermaking processes. The chosen functional unit, the assumptions and exemptions made, and the placement of the system boundaries, were found to be critical to the Visy LCA results.
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Volpi, Yuli Della. "Turismo e sustentabilidade: a materialidade dos serviços a partir do estudo dos meios de hospedagem." Universidade de São Paulo, 2017. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/100/100136/tde-16092017-153822/.
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Ao mesmo tempo em que o turismo é reconhecido como uma atividade potencialmente causadora de danos ao meio ambiente, motivando diversas pesquisas e ações que visam fomentar a sustentabilidade do setor, a imaterialidade permanece como característica amplamente aceita no entendimento da natureza dos serviços em geral. Nesse sentido, a pesquisa tem como objetivo discutir, à luz de teorias da economia de serviços, a materialidade dos serviços de hospedagem. Para tanto, utiliza se revisão da literatura e a estrutura analítica do conceito de ciclo de vida para abordar as entradas e saídas associadas aos aspectos ambientais do produto fornecido pelos meios de hospedagem. Foram considerados os estágios de produção e uso dos serviços de hospedagem. Assim, diferentes entradas e saídas associadas às fontes de materialidade desses serviços podem ser identificadas. As entradas são: consumo de energia, água, alimentos e bebidas, produtos de higiene pessoal, produtos de limpeza, produtos químicos, combustíveis fósseis e outros produtos. Já as saídas identificadas são: geração de resíduos orgânicos e inorgânicos, descargas de efluentes, emissões atmosféricas, emissões de ruídos e emissões de odores. Tais entradas e saídas decorrem do conteúdo material dos serviços de hospedagem, o qual se manifesta nos locais físicos de produção e na operação dos fatores de produção utilizados. Discutir a materialidade dos serviços e impulsionar um bom desempenho ambiental dos meios de hospedagem é parte importante de um contexto de promoção do turismo sustentávelWhile tourism is recognized as a potential cause of damage to the environment and motivates several researches and actions designed to promote the sector\'s sustainability, the immateriality remains a widely accepted feature in understanding the nature of the services. In this sense, the research aims to discuss, in the light of service economy theories, the materiality of the accommodation services. Therefore, the research uses literature review and the analytical framework of the life cycle concept to address the inputs and outputs associated with the environmental aspects of the product provided by the accommodation businesses. The stages of production and consumption of accommodation services were considered. Thus, different inputs and outputs associated to the materiality sources of accommodation services can be identified. The inputs are: consumption of energy, water, food and beverage, personal care products, cleaning products, chemicals, fossil fuels and other products. The outputs are organic and inorganic waste generation, effluent discharges, atmospheric emissions, noise emissions and odor emissions. These inputs and outputs are derived from the material content of the accommodation services, which is manifested in the physical sites of production and in the production factors operations. Discussing the services materiality and promoting a good environmental performance of accommodations businesses is important in a context of promoting sustainable tourism
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Faco, Luciane Costa. "A inserção de requisitos ambientais na metodologia de projeto em design: investigação dos aspectos a serem considerados no ciclo de vida da lata de alumínio para bebidas no país." Universidade de São Paulo, 2013. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/16/16134/tde-06082013-103931/.
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O presente trabalho é resultado de estudos e considerações sobre a inserção de requisitos ambientais na metodologia de projeto em design, investigando quais as contribuições da ferramenta de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) como método de incorporação desses requisitos, uma vez que permite quantificar o desempenho ambiental dos diferentes produtos e processos, colaborando para a tomada de decisões na prática de projeto. Primeiramente, são selecionadas algumas propostas metodológicas de autores do design, verificando quais podem ser adaptadas ou atualizadas de acordo com critérios ambientais referentes ao ciclo de vida do objeto. Em seguida, apresenta-se a ACV e a sua relação com o campo em questão, finalizando com o estudo de caso do ciclo de vida da lata de alumínio para a indústria de bebidas brasileira, e com a avaliação dos seus impactos ao meio ambiente. O resultado discute as possíveis aplicações de aspectos ambientais presentes na ACV para representar requisitos do ciclo de vida do produto na metodologia de projeto em design, discutindo a sua representatividade como referência para abordagens que priorizam a área do design e da sustentabilidade, bem como a problemática efetiva da não consideração da ACV neste contexto.This dissertation is a result of studies and considerations on the inclusion of environmental requirements in the project methodology of design, investigating which are the contributions of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) instrument as a method for inclusion of those requirements, since it allows quantifying the environmental performance of different products and process, collaborating for decision-making in the project practice. At first, some methodological proposals are selected from the authors of the design, verifying which of them may be adapted or updated in accordance with environmental criteria related to the life cycle of the object. Thereafter, LCA and its relationship with the concerned field are presented, ending with the case study of the life cycle of aluminum cans for the Brazilian beverage industry, and with the assessment of their impacts on the environment. The result discusses the possible applications of environmental aspects considered in the LCA to represent requirements of product life cycle in the project methodology in design, discussing their representativeness as a reference for approaches that prioritize design and sustainability areas, as well as the actual problem of non consideration of LCA in this context.
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May, Nadine, Edeltraud Guenther, and Peer Haller. "Environmental Indicators for the Evaluation of Wood Products in Consideration of Site-Dependent Aspects: A Review and Integrated Approach." Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden, 2018. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-231574.
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On the way towards a more biobased economy, the sustainable use of global wood resources remains a challenge as several trade-offs arise, e.g., from an increased energetic use of wood, an increased use of innovative but probably less recyclable wood composites, or from the need to conserve other forest ecosystem services. The aim of this study is to identify existing environmental indicators and methods for an evaluation of the sustainability of wood products in consideration of all life cycle stages, site-dependent aspects and later use in corporate decision-making. We chose a systematic literature review to answer the research questions explicitly and comprehensively. Qualitative content analysis was used to code indicators and scientific methods according to the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework. The sample (N = 118) is characterized by a high number of life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies. In 51% of all studies, the study authors use a combination of different methods. A total of 78 indicators and 20 site-dependent aspects could be identified in the sample. The study findings represent a first step towards a holistic environmental assessment of wood products.
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May, Nadine, Edeltraud Guenther, and Peer Haller. "Environmental Indicators for the Evaluation of Wood Products in Consideration of Site-Dependent Aspects: A Review and Integrated Approach." Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2017. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A30691.
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On the way towards a more biobased economy, the sustainable use of global wood resources remains a challenge as several trade-offs arise, e.g., from an increased energetic use of wood, an increased use of innovative but probably less recyclable wood composites, or from the need to conserve other forest ecosystem services. The aim of this study is to identify existing environmental indicators and methods for an evaluation of the sustainability of wood products in consideration of all life cycle stages, site-dependent aspects and later use in corporate decision-making. We chose a systematic literature review to answer the research questions explicitly and comprehensively. Qualitative content analysis was used to code indicators and scientific methods according to the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework. The sample (N = 118) is characterized by a high number of life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies. In 51% of all studies, the study authors use a combination of different methods. A total of 78 indicators and 20 site-dependent aspects could be identified in the sample. The study findings represent a first step towards a holistic environmental assessment of wood products.
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Sharma, Manu. "Reverse Logistics and Environmental Considerations in Equipment Leasing and Asset Management." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/4869.
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Reverse Logistics and Environmental Considerations in Equipment Leasing and Asset Management
Manu Sharma
151 Pages
Directed by Dr. Jane C. Ammons
Today many business enterprises employ capital assets in the form of electronic equipment (e.g., personal computers, workstations and peripherals) in large quantities. As a result of rapid technological progress, these products have a very short life cycle, typically not much more than three or four years. Unfortunately, the disposal of electronic equipment (which contains hazardous materials) presents an environmental problem. In the face of rapid equipment changes, current tax laws and disposal challenges, leasing or procurement contracts with take-back considerations are attractive. For a large electronic equipment leasing company, optimal management of assets supported by good logistics decisions is crucial and may provide a significant competitive advantage. The leasing company tries to maximize operating profits through key decisions associated with the length of leases, efficient utilization of logistics facilities for material flow to and from customer sites, and equipment reuse, refurbishment and disposal actions.
In this research, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed to facilitate better decisions from the perspective of an electronic equipment leasing company. The model reduces to a linear program (LP) under certain cost assumptions. All computational results are based on the LP version of the model. A case study with representative industry data validates the approach and demonstrates the utility of the model in answering key research questions. Next, important problem uncertainties are identified and prioritized. The effects of these key uncertainties on optimal lease length and product flow decisions are examined in detail via an extended case study. It is also shown how the leasing company can make near-robust leasing decisions in the face of these uncertainties.
The computational research results also have implications for policy formulation on electronic waste. The important insights include an understanding of the potential impacts and expected effectiveness of alternative environmental legislation in different geographic areas, and the imposition of negative externalities on other policy realms as a result of this non-uniform approach. Therefore, this research contributes new models and understanding to the intersection of the fields of reverse logistics and equipment replacement, and provides valuable insights to both business asset managers and environmental policy makers.
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Wright, Lucy. "Product life cycle management." Thesis, University of Surrey, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.301674.
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Sousa, Inês (Maria Inês Silva Sousa) 1972. "Integrated product design and life-cycle assessment." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/46141.
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Lu, Di. "Environmental life cycle driven decision making in product design." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/34843.
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There is growing interest in the assessment of products from a life cycle perspective. Product life cycles are often dominated by extensive chemical supply chains that lead up to the materials contained in the products and the overwhelming contribution that the production of these chemicals make to the overall life cycle due to their energy intensity. Hence, chemical engineers are uniquely positioned to carry out significant components of this assessment because of their skills in chemical process design and analysis. Furthermore, the complexity and extent of life cycle concerns creates opportunities for new process systems tools to be developed to support product design and analysis.
The specific thesis objectives are threefold. The first is to develop a systematic methodology to optimize material selections for a product based on life cycle inventory (LCI) characteristics. The second is to use this methodology combined with sustainability assessment standards to assess whether these standards are congruent with life cycle assessment. The third is to develop an approach to design product sustainability assessment standards that are clear and consistent with life cycle principles. The overall contributions will be in the applied domain of life cycle assessment and its integration into standards setting, and in contributions to optimization tools and methods.
The three objectives will be illustrated in the domain of carpet systems. Previous research has generated a substantial database of gate-to-gate (GTG) life cycle inventories for various chemicals that make up carpet, extending from the inputs to the final carpet mill back to the natural resources such as oil, natural gas and mined calcium carbonate. Carpet recycling is a promising alternative approach for reducing life cycle impacts and is being practiced at a growing scale in the U.S. This thesis uses the specific individual LCI gate-to-gate blocks for virgin materials and for important carpet recycling and general polymer recycling processes. A database for the GTG LCI will be used to construct a virtual chemical tree that automatically that represents the potential cradle-to-gate (CTG) use of resources. The alternatives for each possible route for the product will be generated, and optimization approaches will be applied to optimize the performance of the carpet system according to life cycle objectives.
Sustainability assessment standards are currently being developed for a range of building products, such as carpet, resilient flooring, commercial textile coverings and office furniture. This activity has been stimulated through the considerable success of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED standard. The LEED Standard is points-based: the building design and construction earns points for having certain attributes or promoting certain activities. The points are totaled and then the building earns a rating based on the total being above a certain threshold. The second thesis objective is met through extending the LCI optimization methodology to represent point-based standards. A product can then be optimized to maximize the number of points it earns or to minimize its life cycle attributes. This approach can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of an emerging carpet sustainability standard, NSF-140, in integrating LCI into the standard.
The last objective, standard design, is approached through designing the tables that award points in the standard to be consistent with life cycle information. Certain minimum principles of consistency are articulated and then the designs shown to be consistent with these principles in the case that the life cycle impact assessment method maps the life cycle inventory to impact through a linear weighting.
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Ek, Lina, and Sanna Ström. "Evaluating the Environmental Impact of a Product : Partial Life Cycle Assessment." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Jönköping University, JTH, Logistik och verksamhetsledning, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-49821.
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Purpose – The purpose of this research is to investigate how manufacturing organisations can decrease their environmental impact in the supply chain. To meet the purpose, two research questions were formulated: 1. How can a manufacturing organisation reduce its environmental impact caused by transportation? 2. How can a manufacturing organisation reduce its environmental impact caused by production? Method – To provide the opportunity to reach a conclusion and to create a basic understanding of the research area, a literature review was conducted, which formed the basis of the theoretical framework. Through a case study at a manufacturing organisation, interviews and document analyses were used as sources for empirical data. In order to develop solutions and recommendations, collected data and theoretical framework were analysed and discussed. Findings – The research findings indicate that there are several possible measures to implement to reduce an organisation's environmental impact in the supply chain. A decisive factor is creating a holistic and fundamental understanding of sustainability and enabling everyone involved to work according a common view and in the same direction. In addition, a requirement to pursue the same goal is that all stakeholders are involved where a prerequisite is a well-functioning internal communication. Implications – The research did not contribute to any new theories, but through the research analysis, statements and theories from previous research were strengthened. The research suggests actions that can be used for organisations to reduce their environmental impact, but also to increase the understanding of why actions should be implemented. Society has an important responsibility for motivating and provide conditions for manufacturing organisations to reduce their footprint. This research is considered to lead to an improved environment in the form of lower emission levels where both organisations and the entire community take responsibility for the planet. Limitations – The case study is designed as a single-case study which, from a validity perspective, is not considered as advantageous as a multiple case study because the results are difficult to generalize. In order to strengthen the study's reliability, several functional units and / or organisations could have been included in the study.
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Dalhammar, Carl. "An emerging product approach in environmental law : incorporating the life cycle perspective /." Lund : International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, 2007. http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/561382867.pdf.
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Mattsson, Berit. "Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of agricultural food production /." Alnarp : Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges lantbruksuniv.), 1999. http://epsilon.slu.se/avh/1999/91-576-5734-3.pdf.
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Dong, Yahong, and 董雅紅. "Life cycle sustainability assessment modeling of building construction." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/206665.
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Building industry is one of the most influential economic sectors, which accounts for 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) globally and 40% of the world energy consumption. To achieve the goal of sustainable development, it is necessary to understand the sustainability performance of building construction in the environmental, the economic and the social aspects. This study quantitatively evaluates impacts of building construction in the three aspects by using the recently developed life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) methodology, in which environmental life cycle assessment (ELCA), environmental life cycle costing (ELCC), and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) are integrated. The scope of this research covers ‘cradle-to-site’ life cycle stages, from raw material extraction to on-site construction.
Three life-cycle models are developed, namely the Environmental Model of Construction (EMoC), the Cost Model of Construction (CMoC), and the Social-impact Model of Construction (SMoC). EMoC is a comprehensive ELCA model that evaluates environmental impacts of building construction by considering eighteen impact categories. CMoC is an ELCC model that provides analyses on construction costs and externalities. SMoC is an innovative S-LCA model being able to quantify social impacts of building construction in thirteen social impact categories. The three models are then integrated into a newly proposed LCSA framework.
In order to select an appropriate LCIA method for EMoC, the differences among existing life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods are investigated. It is found that LCIA methods are consistent in global impact categories, while inconsistent in regional impact categories. ‘ReCiPe’ is selected as the LCIA method to be used in EMoC. Midpoint and endpoint approaches of ‘ReCiPe’ can lead to different interpretations. Endpoint approach emphasizes on certain impact categories and can only be used when midpoint results are provided.
A life cycle inventory is established for ready mixed concrete and precast concrete based on site-specific data from concrete batching plant and precast yard. EMoC is employed to compare environmental performance of precast and cast-in-situ construction methods. It is found that adoption of precast concrete can significantly improve environmental performance of building construction. SMoC suggests that adoption of precast concrete can have both negative and positive impacts on local employment.
A case study is conducted to test the model performance. It demonstrates that environmental impacts of ‘cradle-to-site’ construction activities are mostly attributed to the material stage. The external cost due to carbon emission is about 2% of the total construction cost. Environmental-friendly on-site construction practices can significantly improve social performance of building construction.
The major findings of this study are verified through interviews with the local experts in Hong Kong. These validation interviews confirm that the proposed LCSA framework and the developed models contribute to the building industry in Hong Kong. In particular, this study can be used as a supplementary to the building assessment scheme, HK BEAM Plus. Results from this study can improve the understanding of building sustainability.published_or_final_version
Civil Engineering
Doctoral
Doctor of Philosophy
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Zackrisson, Mats. "Product orientation of environmental work - barriers & incentives." Licentiate thesis, Stockholm : Skolan för industriell teknik och management, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-10585.
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Intlekofer, Koji. "Environmental implications of leasing." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/33835.
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This thesis will investigate the possibility of leasing as a 'greener' form of business transaction. With leasing, the customer pays for the service obtained form the product, but does not own the physical asset; ownership remains with the lessor. This has been claimed to increase resource productivity and close material loops. Numerous complications exist, however, such as tax regulations limiting operating leases to terms of 75% of the total product's life. In addition, no clear pattern has emerged in leasing practices, and in most cases manufacturers approach leasing on an ad hoc basis. Research has found that usage-phase impacts play a major role in determining the advantages realized by leasing. Products such as vehicles or refrigerators that continually consume energy negatively impact the environment much more during their use than during manufacturing or transportation. Because most lease agreements contain maintenance contracts, the opportunity to upgrade and increase product efficiency during this use-phase is paramount to reducing negative impacts. Remanufacturing also shows potential to further reduce resource requirements. However, if product efficiency is not improving significantly, remanufacturing alone does not make a significant impact. In some cases, such as carpets, remanufacturing is not practical, but recycling can be utilized. However, tax regulations require leased terms to be less than that of a product's designed life, hastening replacement. This has the potential to offset any advantages seen with a lease agreement. Academic work in this area remains very limited and product-specific. Case study analyses performed in this thesis found that increased product turnover can actually be environmentally beneficial when product technology is improving. These gains can be further improved with remanufacturing and optimized product replacement moderated by lease agreements. If usage energy is significantly less than manufacturing energy, leasing has little value for reducing impacts. Also leasing may motivate closed material loops, without improving product efficiencies there is no advantage to optimizing life cycles with lease contracts.
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Cobert, Austin. "Environmental comparison of Michelin Tweel and pneumatic tire using life cycle analysis." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/37202.
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Recently Michelin has been developing a new airless, integrated tire and wheel combination called the Tweel. The Tweel promises performance levels beyond those possible with conventional pneumatic technology because of its shear band design, added suspension, and decreased rolling resistance. However, many questions remain as to what kind of environmental impact this radical new design will have. The environmental impact of the Tweel will be compared to a current radial tire used on BMWs, but because of the complexity in manufacturing, using, and disposing these tires it is somewhat difficult to compare environmental problems. Currently there are environmental issues all throughout a tire's lifespan from rubber manufacturing emissions to tire disposal, and the rapidly growing method to evaluate all of these points is Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). LCA is the essential tool required by businesses in order to understand the total environmental impact of their products - cradle-to-grave. By considering the entire life cycle of a Tweel from manufacturing, through use and disposal, and comparing it to knowledge of current tires, an accurate assessment of the entire environmental impact of the Tweel will be made. Since the Tweel is currently still in the research phase and is not currently manufactured and used however, there are uncertainties with respect to end-of-life scenarios and rolling resistance estimates that will affect the LCA. Thus, it will be important to consider a range of options to determine which one will have the most environmental benefits while still keeping the strengths of the Tweel design intact.
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Muller, Johannes Christoffel. "Comparative financial and environmental life cycle assessment of three South African pork production chains." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96815.
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Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The world demand for animal proteins and profit-driven production has led to producing animal proteins intensively. Intensive pork production systems have traditionally had a poor image with the public, because these production systems are associated with environmental pollution. Currently, pigs are produced on highly specialised farms, and are fed concentrated (often imported) pig feed. The resulting higher production and higher animal densities contribute to an increased pollution of water, soil and air. The aim of this study is to determine the energy balance and emissions of three case studies, and to compare these results with their financial performance. The impacts will be recorded in the following impact categories: global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP) and Energy Use (EU). The case studies are three typical South African pig production facilities selected by the South African pork producer’s organisation (SAPPO). The production inputs, from the feed acquisition to the delivery of one kg of pig at the farm gate, were included. The three farms are located in different areas in South Africa, namely KwaZulu-Natal province (Case study 1), North-West province (Case study 2) and Western Cape province (Case study 3). The functional unit (FU) for this study is defined as 1 kg of South African pig (live-weight) at the farm gate. This study found that the GWP/FU of Case study 2 is 4 and 2 % higher than Case studies 1 and 3 respectively. The EP/FU of Case study 1 is 9 and 6 % higher than Case studies 2 and 3 respectively. The AP/FU of Case study 1 is 4 and 5 % higher than Case studies 2 and 3 respectively. The EU/FU of Case study 3 is 45 % and 16 % higher than Case studies 1 and 2 respectively. The major activities that contributed to the environmental impact categories were the slurry management activity, followed by electricity usage. The financial and environmental performance comparison did show deviations. Therefore, it is recommended that environmental and financial performance measurements be made, in order to create a true reflection of the impacts. The potential for improvement in financial and environmental performance proved to be significant in the productivity of the sow herd, as well as in the management of the piglets. The location of the production facility does not claim to hold have significant environmental or financial implications. Management of the emissions produced by piggeries can offset the impact of the piggery's location.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nie beskikbaar.
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Cleary, Julian. "Greenhouse gas emissions from peat extraction in Canada : a life cycle perspective." Thesis, McGill University, 2003. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=78340.
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This study uses life cycle analysis to examine the net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the activities of the peat industry in Canada for the period 1990 to 2000. GHG accounting is undertaken for (1) land use change, (2) peat extraction and processing, (3) the transport of peat to market by truck, train and ship, and (4) the in situ decomposition of extracted peat. The emission estimates were based on results from GHG accounting models using data derived from scientific literature, government and industry statistics, and the responses to a questionnaire sent to Canada's peat establishments. The questionnaire, designed to obtain information on peat extraction methods, land and fuel use, as well as the transportation of peat, had a response rate representing 69% of Canada's total peat production in the year 2000. Results indicate that 540 600 tonnes of greenhouse gases were emitted in 1990 and 893 300 tonnes were emitted in the year 2000 (emission figures are measured in CO2 equivalents using a 100-year time horizon). Peat decomposition was by far the largest source of GHG emissions, averaging 70.6% of total emissions during the eleven-year period from 1990 to 2000. Greenhouse gases from land use change averaged 14.7%. An average of 10.4% of total emissions resulted from the transport of peat to market, while GHGs from extraction and processing averaged 4.3%. Predictions of the annual GHG emissions from the peat industry, assuming a "business as usual" context, were produced for the years 2001 to 2012. These figures were compared with those resulting from various greenhouse gas reduction scenarios.
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Troxel, Cameron Francis. "Life cycle analysis of sediment control devices." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/49105.
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Sediment control devices (SCDs) are critical to reducing the contamination of waterways from adjacent construction sites. Perimeter sediment controls retard the flow of surface runoff water originating on site and subsequently reduce solid, nutrient, and metal concentrations suspended in the flowing water. Silt fence is a commonly used SCD comprised of geotextile filter fabric, steel or wood support posts, and wire mesh reinforcement. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) uses an extensive amount of silt fence every year, and because of high degradation of geotextile in the field, the silt fence installations are rarely recycled. This research measures the performance of five SCDs (two types of silt fence, mulch berm, compost sock, and straw bales) at suspended solid, turbidity, nutrient, and metal reduction. A life cycle analysis (LCA) is performed to identify environmental impacts associated with material production, assembly, installation, use on site, and disposal. An impact analysis is performed according to for each SCD. Results of the impact analysis are compared to determine the SCD with lowest overall environmental impact. Results of the SCD performance study show that silt fence installations performed the best at reducing suspended solids and turbidity, mulch was best at reducing nutrients, and compost was the best at reducing metal concentrations. The life cycle impact analysis indicates that a mulch berm is the SCD with the lowest overall environmental impact. The impact analysis included global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, and aquatic toxicity.
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Amaya, Rivas Jorge Luis. "Assessment of the environmental benefits provided by closed-loop strategies for industrial products." Thesis, Grenoble, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012GRENI074/document.
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Les produits avec des phases d'usage multiple sont de plus en plus pris en considération a du fait des pressionséconomiques et environnementales. Ces produits aux cycles de vie complexes, utilisent des process tels que leremanufacturing. Ces process doivent être modélisés et évaluée par des équipes de conception. Cette thèse montrecomment représenter, modéliser et évaluer des produits en cycle de vie à boucle fermées. L'étude montre commentétablir des évaluations environnementales pour ces produits et les comparer aux évaluations environnementales decycles de vie classiques.Les modèles ont été développés sur des travaux antérieurs, tels que la méthodologie de Gehin et al. basée sur leconcept du brique du cycle de vie produit. La première approche proposée sert pour évaluer les bénéficesenvironnementaux des opérations et des activités autour du cycle de vie de produit en boucle fermée(remanufacturing scénario de fin de vie et systèmes de produit-service comme stratégie de vente des services).L'introduction de systèmes produit-service vise à réduire les impacts environnementaux de produits parl'intensification de l'utilisation. Ainsi, la thèse propose un modèle pour évaluer les éléments de systèmes produitsserviceet leur cycle de vie du point de vue environnemental. La thèse se concentre sur l'élaboration d'un modèle quiintègre le cycle de vie d’un produit-service système et ses paramètres, en tenant en compte des éléments physiques,ainsi que de l'infrastructures, la conception des unités de services, les acteurs dans la logistique et leurs interactions.Les modèles permettent d’identifier et de distinguer les différentes phases du cycle de vie du produit et de réajuster ladécision des concepteurs dans le processus de conception du produit. De plus, le modèle cherche l'intégration desparamètres du process de remanufacturing et des systèmes produit-service dans l'ensemble du cycle de vie duproduit. Les modèles visent à aider la conception de produits et de processus, ainsi que les acteurs de la chaîneapprovisionnement et les personnes chargées de la prise de décision sur la conception du produit et deschangements dans le système.Les résultats peuvent être utilisés, afin d'évaluer la performance environnementale des différents scénarios de fin devie des produits, fournissant un outil pour les concepteurs qui permet de quantifier les avantages environnementauxliés à l'utilisation des produits en cycle de vie en boucle ferméeProducts with multiple use phases have to be considered regarding new economic and environmental pressures.Therefore, the related complex life cycles of (re)manufactured products have to be modeled and assessed by designteams for a better understanding of their performance. This thesis presents methodologies to represent, model andassess closed-loop product lifecycle (focused on remanufacturing strategies). The study shows how to establishenvironmental assessments for remanufactured products life cycles and how to compare them to environmentalassessments for classical life cycles.The present study shows how to establish the models and how to compare the environmental assessments ofremanufactured products life cycles vs. classical life cycle scenarios. The objective is to provide easy to use methodsand tools for designers to allow them quantifying the environmental benefits related to the use of a closed loopstrategy. In this project, a life cycle assessment, life cycle bricks, and a parametric model of the products are used toevaluate and compare the environmental benefits provided by the remanufacturing. The methodologies and modelshave been developed based on previous works, such as the the life cycle bricks concept developed by Gehin et al.[2007].On the other hand, the thesis proposes a model to assess the product-service systems elements and their respectivelife cycle from an environmental point of view. Here, the thesis focuses on the development of a model whichintegrates the product lifecycle within those parameters by a product-service system strategy, taking into accountphysical elements, as well as the infrastructures network, unit services design, supply chain actors and theirinteractions.Finally, a model has been developed to assess from an environmental point of view the data of the operations andactivities around product life cycle of the products with final non classic disposition scenarios (remanufacturing asend-of-life scenario and multiple uses by the disposition of the service offers system as a business strategy). Themethodologies and models proposed allow identifying and distinguishing impacts between the different product lifecycle stages and readjust the designers’ decision at the product design stage. The results can be further used insimulation, to evaluate the environmental performance of different product life cycle end-of-life scenarios
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Landu, Landu. "Environmental life cycle assessment of water use in South Africa the Rosslyn industrial area as a case study /." Pretoria : [s.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-04242006-153804.
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Martin, Michael. "Industrial Symbiosis in the Biofuel Industry : Quantification of the Environmental Performance and Identification of Synergies." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Industriell miljöteknik, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-90233.
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The production of biofuels has increased in recent years, to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate climate change. However, current production practices are heavily criticized on their environmental sustainability. Life cycle assessments have therefore been used in policies and academic studies to assess the systems; with divergent results. In the coming years however, biofuel production practices must improve to meet strict environmental sustainability policies. The aims of the research presented in this thesis, are to explore and analyze concepts from industrial symbiosis (IS) to improve the efficiency and environmental performance of biofuel production and identify possible material and energy exchanges between biofuel producers and external industries. An exploration of potential material and energy exchanges resulted in a diverse set of possible exchanges. Many exchanges were identified between biofuel producers to make use of each other’s by-products. There is also large potential for exchanges with external industries, e.g. with the food, energy and chemical producing industries. As such, the biofuel industry and external industries have possibilities for potential collaboration and environmental performance improvements, though implementation of the exchanges may be influenced by many conditions. In order to analyze if concepts from IS can provide benefits to firms of an IS network, an approach was created which outlines how quantifications of IS networks can be produced using life cycle assessment literature for guidelines and methodological considerations. The approach offers methods for quantifying the environmental performance for firms of the IS network and an approach to distribute impacts and credits for the exchanges between firm, to test the assumed benefits for the firms of the IS network. Life cycle assessment, and the approach from this thesis, have been used to quantify the environmental performance of IS networks by building scenarios based on an example from an IS network of biofuel producers in Sweden. From the analyses, it has been found that exchanges of material and energy may offer environmental performance improvements for the IS network and for firms of the network. However, the results are dependent upon the methodological considerations of the assessments, including the reference system, functional unit and allocation methods, in addition to important processes such as the agricultural inputs for the system and energy systems employed. By using industrial symbiosis concepts, biofuel producers have possibilities to improve the environmental performance. This is done by making use of by-products and waste and diversifying their products, promoting a transition toward biorefinery systems and a bio-based economy for regional environmental sustainability.Produktionen av biobränslen har ökat de senaste åren, vilket är ett steg mot klimateffektivare lösningar i transportsektorn, men biodrivmedlen har ifrågasatts med hänvisning till tveksamheter kring deras miljö- och energiprestanda. Lifecykelanalyser har därför använts inom akademiska studier och för policy för att utvärdera systemen, dock utan samstämmiga resultat. Under de kommande åren måste därför praxis för produktion av biobränslen förbättras för att kunna möta de strikta kraven i hållbarhetskriterier för biobränslen. Syftet med forskningen som presenteras i den här doktorsavhandlingen är att utforska och analysera koncept från området Industriell symbios (IS) och därigenom identifiera förbättringar för ökad effektivitet och miljöprestanda för biobränsleproduktion. Vidare är syftet att identifiera möjliga material- och energiutbyten mellan biobränsleproducenter och externa industrier. Potentiella material- och energiutbyten undersöktes, vilket resulterade förslag på flera olika typer av potentiella utbyten. Undersökningen visar på en potential för att använda biprodukter i en biobränsleprocess som råvara till en annan biobränsleframställning. Vidare identifierades en stor potential för utbyten med externa industrier, som till exempel matproducenter samt industrier för energi och kemikalier. Det är tydligt att det finns möjligheter för biobränsleproducenter och externa industrier att samarbeta och därmed ge möjlighet till förbättringar i miljöprestandan, dock kan en implementering av dessa utbyten påverkas av många olika förutsättningar. Avhandlingen presenterar även ett tillvägagångssätt för att visa hur kvantifiering av miljöprestanda inom ett nätverk för IS kan genomföras genom att använda riktlinjer och metodavvägningar från litteratur för livscykelanalys. Detta tillvägagångssätt kan användas för att analysera om koncept från IS kan leda till fördelar för företagen i ett IS-nätverk. Tillvägsgångssättet ger möjlighet att kvantifiera miljöprestandan för företagen i IS-nätverket och ger dessutom vägledning för hur miljöpåverkan från utbytena kan distribueras mellan de olika företagen. Metoden utvecklades för att bland annat undersöka de förmodade fördelarna från IS för varje enskild aktör. Livscykelanalys i kombination med tillvägagångssättet ovan har använts för att kvantifiera miljöprestandan för IS-nätverk genom att konstruera scenarier. Scenarierna har baserats på ett exempel från ett IS-nätverk av biobränsleprocenter i Sverige. Analyserna visar att utbyten av material- och energi kan ge förbättringar i miljöprestanda. Resultaten är dock beroende av vilka metodavvägningar som gjorts, till exempel val av referenssystem, funktionell enhet och allokeringsmetoder. Vidare spelar viktiga processer som inputs från jordbruk och val av energisystem stor roll för resultatet. Metodavvägningar för utväderingen influerar även miljöpåverkan samt hur den fördelas mellan företagen i IS-nätverket. Dessutom kan den lokala miljöpåverkan öka medan den globala påverkan minskar. Sammanfattningsvis kan biobränsleproducenter, genom att använda koncept från industriell symbios, ges möjlighet att förbättra sin miljöprestanda. Detta kan ske genom att använda biprodukter och avfall samt genom att diversifiera sina produkter som ett första steg mot en övergång mot bioraffinaderier och en mer biobaserad ekonomi för regional hållbarhet.
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Bezy, Susana Elizabeth. "A life-cycle assessment of concrete in Hong Kong: the consumption and disposal of concrete materials andthe environmental criteria and factors regarding its production, useand disposal." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1995. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31253040.
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Lagerstedt, Jessica. "Functional and environmental factors in early phases of product development - Eco functional matrix." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Machine Design, 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-3465.
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Interest in environmental issues has increased enormouslyover the last few decades and environmental problems areperceived to be on the increase. Due to the fact that thenumber of products on the market increases enormously, it isevident that we face a great challenge to overcome the problemconcerning our consumer society. An increasing barrage oflegislation accompanied by the publics awareness of, andconcern for, the environment forcing the industry to respond.Products and their environmental impact have moved to thecentre stage and it is widely believed that designers have akey role in adapting products to a sustainable society. Threekey issues are identified in this development scenario: (a) theimportance of adapting products to a more sustainable society,(b) the specific situation facing the designer, especially inearly design phases, and (c) balancing environmental impactswith functional preferences.
Research in this thesis presents a theoretical framework fordescribing environmental issues and the role of the designer inproduct development, as well as functional characteristics ofproducts in the early phases of design. Based on anengineering-design science foundation, theoretical models andconcepts have been developed describing how both functional andenvironmental preferences can be visualised in design forenvironment and product development. Case studies andinterviews have been performed and integrated into a coherenttheoretical model for identifying and evaluating functional andenvironmental preferences within ecodesign approach andreasoning.
The overall concept proposed in this thesis is called theeco functional matrix, based on two parts: functional profileand environmental profile. The functional profile represent thefunctional characteristics and environmental profile theenvironmental characteristics respectively of a product in theearly phases of design. One of the objectives behind theconcept is to highlight the importance of balancing functionalrequirements and environmental impacts, presenting both theadvantages and disadvantages of the product. The basic idea isto account for user and societal preferences as well asenvironmental impact when assessing alternative productconcepts at early design stages. Balancing both the functionalrequirements and the negative environmental impacts of productsis the road to sustainable development.
KEYWORDSDesign for environment, life-cycle design,eco-design, eco-design methods, product environmentalcharacteristics, product functional characteristics, customerbenefit, value analysis, functional profile, environmentalprofile, eco functional matrix, product properties.
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Lindner, Soeren Martin. "Disaggregating the electricity sector to build a hybrid life cycle assessment model : method development and application to China for evaluating energy related CO₂ emissions." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648205.
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Forslund, Ted. "Assessing environmental impacts of a packaging product when transitioning towards Circular Economy." Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-232963.
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Packaging is a fundamental part of the life cycle of products and today´s life. Its purpose is to protect and maintain the function of the goods during different stages of the life cycle. Hence, the packaging needs to fulfil the functional demands to contribute to a sustainable life cycle of the specific product (Muthu, 2016). Circular Economy (CE) is a methodology which aims to decouple the economic growth and the consumption of finite resources (Hughes, 2017). The idea is to close product and material flow through reuse, repair or recycling methods. The possibilities for circularity is mainly created in the product development and design phase (European-Commission, 2017). The thesis aim is to assess the potential environmental impact of an existing packaging product and investigate how a circular business model affects the environmental performance. The objectives to answer the aim was to map the wooden material flows of the packaging product and to assess the potential environmental impacts throughout the Lifecycle of a wooden pallet, i.e. the NONS pallet. The results pointed out that the pallet stands for the largest share of packaging products at the pallet production site at Jularbo. However, it only constitutes for under 1 % of the total outtake of logs (volume) in the supply chain of AB Karl Hedin. The MFA also displayed that the supply chain is utilising the bio-material in the best possible way with little or no possible improvements. Instead, the circularity possibilities were within the distribution phase of the lifecycle. The Cumulative Energy Demand of the NONS pallet was 376.4 MJ, with the main contribution from the production of the NONS pallet, including the supply chain. The outcome of the characterised results was that the production including the supply chain and the disposal stage contributed the most in all categories except for one, terrestrial ecotoxicity. The results of the EcoDesign improvements according to CE, show a reduction in 11 of the ReCiPe categories. For example, the global warming was reduced by 58 %. The CED was decreased in all categories, renewable and non-renewable. However, the EcoDesign improvements lead to an increase in five ReCiPe categories. The increase is related to the additional distance because of reverse logistics. Following recommendations are made based on the results. An implementation of a circular business model is recommended. The model is in line with the recommendations from the European Union and has the potential to decrease environmental impacts throughout the lifecycle. The implementation will require changes in the design of the NONS pallet and collaboration between stakeholders in the value chain to assess the trade-offs between impact categories. The plastic sheet has a high contribution to environmental impact categories and is recommended to be redesign in collaboration with stakeholders within the value chain. Temporarily, the plastic sheet should be placed on top of the pallet to improve the possibilities for reuse and recycling. The combination of a quantitative tool (LCA) and the qualitative (EcoDesign) provides valuable information on how the potential environmental impacts are affected when implementing a more circular business model. Although, there is difficultness of implementing the tools on an existing design and system. The tools should be implemented early in the product development phase to increase the CE options. The action towards circularity should be a proactive measure to ensure competitive advantages for the future.Förpackningar är en fundamental del av det globala samhället. Förpackningens uppgift är att skydda och bibehålla innehållet under dess livscykel. För att det ska vara möjligt så krävs det resurser i form av energi och material. Cirkulär ekonomi är en metod för att frånkoppla den ekonomiska tillväxten med resursutnyttjande genom att stänga materialflöden. Det kan göras genom återanvändning, lagning, samt återvinning. Tidigare forskning har visat att det krävs metoder i produktutvecklingsfasen för att kunna nå målen inom cirkulär ekonomi. Syftet är att undersöka miljöpåverkan för en befintlig förpackningsprodukt ur ett holistiskt perspektiv för att sedan utvärdera och undersöka hur en cirkulär affärsmodell för produkten påverkar miljön. För att nå målsättningen utformades delmål utifrån en specialutformad träpall, en förpackningsprodukt av AB Karl Hedin. Sedan genomfördes en materialflödesanalys på användningen av träprodukter hos leverantörskedjan, samt en livscykelanalys och EcoDesign analys på den specifika träpallen. Resultaten visar att produktionen av NONS pallen står för den största andelen (volym) i produktionsanläggningen i Jularbo (produkttyp). Men användningen av sågat virke i produkten utgör under 1 % av det totala volymuttaget per år. Materialflödesanalysen visade även att leverantörskedjan utnyttjar de olika delarna från trädet på bästa möjliga vis. Istället fanns det större potential för att återcirkulera material i distributionfasen samt i slutskedet för träpallen. Resultatet av livscykelanalysen visar att produktionen av NONS pallen (inklusive leverantörer) har störst miljöpåverkan sett ur ett holistiskt perspektiv. Resultatet av EcoDesign förbättringarna, baserade på cirkulär ekonomi, visar en minskning inom 11 av 17 ReCiPe kategorierna. Den globala uppvärmningen (CO2 eq) minskade med 58 %. Det kumulativa energibehovet minskade inom alla kategorier, förnybara samt icke-förnybara. Resultatet visar även att miljöpåverkan ökade inom 5 kategorier vilket kan härledas till det ökade logistikbehovet för cirkulära flöden. Rekommendationerna utifrån resultatet är följande, Implementera en cirkulär affärsmodell vilket är i linje med rekommendationer från EU och den har potential att minska den totala miljöpåverkan. Det kommer krävas ombearbetning av pallens design samt ett ökat samarbete i AB Karl Hedins värdekedja. Plastskyddet har en hög bidragande faktor till miljöpåverkan för NONS pallens livscykel. Därför rekommenderas att ett samarbete mellan olika parter etableras för att omarbeta designen för just plastskyddet. Tillsvidare bör plasten placeras ovanpå pallen för att underlätta återvinning av plasten sam återanvändning av pallen i den cirkulära affärsmodellen. Slutligen, kombinationen av ett kvantitativt verktyg (LCA) tillsammans med ett kvalitativt (EcoDesign) ger goda möjligheter för att utvärdera affärsmodeller mot cirkulär ekonomi. Den cirkulära affärsmodellen har potential att minska den totala miljöpåverkan. Men det kan vara problematiskt och kostsamt att genomföra en cirkulär ekonomi affärsplan på linjära affärsmodeller. Därför ska metoderna implementeras i ett tidigt skede i produktutvecklingsfasen för att uppnå bäst effekt. Implementeringen av cirkulär ekonomi bör ses som ett proaktivt beslut för att vara konkurrenskraftig i framtiden.
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Olin, Lovisa. "Towards sustainable project management : A life cycle approach to evaluate the biopharmaceutical industry." Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-284348.
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Adopting sustainability practices in both planned and current operations is increasingly important to many organizations. Due to increased awareness various companies are adopting life cycle thinking. For example, life cycle considerations from raw material extraction to final disposal of products or services are requested in environmental management system standard ISO 14001:2015. Octapharma is a biopharmaceutical company producing various medical products for the treatment of haematology, immunotherapy and critical care. The desire to incorporate environmental life cycle thinking into investment projects led to the research question of how this can be achieved at Octapharma in Stockholm. The objectives included a qualitative investigation of current environmental management strategies practiced in investment projects today. Secondly, a case study investment project was used to explore how one of the most commonly practiced life cycle management (LCM) tools, life cycle assessment (LCA), can be applied for the comparison of two alternative process technologies. The results showed that Octapharma today considers environmental aspects in some investment projects, such as construction, but it may be improved in other types of investment projects. Therefore, specific suggestions and modifications of the project model, in relation to life cycle management literature was developed for important checkpoints in the project management model. Lastly the case project comparative LCA showed that one of the technologies had a significant larger environmental footprint.Inkludering av ett hållbarhetsperspektiv i företags nuvarande och framtida verksamhet har fått ökande betydelse. På grund av större medvetenhet inkluderar flera organisationer ett livscykeltänk, dvs. utvärdering av miljöpåverkan från råvaruextraktion till avfallshantering av både produkter och tjänster. Bland annat ISO 14001:2015, en miljöledningsstandard, har infört krav på livscykeltänk i certifierade verksamheter. Octapharma är ett läkemedelsföretag som tillverkar produkter inom hematologi, immunterapi och intensivvård. På grund av ett intresse för livscykeltänk i investeringsprojekt på Octapharmas Stockholmsfabrik skapades ett behov av att undersöka hur detta skulle kunna åstadkommas. Delmålen i detta projekt innefattar en kvalitativ undersökning om nuvarande inkludering av miljöaspekter i investeringsprojekt med viktiga projektintressenter i verksamheten. En kvantitativ jämförande livscykelanalys (LCA) av ett avslutat investeringsprojekt syftade till att genomföra en LCA av två olika processteknologier. Resultatet visar att Octapharma idag inkluderar miljöfrågor i vissa typer av projekt, framför allt byggprojekt, men implementeringen i andra projekt kan förbättras. Fortsättningsvis resulterade litteratursökningen och den kvalitativa undersökningen i ett antal förslag på förbättringar i projektmodellen på punkter där miljöfrågor är extra viktiga för slutresultatet. Den jämförande LCAn visade att den ena teknologin hade en betydligt större miljöpåverkan.
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Janoco, Martin. "Evaluating the sustainability of vegetarian, vegan, and New Nordic diets in Sweden : Combining environmental and nutritional aspects." Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-260278.
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Changing the western dietary pattern toward a healthier diet with reduced intake of animal foods is a commonly recognized strategy in the ongoing effort for global sustainability. Since animal foods tend to have a high environmental impact, vegetarian diets are often suggested as an ecological alternative to the typical Western diet. The low sum of environmental impacts, however, does not on its own necessarily translate to a sustainable diet. Sustainability encompasses many other aspects, such as nutritional adequacy, affordability, and cultural acceptability. As regards the elimination of animal foods in particular, health-related aspects ought to be considered since some nutrients are supplied primarily via animal products which may lead to nutritional deficiencies and potential negative health effects in the long term. Furthermore, since the main function of diets is the supply of (adequate) nutrition, the environmental impacts of diets ought to be compared in light of their nutritional quality. In this project the environmental impact on climate change, land use, blue water footprint, and biodiversity damage potential of four diets is assessed, along with their nutritional adequacy and financial cost. The four assessed diets are: an average Swedish diet, New Nordic diet, vegetarian diet, and vegan diet. The environmental impacts are normalized with a nutritient-rich diet score (NRD) to compare the impacts of diets in relation to their nutritional quality. The vegan diet, followed by the vegetarian diet, resulted in the lowest overall impact with the exception of blue water footprint, however, the normalization with NRD score lessened the relative differences between the New Nordic, vegetarian, and vegan diet. Furthermore, the nutritional assessment showed a potentially unsustainable intake of vitamin D in vegetarians and vit. D and B12 in vegans, which is not properly reflected in the nutritional quality score. Nevertheless, the use of the nutritional score is fairly simple and provides opportunity for linking the health-related aspect of diets to their environmental impact. Joined with indicators on other sustainability aspects, such as the economic, this method can offer a more holistic picture of the sustainability of diets.Att ändra det västerländska kostmönstret mot en hälsosammare diet med minskat intag av animaliska livsmedel är en allmänt erkänd strategi i den pågående ansträngningen för global hållbarhet. Eftersom djurfoder tenderar att ha stor miljöpåverkan, är vegetariska dieter ofta föreslagna som ett ekologiskt alternativ till den typiska västerländska kosten. Den låga summan av miljöpåverkan innebär emellertid inte nödvändigtvis att det är en hållbar diet. Hållbarhet omfattar många andra aspekter, såsom näringskrav, överkomlighet och kulturell acceptans. När det gäller avskaffandet av animaliska livsmedel bör i synnerhet hälsorelaterade aspekter beaktas eftersom vissa näringsämnen levereras primärt via animaliska produkter vilket kan leda till näringsbrist och potentiellt negativa hälsoeffekter på lång sikt. Eftersom dietens huvudsakliga funktion är tillförseln av (tillräcklig) näring, borde miljöpåverkan av dieter jämföras med hänsyn till deras näringskvalitet. I detta projekt bedöms miljöpåverkan med avseende på klimatförändringar, markanvändning, blått blåvattenavtryck och biologisk mångfaldskador för fyra dieter tillsammans med deras näringsbehov och ekonomiska kostnader. De fyra bedömda kostvanorna är: en genomsnittlig svensk diet, ny nordisk kost, vegetarisk kost och vegansk kost. Miljöpåverkan normaliseras med ett näringsrikt diettvärde (NRD) för att jämföra effekterna av dieter i förhållande till deras näringskvalitet. Vegansk diet, följt av vegetarisk kost, resulterade i den lägsta övergripande effekten, med undantag för blå vattenavtryck, men normaliseringen med NRD-poäng minskade de relativa skillnaderna mellan den nya nordiska, vegetariska och veganska dieterna. Vidare visade näringsvärderingen ett potentiellt ohållbart intag av vitamin D för vegetarianer och vit. D och B12 för veganer, vilket inte korrekt återspeglas I det näringsmässiga kvalitetsresultatet. Ändå är användningen av näringsvärdet ganska enkelt och ger möjlighet att koppla den hälsorelaterade aspekten av dieter till deras miljöpåverkan. Genom att kombinera indikatorer för andra hållbarhetsaspekter, såsom den ekonomiska, kan denna metod erbjuda en mer holistisk bild av dieters hållbarhet.
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Heiska, Mirjami. "Assessing the environmental impacts of a tool rental service from Husqvarna using Life Cycle Assessment Confirmation that the opposition is completed." Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-260128.
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To decouple ever-increasing production and the related environmental impacts, collaborative use of products and product-service-systems including rental services can help to intensify the use of products during their designed lifetimes. While these approaches present potential to decrease environmental impacts compared to traditional linear product sales, they need to be assessed with a holistic scope to avoid counterintuitive trade-offs. This study evaluates the potential environment impacts of Husqvarna’s tool rental service with a hypothetical case example from Stockholm, Sweden. The objectives are to analyse the potential environmental impacts of the rental service, to identify hotspots for improvement and to compare the potential impacts of the rental system to a sales alternative. The annual service of one electric chainsaw is analysed using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology with different user scenarios. The potential impacts are analysed for global warming potential, fossil and mineral resource scarcity, marine ecotoxicity and human carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic toxicity. The analysis for the rental system shows that user transport back-and-forth to the rental service is a key contributor to all the environmental impacts analysed, if done by private cars. The comparative results to sales business model indicate that while the rental service can help to reduce the potential impacts in mineral resource scarcity and toxicities due to the lower number of products needed, the user transport may outweigh the potential improvements in global warming potential and fossil resource scarcity, depending on the distances and modes of transport. Different scenarios illustrate that the results are however sensitive to the assumptions made. Based on the results, it can be recommended to optimally place the service close to the users and to take efforts to reduce user transports around the service, to reach the environmental potential of the service. The sensitivity analyses also indicate the importance for accounting detailed data for LCAs for product-service-systems and covering the service holistically in system boundaries. Further studies on user behaviour are suggested to reach more robust analyses on consumer services, to cover also potential rebound effects.Gemensam konsumtion av produkter kan minska dess miljöpåverkan, sett över produktens livstid, genom intensifiering av produktanvändning och minskad nyproduktion. Även om detta koncept har potential att minska miljöpåverkan, jämfört med traditionell linjär produktförsäljning, måste det granskas på ett systematiskt sätt. Denna studie utvärderar den potentiella miljöpåverkan av ett verktygshyrningssystem av Husqvarna med ett hypotetiskt exempel från Stockholm, Sverige. Målen är att analysera den potentiella miljöpåverkan av hyrestjänsten, identifiera förbättringspunkter och jämföra de potentiella effekterna av hyressystemet med ett försäljningsalternativ. Miljöpåverkan av en motorsåg under ett år är analyserad genom livscykelanalysmetod med olika scenarier. Analysen för hyressystemet visar att den högsta miljöpåverkan kommer från transporten av användare fram och tillbaka till hyresdepån, om transporten är gjord med personbilar. Resultaten indikerar att hyrestjänsten kan bidra till att minska potentiella effekter av mineralresursbrist och toxicitet, jämfört med försäljningsmodellen, på grund av det lägre antal producerade produkter. Hyrestjänsten kan dock riskera att öka växthuseffekten och påverkan på fossilresursbrist, beroende på transportens längd och transportsätt. Olika scenarier illustrerar att resultaten är känsliga för andantagen. Resultaten visar att det kan rekommenderas att placera tjänsten optimalt nära användarna och att försöka minska användartransporten runt tjänsten för att nå tjänstens optimala miljöpotential. Känslighetsanalyserna indikerar också att detaljerade data och omfattande systemgränser är viktiga med LCA studier om produktrelaterade tjänster. Ytterligare studier om användarbeteende föreslås för att nå mer robusta analyser av konsumenttjänster, för att utvärdera även potentiella rekyl-effekter.
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Govetto, Sophie. "Determining the environmnetal impact of disposal, recycling and remanufacturing strategies." Thesis, Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/22714.
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Saha, Polin, Salman Ahmad, Ashfaq Abbasi, and Masood Khan. "Environmental Management Systems and Sustainability : Integrating Sustainability in Environmental Management Systems." Thesis, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Sektionen för ingenjörsvetenskap, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:bth-3228.
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To check rapidly deteriorating environmental conditions, many management tools are being used by different industries. In order to address environmental issues the corporate sector has seen a drastic increase in the use of environmental management systems. There is strong need to check how these environmental management systems are rendering environmental management services. Research shows that environmental management systems are mistakenly expected to prescribe technical and environmental objectives. Without describing what goals an organization must achieve, they lay out a system for management of numerous environmental obligations. Hence environmental management systems are not strategic; they tend to reactively fix issues contingent upon their occurrence and may miss opportunities to avoid problems before they occur. Further, environmental management itself is seen in isolation of a socio-ecological context, which makes environmental management lose ground and operate in a virtual vacuum. Mostly environmental management is identified as an ’agenda’ which runs counter to the overall development of an organization. Provided, environmental management systems can be integrated with basic principles of sustainable development these management systems can be utilized as a launching pad to move organizations towards sustainability. Built to render the administrative services only through a mechanism of self regulation and continuous improvement, these management systems can be used to deliver sustainable product planning. The present study illustrates the possibilities for integration of sustainability objectives into environmental management systems. In our effort to integrate sustainability in environment management systems extensive literature reviews, interviews and a case study (Hammarplast AB) have been used. For the analysis of the current reality, a framework for strategic sustainable development and methods incorporating “backcasting from principles of sustainability” – i.e. templates for sustainable product development and strategic life cycle management – has been used. The use of tools not only illustrates contemporary sustainability gaps but also gives a concrete set of guidance to integrate sustainability in environmental management systems.
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Chludilová, Jitka. "III. typ environmentálního značení - analýza a možnost realizace v ČR." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2008. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-5509.
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The work concerns environmental declarations type III alias system EPD. A reader should be given a complex sight of kinds of environmental notation, especially environmental declarations type III. The work interpret present systems EPD on the world and evaluace the present state of exploitation of system EPD in Czech Republic. At the close of my work are put mind to question of implementation of environmental declarations type III in Czech Republic.
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Demirer, Demir Deniz. "Quantifying the relationship between the waste footprint and environmental impact of products." Thesis, KTH, Hållbar utveckling, miljövetenskap och teknik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-263130.
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Despite the increasing public awareness about the waste that is created while consuming and disposing of products, the waste created by the raw material extraction and production phases is usually invisible to the consumers. In this respect, a product waste footprint indicator based on the life cycle perspective was recently proposed to address this knowledge gap, offering a better understanding of the environmental consequences of human consumption behaviour. Using product waste footprint as an environmental indicator would be limited in capturing the full suite of life cycle environmental damages associated with a product. On the other hand, the strict interpretation of life cycle assessment is quite technical, costly and ineffective for communicating with broader audiences. Therefore, there is still a need for simpler and less costly options, such as the product waste footprint, for environmental decision making and communication. The aim of this study is to find out if product waste footprint is a good proxy for the life cycle environmental impacts for different products. Data for 1400+ products from different product categories (agricultural, forestry, animal products; basic metal and alloys; chemicals; glass and other non-metallic products; machinery; ores, minerals and fuels; processed biobased products) were collected from the Ecoinvent 3.5 cut-off database using Brightway2 LCA framework. The results from linear regression analyses suggest that there is indeed a statistically significant and positive relationship between the product waste footprint and environmental damages to ecosystem diversity, human health, and resource availability. The regression models can explain up to more than 90% of the variance in environmental damages and they predict around 0.8% increase in environmental damages for each 1.0% increase in the waste footprints. The strong association between the waste footprints and environmental damage indicators suggest that the waste footprint is a strong candidate to be part of the environmental sustainability communication between product companies, customers and other decision makers in the product supply chains. While the waste footprint does not aim to replace other environmental indicators, it can be used to increase customer awareness on the invisible waste, influence consumption behaviour and to promote circular economy.Trots allmänt ökad medvetenhet om avfallet vid konsumtion och bortskaffande av produkter, är avfall från råmaterialutvinning och produktionsfaser vanligtvis osynligt för konsumenterna. I detta avseende föreslogs nyligen en avfallsindikator för produktavfall baserat på livscykeltänkande för att hantera detta kunskapsgap, vilket ger en bättre förståelse för miljökonsekvenserna av människors konsumtionsbeteende. Att använda avfallsfotavtryck som en miljöindikator skulle vara begränsande för att fånga upp en produkts totala miljöpåverkan. Å andra sidan är den strikta tolkningen av livscykelbedömningen ganska teknisk, kostsam och ineffektiv för att kommunicera med bredare publik. Därför kvarstår behovet av enklare och billigare alternativ som PWFindikatorn för miljöbeslut och kommunikation. Syftet med denna studie är att ta reda på om avfallsfotavtryck är en bra proxy för livscykelns miljöpåverkan för olika produkter. Data för 1400+ produkter från olika produktkategorier (jordbruk, skogsbruk, animaliska produkter, basmetall och legeringar, kemikalier, glas och andra icke-metalliska produkter; maskiner; malmer, mineraler och bränslen; bearbetade biobaserade produkter) samlades in från Ecoinvent 3.5 cut-off databas med Brightway2 LCA-ramverk. Resultaten från linjära regressionsanalyser tyder på att det finns ett statistiskt signifikant och positivt samband mellan avfallsfotavtryck och miljöskador på ekosystemets mångfald, människors hälsa och resurstillgänglighet. Regressionsmodellerna kan förklara upp till 90% av variansen i miljöskador och de förutsäger upp till runt 0,8% ökning av miljöskadorna för varje 1,0% ökning av avfallets fotavtryck. Den starka kopplingen mellan avfallsfotavtryck och miljöskadeangivare tyder på att avfallets fotavtryck är en stark kandidat för att vara en del av miljöhållbarhetskommunikationen mellan produktföretag, kunder och andra beslutsfattare i produktförsörjningskedjorna. Även om avfallets fotavtryck inte syftar till att ersätta andra miljöindikatorer, kan det användas för att öka kundernas medvetenhet om det osynliga avfallet, påverka konsumtionsbeteendet och för att främja cirkulär ekonomi.
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Eriksson, Malin. "Life Cycle Assessment of Civil Engineering Works : And Application of European Standards on the Mälar Project." Thesis, KTH, Materialvetenskap, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-254779.
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In this thesis, a framework is constructed for a life cycle assessment within a civilengineering project. There are various methods available on how to conduct lifecycle assessments and this thesis explores one method related to civil engineeringworks. The assessment follows the structure based in related standards such asEN 15804 which describes how to declare construction products. A working copyof a possible upcoming European level standard for sustainability assessment ofcivil engineering works is also used in the process. The object of assessment arethe materials, concrete and steel, in the retaining walls that are constructed alongthe channel near Södertälje Harbour. This is a part of a larger project, called theMälar Project.The life cycle of these type of constructions often stretches over long periodsof time which leaves a lot of uncertainties while estimating the impacts during thelater life stages. The research problem is much about how to handle the differentmodules of the life cycle regarding civil engineering works.Example data were collected and presented for each module of the life stage.The results of the example data showed that most of the impact came from theproduct stage. The conclusions are that the collection of data should be an integratedpart in the operating procedures for the company for a more efficientprocess, Environmental Product Declarations are a good source of data and standardson European level gives good guidelines on how to conduct a life cycleassessment for civil engineering projects.I detta examensarbete konstrueras ett ramverk för hur en livscykelanalys kan utförasinom väg- och vattenbyggnad. Det finns många olika riktlinjer för hur enlivscykelanalys kan utföras och i detta examensarbete utforskas en metod för projektinom väg- och vattenbyggnad. Arbetet följer strukturen ur EN 15804 sombeskriver hur man bedömer byggprodukter. Ett arbetsexemplar av en ny, möjligstandard på Europanivå för miljöbedömning av projekt inom väg- och vatten användsockså i processen. Det som bedöms via livscykelanalys i denna studie är deingående materialen, stål och betong, i hållväggarna som byggs längs med kanalenvid Södertälje Hamn. Detta är en del av ett större projekt, kallat Mälarprojektet.Livscyklerna för denna typ av projekt är oftast väldigt långa vilket skapar enosäkerhet i data då påverkan för senare delar av livscykeln behöver uppskattas.Problematiken som presenteras handlar mycket om hur modulerna för livscykelnska behandlas för denna typ av projekt.Exempeldata samlades in för de olika modulerna och presenterades i tabellersom täcker alla relevanta delar av livscykeln. Resultatet av exempeldatan visadeatt den mesta påverkan kom från produktstadiet. De slutsatser som dras är attinsamlingen av data bör vara en integrerad del av företagets arbetsmetod fören effektiv process, miljödeklarationer är en bra källa till data och standards påEuropanivå ger bra guidelinjer för hur en livscykelanalys kan utföras för liknandeprojekt.
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Worgu, Stanley, and Adibi Soroush. "An exploratory study of the prospects and application of life cycle perspective and ISO 14001 in product design and development as a means of sustainability excellence." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-42149.
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Product life cycle perspective, a concept emanating from sustainable product development has gradually emerged as one of the key areas in product design and development. Several studies and research have shown the direct co-relationship between product design, development and manufacturing and its impact on our environment and ecosystem. The need to take these environmental factors into consideration is fundamental and highly prioritized in organizations that seeks to minimize the environmental impact of their operations in our ecosystem and if possible redirect these operations to contribute positively to saving the natural ecosystem. In the latest revision of ISO 14001:2015 standard, the term product life cycle perspective (LCP) has now become a fundamental requirement for organizations to fulfill. The requirement specifies the need for life cycle perspectives to be a significant factor during product design and development. However, the practical challenges of continuously integrating life circle analysis in product design is enormous for companies and organizations. This thesis will look at the challenges confronting ISO 14001 certified product manufacturing companies and allied services in implementing product LCP during product development and design and also the interpretations given by auditors from certification companies concerning how companies implement product LCP in relation to the requirements in ISO 14001:2015 at the product design and development stages.
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Sandin, Gustav. "Life cycle assessment in the development of forest products : Contributions to improved methods and practices." Doctoral thesis, Bioraffinaderi och energi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-30234.
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The prospect of reducing environmental impacts is a key driver for the research and development (R&D) of new forest products. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is often used for assessing the environmental impact of such products, e.g. for the purpose of guiding R&D. The aim of this thesis is to improve the methods and practices of LCA work carried out in the R&D of forest products. Six research questions were formulated from research needs identified in LCA work in five technical inter-organisational R&D projects. These projects also provided contexts for the case studies that were used to address the research questions. The main contributions of the research are as follows: Regarding the planning of LCA work in inter-organisational R&D projects, the research identified four characteristics that appear to be important to consider when selecting the roles of LCAs in such projects: (i) the project’s potential influence on environmental impacts, (ii) the degrees of freedom available for the technical direction of the project, (iii) the project’s potential to provide required input to the LCA, and (iv) access to relevant audiences for the LCA results. Regarding the modelling of future forest product systems, it was found that (i) it is important to capture uncertainties related to the technologies of end-of-life processes, the location of processes and the occurrence of land use change; and (ii) the choice of method for handling multi-functionality can strongly influence results in LCAs of forest products, particularly in consequential studies and in studies of relatively small co-product flows. Regarding the assessment of environmental impacts of particular relevance for forest products, it was found that using established climate impact assessment practices can cause LCA practitioners to miss environmental hot-spots and make erroneous conclusions about the performance of forest products vis-à-vis non-forest alternatives, particularly in studies aimed at short-term impact mitigation. Also, a new approach for inventorying water cycle alterations was developed, which made it possible to capture catchment-scale effects of forestry never captured before. To connect the LCA results to global challenges, a procedure was proposed for translating the planetary boundaries into absolute product-scale targets for impact reduction, e.g. to be used for evaluating interventions for product improvements or for managing trade-offs between impact categories.
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Ewerlöf, Sofia, and Daniel Modig. "Value Creation and Decreased Environmental Impact through Circular Economy-based Offerings : A Product-Service System Case Study." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Industriell miljöteknik, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-158692.
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This thesis answers how a circular economy-based offering can be designed for increased value creation and decreased environmental impact, compared to a current offering. The study concerns a case company and their current offering of a fire safety solution, namely a 6 kg powder fire extinguisher. The concept Product-Service Systems is used as a base for the research and a foundation of the result.Throughout the study, the method Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used as a tool to evaluate and compare the current and the suggested solution in the sense of environmental sustainability amongst different impact categories. It provides a holistic perspective within the study which has been proven by theory to be an important factor when providing a circular economy-based offering. Another important factor is customising the offering to the specific case. This is attended to through an investigation of the company characteristics, the current offering and provider and customer values to find opportunities for the suggested solution. Opportunities found was e.g. a demand for an environmentally sustainable solution and existing infrastructure which can create valuein the future.The process includes, apart from the LCAs, interviews, a workshop at the case company and a survey addressed to end users. The use of visualisation tools such as actors map and Product-Service Blueprint benefits the understanding of both current and suggested solution and provides insights, evaluation and possible improvements. A cost calculation is made to evaluate if the solution is financially making business sense to the provider. Through this thesis, a circular economy-based solution which designs out waste is found. It is proven through the study and LCAs that this solution decreases the investigated environmental impact categories compared to the current existing solution. The suggested solution is based on a refilling process for circulating material which is established through the thesis to be theoretically feasible, hence needs consideration in order to be implementable in reality and make business sense to the provider.Den här studien svarar på hur ett erbjudande baserat på cirkulär ekonomi kan designas för att öka värdeskapande och sänka miljöpåverkan i förhållande till ett existerande erbjudande. Studien baseras på ett företagsfall och deras nuvarande brandsäkerhetslösning, nämligen en 6 kg pulversläckare. I studien involveras teori om Product-Service Systems som en bas för forskningen och en grund för resultatet. Genom studien har metoden Livscykelanalys (LCA) använts som ett verktyg för att utvärdera och jämföra den nuvarande lösningen med den föreslagna i ett miljömässigt sammanhang och med flera olika påverkanskategorier. Detta skapar ett holistiskt perspektiv, vilket teorin visar är en viktig faktor under utvecklingen av ett erbjudande baserat på cirkulär ekonomi. En annan viktig faktor är att anpassa designen av erbjudandet till ett specifikt fall. Detta uppmärksammas genom en undersökning av företagets egenskaper, det nuvarande erbjudandet och leverantörs- och kundvärde för att finna möjligheter till en föreslagen lösning. Sådana möjligheter var till exempel en efterfrågan på miljömässigt hållbara lösningar och en existerande infrastruktur som kan gagna företagets värdeskapande i framtiden. Processen inkluderar, förutom LCA, intervjuer, en workshop, och en kundundersökning adresserad till slutanvändare. Användandet av visualiseringsverktyg, sådana som aktörskarta och Product-Service Blueprint, gynnar förståelsen för både den nuvarande och den föreslagna lösningen och skapar insikter kring utvärdering och möjliga förbättringar. En kostnadskalkyl görs för att utvärdera om lösningen är finansiellt bra för företaget. Genom denna avhandling upptäcks en cirkulär ekonomi-baserad lösning. Studien visar att denna lösning minskar miljöpåverkan för de valda påverkanskategorierna jämfört med den nuvarande lösningen. Den föreslagna lösningen är baserad på att återfylla brandsläckare och därigenom cirkulera material vilket är teoretiskt genomförbart. Dock behövs ytterligare övervägande för att lösningen ska vara implementerbar och för förföretaget realiserbart.
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Dufková, Hana. "Posouzení environmentální zátěže vybranou technologií tvarování plastů." Master's thesis, Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta strojního inženýrství, 2018. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-377651.
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This diploma thesis deals with assessment of environmental load by selected plastic molding technology. The first part is focused on the ecological legislation in the field of mechanical engineering, which also includes the production of plastics, and describes various methodologies for assessing the environmental load. Another chapter is an overview of polymers and their properties as well as the possibilities of plastics processing with description of individual types of production methods. The practical part of this work describes the composition of the produced piece and the injection molding process of plastic production. Its two methods (direct gating and hot sprue method) are analyzed and then the environmental load evaluation is performed using the LCA method – product life cycle assessment. The environmental load of both production methods is assessed.