The Consequences of Substituting Sand with Used Copper Slag in Construction

Using waste copper slag (CS) as a replacement for sand in concrete mixture is becoming popular in Singapore and around the world. What are the consequences of this material substitution? Will this result in lower environmental impact? This work used attributional and consequential life cycle assessments to evaluate the net results of replacing sand with CS. Impacts were assessed with respect to embodied energy and greenhouse gas emissions (global warming potential; GWP). It was found that embodied energy and GWP of using a combination of 0.13 kilograms (kg) of CS and 0.9 kg of sand are higher than those of 1 kg of sand. If CS replaces sand and the leftover sand replaces crushed rock sand, the net embodied energy and GWP may also increase. Landfilling the waste CS is similar to recycling it as a building material, in terms of embodied energy incurred and GWPs. Finally, four lessons from these findings were used to suggest a few integrated sustainable resource management policies for the building material and shipping industries.     

Building Materials in the Operational Phase

How sustainable are the various building materials, and what are the criteria for assessment? The scope of this article is to explore in what ways responsible and conscious use of materials can yield environmental benefits in buildings. In particular, it discusses how material properties related to thermal and hygroscopic mass can be utilized for achieving energy efficiency and good indoor air quality, and how these gains can be included into the context of life cycle assessment (LCA). A case study investigates and compares carbon impacts related to three design concepts for an exterior wall: (A) concrete/rock wool; (B) wood studs/wood fiber; and (C) wood studs/hemp lime. The thermal performance of concepts B and C are modeled to comply with concept A regarding both thermal transmittance (U‐value) and dynamic heat flow (Q_24h) using the design tool WUFI Pro. An environmental cost‐benefit analysis is then accomplished in four steps, regarding (1) manufacturing and transport loads, (2) carbon sequestration in plant‐based materials and recarbonation in concrete/lime, and (3 and 4) potentially reduced operational energy consumption caused by heat and moisture buffering. The input data are based on suggested values and effects found in the literature. The summarized results show that wall A has the highest embodied carbon and the lowest carbon storage and recarbonation effects, whereas wall C2 has the lowest embodied carbon and the highest carbon storage and recarbonation effects. Regarding buffering effects, wall A has the highest potential for thermal buffering, whereas wall C has the highest potential for moisture buffering.     

Environmental Impact Assessment of Wood Use in Japan through 2050 Using Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

In this study, we used material flow analysis and life cycle assessment to quantify the environmental impacts and impact reductions related to wood consumption in Japan from 1970 to 2013. We then conducted future projections of the impacts and reductions until 2050 based on multiple future scenarios of domestic forestry, wood, and energy use. An impact assessment method involving characterization, damage assessment, and integration with a monetary unit was used, and the results were expressed in Japanese yen (JPY). We found that environmental impacts from paper consumption, such as climate change and urban air pollution, were significant and accounted for 56% to 83% of the total environmental impacts between 1970 and 2013. Therefore, reductions of greenhouse gas, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur oxide emissions from paper production would be an effective measure to reduce the overall environmental impacts. An increase in wood use for building construction, civil engineering, furniture materials, and energy production could lead to reductions of environmental impacts (via carbon storage, material substitution, and fuel substitution) amounting to 357 billion JPY in 2050, which is equivalent to 168% of the 2013 levels. Particularly, substitution of nonwooden materials, such as cement, concrete, and steel, with wood products in building construction could significantly contribute to impact reductions. Although an increase of wood consumption could reduce environmental impacts, such as climate change, resource consumption, and urban air pollution, increased wood consumption would also be associated with land‐use impacts. Therefore, minimizing land transformations from forest to barren land will be important.     

Quantifying environmental impacts of primary aluminum ingot production and consumption : A trade‐linked multilevel life cycle assessment

Aluminum is one of the most used metals of modern civilization, but its production is responsible for multiple adverse environmental impacts mostly due to aluminum smelting and alumina refining. Previous life cycle assessments (LCAs) have aggregated alumina refining into a single global process even though refining processes are highly spatially differentiated and alumina is highly traded. Our work improves on existing LCAs of primary aluminum by including temporal and spatial differentiation in alumina refining and aluminum smelting and trade of alumina and primary aluminum ingots. We build country‐level impact factors for primary aluminum ingot production and consumption, with the spatial distributions of environmental impacts, from 2000 to 2017, by combining a trade‐linked multilevel material flow analysis with LCA using six midpoint categories of the ReCiPe method. Climate change impacts of primary aluminum production range from 4.5 to 33.6 kg CO₂ eq./kg. We then estimate the life cycle production‐ and consumption‐based environmental burdens of primary aluminum ingot by country. High spatial variations exist among impact factors of primary aluminum production. Aggregating the alumina refining processes into a single process may cause important deviations on the impact factors of primary aluminum ingot production (up to 38% differences in climate change impacts). Finally, we estimate the climate change impacts of worldwide primary aluminum production at 1.2 Gt CO₂ eq. in 2017 and untangle their spatial origins, localized at 70% in China. Overall, we show the importance of spatial differentiation for highly traded products that rely on highly traded inputs and offer recommendations for LCA practitioners. This article met the requirements for a gold‐gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges .     

Ecosystem Services in Life Cycle Assessment while Encouraging Techno‐Ecological Synergies

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has enabled consideration of environmental impacts beyond the narrow boundary of traditional engineering methods. This reduces the chance of shifting impacts outside the system boundary. However, sustainability also requires that supporting ecosystems are not adversely affected and remain capable of providing goods and services for supporting human activities. Conventional LCA does not account for this role of nature, and its metrics are best for comparing alternatives. These relative metrics do not provide information about absolute environmental sustainability, which requires comparison between the demand and supply of ecosystem services (ES). Techno‐ecological synergy (TES) is a framework to account for ES, and has been demonstrated by application to systems such as buildings and manufacturing activities that have narrow system boundaries. This article develops an approach for techno‐ecological synergy in life cycle assessment (TES‐LCA) by expanding the steps in conventional LCA to incorporate the demand and supply of ecosystem goods and services at multiple spatial scales. This enables calculation of absolute environmental sustainability metrics, and helps identify opportunities for improving a life cycle not just by reducing impacts, but also by restoring and protecting ecosystems. TES‐LCA of a biofuel life cycle demonstrates this approach by considering the ES of carbon sequestration, air quality regulation, and water provisioning. Results show that for the carbon sequestration ecosystem service, farming can be locally sustainable but unsustainable at the global or serviceshed scale. Air quality regulation is unsustainable at all scales, while water provisioning is sustainable at all scales for this study in the eastern part of the United States.     

Environmental and economic impacts of solar‐powered integrated greenhouses

Greenhouse vegetable production plays a vital role in providing year‐round fresh vegetables to global markets, achieving higher yields, and using less water than open‐field systems, but at the expense of increased energy demand. This study examines the life cycle environmental and economic impacts of integrating semitransparent organic photovoltaics (OPVs) into greenhouse designs. We employ life cycle assessment to analyze six environmental impacts associated with producing greenhouse‐grown tomatoes in a Solar PoweRed INtegrated Greenhouse (SPRING) compared to conventional greenhouses with and without an adjacent solar photovoltaic array, across three distinct locations. The SPRING design produces significant reductions in environmental impacts, particularly in regions with high solar insolation and electricity‐intensive energy demands. For example, in Arizona, global warming potential values for a conventional, adjacent PV and SPRING greenhouse are found to be 3.71, 2.38, and 2.36 kg CO₂ eq/kg tomato, respectively. Compared to a conventional greenhouse, the SPRING design may increase life cycle environmental burdens in colder regions because the shading effect of OPV increases heating demands. Our analysis shows that SPRING designs must maintain crop yields at levels similar to conventional greenhouses in order to be economically competitive. Assuming consistent crop yields, uncertainty analysis shows average net present cost of production across Arizona to be $3.43, $3.38, and $3.64 per kg of tomato for the conventional, adjacent PV and SPRING system, respectively.     

Renewable Energy and Carbon Management in the Cradle‐to‐Cradle Certification: Limitations and Opportunities

As part of the Cradle to Cradle^® (C2C) certification program, the C2C certification criterion, Renewable Energy and Carbon Management (RE&CM), focuses on use of electricity from renewable energy (RE) and direct greenhouse gas offsets in the manufacturing stage and, to a limited extent, on the cradle to gate only at the highest level of certification. The aim of this study is to provide decision makers with a quantified overview of possible limitations of that C2C certification requirement and potential gains by introducing a full life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective to the scheme. Scenario analysis was used to perform an LCA of an aluminum can system representing different levels of the C2C certification criterion, RE&CM, considering different strategies to achieve 100% RE in the manufacturing stage. The adoption of a broader life cycle RE perspective was considered through the implementation of electricity from renewable sources from cradle to grave. Our results show that compliance with the current RE&CM certification framework offers limited benefits, that is, significant reduction for climate change, but negligible reductions for other environmental impacts (e.g., particulate matter and acidification). However, increasing the share of RE in the primary aluminum production from a full life cycle perspective can greatly increase the environmental benefits brought up by the C2C certification not only for climate change, but also for the broader range of impact categories. In our striving toward environmental sustainability, which often cannot be approximated by climate‐change impacts alone, we therefore recommend decision makers in industries to combine the C2C certification with LCA when they define strategies for the selection of RE and raw materials suppliers.     

The Environmental Importance of Energy Use in Chemical Production

In many cases, policy makers and laymen perceive harmful emissions from chemical plants as the most important source of environmental impacts in chemical production. As a result, regulations and environmental efforts have tended to focus on this area. Concerns about energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, however, are increasing in all industrial sectors. Using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, we analyzed the full environmental impacts of producing 99 chemical products in Western Europe from cradle to factory gate. We applied several life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods to cover various impact areas. Our analysis shows that for both organic and inorganic chemical production in industrial countries, energy‐related impacts often represent more than half and sometimes up to 80% of the total impacts, according to a range of LCIA methods. Resource use for material feedstock is also important, whereas direct emissions from chemical plants may make up only 5% to 10% of the total environmental impacts. Additionally, the energy‐related impacts of organic chemical production increase with the complexity of the chemicals. The results of this study offer important information for policy makers and sustainability experts in the chemical industry striving to reduce environmental impacts. We identify more sustainable energy production and use as an important option for improvements in the environmental profile of chemical production in industrial countries, especially for the production of advanced organic and fine chemicals.     

Understanding the future of lithium: Part 2, temporally and spatially resolved life‐cycle assessment modeling

An array of emerging technologies, from electric vehicles to renewable energy systems, relies on large‐format lithium ion batteries (LIBs). LIBs are a critical enabler of clean energy technologies commonly associated with air pollution and greenhouse gas mitigation strategies. However, LIBs require lithium, and expanding the supply of lithium requires new lithium production capacity, which, in turn, changes the environmental impacts associated with lithium production since different resource types and ore qualities will be exploited. A question of interest is whether this will lead to significant changes in the environmental impacts of primary lithium over time. Part one of this two‐part article series describes the development of a novel resource production model that predicts future lithium demand and production characteristics (e.g., timing, location, and ore type). In this article, part two, the forecast is coupled with anticipatory life‐cycle assessment (LCA) modeling to estimate the environmental impacts of producing battery‐grade lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) each year between 2018 and 2100. The result is a normalized life‐cycle impact intensity for LCE that reflects the changing resource type, quantity, and region of production. Sustained growth in lithium demands through 2100 necessitates extraction of lower grade resources and mineral deposits, especially after 2050. Despite the reliance on lower grade resources and differences in impact intensity for LCE production from each deposit, the LCA results show only small to modest increases in impact, for example, carbon intensity increases from 3.2 kg CO₂e/kg LCE in 2020 to 3.3 kg CO₂e/kg LCE in 2100.     

A Hybrid‐Unit Energy Input‐Output Model to Evaluate Embodied Energy and Life Cycle Emissions for China's Economy

We develop a hybrid‐unit energy input‐output (I/O) model with a disaggregated electricity sector for China. The model replaces primary energy rows in monetary value, namely, coal, gas, crude oil, and renewable energy, with physical flow units in order to overcome errors associated with the proportionality assumption in environmental I/O analysis models. Model development and data use are explained and compared with other approaches in the field of environmental life cycle assessment. The model is applied to evaluate the primary energy embodied in economic output to meet Chinese final consumption for the year 2007. Direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions intensities are determined. We find that different final demand categories pose distinctive requirements on the primary energy mix. Also, a considerable amount of energy is embodied in the supply chain of secondary industries. Embodied energy and emissions are crucial to consider for policy development in China based on consumption, rather than production. Consumption‐based policies will likely play a more important role in China when per capita income levels have reached those of western countries.     

Attributional and Consequential Environmental Assessment of the Shift to Lead-Free Solders (10 pp)

- Goal, Scope, Background. As of July 1st, 2006, lead will be banned in most solder pastes used in the electronics industry. This has called for environmental evaluation of alternatives to tin-lead solders. Our life cycle assessment (LCA) has two aims: (i) to compare attributional and consequential LCA methodologies, and (ii) to compare a SnPb solder (62% tin, 36% lead, 2% silver) to a Pb-free solder (95.5% tin, 3.8% silver, 0.7% copper). Methods An attributional LCA model describes the environmental impact of the solder life cycle. Ideally, it should include average data on each unit process within the life cycle. The model does not include unit processes other than those of the life cycle investigated, but significant cut-offs within the life cycle can be avoided through the use of environmentally expanded input-output tables. A consequential LCA model includes unit processes that are significantly affected irrespective of whether they are within or outside the life cycle. Ideally, it should include marginal data on bulk production processes in the background system. Our consequential LCA model includes economic partial equilibrium models of the lead and scrap lead markets. However, both our LCA models are based on data from the literature or from individual production sites. The partial equilibrium models are based on assumptions. The life cycle impact assessment is restricted to global warming potential (GWP). Results and Discussion The attributional LCA demonstrates the obvious fact that the shift from SnPb to Pb-free solder means that lead is more or less eliminated from the solder life cycle. The attributional LCA results also indicate that the Pb-free option contributes 10% more to the GWP than SnPb. Despite the poor quality of the data, the consequential LCA demonstrates that, when lead use is eliminated from the solder life cycle, the effect is partly offset by increased lead use in batteries and other products. This shift can contribute to environmental improvement because lead emissions are likely to be greatly reduced, while batteries can contribute to reducing GWP, thereby offsetting part of the GWP increase in the solder life cycle. Conclusions The shift from SnPb to Pb-free solder is likely to result in reduced lead emissions and increased GWP. Attributional and consequential LCAs yield complementary knowledge on the consequences of this shift in solder pastes. At present, consequential LCA is hampered by the lack of readily available marginal data and the lack of input data to economic partial equilibrium models. However, when the input to a consequential LCA model is in the form of quantitative assumptions based on a semi-qualitative discussion, the model can still generate new knowledge. Recommendations and Outlook Experts on partial equilibrium models should be involved in consequential LCA modeling in order to improve the input data on price elasticity, marginal production, and marginal consumption.     

Environmental Assessment of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Processes

The environmental assessment of nanomanufacturing during the initial process design phase should lead to the development of competitive, safe, and environmentally responsible engineering and commercialization. Given the potential benefits and concerns regarding the use of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), three SWNT production processes have been investigated to assess their associated environmental impacts. These processes include arc ablation (arc), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and high‐pressure carbon monoxide (HiPco). Without consideration of the currently unknown impacts of SWNT dispersion or other health impacts, life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used to analyze the environmental impact and provide a baseline for the environmental footprint of each manufacturing process. Although the technical attributes of the product resulting from each process may not be fully comparable, this study presents comparisons that show that the life cycle impacts are dominated by energy, specifically the electricity used in production. Under base case yield conditions, HiPco shows the lowest environmental impact, while the arc process has the lowest impact under best case yield conditions.     

Environmental life cycle assessment of a commercial office building in Thailand

Background, aim, and scope  To minimize the environmental impacts of construction and simultaneously move closer to sustainable development in the society, the life cycle assessment of buildings is essential. This article provides an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of a typical commercial office building in Thailand. Almost all commercial office buildings in Thailand follow a similar structural, envelope pattern as well as usage patterns. Likewise, almost every office building in Thailand operates on electricity, which is obtained from the national grid which limits variability. Therefore, the results of the single case study building are representative of commercial office buildings in Thailand. Target audiences are architects, building construction managers and environmental policy makers who are interested in the environmental impact of buildings. Materials and methods  In this work, a combination of input–output and process analysis was used in assessing the potential environmental impact associated with the system under study according to the ISO14040 methodology. The study covered the whole life cycle including material production, construction, occupation, maintenance, demolition, and disposal. The inventory data was simulated in an LCA model and the environmental impacts for each stage computed. Three environmental impact categories considered relevant to the Thailand context were evaluated, namely, global warming potential, acidification potential, and photo-oxidant formation potential. A 50-year service time was assumed for the building. Results  The results obtained showed that steel and concrete are the most significant materials both in terms of quantities used, and also for their associated environmental impacts at the manufacturing stage. They accounted for 24% and 47% of the global warming potential, respectively. In addition, of the total photo-oxidant formation potential, they accounted for approximately 41% and 30%; and, of the total acidification potential, 37% and 42%, respectively. Analysis also revealed that the life cycle environmental impacts of commercial buildings are dominated by the operation stage, which accounted for approximately 52% of the total global warming potential, about 66% of the total acidification potential, and about 71% of the total photo-oxidant formation potential, respectively. The results indicate that the principal contributor to the impact categories during the operation phase were emissions related to fossil fuel combustion, particularly for electricity production. Discussion  The life cycle environmental impacts of commercial buildings are dominated by the operation stage, especially electricity consumption. Significant reductions in the environmental impacts of buildings at this stage can be achieved through reducing their operating energy. The results obtained show that increasing the indoor set-point temperature of the building by 2°C, as well as the practice of load shedding, reduces the environmental burdens of buildings at the operation stage. On a national scale, the implementation of these simple no-cost energy conservation measures have the potential to achieve estimated reductions of 10.2% global warming potential, 5.3% acidification potential, and 0.21% photo-oxidant formation potential per year, respectively, in emissions from the power generation sector. Overall, the measures could reduce approximately 4% per year from the projected global warming potential of 211.51 Tg for the economy of Thailand. Conclusions  Operation phase has the highest energy and environmental impacts, followed by the manufacturing phase. At the operation phase, significant reductions in the energy consumption and environmental impacts can be achieved through the implementation of simple no-cost energy conservation as well as energy efficiency strategies. No-cost energy conservation policies, which minimize energy consumption in commercial buildings, should be encouraged in combination with already existing energy efficiency measures of the government. Recommendations and perspectives  In the long run, the environmental impacts of buildings will need to be addressed. Incorporation of environmental life cycle assessment into the current building code is proposed. It is difficult to conduct a full and rigorous life cycle assessment of an office building. A building consists of many materials and components. This study made an effort to access reliable data on all the life cycle stages considered. Nevertheless, there were a number of assumptions made in the study due to the unavailability of adequate data. In order for life cycle modeling to fulfill its potential, there is a need for detailed data on specific building systems and components in Thailand. This will enable designers to construct and customize LCAs during the design phase to enable the evaluation of performance and material tradeoffs across life cycles without the excessive burden of compiling an inventory. Further studies with more detailed, reliable, and Thailand-specific inventories for building materials are recommended.     

Tracking Construction Material over Space and Time: Prospective and Geo‐referenced Modeling of Building Stocks and Construction Material Flows

Construction material plays an increasingly important role in the environmental impacts of buildings. In order to investigate impacts of materials on a building level, we present a bottom‐up building stock model that uses three‐dimensional and geo‐referenced building data to determine volumetric information of material stocks in Swiss residential buildings. We used a probabilistic modeling approach to calculate future material flows for the individual buildings. We investigated six scenarios with different assumptions concerning per‐capita floor area, building stock turnover, and construction material. The Swiss building stock will undergo important structural changes by 2035. While this will lead to a reduced number in new constructions, material flows will increase. Total material inflow decreases by almost half while outflows double. In 2055, the total amount of material in‐ and outflows are almost equal, which represents an important opportunity to close construction material cycles. Total environmental impacts due to production and disposal of construction material remain relatively stable over time. The cumulated impact is slightly reduced for the wood‐based scenario. The scenario with more insulation material leads to slightly higher material‐related emissions. An increase in per‐capita floor area or material turnover will lead to a considerable increase in impacts. The new modeling approach overcomes the limitations of previous bottom‐up building models and allows for investigating building material flows and stocks in space and time. This supports the development of tailored strategies to reduce the material footprint and environmental impacts of buildings and settlements.     

Transdisciplinary Development of a Life Cycle–Based Approach to Measure and Communicate Waste Prevention Effects in Local Authorities

Although waste prevention was promoted as the first priority for all EU member states in 2008, the actual implementation of activities has thus far been hesitant. Empirical evidence indicates that the reasons for this neglect include the limited measurability of waste prevention effects and the consequential lack of awareness, motivation, and incentive systems. Our research aims to quantify waste prevention and its environmental impacts and, ultimately, to motivate the efficient implementation of waste prevention concepts by a target‐group‐specific communication of the results. Embedded in a transdisciplinary research setting in close cooperation with practitioners, we develop a life cycle–based approach to calculate the effects of waste prevention in local authorities. This approach features an activity‐based analysis that facilitates the assessment of both reduction of waste generated and the related environmental effects. The methodology of life cycle assessment, used to calculate environmental impacts, is adapted to the specific requirements and constitutes an essential step in our measurement approach. Finally, we demonstrate the application of this approach. Five activities deriving from real‐world case studies are assessed. These case studies simulate the implementation of waste prevention in a mid‐sized German city. We are able to reveal potential waste reduction of 74% and potential reduction of other environmental impacts ranging from 28% to 62% of the targeted material streams.     

北京市住宅建筑生命周期碳足迹

从生命周期角度看,建筑碳足迹与能源和建材生产系统具有密切关系。随着技术的进步和节能政策的推进,中国能源的生产和使用,以及建材生产过程中的环境排放都随着时间在持续降低,这将间接地影响到建筑的环境表现。依据1990—2010年期间每5a的中国能源与建材生命周期清单数据,对北京市20年间住宅建筑系统开展生命周期评价和碳足迹核算,以揭示北京市住宅建筑系统的环境负荷变化特征。结果表明,北京市住宅建筑生命周期碳足迹随时间推移呈现降低趋势,主要来自能源系统和建材生产系统的碳减排贡献。不同结构建筑的碳足迹尽管有差异,但也呈现了相似的下降趋势。从生命周期阶段看,建筑碳足迹主要体现在建筑使用阶段和建材生产阶段。尽管建筑使用阶段的节能对于降低建筑生命周期碳足迹具有重要贡献,但节能在经济成本及环境成本方面而言是有限度的。在可持续的环境政策管理制定中,应从生命周期角度,统筹考虑协调各行业减碳的协调发展。论文同时也验证了在生命周期评价中考虑时间变量将有助于更好地利用生命周期评价结果支持环境可持续管理。结论对于城市规划的政策制定、量化环境表现是有益的。     

Addressing the Life Cycle of Sewers in Contrasting Cities through an Eco‐Efficiency Approach

Evaluating the sustainability of the urban water cycle is not straightforward, although a variety of methods have been proposed. Given the lack of integrated data about sewers, we applied the eco‐efficiency approach to two case studies located in Spain with contrasting climate, population, and urban and sewer configurations. Our goal was to determine critical variables and life cycle stages and provide results for decision making. We used life cycle assessment and life cycle costing to evaluate their environmental and economic impacts. Results showed that both cities have a similar profile, albeit their contrasting features, that is, operation and maintenance, was the main environmental issue (50% to 70% of the impacts) and pipe installation registered the greatest economic capital expenditure (70% to 75%) due to labor. The location of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is an essential factor in our analysis mainly due to the topography effects (e.g., the annual pump energy was 13 times greater in Calafell). Using the eco‐efficiency portfolio, we observed that sewers might be less eco‐efficient than WWTPs and that we need to envision their design in the context of an integrated WWTP‐sewer management to improve sewer performance. In terms of methodological approach, the bidimensional nature of eco‐efficiency enables the benchmarking of product systems and might be more easily interpreted by the general public. However, there are still some constraints that should be addressed to improve communication, such as the selection of indicators discussed in the article.     

A Systems Approach to Sustainable Technical Product Design

Many existing methods for sustainable technical product design focus on environmental efficiency while lacking a framework for a holistic, sustainable design approach that includes combined social, technical, economic, and environmental aspects in the whole product life cycle, and that provides guidance on a technical product development level. This research proposes a framework for sustainable technical product design in the case of skis. We developed a ski under the Grown brand, benchmarked according to social, environmental, economic, and technical targets, following an initial sustainability assessment, and delivered the first environmental life cycle assessment (ELCA) and the first social life cycle assessment (SLCA) of skis. The framework applies a virtual development process as a combination of ELCA to calculate the environmental footprint as carbon equivalents of all materials and processes and a technical computer‐aided design (CAD) and computer‐aided engineering (CAE) simulation and virtual optimization using parameter studies for the nearly prototype‐free development of the benchmarked skis. The feedback loops between life cycle assessment (LCA) and virtual simulation led to the elimination of highly energy intensive materials, to the pioneering use of basalt fibers in skis, to the optimization of the use of natural materials using protective coatings from natural resins, and to the optimization of the production process. From an environmental perspective, a minimum 32% reduction in carbon equivalent emissions of materials in relation to other comparably performing skis has been achieved, as well as a pioneering step forward toward transparent communication of the environmental performance by the individual, comparable, and first published ski carbon footprint per volume unit.     

Use of Industrial By‐Products in Urban Roadway Infrastructure

Incorporating the beneficial use of industrial by‐products into the industrial ecology of an urban region as a substitute or supplement for natural aggregate can potentially reduce life cycle impacts. This article specifically looks at the utilization of industrial by‐products (IBPs) (coal ash, foundry sand, and foundry slag) as aggregate for roadway sub‐base construction for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, urban region. The scenarios compare the use of virgin aggregate with the use of a combination of both virgin and IBP aggregate, where the aggregate material is selected based on proximity to the construction site and allows for minimization of transportation impacts. The results indicate that the use of IBPs to supplement virgin aggregate on a regional level has the potential of reducing impacts related to energy use, global warming potential, and emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), PM₁₀ (particulate matter—10 microns), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb). Regional management of industrial by‐products would allow for the incorporation of these materials into the industrial ecology of a region and reduce impacts from the disposal of the IBP materials and the extraction of virgin materials and minimize the impacts from transportation. The combination of reduced economic and environmental costs provides a strong argument for state transportation agencies to develop symbiotic relationships with large IBP producers in their regions to minimize impacts associated with roadway construction and maintenance—with the additional benefit of improved management of these materials.