Absolute versus Relative Environmental Sustainability

The cradle‐to‐cradle (C2C) concept has emerged as an alternative to the more established eco‐efficiency concept based on life cycle assessment (LCA). The two concepts differ fundamentally in that eco‐efficiency aims to reduce the negative environmental footprint of human activities while C2C attempts to increase the positive footprint. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each concept and suggests how they may learn from each other. The eco‐efficiency concept involves no long‐term vision or strategy, the links between resource consumption and waste emissions are not well related to the sustainability state, and increases in eco‐efficiency may lead to increases in consumption levels and hence overall impact. The C2C concept's disregard for energy efficiency means that many current C2C products will likely not perform well in an LCA. Inherent drawbacks are restrictions on the development of new materials posed by the ambition of continuous loop recycling, the perception that human interactions with nature can benefit all parts of all ecosystems, and the hinted compatibility with continued economic growth. Practitioners of eco‐efficiency can benefit from the visions of C2C to avoid a narrow‐minded focus on the eco‐efficiency of products that are inherently unsustainable. Moreover, resource efficiency and positive environmental effects could be included more strongly in LCA. Practitioners of C2C on the other hand should recognize the value of LCA in addressing trade‐offs between resource conservation and energy use. Also, when designing a “healthy emission” it should be recognized that it will often have an adverse effect on parts of the exposed ecosystem.     

Computation of Operational and Environmental Benchmarks Within Selected Galician Fishing Fleets

Increasing the eco‐efficiency of fishing fleets is currently a major target issue in the seafood sector. This objective has been influenced in recent years by soaring fuel prices, a fact particularly relevant to a sector whose vessels present high energy consumption rates. Efforts to minimize fuel consumption in fishing fleets result in economic benefits and also in important reductions regarding environmental impacts. In this article, we combine life cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) to jointly discuss the operational and environmental performances of a set of multiple, similar entities. We applied the “five‐step LCA + DEA method” to a wide range of vessels for selected Galician fisheries, including deep‐sea, offshore, and coastal fleets. The environmental consequences of operational inefficiencies were quantified and target performance values benchmarked for inefficient vessels. We assessed the potential environmental performance of target vessels to verify eco‐efficiency criteria (lower input consumption levels, lower environmental impacts). Results revealed the strong dependence of environmental impacts on one major operational input: fuel consumption. The most intensive fuel‐consuming fleets, such as deep sea trawling, were found to entail the diesel consumption levels nearest to the efficiency values. Despite the reduced environmental contributions linked to other operational inputs, such as hull material, antifouling paint, or nets, these may contribute to substantial economic savings when minimized. Finally, given that Galicia is a major fishing region, many of the conclusions and perspectives obtained in this study may be extrapolated to other fishing fleets at the international level.     

Life cycle assessment of emerging environmental technologies in the early stage of development: A case study on nanostructured materials

The use of nanostructured materials has been recently proposed in the field of environmental nanoremediation. This approach consists in using nanomaterials not directly, but as building blocks for the design of nano‐porous micro‐dimensional systems, overcoming the eco‐ and health‐toxicology risks generally associated with the use of nano‐sized technologies. Herein we report the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) as an eco‐design tool for optimizing the production of cellulose nanosponges (CNS), nanostructured materials recently developed for water remediation purposes. LCA was applied from the acquisition of raw materials to the synthesis of CNS (from cradle‐to‐gate), considering three production systems, from the lab‐level to a modeled scale‐up system. The lab‐scale LCA identified the main environmental hotspots, namely the energy‐consuming steps and the final purification of the material (washing step). In a second lab‐scale production, an improvement action could be implemented, switching the washing solvent from methanol to water and decreasing the washing temperature. A second LCA showed a reduced contribution to the impacts from the materials, while the global impacts remained within the same order of magnitude. A simulated scale‐up of the process allowed to optimize the energy‐consuming steps and the water consumption, through internal recycling. A third LCA assessed the resulting benefits and a decrease in the global impacts by two orders of magnitude. Our study contributes to the discussion of LCA community, providing a focus on the importance of scaling‐up of emerging technologies, namely nanostructured porous materials, highlighting the benefits of a LCA based approach since the very beginning of product design (eco‐design).     

Identifying Stakeholders’ Views on the Eco‐efficiency Assessment of a Municipal Solid Waste Management System

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the most popular methods of technical‐environmental assessment for informing environmental policies, as, for instance, in municipal solid waste (MSW) management. Because MSW management involves many stakeholders with possibly conflicting interests, the implementation of an LCA‐based policy can, however, be blocked or delayed. A stakeholder assessment of future scenarios helps identify conflicting interests and anticipate barriers of sustainable MSW management systems. This article presents such an approach for Swiss waste glass‐packaging disposal, currently undergoing a policy review. In an online survey, stakeholders (N = 85) were asked to assess disposal scenarios showing different LCA‐based eco‐efficiencies with respect to their desirability and probability of occurrence. Scenarios with higher eco‐efficiency than the current system are more desirable and considered more probable than those with lower eco‐efficiency. A combination of inland recycling and downcycling to foam glass (insulation material) in Switzerland is desired by all stakeholders and is more eco‐efficient than the current system. In contrast, institutions of MSW management, such as national and regional environmental protection agencies, judge a scenario in which nearly all cullet would be recycled in the only Swiss glass‐packaging factory as more desirable than supply and demand stakeholders of waste glass‐packaging. Such a scenario involves a monopsony rejected by many municipalities and scrap traders. Such an assessment procedure can provide vital information guiding the formulation of environmental policies.     

Eco‐efficiency Based on Social Performance and its Relationship with Financial Performance

As corporate responsibility for environmental management has gained attention, eco‐efficiency has become recognized as an important concept for improving the social performance of the business sector as well as that of the public sector. Improving eco‐efficiency is widely accepted not only as a means of increasing economic value, but also as a means of reducing environmental effects. However, managing for eco‐efficiency should take into consideration the differences among industries, because the impact of eco‐efficiency on financial and social performance varies among industries. To explore this variation, we conducted a cross‐industry analysis of eco‐efficiency based on social performance using data envelopment analysis (DEA). DEA measures relative efficiency and is a useful tool for taking into account the relative importance of industry‐specific characteristics. Using DEA, eco‐efficiency scores were derived based on the ratio of two factors of social performance: (1) value‐added inducing and production‐inducing economic spillover effects and (2) the amount of greenhouse gases emitted and energy used. Then, we identified the relationships between our eco‐efficiency score and financial performance, which is a measure of the firm's stability. The case study is based on 272 firms in 16 industries in South Korea. Results show that firms in product manufacturing and service‐intensive industries tend to have higher eco‐efficiency scores than those in raw material or chemical‐intensive industries. In addition, most of the industries reveal no relationship between traditional financial performance metrics and eco‐efficiency scores. A handful of industries had significant relationships with one or more financial performance metrics; in some cases, these relationships were negative, whereas in others they were positive. Surprisingly, almost all industries have no significant relationships between eco‐efficiency and financial performance. This result implies that government support for policies that reward firms that attempt to be eco‐efficient are needed, or that other nonfinancial metrics that influence eco‐efficiency, such as employment and brand reputation, should be considered. This article is expected to support policy makers as they formulate industry‐specific environmental strategies.     

Measuring and Improving Eco‐efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis

The concept of eco‐efficiency can be defined with the “product value/environmental influence” ratio. Different models have been proposed to measure eco‐efficiency. The main difference among them is the weighting system used to aggregate the environmental results. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) permits this aggregation without requiring a subjective judgment about the weights. In this study, we applied a DEA model to Spanish Mahón‐Menorca cheese production to determine the most eco‐efficient production techniques. To this end, 16 scenarios of Mahón‐Menorca cheese production were built regarding technical (degree of automation) and cleaner production criteria. The environmental impacts were assessed by means of life cycle assessment. We carried out an economic assessment by determining the economic value added and the net income for each scenario. The results are referred to as 1 kilogram (kg) cheese ripened over 105 days. Through DEA, an eco‐efficiency ratio between 0 and 1 was obtained. Three scenarios were found to be eco‐efficient, with a high degree of automation (enclosed vat and molding and demolding machines) and accelerated cheese ripening. We used Monte Carlo simulation to carry out a sensitivity analysis to compare the influence of price changes on the eco‐efficiency ratio. The results emphasize the consistency and stability of the eco‐efficient scenarios.     

Integrated Economic Equilibrium and Life Cycle Assessment Modeling for Policy‐based Consequential LCA

Consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) has emerged as a tool for estimating environmental impacts of changes in product systems that go beyond physical relationships accounted for in attributional LCA (ALCA). This study builds on recent efforts to use more complex economic models for policy‐based CLCA. A partial market equilibrium (PME) model, called the U.S. Forest Products Module (USFPM), is combined with LCA to analyze an energy demand scenario in which wood use increases 400 million cubic meters in the United States for ethanol production. Several types of indirect economic and environmental impacts are identified and estimated using USFPM‐LCA. A key finding is that if wood use for biofuels increases to high levels and mill residue is used for biofuels and replaced by natural gas for heat and power in forest products mills, then the increased greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas could offset reductions obtained by substituting biofuels for gasoline. Such high levels of biofuel demand, however, appear to have relatively low environmental impacts across related forest product sectors.     

Comprehensive Regional Eco‐Efficiency Analysis Based on Data Envelopment Analysis: The Case of Polish Regions

This article examines the concept of eco‐efficiency at a regional level as an approach to promote the sustainable transformation of regions, using the regions of Poland as an example. The data envelopment analysis (DEA) method—the input‐oriented Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (CCR) model—was chosen as the eco‐efficiency analysis tool because of its high capability to measure the regional eco‐efficiency. The research process was divided into two stages. First, the chosen instruments of mathematical statistics (e.g., Hellwig's method and coefficient of determination) were applied to ensure an appropriate combination of environmental and economic indicators of the eco‐efficiency equation. Next, the CCR model was used to calculate the eco‐efficiency scores. The results of the study have revealed that the regions of Lubuskie, Mazowieckie, ?l?skie, Warmińsko‐Maurskie, and Wielkopolskie are relatively eco‐efficient, whereas the remaining regions use too many environmental resources in relation to the produced value of goods and services. Six of the eleven eco‐inefficient regions in Poland have increasing returns to scale, that is, the usage of natural resources connected with the negative impact upon the environment rises slower than the values of goods and services. Notwithstanding, it is beneficiary from the perspective of sustainability. The obtained research results are a valuable source of management information for the creation of regional environmental protection strategies and a basis for searching for the causes of eco‐inefficiency.     

Methodological Aspects of Applying Life Cycle Assessment to Industrial Symbioses

In view of recent studies of the historical development and current status of industrial symbiosis (IS), life cycle assessment (LCA) is proposed as a general framework for quantifying the environmental performance of by‐product exchange. Recent guidelines for LCA (International Reference Life Cycle Data System [ILCD] guidelines) are applied to answer the main research questions in the IS literature reviewed. A typology of five main research questions is proposed: (1) analysis, (2) improvement, and (3) expansion of existing systems; (4) design of new eco‐industrial parks, and (5) restructuring of circular economies. The LCA guidelines were found useful in framing the question and choosing an appropriate reference case for comparison. The selection of a correct reference case reduces the risk of overestimating the benefits of by‐product exchange. In the analysis of existing systems, environmentally extended input‐output analysis (EEIOA) can be used to streamline the analysis and provide an industry average baseline for comparison. However, when large‐scale changes are applied to the system, more sophisticated tools are necessary for assessment of the consequences, from market analysis to general equilibrium modeling and future scenario work. Such a rigorous application of systems analysis was not found in the current IS literature, but would benefit the field substantially, especially when the environmental impact of large‐scale economic changes is analyzed.     

Environmental Performance Analysis of Eco‐Industrial Parks in China: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

In pursuit of more sustainable development of industry, China has been actively developing eco‐industrial parks (EIPs) for more than a decade. However, the environmental value of these EIPs remains largely unverified. This study aimed to evaluate the environmental performance of national EIPs in China using data envelopment analysis. Eco‐efficiency and environmental performance indices were used to represent the static and dynamic environmental performance of EIPs, respectively. An environmental performance index was formed by combining measures of eco‐efficiency in a dynamic setting with the sequential Malmquist index approach. We obtained three main empirical findings. First, 34 national EIPs exhibited a cumulative environmental performance improvement of 89.4% from 2007 to 2010, which is primarily the result of eco‐efficiency change rather than environmental technical change. Second, compared with the trial EIPs, the demonstration EIPs had a higher average eco‐efficiency (0.611 vs. 0.446 in 2010) and experienced greater average environmental performance improvement (129% vs. 60%). Third, the EIPs retrofitted from high‐tech industrial development zones exhibited much higher average eco‐efficiency (0.798 vs. 0.440 in 2010) than those retrofitted from economic and technical development zones. The key measures supporting the performance improvement and policy implications for the development of EIPs are also discussed.     

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.     

Hotspot Scenario Analysis

Increasingly, organizations are working to reduce the environmental footprint of their supply chains. The use of environmentally preferable purchasing criteria is one strategy organizations use to address this goal. However, evaluating the environmental performance of these criteria (e.g., recycled content, biodegradable, renewable, and so on) has remained elusive. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can measure the impact reduction potential of sourcing strategies. However, full process‐based LCAs are time‐consuming and costly across multiple criteria of thousands of products and inputs purchased in an organizational setting. A streamlined “hotspot” methodology is presented using a combination of environmentally extended economic input‐output (EEIO) approaches and extant literature to identify hotspots in which to constrain a parameterized process‐based LCA. A case study of breakfast cereal manufacturing is developed to (1) assess the efficiencies associated with the hotspotting approach and (2) demonstrate its applicability in generating comparable decision signals of environmentally preferable sourcing criteria for procurement and supply‐chain managers along the dimensions of global warming potential and water use.     

Application of Product Data Technology Standards to LCA Data

Applications of information and communications technology (ICT) for the management of environmental data, if used during the design and at the end of the product life cycle, can improve the environmental performance of products. This specific application of ICT for data management is called product data technology (PDT) and is based on the use of international standards developed by ISO TC184/SC4. PDT enables the computerized representations of information about products, processes, and their properties that are independent of any proprietary computer system or software application. The standard product data models are designed to integrate the necessary information about materials used in the product, and such information can be accessed and used at any point in the life cycle, from design to disposal. In the article, we present how PDT can support life cycle assessment (LCA) by focusing on a series of standards for communicating data for design and manufacture and standards for business and commercial information. Examples of possibilities for using PDT and semantic web for LCA data are introduced. The findings presented here are based on DEPUIS (Design of Environmentally‐Friendly Products Using Information Standards), a project aimed at improving the eco‐design of new products and services through the innovative use of new information standards.     

Triple bottom line study of a lignocellulosic biofuel industry

Growing concerns about energy security and climate change have prompted interest in Australia and worldwide to look for alternatives of fossil fuels. Among the renewable fuel sources, biofuels are one such alternative that have received unprecedented attention in the past decade. Cellulosic biofuels, derived from agricultural and wood biomass, could potentially increase Australia's oil self‐sufficiency. In this study, we carry out a hybrid life‐cycle assessment (LCA) of a future cellulose‐refining industry located in the Green Triangle region of South Australia. We assess both the upstream and downstream refining stages, and consider as well the life‐cycle effects occurring in conventional industries displaced by the proposed biofuel supply chains. We improve on conventional LCA method by utilising multi‐region input–output (IO) analysis that allows a comprehensive appraisal of the industry's supply chains. Using IO‐based hybrid LCA, we evaluate the social, economic and environmental impacts of lignocellulosic biofuel production. In particular, we evaluate the employment, economic stimulus, energy consumption and greenhouse gas impacts of the biofuel supply chain and also quantify the loss in economic activity and employment in the paper, pulp and paperboard industry resulting from the diversion of forestry biomass to biofuel production. Our results reveal that the loss in economic activity and employment will only account for 10% of the new jobs and additional stimulus generated in the economy. Lignocellulosic biofuel production will create significant new jobs and enhance productivity and economic growth by initiating the growth of new industries in the economy. The energy return on investment for cellulosic biofuel production lies between 2.7 and 5.2, depending on the type of forestry feedstock and the travel distance between the feedstock industry and the cellulose refinery. Furthermore, the biofuel industry will be a net carbon sequester.     

Institutionalization of Life-Cycle Thinking in the Everyday Discourse of Market Actors

The widespread popularity of life-cycle assessment (LCA) is difficult to understand from the point of view of instrumental decision making by economic agents. Ehrenfeld has argued, in a 1997 issue of this journal, that it is the world-shaping potential of LCA that is more important than its use as a decision-making tool. The present study attempts to explore the institutionalization of this "LCA world view" among ordinary market actors. This is important because environmental policy relies increasingly on market-based initiatives. Cognitive and normative assumptions in authoritative LCA documents are examined as empirical data and compared with data from focus group interviews concerning products and the environment with "ordinary" manufacturers, retailers, and consumers in Finland. These assumptions are (1) the "cradle-to-grave" approach, (2) the view that all products have an environmental impact and can be improved, (3) the relativity of environmental merit, and (4) the way responsibility for environmental burdens is attributed. Relevant affinities, but also differences, are identified. It is argued that life-cycle thinking is not primarily instrumental, but rather is gaining a degree of intrinsic value. The study attempts to establish a broader institutional context in which the popularity of LCA can be understood. From the point of view of this broader context, some future challenges for the development of LCA and life-cycle thinking are suggested.     

Uncertainty and Variability in Product Carbon Footprinting

Recent years have seen increasing interest in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions accounting, also known as carbon footprinting, due to drivers such as transportation fuels policy and climate‐related eco‐labels, sometimes called carbon labels. However, it remains unclear whether applications of greenhouse gas accounting, such as carbon labels, are supportable given the level of precision that is possible with current methodology and data. The goal of this work is to further the understanding of quantitative uncertainty assessment in carbon footprinting through a case study of a rackmount electronic server. Production phase uncertainty was found to be moderate (±15%), though with a high likelihood of being significantly underestimated given the limitations in available data for assessing uncertainty associated with temporal variability and technological specificity. Individual components or subassemblies showed varying levels of uncertainty due to differences in parameter uncertainty (i.e., agreement between data sets) and variability between production or use regions. The use phase displayed a considerably higher uncertainty (±50%) than production due to uncertainty in the useful lifetime of the server, variability in electricity mixes in different market regions, and use profile uncertainty. Overall model uncertainty was found to be ±35% for the whole life cycle, a substantial amount given that the method is already being used to set policy and make comparative environmental product declarations. Future work should continue to combine the increasing volume of available data to ensure consistency and maximize the credibility of the methods of life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprinting. However, for some energy‐using products it may make more sense to increase focus on energy efficiency and use phase emissions reductions rather than attempting to quantify and reduce the uncertainty of the relatively small production phase.     

The Influence of State‐Ownership on Eco‐Innovations in Russian Manufacturing Firms

This paper studies drivers for eco‐innovation in Russian manufacturing firms on a sample of 2,212 innovative firms, of which over 600 introduced eco‐innovations. The companies in our sample specifically mention environmental regulation as a reason for engaging in eco‐innovations. Furthermore, we show that those firms who engage in eco‐innovations are motivated even stronger by the desire to increase resource efficiency. Companies under state ownership are especially prone to a higher likelihood to invest. We conclude that regulations are mostly relevant to the late comers who are obliged to follow minimum standards. On the other hand, the state uses its controlling influence to press companies under their control to exceed these minimum standards. Thus, we argue, state ownership does indeed have an influence on both the likelihood to eco‐innovate and on the levels of spending. Eco‐innovative state‐owned companies are only prone to invest in eco‐innovations, if they get additional money.     

The Ecological Footprint Intensity of National Economies

At least three perspectives—industrial ecology (IE), ecological modernization theory (EMT), and the “environmental Kuznets curve” (EKC)—emphasize the potential for sustainability via refinements in production systems that dramatically reduce the environmental impacts of economic development. Can improvements in efficiency counterbalance environmental impacts stemming from the scale of production? To address this question we analyze cross‐national variation in the ecological footprint (EF) per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). The EF is a widely recognized indicator of human pressure on the environment. The EF of a nation is the amount of land area that would be required to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb the wastes it generates. The most striking finding of our analyses is that there is limited variation across nations in EF per unit of GDP. This indicates limited plasticity in the levels of EF intensity or eco‐efficiency among nations, particularly among affluent nations. EF intensity is lowest (ecoefficiency is highest) in affluent nations, but the level of efficiency in these nations does not appear to be of sufficient magnitude to compensate for their large productive capacities. These results suggest that modernization and economic development will be insufficient, in themselves, to bring about the ecological sustainability of societies.     

Dynamic Models of Fixed Capital Stocks and Their Application in Industrial Ecology

Industrial assets or fixed capital stocks are at the core of the transition to a low‐carbon economy. They represent substantial accumulations of capital, bulk materials, and critical metals. Their lifetime determines the potential for material recycling and how fast they can be replaced by new, more efficient facilities. Their efficiency determines the coupling between useful output and energy and material throughput. A sound understanding of the economic and physical properties of fixed capital stocks is essential to anticipating the long‐term environmental and economic consequences of the new energy future. We identify substantial overlap in the way stocks are modeled in national accounting, dynamic material flow analysis, dynamic input‐output (I/O) analysis, and life cycle assessment (LCA) and we merge these concepts into a common framework for modeling fixed capital stocks. We demonstrate the usefulness of the framework for simultaneous accounting of capital and material stocks and for consequential LCA. We apply the framework to design a demand‐driven dynamic I/O model with dynamic capital stocks, and we synthesize both the marginal and attributional matrix of technical coefficients (A‐matrix) from detailed process inventories of fixed assets of different age cohorts and technologies. The stock modeling framework allows researchers to identify and exploit synergies between different model families under the umbrella of socioeconomic metabolism.     

Insights on the Use of Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment for Environmental Footprinting

Establishing a comprehensive environmental footprint that indicates resource use and environmental release hotspots in both direct and indirect operations can help companies formulate impact reduction strategies as part of overall sustainability efforts. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful approach for achieving these objectives. For most companies, financial data are more readily available than material and energy quantities, which suggests a hybrid LCA approach that emphasizes use of economic input‐output (EIO) LCA and process‐based energy and material flow models to frame and develop life cycle emission inventories resulting from company activities. We apply a hybrid LCA framework to an inland marine transportation company that transports bulk commodities within the United States. The analysis focuses on global warming potential, acidification, particulate matter emissions, eutrophication, ozone depletion, and water use. The results show that emissions of greenhouse gases, sulfur, and particulate matter are mainly from direct activities but that supply chain impacts are also significant, particularly in terms of water use. Hotspots were identified in the production, distribution, and use of fuel; the manufacturing, maintenance, and repair of boats and barges; food production; personnel air transport; and solid waste disposal. Results from the case study demonstrate that the aforementioned footprinting framework can provide a sufficiently reliable and comprehensive baseline for a company to formulate, measure, and monitor its efforts to reduce environmental impacts from internal and supply chain operations.