Digital versus Print: Energy Performance in the Selection and Use of Scholarly Journals

Advances in digital technology and the growth of information networks are revolutionizing human activity. The Internet has been championed as a new tool for environmental improvement. A life-cycle energy analysis of digital libraries, a growing application of information technology, was conducted to test this premise.
Life-cycle models were compared for journal collections in digital and traditional formats. The basis for analysis was the amount of information in a typical scientific journal article (∼12 pages), which is equivalent to 0.97 hr of on-screen reading time. Digital system elements such as servers, routers, laser printers, and computer workstations were modeled. Journal production, delivery, storage, binding, interlibrary loan, and photocopying were examined for the traditional system. Building-related infrastructure, office paper, and personal transportation of the library patron were analyzed for both cases. In all, the study incorporated nearly 30 model elements, 90 input variables, and numerous fixed parameters.
Five primary scenarios were constructed to consider increasing levels of complexity. Scenario 1 assumes only one reading per article (unit of analysis). Additional scenarios assume 1,000 readings and vary the following: laser printing, photocopying, and personal transportation. Energy consumed by the digital collection ranged between 4.10 and 216 MJ. The traditional system realized burdens from 0.55 to 525 MJ. Four significant effects were uncovered: (1) Energy consumption per unit was highly influenced by the number of readings per article. (2) Networking infrastructure by itself had a relatively small effect on total energy consumed by the digital system. (3) When personal transportation was considered, its effects tended to dominate. (4) The impact of making personal copies varied. Photocopying always increased energy consumption, whereas laser printing actually saved energy when it substituted for on-screen reading.     

The Environmental Impact of Getting the News

The environmental impact associated with reading an on-line and a printed newspaper is analyzed and compared with respective parts of a television (TV) broadcast. Two reference units were chosen for comparison to account for differences between media in presentation and consumption (reading or watching a news item) and consumption of the daily news as a whole. The environmental impact is assessed using life-cycle assessment (LCA).
Key drivers of the environmental impact for both electronic delivery systems are energy consumption and power generation. Not only do the manufacturing of the products and their use have an environmental impact, but so does the use of the necessary infrastructure, that is, energy consumption of the telephone network or data transfer via Internet. Printing of on-line information also turned out to be important.
In the case of the printed newspapers, energy consumption is again important, here for the manufacturing of pulp and paper. Complete printed newspapers (the form in which they are typically purchased) have a very high environmental burden relative to watching the TV news or reading on-line news, even if the propensity to extend TV viewing is taken into consideration.     

Modeling and Assessing Variability in Energy Consumption During the Use Stage of Online Multimedia Services

In this study, we use an improved, more accurate model to analyze the energy footprint of content downloaded from a major online newspaper by means of various combinations of user devices and access networks. Our results indicate that previous analyses based on average figures for laptops or desktop personal computers predict national and global energy consumption values that are unrealistically high. Additionally, we identify the components that contribute most of the total energy consumption during the use stage of the life cycle of digital services. We find that, depending on the type of user device and access network employed, the data center where the news content originates consumes between 4% and 48% of the total energy consumption when news articles are read and between 2% and 11% when video content is viewed. Similarly, we find that user devices consume between 7% and 90% and 0.7% and 78% for articles and video content, respectively, depending on the type of user device and access network that is employed. Though increasing awareness of the energy consumption by data centers is justified, an analysis of our results shows that for individual users of the online newspaper we studied, energy use by user devices and the third‐generation (3G) mobile network are usually bigger contributors to the service footprint than the datacenters. Analysis of our results also shows that data transfer of video content has a significant energy use on the 3G mobile network, but less so elsewhere. Hence, a strategy of reducing the resolution of video would reduce the energy footprint for individual users who are using mobile devices to access content by the 3G network.     

Consequences of Future Data Center Deployment in Canada on Electricity Generation and Environmental Impacts: A 2015–2030 Prospective Study

The environmental impacts of data centers that provide information and communication technologies (ICTs) services are strongly related to electricity generation. With the increasing use of ICT, many data centers are expected to be built, causing more absolute impacts on the environment. Given that electricity distribution networks are very complex and dynamic systems, an environmental evaluation of future data centers is uncertain. This study proposes a new approach to investigate the consequences of future data center deployment in Canada and optimize this deployment based on the Energy 2020 technoeconomic model in combination with life cycle assessment methodology. The method determines specific electricity sources that will power the future Canadian data centers and computes related environmental impacts based on several indicators. In case‐study scenarios, the largest deployment of data centers leads to the smallest impact per megawatt of data centers for all of the environmental indicators. It is found that an increase in power demand by data centers would lead to a reduction in electricity exports to the United States, driving the United States to generate more electricity to meet its energy demand. Given that electricity generation in the United States is more polluting than in Canada, the deployment of data centers in Canada is indirectly linked to an increase in overall environmental impacts. However, though an optimal solution should be found to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions, it is not clear whether the environmental burden related to U.S. electricity generation should be attributed to the Canadian data centers.     

Decision Support through Mass and Energy Flow Management in the Vehicle-Refinishing Sector

In the past few decades, major advances in environmental protection within the coating application industry have been made. In spite of this technological progress, approximately 50% of industrial-solvent emissions still come from the paint-application sector. The advances made in reducing emissions for plants requiring licensing have unfortunately had no influence on the environmental efforts of smaller companies. Solvent-reduced painting systems, such as high-solid paints, water-based coating, and powder coating have not been able to achieve acceptance, nor have innovative application technologies. The principal arguments against a conversion to these ecologically more favorable alternatives were related to cost and quality.
Recently, the EU Solvent Directive (1999/13/EC) went into effect, aiming to significantly reduce industrial-solvent emissions. Up until this point, however, instruments enabling smaller companies to determine their solvent emissions and to simultaneously develop process-improvement potentials while keeping costs in mind have been missing.
Using the mass and energy flow-management approach, cost structures and environmental benefits can be made transparent to the entrepreneur. The primary result of the research projects presented here is the computer-based mass and energy flow model called the individual computer-aided mass and energy flow model for the vehicle-refinishing sector (IMPROVE). It can be used as a detailed business-consultancy tool. Based upon this, practical guidelines were developed for easy orientation and activity planning. They can be used by companies to help them fulfill the requirements of environmental legislation and to display the benefits that can be achieved by various emission-reduction measures.     

Life Cycle Assessment of a Magazine,Part II: A Comparison of Print and Tablet Editions

The rapid development of information and communications technology (ICT) is providing new ways to access media content. Electronic media are sometimes more advantageous from an environmental perspective than paper‐based media solutions, but ICT‐based media can also bring environmental burdens. This study compared the potential environmental impacts in a life cycle perspective of a print edition of a magazine and that of its electronic edition read on a tablet device. Important objectives were to identify activities giving rise to the main environmental impacts for both the print and tablet editions, determine the key factors influencing these impacts, and address data gaps and uncertainties. A detailed assessment of the tablet edition is provided in a previous article (part 1), whereas this article compares it with the print edition. The methodology used was life cycle assessment and the environmental impacts assessed included climate change, cumulative energy/exergy demand, metal depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, and fossil depletion. Use of different functional units to compare the print and tablet editions of the magazine resulted in different relative environmental impacts. In addition, emerging (low number of readers and low reading time per copy) and mature (higher number of readers and higher reading time per copy) tablet editions yielded varying results. The emerging tablet edition resulted in higher potential environmental impacts per reader than the print edition, but the mature tablet edition yielded lower impacts per reader in half the impact categories assessed. This illustrates the importance of spreading the environmental impacts over a large number of readers. The electricity mix used in product system processes did not greatly affect the results of tablet/print comparisons, but overall number of readers for the tablet edition, number of readers per copy for the print edition, file size, and degree of use of the tablet device proved crucial for the comparison results.     

A Comparative Study of Environmental Impacts of Two Delivery Systems in the Business‐to‐Customer Book Retail Sector

China has the highest carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the world. In China, logistics accounts for a significant portion of the total energy use and CO₂ emissions in business‐to‐customer (B2C) retailing. This study focuses on the environmental impacts of B2C delivery in China, focusing on the book retail industry. Mathematical models are proposed based on the practical operations of the “e‐commerce networked delivery” (END) system and the “sustainable networked delivery” (SND) system. The energy consumption and CO₂ emissions per book are then determined and compared for the two systems. Furthermore, we contrast the findings with those of similar studies conducted for other countries and provide explanations for the differences. The results show that (1) in general, in China, the SND system is better than the END system in terms of environmental impacts; (2) the END system in China generates fewer environmental impacts than those in the United States and the United Kingdom, while the SND system in China has greater environmental impacts than that in the United States; and (3) the wide use of vehicles such as electric bicycles that have low energy consumption rates contributes to the reduction of environmental impacts per book in both the END and SND systems in China. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

Extended Producer Responsibility for Waste Electronics: An Example of Printer Recycling in the United Kingdom

In February 2003, European Union (EU) policy makers implemented a Directive that will make producers responsible for waste electrical and electronic equipment at end-of-life (known as the "WEEE" Directive). Under this new legislation, producers are required to organize and finance the take-back, treatment, and recycling of WEEE and achieve mass-based recycling and recovery targets. This legislation is part of a growing trend of extended producer responsibility for waste, which has the potential to shift the world's economies toward more circular patterns of resource use and recycling. This study uses life-cycle assessment and costing to investigate the possible environmental effects of the WEEE Directive, based on an example of printer recycling in the United Kingdom.
For a total of four waste management scenarios and nine environmental impact categories investigated in this study, results varied, with no scenario emerging as best or worst overall compared to landfilling. The level of environmental impact depended on the type of material and waste management processes involved. Additionally, under the broad mass-based targets of the WEEE Directive, the pattern of relationships between recycling rates, environmental impacts, and treatment and recycling costs may lead to unplanned and unwanted results. Contrary to original EU assumptions, the use of mass-based targets may not ensure that producers adapt the design of their products as intended under producer responsibility.
It is concluded that the EU should revise the scope of consideration of the WEEE Directive to ensure its life-cycle impacts are addressed. In particular, specific environmental objectives and operating standards for treatment and recycling processes should be investigated as an alternative to mass-based recycling and recovery targets.     

Weighting in Practice:Implications for the Use of Life-Cycle Assessment in Decision Making

This article investigates how environmental trade-offs are handled in life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies in some Nordic companies. Through interviews, the use and understanding of weighting methods in decision making was studied. The analysis shows that the decision makers require methods with which to aggregate and help interpret the complex information from life-cycle inventories. They agreed that it was not their own values that should be reflected in such methods, but they were found to have different opinions concerning the value basis that should be used. The analysis also investigates the difficulties arising from using such methods. The decision makers seemed to give a broader meaning to the term weighting, and were more concerned with the comparison between environmental and other aspects than the weighting of different environmental impacts. A conclusion is that decision makers need to be more involved in modeling and interpretation. The role of the analyst should be to interpret the information needs of the decision maker, and help him or her make methodological choices that are consistent with these needs and relevant from his or her point of view. To achieve this, it is important that decision makers do not view LCA as a highly standardized calculation tool, but as a flexible process of collecting, organizing, and interpreting environmental information. Such an approach to LCA increases the chances that the results will be regarded as relevant and useful.     

Sustainable Consumption of Food: A Framework for Analyzing Scenarios about Changes in Diets

This article describes the integration of life-cycle assessment methods with a new input-output model of the world economy to analyze the environmental and economic implications of alternative future diets. The article reviews findings by industrial ecologists about the energy and land required for the production and consumption of alternative foods and diets in several European countries. It also reviews attributes of foods and diets identified by nutritionists as reducing the risks of obesity and major chronic diseases related to the diets of the affluent. The predominantly plant-based Mediterranean-type diet emerges as a dietary scenario that could satisfy both sets of concerns. The likely implications for agriculture and for farm policies of a shift toward this diet from the current average diet in the United States are discussed and shown to be substantial. The one-country studies reviewed in the article provide substantial insights into the potential ramifications of dietary change. Many of the limitations of these studies could be overcome by conducting the analysis in a global framework that represented the relationships among consumption, production, and trade and the physical constraints within which they operate. Analysis of the environmental and economic implications of alternative scenarios describing healthy diets can help stimulate more intensive dialogue, debate, and action among the interested parties; such analysis can both benefit from and contribute to initiatives such as the World Health Organization's global strategy on diet and health, which intends to enlist the support of governments, corporations, and civil society.     

Life Cycle Assessment of a Magazine,Part I: Tablet Edition in Emerging and Mature States

Information and communication technology (ICT) is providing new ways to access media content. ICT has environmental benefits and burdens. The overall goal of the present study was to assess the environmental impacts of production and consumption of magazines read on tablets from a life cycle perspective. Important goals were to identify the activities giving rise to the main impacts and the key factors influencing the overall environmental impacts. Data gaps and uncertainties were also addressed. The results are compared against those for the print edition of the magazine in a separate article (part 2). The methodology used in the study was life cycle assessment. The environmental impacts assessed included climate change, cumulative energy/exergy demand, metal depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater/marine eutrophication, fossil depletion, human toxicity, and ecotoxicity. The results indicate that content production can be the major contributor to environmental impacts if readers are few (as for the emerging version of the magazine studied). Assuming more readers (more mature version) or a larger file size for the tablet magazine, electronic storage and distribution may be the major contributor. Thus, in contrast to previous studies on electronic media, which reported a dominant impact of the use phase, this study found a higher impact for content production (emerging version) and electronic storage and distribution (mature version). However, with inefficient, low overall use of the tablet with a mature version of the tablet magazine, the greatest impact was shown to come from the reading activity (i.e., the use phase). In conclusion, the relative impacts of the tablet magazine would decrease considerably with high numbers of readers, their efficient use of the tablet (i.e., for many purposes over a long life of the device), and a smaller magazine file.     

Life Cycle–based Assessment of Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Almond Production,Part II: Uncertainty Analysis through Sensitivity Analysis and Scenario Testing

This is the second part of a two‐article series examining California almond production. The part I article describes development of the analytical framework and life cycle–based model and presents typical energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for California almonds. This part II article builds on this by exploring uncertainty in the life cycle model through sensitivity and scenario analysis, and by examining temporary carbon storage in the orchard. Sensitivity analysis shows life cycle GHG emissions are most affected by biomass fate and utilization, followed by nitrous oxide emissions rates from orchard soils. Model sensitivity for net energy consumption is highest for irrigation system parameters, followed by biomass fate and utilization. Scenario analysis shows utilization of orchard biomass for electricity production has the greatest potential effect, assuming displacement methods are used for co‐product allocation. Results of the scenario analysis show that 1 kilogram (kg) of almond kernel and associated co‐products are estimated to cause between ?3.12 to 2.67 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂‐eq) emissions and consume between 27.6 to 52.5 megajoules (MJ) of energy. Co‐product displacement credits lead to avoided emissions of between ?1.33 to 2.45 kg CO₂‐eq and between ?0.08 to 13.7 MJ of avoided energy use, leading to net results of ?1.39 to 3.99 kg CO₂‐eq and 15.3 to 52.6 MJ per kg kernel (net results are calculated by subtracting co‐product credits from the results for almonds and co‐products). Temporary carbon storage in orchard biomass and soils is accounted for by using alternative global warming characterization factors and leads to a 14% to 18% reduction in CO₂‐eq emissions. Future studies of orchards and other perennial cropping systems should likely consider temporary carbon storage.     

A Dutch Approach to the European Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control: Using Life-Cycle Assessment for the Integrated Assessment of Technologies

In light of the European Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC Directive), traditional environmental regulation can be improved using the framework of industrial ecology. The objective of the IPPC Directive is to achieve a high level of protection of the environment as a whole (Article 1) by applying the best available techniques (BAT). In essence, the IPPC Directive obliges member states of the European Union to include considerations such as resources, energy, waste, and multimedia emissions when permitting industrial installations. This is a marked contrast to traditional environmental regulation that focuses on individual media of an individual site. In order to take all considerations into account, an integrated assessment of technologies is needed, for which a standard method is currently lacking.
In this article, a systematic approach is introduced for the integrated assessment of IPPC technologies using life-cycle assessment (LCA), a form of environmental assessment that can be broadened to an overall assessment of environmental, economic, and social aspects. This systematic approach has proven to be successful for the environmental assessment of the described cases. It is suggested here that weighting can be omitted for the evaluation of IPPC technologies. Leaving the weighting step to competent authorities of member states and allowing them to consider local issues provides maximum opportunity for the subsidiarity and flexibility principles of the IPPC Directive.     

Enhancing the Adoption of Life Cycle Assessment by Small and Medium Enterprises Grouped in an Industrial Cluster: A Case Study of the Tanning Cluster in Tuscany (Italy)

Greenhouse gas emissions from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for 70% of the industrial pollution in the European Union. Owing to limited economic and human resources, only a few SMEs start procedures to evaluate the environmental impact of processes and products through life cycle assessment (LCA). In this work, a cluster life cycle assessment (Cluster‐LCA) is proposed as an instrument for the diffusion and realization of LCA analysis in clustered SMEs. This methodology is illustrated with a case study in the tanning cluster in Tuscany. The different characteristics of the methodology are analyzed by identifying the intrinsic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The application of this methodology in a particular cluster is then discussed in order to gather some helpful insight for the application of this methodology in different clusters.     

Linking Data Choices and Context Specificity in Life Cycle Assessment of Waste Treatment Technologies: A Landfill Case Study

To generate meaningful results, life cycle assessments (LCAs) require accurate technology data that are consistent with the goal and scope of the analysis. While literature data are available for many products and processes, finding representative data for highly site‐specific technologies, such as waste treatment processes, remains a challenge. This study investigated representative life cycle inventory (LCI) modeling of waste treatment technologies in consideration of variations in technological level and climate. The objectives were to demonstrate the importance of representative LCI modeling as a function of the specificity of the study, and to illustrate the necessity of iteratively refining the goal and scope of the study as data are developed. A landfill case study was performed where 52 discrete landfill data sets were built and grouped to represent different technology options and geographical sites, potential impacts were calculated, and minimum/maximum (min‐max) intervals were generated for each group. The results showed decreasing min‐max intervals with increasing specificity of the scope of study, which indicates that compatibility between the scope of study and LCI model is critical. Hereby, this study quantitatively demonstrates the influence of representative modeling on LCA results. The results indicate that technology variations and site‐specific conditions (e.g., the influence of precipitation and cover permeability on landfill gas generation and collection) should be carefully addressed by a systematic analysis of the key process parameters. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the targeted waste treatment technologies is necessary to ensure that appropriate data choices are made within the boundaries of the defined scope of the study.     

Life Cycle Inventory of Particleboard: A Case Study in the Wood Sector (8 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background Wood has many applications and it is often in competition with other materials. Chipboard is the most common item of wood-based materials and it has attained the highest economical development in recent years. Relevant up-to-date environmental data are needed to allow the environmental comparison of wood with other materials. There are several examples of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluations of some wood products and forest-technology systems, but no comprehensive Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data for particleboard manufacture is available in the literature. The main focus of this study is to generate a comprehensive LCI database for the manufacture of resin-bonded wood particleboards. Methods In this work, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards and Ecoindicator 99 methodology were considered to quantify the potential environmental impact associated to the system under study. A Spanish factory considered representative of the 'state of art' was studied in detail. The system boundaries included all the activities taking place inside the factory as well as the activities associated with the production of the main chemicals used in the process, energy inputs and transport. All the data related to the inputs and outputs of the process were obtained by on-site measurements. Results and Discussion LCI methodology was used for the quantification of the impacts of the particleboard manufacture. The inventory data of the three defined subsystems are described: - Wood preparation: a comprehensive inventory of data including storage, debarking, particle production, storage and measurement of particles, drying and combustion of the bark for energy purposes. - Board shaping: data related to particle classification, resin mixing, mattress formation and the pressing stage. - Board finishing: cooling data, finishing, storage and distribution of the final product. The system was characterised with Ecoindicator 99 methodology (hierarchic version) in order to identify the 'hot spots'. Damage to Human Health was mainly produced by the subsystem of Board finishing. The subsystem of Board shaping was the most significant contributor to damage to the Ecosystem Quality and Resources. Conclusions With the final aim of creating a database to identify and characterise the manufacture of particleboard, special attention was paid to the inventory analysis stage of the particleboard industry. A multicriteria approach was applied in order to define the most adequate use of wood wastes. Environmental, economic and social considerations strengthen the hypothesis that the use of forest residues in particleboard manufacture is more sustainable than their use as fuel. Recommendations and Outlook In this work, particleboard was the product analysed, as it is one of the most common wood-based materials. Future work will focus on the study of another key wood board: Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF). Moreover, factors with strong geographical dependence, such as the electricity profile and final transport of the product, will be analysed. In addition, the definition of widespread functional unit to study the use of wood wastes at the end-of-life stage may be another issue of outstanding interest.     

Consequential Life Cycle Assessment of Pasture‐based Milk Production: A Case Study in the Waikato Region,New Zealand

Farm intensification options in pasture‐based dairy systems are generally associated with increased stocking rates coupled with the increased use of off‐farm inputs to support the additional feed demand of animals. However, as well as increasing milk production per hectare, intensification can also exacerbate adverse impacts on the environment. The objective of the present study was to investigate environmental trade‐offs associated with potential intensification methods for pasture‐based dairy farming systems in the Waikato region, New Zealand. The intensification scenarios selected were (1) increased pasture utilization efficiency (PUE scenario), (2) increased use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer to boost on‐farm pasture production (N fertilizer scenario), and (3) increased use of brought‐in feed as maize silage (MS) (MS scenario). Twelve impact categories were assessed. The PUE scenario was the environmentally preferred intensification method, and the preferred choice between the N fertilizer and MS scenarios depended upon trade‐offs between different environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to test the effects of choice associated with: (1) the approaches used to account for indirect land‐use change (ILUC) and (2) the competing product systems (conventional beef systems) used to handle the co‐product dairy meat for the climate change (CC) indicator. Results showed that the magnitude of the CC indicator results was influenced by the ILUC accounting approaches and the choice associated with a global marginal beef mix, but the relative CC indicator results for the three intensification scenarios remained unchanged.     

A Hybrid Approach for Assessing the Multi‐Scale Impacts of Urban Resource Use: Transportation in Phoenix,Arizona

Life cycle assessment (LCA) and urban metabolism (UM) are popular approaches for urban system environmental assessment. However, both approaches have challenges when used across spatial scales. LCA tends to decompose systemic information into micro‐level functional units that mask complexity and purpose, whereas UM typically equates aggregated material and energy flows with impacts and is not ideal for revealing the mechanisms or alternatives available to reduce systemic environmental risks. This study explores the value of integrating UM with LCA, using vehicle transportation in the Phoenix metropolitan area as an illustrative case study. Where other studies have focused on the use of LCA providing upstream supply‐chain impacts for UM, we assert that the broader value of the integrated approach is in (1) the ability to cross scales (from micro to macro) in environmental assessment and (2) establishing an analysis that captures function and complexity in urban systems. The results for Phoenix show the complexity in resource supply chains and critical infrastructure services, how impacts accrue well beyond geopolitical boundaries where activities occur, and potential system vulnerabilities.     

A Carbon Footprint of High‐Speed Railways in China: A Case Study of the Beijing‐Shanghai Line

A carbon footprint (CF) assessment of Chinese high‐speed railways (HSRs) can help guide further development of the world's longest HSR network. In this research, a hybrid economic input‐output and life cycle assessment (EIO‐LCA) method was applied to estimate the CF of the Beijing‐Shanghai HSR line. Specific CFs were analyzed of different subsystems of the line, different stages of production, and three calculation scopes. Results showed that the annual CF of the Beijing‐Shanghai HSR is increasing, whereas the per‐passenger CF constantly declined between 2011 and 2014. Scope 1 emissions account for an average of 4% of the total annual CF, Scope 2 contribute 71%, and Scope 3 comprise 25%. Among the different stages, operation contributes the largest (71%), followed by construction (20%) and maintenance (9%). In the construction stage, the bridges have the largest CF, followed by trains, and then rails. A trade‐off exists between the increase in carbon emissions due to construction of bridges and the reduction in operation emissions affected by leveling changes in terrain. The Beijing‐Shanghai HSR line has a relatively higher per‐passenger CF than eight other HSR lines, which is largely due to China's coal‐based carbon‐intensive energy mix of electricity generation, high proportion of bridges, higher operating speed, and heavier train body. In the future, cleaner electricity supply options, more efficient raw material production, and improvement of trains are keys to reducing the CF of Chinese HSRs.     

Industrial Symbiosis in China: A Case Study of the Guitang Group

The Guitang Group (GG), which operates one of China's largest sugar refineries, has been developing and implementing an internal and external industrial symbiosis strategy for more than four decades. The GG first invested in developing its own collection of downstream companies to utilize nearly all byproducts of sugar production. This strategy has generated new revenues and reduced environmental emissions and disposal costs, while simultaneously improving the quality of sugar. Internally, the GG's complex consists of interlinked production of sugar, alcohol, cement, compound fertilizer, and paper and includes recycling and reuse. Externally, the GG has established a strong customer base as a result of its product quality, has worked to maintain and expand its supply base through technological and economic incentives to farmers (and even to competitors), and has had to react to a strong government presence that fundamentally affects its operations. Operations to date support some of the fundamental concepts of industrial symbiosis. Significant challenges exist, though, if the company is to continue to prosper in the volatile globalized sugar market.