A Comparison of Carbon Footprint Calculations for End of Life Product Recovery Methods Using PAS 2050

This paper demonstrates a comparison of product recovery methods, by carbon footprint calculation, for repaired products with remanufactured products and the environmental impact that they have when they reach their end-of-life (EOL). Growing concerns of climate change and government legislation have changed the way in which consumers can dispose of used or broken products. Items can no longer be sent to landfill and it is now the responsibility of the producers to dispose of products in a more sustainable manner and take into consideration all stages of the products life cycle. A standardised method for calculating carbon footprints has been used and a carbon footprint carried out for each product recovery method. Specific data was collected, from a manufacturing company in England’s North West region, about the processes involved during each recovery method and have identified that repairing has a lower carbon footprint than remanufacturing. However, repairing only extends the existing life cycle of a product, whereas remanufacturing can be carried out up to three times, and provides the product with a new life cycle. Therefore, remanufacturing is seen as the most preferable method of product recovery in terms of carbon emissions and sustainable waste disposal.

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An Investigation into the Environmental Impact of Product Recovery Methods to Support Sustainable Manufacturing within Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

Dynamic Methods and Process Advancements in Mechanical, Manufacturing, and Materials Engineering ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-1867-1.ch004 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 73-90

Author(s):

Michaela R. Appleby ◽

Chris G. Lambert ◽

Allan E. W. Rennie ◽

Adam B. Buckley

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Sustainable Manufacturing ◽

Product Recovery ◽

Waste Hierarchy ◽

Government Legislation ◽

Lower Carbon ◽

Recovery Methods

The effects of climate change and government legislation has changed the way in which manufacturers can dispose of their waste, encouraging SMEs to source alternative disposal methods such as those indicated in the waste hierarchy. It is economically and environmentally beneficial to use product recovery methods to divert waste from landfill. The environmental impact of two product recovery methods, remanufacturing and repairing, has been compared via a carbon footprint calculation for a UK-based SME. The calculation has identified that repairing has a lower carbon footprint than remanufacturing, however this only extends the original life-cycle of the product, whereas remanufacturing provides a new life-cycle and warranty, and therefore seen as the most preferable method of product recovery to support sustainable manufacturing.

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An Investigation into the Environmental Impact of Product Recovery Methods to Support Sustainable Manufacturing Within Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

International Journal of Manufacturing Materials and Mechanical Engineering ◽

10.4018/ijmmme.2011040101 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Michaela R. Appleby ◽

Chris G. Lambert ◽

Allan E. W. Rennie ◽

Adam B. Buckley

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Sustainable Manufacturing ◽

Product Recovery ◽

Waste Hierarchy ◽

Government Legislation ◽

Lower Carbon ◽

Recovery Methods

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Study of the viticultural technical itineraries carbon footprint at fine scale

BIO Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/bioconf/20191501030 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 01030

Author(s):

E. Adoir ◽

S. Penavayre ◽

T. Petitjean ◽

L. De Rességuier

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Primary Data ◽

Life Cycle Approach ◽

Gas Emissions ◽

Carbon Footprints ◽

Life Project ◽

One Year

Viticulture faces two challenges regarding climate change: adapting and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Are these two challenges compatible? This is one of the questions to which Adviclim project (Life project, 2014–2019) provided tools and answers. The assessment of greenhouse gas emissions was implemented at the scale of the plot using a life cycle approach: calculating the carbon footprint. This approach makes it possible to take into account the emissions generated during each stage of the life cycle of a product or a service: in this case, the cultivation of one hectare of vine for one year. Carbon footprint was assessed for the 5 pilot sites of the Adviclim project: Saint-Emilion (France), Coteaux du Layon/Samur (France), Geisenheim (Germany), Cotnari (Romania) and Plompton (United Kingdom). An important work for primary data collection regarding observed practices was carried out with a sample of reresentative farms for these 5 sites, and for one to three vintages depending on the site. Beyond the question asked in the project, the calculation of these carbon footprints made it possible to (i) make winegrowers aware of the life cycle approach and the share of direct emissions generated by viticulture, (ii) acquire new references on the technical itineraries and their associated emissions, (iii) improve the adaptation of the methodology for calculating the carbon footprint to viticulture.

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Price Variance in Hybrid-LCA Leads to Significant Uncertainty in Carbon Footprints

Frontiers in Sustainability ◽

10.3389/frsus.2021.666209 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Arthur Jakobs ◽

Simon Schulte ◽

Stefan Pauliuk

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Commodity Prices ◽

Commodity Price ◽

Double Counting ◽

Input Output ◽

Hybrid Lca ◽

Carbon Footprints ◽

Process Database ◽

Added Uncertainty

Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment (HLCA) methods attempt to address the limitations regarding process coverage and resolution of the more traditional Process- and Input-Output Life Cycle Assessments (PLCA, IOLCA). Due to the use of different units, HLCA methods rely on commodity price information to convert the physical units used in process inventories to the monetary units commonly used in Input-Output models. However, prices for the same commodity can vary significantly between different supply chains, or even between various levels in the same supply chain. The resulting commodity price variance in turn leads to added uncertainty in the hybrid environmental footprint. In this paper we take international trading statistics from BACI/UN-COMTRADE to estimate the variance of commodity prices, and use these in an integrated HLCA model of the process database ecoinvent with the EE-MRIO database EXIOBASE. We show that geographical aggregation of PLCA processes is a significant driver in the price variance of their reference products. We analyse the effect of price variance on process carbon footprint intensities (CFIs) and find that the CFIs of hybridised processes show a median increase of 6–17% due to hybridisation, for two different double counting scenarios, and a median uncertainty of −2 to +4% due to price variance. Furthermore, we illustrate the effect of price variance on the carbon footprint uncertainty in a HLCA study of Swiss household consumption. Although the relative footprint increase due to hybridisation is small to moderate with 8–14% for two different double counting correction strategies, the uncertainty due to price variability of this contribution to the footprint is very high, with 95% confidence intervals of (−28, +90%) and (−23, +68%) relative to the median. The magnitude and high positive skewness of the uncertainty highlights the importance of taking price variance into account when performing hybrid LCA.

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Comparison of Product Carbon Footprint Protocols: Case Study on Medium-Density Fiberboard in China

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15102060 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (10) ◽

pp. 2060 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Shanshan Wang ◽

Weifeng Wang ◽

Hongqiang Yang

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

End Of Life ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Medium Density Fiberboard ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Life Cycle Stage ◽

Medium Density ◽

Biogenic Carbon ◽

Pas 2050

Carbon footprint (CF) analysis is widely used to quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a product during its life cycle. A number of protocols, such as Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2050, GHG Protocol Product Standard (GHG Protocol), and ISO 14067 Carbon Footprint of Products (ISO 14067), have been developed for CF calculations. This study aims to compare the criteria and implications of the three protocols. The medium-density fiberboard (MDF) (functional unit: 1 m3) has been selected as a case study to illustrate this comparison. Different criteria, such as the life cycle stage included, cut-off criteria, biogenic carbon treatment, and other requirements, were discussed. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) for MDF was conducted. The CF values were −667.75, −658.42, and 816.92 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) with PAS 2050, GHG protocol, and ISO 14067, respectively. The main reasons for the different results obtained were the application of different cut-off criteria, exclusion rules, and the treatment of carbon storage. A cradle-to-grave assessment (end-of-life scenarios: landfill and incineration) was also performed to identify opportunities for improving MDF production. A sensitivity analysis to assess the implications of different end-of-life disposals was conducted, indicating that landfill may be preferable from a GHG standpoint. The comparison of these three protocols provides insights for adopting appropriate methods to calculate GHG emissions for the MDF industry. A key finding is that for both LCA practitioners and policy-makers, PAS 2050 is preferentially recommended to assess the CF of MDF.

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Standardized Recipes and Their Influence on the Environmental Impact Assessment of Mixed Dishes: A Case Study on Pizza

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12229466 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (22) ◽

pp. 9466

Author(s):

Katerina S. Stylianou ◽

Emily McDonald ◽

Victor L. Fulgoni III ◽

Olivier Jolliet

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Environmental Performance ◽

Food Systems ◽

Decomposition Methods ◽

Carbon Footprints ◽

Improvement Potential ◽

The U.S

Food and diet life cycle assessment (LCA) studies offer insights on the environmental performance and improvement potential of food systems and dietary patterns. However, the influence of ingredient resolution in food-LCAs is often overlooked. To address this, four distinct decomposition methods were used to determine ingredients for mixed dishes and characterize their environmental impacts, using the carbon footprint of the U.S. daily pizza intake as a case study. Pizza-specific and daily pizza intake carbon footprints varied substantially between decomposition methods. The carbon footprint for vegetarian pizza was 0.18–0.45 kg CO2eq/serving, for meat pizza was 0.56–0.73 kg CO2eq/serving, and for currently consumed pizzas in the U.S. (26.3 g/person/day; 75 pizzas types) was 0.072–0.098 kg CO2eq/person/day. These ranges could be explained by differences in pizza coverage, ingredient resolution, availability of ingredient environmental information, and ingredient adjustability for losses between decomposition methods. From the approaches considered, the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, which reports standardized food recipes in relative weights, appears to offer the most appropriate and useful food decompositions for food-LCAs. The influence and limitations of sources of reference flows should be better evaluated and acknowledged in food and diet LCAs.

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Carbon Footprint of Honey in Different Beekeeping Systems

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su131911063 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (19) ◽

pp. 11063

Author(s):

Arianna Pignagnoli ◽

Stefano Pignedoli ◽

Emanuele Carpana ◽

Cecilia Costa ◽

Aldo Dal Prà

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Food Chains ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Iso 14040 ◽

Carbon Footprints ◽

Honey Production ◽

Processing Plants ◽

Geographical Locations

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been increasingly used for the improvement of the environmental performance of products and services, including agro-food chains. Pollination by honeybees can be regarded as one of the functions of an apicultural system and is of utmost importance for both natural ecosystems and agriculture. Furthermore, the beekeeping chain can represent an instrument for the protection and conservation of honeybee diversity when local subspecies are used. The Carbon Footprint of honey evaluates greenhouse gas emissions throughout the Life Cycle Assessment—more specifically, emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. To this aim, data from beekeeping farms were collected, including data on annual honey production, other hive products, the geographical locations of the apiaries, processing plants, technologies used, and fuel and energy consumption. Based on the ISO 14040 method for the use of Life Cycle Assessment, the Carbon Footprints that were calculated for honey ranged from 1.40 to 2.20 kg CO2e/kg of honey for migratory beekeeping and from 0.380 to 0.48 kg CO2e/kg of honey for non-migratory beekeeping. The movements for the management of migratory beehives (on average, 44 km/hive for farm 1, 32 km/hive for farm 2, and 13 km/hive for farm 3) represented the main impact in migratory beekeeping systems, and they were quantified as 1.234, 1.113, and 0.68 CO2e/kg of honey. However, electricity represented the main impact of systems without migratory practices.

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Life cycle assessment of ECF bleaching sequences with ocus on carbon footprint

TAPPI Journal ◽

10.32964/tj14.1.17 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 17-24 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

PIA JOUR ◽

KARIN HALLDÉN ◽

EVA WACKERBERG

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Total Carbon ◽

Base Case ◽

Pulp Bleaching ◽

Carbon Footprints ◽

Bleached Pulp ◽

Eucalyptus Kraft Pulp ◽

Pulp Production

This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp production in Brazil. The entire production system was investigated, starting with forestry and ending with bleached pulp at the gate of the pulp mill. Alternative bleaching sequences were compared for three different scenarios using somewhat different elemental chlorine-free (ECF) sequences: Dhot(EPO)DD, Dhot(EPO)DP, and aZeDP. The main difference between the scenarios investigated was the magnitude of the carbon footprint contribution from bleaching. For the base case and chemical island scenarios (both reflecting Brazilian conditions), the contribution was 15%-18% of the total carbon footprint. For the ecoinvent scenario, the corresponding share was 34%-41%. The ecoinvent scenario represents generic LCA data for bleaching chemicals. Ecoinvent is a public database commonly included in commercial LCA software. For each scenario, the alternative bleaching sequences studied resulted in similar carbon footprints of the bleached pulp. A comparison of the data from the different scenarios showed a large range of carbon footprints for the chemicals used for pulp bleaching. It is crucial to select data sets that are relevant in terms of geography and technology. The most dominant contributors to the carbon footprint of the unbleached pulp were forestry and pulp production. Although the focus has been on carbon footprints, the contributions to other environmental effects commonly included in LCAs were also assessed and only minor differences between the alternative bleaching sequences were found.

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Leveling the cost and carbon footprint of circular polymers that are chemically recycled to monomer

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abf0187 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (15) ◽

pp. eabf0187

Author(s):

Nemi Vora ◽

Peter R. Christensen ◽

Jérémy Demarteau ◽

Nawa Raj Baral ◽

Jay D. Keasling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Systems Analysis ◽

Strong Acid ◽

Chemical Recycling ◽

Ambient Conditions ◽

Mechanical Recycling ◽

Polymer Waste ◽

Carbon Footprints ◽

The Cost

Mechanical recycling of polymers downgrades them such that they are unusable after a few cycles. Alternatively, chemical recycling to monomer offers a means to recover the embodied chemical feedstocks for remanufacturing. However, only a limited number of commodity polymers may be chemically recycled, and the processes remain resource intensive. We use systems analysis to quantify the costs and life-cycle carbon footprints of virgin and chemically recycled polydiketoenamines (PDKs), next-generation polymers that depolymerize under ambient conditions in strong acid. The cost of producing virgin PDK resin using unoptimized processes is ~30-fold higher than recycling them, and the cost of recycled PDK resin ($1.5 kg−1) is on par with PET and HDPE, and below that of polyurethanes. Virgin resin production is carbon intensive (86 kg CO2e kg−1), while chemical recycling emits only 2 kg CO2e kg−1. This cost and emissions disparity provides a strong incentive to recover and recycle future polymer waste.

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Comparative Study on Life-Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprint of Hybrid, Concrete and Timber Apartment Buildings in Finland

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph19020774 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 774

Author(s):

Roni Rinne ◽

Hüseyin Emre Ilgın ◽

Markku Karjalainen

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

End Of Life ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Building Materials ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Software Tool ◽

Long Run ◽

Building Life Cycle

To date, in the literature, there has been no study on the comparison of hybrid (timber and concrete) buildings with counterparts made of timber and concrete as the most common construction materials, in terms of the life cycle assessment (LCA) and the carbon footprint. This paper examines the environmental impacts of a five-story hybrid apartment building compared to timber and reinforced concrete counterparts in whole-building life-cycle assessment using the software tool, One Click LCA, for the estimation of environmental impacts from building materials of assemblies, construction, and building end-of-life treatment of 50 years in Finland. Following EN 15978, stages of product and construction (A1–A5), use (B1–B6), end-of-life (C1–C4), and beyond the building life cycle (D) were assessed. The main findings highlighted are as following: (1) for A1–A3, the timber apartment had the smallest carbon footprint (28% less than the hybrid apartment); (2) in A4, the timber apartment had a much smaller carbon footprint (55% less than the hybrid apartment), and the hybrid apartment had a smaller carbon footprint (19%) than the concrete apartment; (3) for B1–B5, the carbon footprint of the timber apartment was larger (>20%); (4) in C1–C4, the carbon footprint of the concrete apartment had the lowest emissions (35,061 kg CO2-e), and the timber apartment had the highest (44,627 kg CO2-e), but in D, timber became the most advantageous material; (5) the share of life-cycle emissions from building services was very significant. Considering the environmental performance of hybrid construction as well as its other advantages over timber, wood-based hybrid solutions can lead to more rational use of wood, encouraging the development of more efficient buildings. In the long run, this will result in a higher proportion of wood in buildings, which will be beneficial for living conditions, the environment, and the society in general.

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