scholarly journals Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) of Sassuolo Industrial District (Italy)

Author(s):  
Davide Settembre-Blundo ◽  
Fernando E. García-Muiña ◽  
Martina Pini ◽  
Lucrezia Volpi ◽  
Cristina Siligardi ◽  
...  

One of the biggest challenges for European industry is to introduce sustainability principles into business models. This is particularly important in raw material and energy intensive manufacturing sectors such as the ceramic industry. The present state of knowledge lacks a comprehensive operational tool for industry to support decision-making processes geared towards sustainability. In the ceramic sector, the economic and social dimensions of the product and processes have not yet been given sufficient importance. Moreover, the traditional research on industrial districts lacks an analysis of the relations between firms and the territory with a view to sustainability. Finally, the attention of scholars in the field of economic and social sustainability, has not yet turned to the analysis of the Sassuolo district. Therefore, in this paper we introduce the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), as a method that can be a suitable tool to fill this gap, because through a mathematical model it is possible to obtain the information useful for decision makers to integrate the principles of sustainability both at the microeconomic level in enterprises, and at the meso-economic level for the definition of economic policies and territorial governance. Environmental and socio-economic analysis was performed from the extraction of raw materials to the packaging of the product on different product categories manufactured by the Italian ceramic industries of the Sassuolo district (northern Italy). For the first time the LCSA model, usually applied to unitary processes, is extended to the economic and industrial activities of the entire district, extending the prospect of investigation from the enterprise and its value chain to the integrated network of district enterprises.

Author(s):  
Davide Settembre-Blundo ◽  
Fernando E. García-Muiña ◽  
Martina Pini ◽  
Lucrezia Volpi ◽  
Cristina Siligardi ◽  
...  

One of the biggest challenges for European industry is to introduce sustainability principles into business models. This is particularly important in raw material and energy intensive manufacturing sectors such as the ceramic industry. The present state of knowledge lacks a comprehensive operational tool for industry to support decision-making processes geared towards sustainability. In the ceramic sector, the economic and social dimensions of the product and processes have not yet been given sufficient importance. Moreover, the traditional research on industrial districts lacks an analysis of the relations between firms and the territory with a view to sustainability. Finally, the attention of scholars in the field of economic and social sustainability, has not yet turned to the analysis of the Sassuolo district. Therefore, in this paper we define the Territorial Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (T-LCSA), a method that can be a suitable tool to fill this gap, because through a mathematical model it is possible to obtain the information useful for decision makers to integrate the principles of sustainability both at the microeconomic level in enterprises, and at the meso-economic level for the definition of economic policies and territorial governance. Environmental and socio-economic analysis was performed from the extraction of raw materials to the packaging of the product on different product categories manufactured by the Italian ceramic industries of the Sassuolo district (northern Italy). For the first time the T-LCSA model, usually applied to unitary processes, is extended to the economic and industrial activities of the entire district, extending the prospect of investigation from the enterprise and its value chain to the integrated network of district enterprises.


Author(s):  
Davide Settembre-Blundo ◽  
Fernando E. García-Muiña ◽  
Martina Pini ◽  
Lucrezia Volpi ◽  
Cristina Siligardi ◽  
...  

Talking about sustainable development refers mainly to the environmental sphere, but the concept is much broader and also takes into account the social and economic conditions. The concept of sustainability, in this sense, is linked to the compatibility between the development of economic activities, the related social phenomena, and the protection of the environment. Therefore, the ability to balance social, economic and environmental sustainability is the very meaning of the concept of sustainable development. Firms that choose to develop policies and strategies to enhance and pursue sustainable development in the medium to long term have the burden of having to quantitatively document the improvements in production processes with the aim of sustainable development. As a result, one of the biggest challenges for European industry is to introduce sustainability principles into business models leading to competitive advantage. This is particularly important in raw material and energy intensive manufacturing sectors such as the ceramic industry. The present state of knowledge lacks a comprehensive operational tool for industry to support decision-making processes geared towards sustainability. In the ceramic sector, the economic and social dimensions of the product and processes have not yet been given sufficient importance. Moreover, the traditional research on industrial districts lacks an analysis of the relations between firms and the territory with a view to sustainability. Finally, the attention of scholars in the field of economic and social sustainability, has not yet turned to the analysis of the Sassuolo district. Therefore, in this paper we introduce the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), as a method that can be a suitable tool to fill this gap, because through a mathematical model it is possible to obtain the information useful for decision makers to integrate the principles of sustainability both at the microeconomic level in enterprises, and at the meso-economic level for the definition of economic policies and territorial governance. Environmental and socio-economic analysis was performed from the extraction of raw materials to the packaging of the product on different product categories manufactured by the Italian ceramic industries of the Sassuolo district (northern Italy). For the first time the LCSA model, usually applied to unitary processes, is extended to the economic and industrial activities of the entire district, extending the prospect of investigation from the enterprise and its value chain to the integrated network of district enterprises.


Batteries ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Nelson Bunyui Manjong ◽  
Lorenzo Usai ◽  
Odne Stokke Burheim ◽  
Anders Hammer Strømman

Sustainable battery production with low environmental footprints requires a systematic assessment of the entire value chain, from raw material extraction and processing to battery production and recycling. In order to explore and understand the variations observed in the reported footprints of raw battery materials, it is vital to re-assess the footprints of these material value chains. Identifying the causes of these variations by combining engineering and environmental system analysis expands our knowledge of the footprints of these battery materials. This article disaggregates the value chains of six raw battery materials (aluminum, copper, graphite, lithium carbonate, manganese, and nickel) and identifies the sources of variabilities (levers) for each process along each value chain. We developed a parametric attributional process-based life cycle model to explore the effect of these levers on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the value chains, expressed in kg of CO2e. The parametric life cycle inventory model is used to conduct distinct life cycle assessments (LCA) for each material value chain by varying the identified levers within defined engineering ranges. 570 distinct LCAs are conducted for the aluminum value chain, 450 for copper, 170 for graphite, 39 for lithium carbonate via spodumene, 20 for lithium carbonate via brine, 260 for manganese, and 440 for nickel. Three-dimensional representations of these results for each value chain in kg of CO2e are presented as contour plots with gradient lines illustrating the intensity of lever combinations on the GHG emissions. The results of this study convey multidimensional insights into how changes in the lever settings of value chains yield variations in the overall GHG emissions of the raw materials. Parameterization of these value chains forms a flexible and high-resolution backbone, leading towards a more reliable life cycle assessment of lithium-ion batteries (LIB).


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1248
Author(s):  
Jana Backes ◽  
Marzia Traverso

This paper reviews actual sustainability assessments in the construction sector to define whether and how a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is applied and interpreted in this sector today. This industry has large shares in global energy (33%), raw material consumption (40%) and solid waste generation (40%). Simultaneously, it drives the economy and provides jobs. The LCSA is a method to identify environmental, social and economic impacts of products/services along their life cycles. The results of this study showed a mismatch between sectoral emissions and the number of LCSA-based impact evaluations. It was found that only 11% of papers reviewed assessed all three sustainability pillars. The economic and especially the social pillars were partly neglected. In Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), 100% made use of Global Warming Potential (GWP) but only 30% assessed more than five indicators in total. In Life Cycle Costing (LCC), there were a variety of costs assessed. Depreciation and lifetime were mainly neglected. We found that 42% made use of Net Present Value (NPV), while over 50% assessed individual indicators. For the Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), the focus was on the production stage; even the system boundaries were defined as cradle-to-use and -grave. Future approaches are relevant but there is no need to innovate: a proposal for a LCSA approach is made.


2021 ◽  
Vol 147 (3) ◽  
pp. 04020181
Author(s):  
Alena J. Raymond ◽  
Alissa Kendall ◽  
Jason T. DeJong ◽  
Edward Kavazanjian ◽  
Miriam A. Woolley ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 100074
Author(s):  
Ambika Selvaraj ◽  
Jagrati Gautam ◽  
Shikhar Verma ◽  
Gaurav Verma ◽  
Siddhant Jain

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10454
Author(s):  
Katarína Teplická ◽  
Martin Straka

This article summarizes the arguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of using mining machines and their life cycle. The main goal of the article is to investigate the impact of a combination of mobile and stationary mining machines and their optimal distribution in the mining process to increase the efficiency of mining and processing of raw materials. The following methods of research were focused on the use of technical indicators for the valuation efficiency of the mining process: a simulation method was used for the distribution of mining machines, comparison analysis was used for the real and past state of mining machines, and a decision tree was used as managerial instrument for optimal alternatives of mining machines. The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that optimal distribution of mining machines and machine parks is very important for mining companies. The benefit of this research for the mining company was the new location of the machines and the combination of stationary production lines and mobile equipment. The optimal layout of the machines reduced the number of conveyor belts and improved the transfer of limestone processing to mobile devices, saving time, which was reflected in transport costs. The results can be useful for other mining companies seeking to create an optimal machine park.


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