Integrated Life-Cycle and Risk Assessment for Industrial Processes and Products

Guido Sonnemann, Michael Tsang, Marta Schuhmacher, Guido Sonnemann, Michael Tsang, Marta Schuhmacher

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781498780698
• eBook ISBN: 9780429792472
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Environmental Science
• Index: Biological Sciences

Life-cycle assessment is a methodology used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service during its life cycle, and risk assessment is a tool to evaluate potential hazards to human health and the environment introduced by pollutant emissions.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals call for, among other objectives, responsible consumption and production by decoupling environmental resource use and environmental impacts from economic growth and human well-being. Life-cycle assessment and risk assessment are both analytical system approaches that allow scientists and other decision makers to address these issues and objectives according to the current understanding of environmental mechanisms.

This book is the first attempt to illustrate the existing interfaces between life-cycle assessment and risk assessment and to indicate options for further integration of both tools.

The second edition:

1. Focuses on sustainability
2. Considers new developments in life-cycle assessment and environmental risk assessment over the last ten years at the international level
3. Introduces broader concepts and discussions on integrative versus the complementary use of life-cycle and risk assessments
4. Extends the scope of integrated life-cycle and risk assessments to critical raw materials
5. Includes more case studies and discusses engineered nanomaterials

Featuring contributions from leading experts, Integrated Life-Cycle and Risk Assessment for Industrial Processes and Products is a great reference for graduate students and professionals in environmental management and intends to catalyze communication between life-cycle assessment and risk assessment experts and scientists in academia, industry, and governmental agencies. The practical format of the book—illustrated with flowcharts, examples, exercises, and concrete applications—makes it a useful manual for analyzing situations and making decisions.

1	Basic Principles in Sustainability Management Guido Sonnemann, Francesc Castells, and Marta Schuhmacher

CONTENTS

1.1 Problem Setting

1.2 Overall Strategies

1.2.1 Sustainable Development

1.2.2 Eco-Efficiency

1.2.3 Pollution Prevention

1.3 Business Goals

1.3.1 Implementation of Regulations and Standards

1.3.2 Toward Establishment of More Ambitious Strategies than Those Given by Legislation

1.4 Concepts

1.4.1 Green Chemistry

1.4.2 Cleaner Production

1.4.3 Total Quality Environmental Management

1.4.4 Life-Cycle Thinking and Management

1.4.5 Design for Sustainability

1.4.6 Industrial Ecology

1.5 Tools

1.5.1 Political Instruments

1.5.1.1 Regulation on Chemical Substances

1.5.1.2 Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Economy

1.5.1.3 Communication on Green Products

1.5.1.4 End of Life Policy Oriented to Product Recovery

1.5.1.5 Policy on Sustainable Materials Management

1.5.1.6 Special Protection Plans for Specific Areas

1.5.2 International Standards

1.5.3 Procedural Tools

1.5.3.1 Environmental Impact Assessment

1.5.3.2 Environmental Management System

1.5.3.3 Eco-Audit

1.5.3.4 Eco-Label

1.5.4 Analytical Tools

1.5.4.1 Life-Cycle Assessment

1.5.4.2 Environmental Risk Assessment

1.5.4.3 Impact Pathway Analysis

1.5.4.4 Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Cost-Benefit Analysis

1.5.4.5 Process Simulation

1.5.4.6 Accident Prevention

1.5.4.7 Material Flow Accounting and Input–Output Analysis

1.5.5 Application-Dependent Selection of Analytical Tools

1.6 Example: Decision-Making Situation in Sustainability Management

1.7 Case Study: Waste Incineration as Environmental Problem—The Case of Tarragona, Spain

1.7.1 Waste Incineration as Environmental Problem

1.7.2 Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator in Tarragona, Spain

1.8 Questions and Exercises

References

1.1 PROBLEM SETTING

Now and in the coming years, industry must play a paramount role with respect to the sustainability, not only as one of the main sources of environmental impact but also as one of the main actors in the proposal of innovations and value creation. Industry-related environmental policy was originally intended to control emissions in various environments. It was widely thought that corrective technical measures at the end of the pipe would sufficiently reduce environmental impact. However, as we have seen through the years, this is insufficient in stopping progressive environmental degradation and also lacks flexibility for an evolving industry. On the one hand, it is necessary to take a quantitative leap in this approach, including the expression of risk; on the other hand, environmental considerations must be included in the entire range of industrial management. That means we must consider environmental impact within all phases of production, marketing, use and end of life once a product’s life is over. Figure 1.1 presents an overview of these conceptually related methods in the environmental pillar of sustainability management. They will be explained in this chapter starting with overall strategies in the area of sustainable development, using well-established literature that can be seen as the fundaments of sustainability management.

1.2 OVERALL STRATEGIES

For the world to make substantial progress toward becoming a safer planet, it is necessary to introduce sustainability considerations in all aspects of industrial management practices for all phases of production, marketing, use, and end of life of a product. Based on these reflections, different general objectives have been formulated as programs that intend to encompass the idea of good environmental management sustainability as shown in Figure 1.1.

1.2.1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development is understood as satisfying the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainability takes into account three aspects:

1. Economic: we need economic growth to assure our material welfare.

2. Environmental: we need to minimize environmental damage, pollution, and exhaustion of resources.

3. Social: the world’s resources should be shared more equitably between the rich and the poor.

Agenda 21 is a strategic document that was adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. At the Rio Summit, or Earth Summit, as it is also known, representatives from 179 nations gathered in what would become the end of a 2-year effort intended to define a model for sustainable development. The Earth Summit was a historical event in which a new global commitment for sustainable development was established. This commitment respected the fact that environmental protection and the development process are indivisible. Based on political commitment and global consensus at its highest level Agenda 21 was an action plan for the 1990s and the early years of the twenty-first century. At the same time, it stood as a global alliance of humankind regarding environment and development, that is, for sustainable development. Agenda 21 is a large document divided into 40 chapters and written to foster an action plan. The goal of this project was to see that development becomes sustainable in social, economic, and environmental terms.

FIGURE 1.1 Conceptually related methods in environmental sustainability management. (Adapted from De Smet, B. et al., Life-Cycle Assessment and Conceptually Related Programs, working group draft, SETAC-Europe, Brussels, Belgium, 1996.)

In 2002, the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg reviewed the implementation of Agenda 21 over the past 10 years. The world’s political situation in 2002 was far different from the one that marked the Rio Earth Summit of 1992. One positive outcome was the new partnership among governments, civil society, industry, and the United Nations (UN) in areas such as corporate responsibility and environmental standards. It is an encouragement to industries to improve their social and environmental performance, taking into account the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

In 2012, the 10-Year Framework of Programs on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP) was adopted by the Heads of State at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)—as stated in paragraph 226 of the Rio+20 Outcome Document “The Future We Want” (UNCSD, 2012).

The 10YFP is a concrete and operational outcome of Rio+20. It is a global framework of action to enhance international cooperation to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in both developed and developing countries. The framework supports capacity building, and provides technical and financial assistance to developing countries for this shift. The 10YFP develops, replicates, and scales up SCP and resource efficiency initiatives, at national and regional levels, decoupling environmental degradation and resource use from socio-economic development, and thus increases the net contribution of economic activities to poverty eradication and to social development. It responds to the 2002 Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and builds on the eight years of work and experience of the Marrakech Process—a bottom-up multi-stakeholder process, launched in 2003 with strong and active involvement from all regions (UNEP, 2012).

Perceiving the dire need for sustainable development, the United Nations and world leaders formulated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a comprehensive framework based on the success of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The goals call for action by all countries, poor, rich, and middle-income, to promote prosperity while protecting Planet Earth and its life support system. Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. In striving for sustainability, it is important to have inputs from all sectors, societies, and stakeholders. The following 17 SDGs were adopted:

1. No poverty

2. Zero Hunger

3. Good Health and Well-Being

4. Quality Education

5. Gender Equality

6. Clean Water and Sanitation

7. Affordable and Clean Energy

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

10. Reduced Inequalities

11. Sustainable Cities and Communities

12. Responsible Consumption and Production

13. Climate Action

14. ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Foreword to the Second Edition
• Foreword to the First Edition
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Editors
• Contributors
• General Abbreviations, Symbols, and Indices
• Chapter 1 Basic Principles in Sustainability Management
• Chapter 2 Life-Cycle Assessment
• Chapter 3 Life-Cycle Impact Assessment
• Chapter 4 Environmental Risk Assessment
• Chapter 5 Criticality Assessment of Natural Resources
• Chapter 6 Combining and Integrating Life-Cycle and Risk Assessment
• Chapter 7 Life-Cycle Toxicity Assessment
• Chapter 8 Life-Cycle Criticality Assessment
• Chapter 9 Uncertainty Assessment by Monte Carlo Simulation
• Chapter 10 Environmental Damage Estimations for Industrial Process Chains
• Chapter 11 Site-Dependent Impact Analysis
• Chapter 12 Applications of Environmental Impact Analysis in Industrial Process Chains
• Index