Product service systems in the automobile industry: contribution to system innovation?

This article investigates the actual and potential contribution that product service systems (PSSs) can make in moving beyond incremental technological improvements towards a focus on behavioural changes and system innovation in the automobile industry. It begins by discussing the means by which existing and planned PSS initiatives can be evaluated in terms of their contribution towards innovation at the system level in the automotive industry. Building on and expanding earlier work, it is suggested that they should be assessed against an expanded set of five key evaluative criteria including: evidence of ‘higher-order’ learning amongst stakeholders; changes in infrastructure and institutional practice; changes in vehicle design, manufacture and end-of-life management; changes in vehicle ownership structure; and changes in modes of producer–user interactions. Following this discussion, the article provides a structured overview of some current and planned PSS initiatives at the empirical level in the automotive industry. The identified initiatives are then assessed against the key evaluative criteria in an effort to reveal their actual or potential contribution to meeting the sustainability challenges of the automotive industry. Based on this exercise, it is argued that since most current initiatives do not unify these key elements of a PSS in a single coherent system they do not constitute ‘complete’ versions of PSS, and therefore, fail to deliver the full range of envisaged benefits in contributing towards system innovation. The article concludes by outlining some key areas for future research into potential strategies to address such challenges.     

The transfer and application of Product Service Systems: from academia to UK manufacturing firms

The servicisation of many advanced economies is thought by many commentators to provide opportunities to move society away from unsustainable patterns of production and consumption. The concept of the Product Service System (PSS) has been conceptualised in academic circles to assist in the attainment of such desirable futures. This paper reports the findings of research conducted as part of the SOLiD project which considered the transfer and application of the PSS concept from academia to industry in the United Kingdom. It draws upon theories from evolutionary economics to provide a rationale for the transfer of the PSS concept and the role of this in achieving desirable technological change. The paper also identifies an appropriate methodology to transfer the PSS concept from UK academic circles to industry and the factors which impact upon, and importantly lead to, the successful completion of this process. The combination of theoretical insight with case study research is used to develop a framework that could help UK based intermediaries to complete the transfer of the PSS concept. This is seen as an integral part of public policies aimed at stimulating sustainable patterns of production and consumption.     

Exploring innovation in the automotive industry: new technologies for cleaner cars

The concept of innovation has been used in a wide range of contexts and the theoretical development has proven to be extremely valuable to provide important insights into intra-market competition, strategy and regulatory policy. The automotive industry offers a fertile terrain for progress of the uncompleted theory building process of innovation, especially with the introduction of alternative fuels and alternative powertrain technologies.This paper investigates the concept of innovation in the context of the modern automotive industry, by focusing on the notion of regulatory innovation of alternative fuels and alternative powertrain technologies. For the purpose of analysing this issue, special attention is given to the concepts of radical and incremental innovation, which are applied to existing alternative fuels and alternative powertrain technologies, including hybrids, biofuels and hydrogen power. The article explores these three categories looking at representative case studies: the Brazilian ethanol experience with biofuels, the development of the Toyota hybrid vehicle and the technological development of hydrogen fuel cells. These categories have been selected because they represent the most important advances in cleaner production for the automotive industry.     

Disassemblability of end-of-life vehicle: a critical review of evaluation methods

Environmental sustainability has become the main items of contest in the automotive industries. Therefore in the order to reduce the environmental impact of end-of-life vehicles, European Union, Japan, USA, and Australia laws require manufacturers to take back their products at the end of their useful life and recycle them. In order to enhance the recycling rate of the vehicle, disassemblability of the automotive components has been a major concern. In the chain of end-of-life, except for landfill and incineration, components of economic value destined for reuse, remanufacture, or recycling have first to be disassembled from the end-of-life vehicles. There are several efforts within the academic community to rationalise design for disassembly and recycling, and several attempts by industry to study these issues in the context of specific products. Recent publications offer a broad perspective on recyclability and disassemblability. It is therefore necessary to determine the optimal stage of disassembly, when all economically valuable components are retrieved. This paper presents a review of several disassemblability methods, including spread sheet-like chart, end-of-life value and time for disassembly. The review concludes on the need for an effective disassembly method in order to enhance the recovery of products.     

Social Vulnerability to Climate Change and the Architecture of Entitlements

The objective of this paper is to outline a conceptual model of vulnerability to climate change as the first step in appraising and understanding the social and economic processes which facilitate and constrain adaptation. Vulnerability as defined here pertains to individuals and social groups. It is the state of individuals, of groups, of communities defined in terms of their ability to cope with and adapt to any external stress placed on their livelihoods and well-being. This proposed approach puts the social and economic well-being of society at the centre of the analysis, thereby reversing the central focus of approaches to climate impact assessment based on impacts on and the adaptability of natural resources or ecosystems and which only subsequently address consequences for human well-being. The vulnerability or security of any group is determined by the availability of resources and, crucially, by the entitlement of individuals and groups to call on these resources. This perspective extends the concept of entitlements developed within neo-classical and institutional economics. Within this conceptual framework, vulnerability can be seen as a socially-constructed phenomenon influenced by institutional and economic dynamics. The study develops proxy indicators of vulnerability related to the structure of economic relations and the entitlements which govern them, and shows how these can be applied to a District in coastal lowland Vietnam. This paper outlines the lessons of such an approach to social vulnerability for the assessment of climate change at the global scale. We argue that the socio-economic and biophysical processes that determine vulnerability are manifest at the local, national, regional and global level but that the state of vulnerability itself is associated with a specific population. Aggregation from one level to another is therefore not appropriate and global-scale analysis is meaningful only in so far as it deals with the vulnerability of the global community itself.     

Enhancing our understanding of the role of environmental policy in environmental innovation: adoption explained by the accumulation of policy instruments and agent-based factors

The empirical literature reports conflicting findings on the relation between environmental policy and environmental innovation: environmental policy both encourages and impedes environmental innovation, resulting in competing theoretical explanations. To find a way out of this counterproductive debate requires new and complementary insights into the effects of different policy instruments. This research therefore advances an approach in which a set of specific policy instruments as well as firms’ behavior regarding CHP (cogeneration of heat and power) adoption are considered as two distinct factors explaining environmental innovation in the Dutch paper and board industry. Using a longitudinal research design, the focus was not on any single policy instrument but on the accumulation of policy instruments. In addition, we studied intra-organizational factors influencing the adoption decision.Overall, we can conclude that paper and board factories perceive governmental environmental policies to be relevant, but that this constitutes just one of the factors influencing adoption processes, next to intra-organizational factors. The relative importance of such policies varies over time and per adoption process. The role of top-down regulation appears to be limited, whereas interactive regulation turned out to be important for several factories in the latest period of adoption. Positive economic instruments were important in almost all adoption processes, but were not and will never be the most important reason for adoption. The most important reason for CHP adoption appears to be high energy prices in combination with cost price reduction or the threat of additional regulation. For future policies, we recommend the implementation of a specific mixture of policy instruments, attuned to the specific industry and reinforcing each other. Moreover, goals should be consistent over time to avoid risk-averse behavior.     

The Automobile Industry & Sustainability

This paper summarises the contributions made to the special issue on The automobile Industry & Sustainability. Taking a life-cycle perspective, the contributions are allocated into the automotive life-cycle phases of design, manufacture (and supply chain management), use, and disposal or ‘end of life vehicle’ management. The contributions are also set into the broader context of research into the global automotive industry, and the economic, social and environmental pressures confronting the industry. In doing so, this introductory paper provides a brief assessment of the ways in which the papers in the special issue have furthered our understanding of the difficulty in achieving a sustainable automotive industry, and some of the measures that might be taken as progress towards that difficult goal.     

Modularised eco-innovation in the auto industry

The article explores the integration of alternative drivetrain solutions in the automotive industry. The article includes an analysis of the structure of the conventional automotive value chain and presents four examples of alternative vehicle designs. The article concludes that the component sharing across drivetrain solutions such as the battery electric, the hybrid and the fuel cell system opens a window of opportunity for modular design strategies that may make integration into the otherwise locked conventional production system possible.     

重点区域大气污染防治行动计划实施的社会经济影响对比

基于2007年中国投入产出表建立了包含产业内部关联波及效应和居民消费诱发效应的投入产出宏观闭模型.在此基础上测算大气污染防治行动计划（以下简称"计划"）完全实施所需投资对京津冀、长三角、珠三角三大重点区域GDP、就业的正负效应及重点区域不同行业的影响,并对不同地区社会经济影响结果进行了比较分析.结果表明:在五年期间项目实施将拉动京津冀地区GDP增加35.66×108元,增加就业岗位约40808个;拉动长三角地区GDP增长2782.03×108元,增加就业岗位约238285个;拉动珠三角地区GDP增长852.85×108元,增加就业岗位约74758个.在短期（2013-2017年）内,长三角地区所获总收益远大于珠三角与京津冀地区.从行业影响看,三大地区实施"计划"后受益的行业主要集中于交通运输设备制造业、通用与专用设备制造业等与"计划"直接关联的行业.京津冀与长三角地区服务业所获得的直接效益远大于珠三角地区,侧面反映出珠三角地区服务业水平要整体高于长三角及京津冀地区;而珠三角和长三角地区因对交通行业投资较大,故交通运输设备制造业所获得的经济效益也要远大于京津冀地区.研究显示,不同地区投资所获的效益受到当地产业结构的影响,在未来产业发展中,京津冀地区应大力发展第三产业,对金属冶炼及压延加工业应多考虑产业结构升级优化;长三角及珠三角地区应鼓励发展新能源汽车、环保装备制造等行业.      

Making resources work more efficiently – the importance of supply chain partnerships

State and federal governments in Australia have implemented a range of assistance programs for manufacturing industries to become more resource efficient and reduce waste. While many of these programs focus on Cleaner Production at single sites, an increasing number of assistance programs are offered across supply chains. Sustainability Victoria, a Victorian government authority, supports projects that focus on resource efficiencies across supply chains in key industry sectors.In this study, tools were adapted and utilised to identify efficiency potentials and losses across supply chains in the timber furniture manufacturing and the food industry sector. In this respect, waste generation and value loss due to inefficient use of critical materials within the processes were estimated from purchase and waste handling data. Primary companies were chosen to undertake efficiency trials that could demonstrate value gain across the supply chain.This study describes the realisation of greater efficiencies in material usage when engaging proactively with supply chain partners immediately adjacent to the primary company. Demonstration trials confirmed that through a more integrated approach among supply chain partners the potential in using materials more efficiently and design processes can lead to enhanced productivity without compromising environmental burden. Hence, the study describes targeted resource efficiency, recycling and process optimisation opportunities as identified in the supply chain trials on timber furniture manufacturing and food industries.     

中国汽车行业钢铁物质流代谢研究

汽车行业在我国发展迅速,汽车行业的钢铁物质流代谢在整个国民经济的钢铁物质流代谢系统中的影响已不可忽视。研究中国汽车行业钢铁物质流代谢对再生资源利用产业、再制造行业的发展具有重要的意义。结合系统动力学方法及相关经验模型对中国汽车行业钢铁物质流代谢进行研究。首先通过Gompertz模型研究了世界主要国家汽车千人保有量与时间的关系,以此为参照设定中国汽车千人保有量随时间变化的相关参数。其次利用中国汽车行业钢铁物质流循环代谢的系统动力学模型,对系统关键流量、存量的动态变化过程进行考察分析,通过设定不同情景、不同寿命分布,研究中国汽车报废量、钢板和零件耗钢量随时间变化的规律,并探讨了零件再制造、汽车轻型化等问题。选取汽车千人保有量为260辆/千人的中等情景进行分析,考察时间为2011-2050年,结果表明报废汽车年折钢量与汽车行业钢材年消耗量比值不断上升,最终可达到1.2;再制造行业潜力巨大,零件再制造数量将近8亿件;延长汽车4 a寿命,可减少近一半的汽车报废量;通过轻型化,钢材年消耗量可减少18%,减少近650万t,累计减少1亿多吨钢材,节省大量资源,经济和环境效益显著。     

模具工业先进制造技术特点及发展概况

重点介绍模具 CAD/ CAE/ CAM集成化、现代模具检测与加工设备 ,新型模具材料及表面处理技术、快速经济制模技术等模具先进制造技术的发展特点 ;分析探讨了模具工业的新的制造哲理与模式     

重点区域建设用地污染地块特征分析

以我国工业发展的重点区域京津冀、长三角和珠三角为研究对象,基于2018~2021年纳入《建设用地土壤污染风险管控和修复名录》的共496个污染地块,对其区域分布、土壤和地下水超标污染物特征、污染的行业相关性、场地地质条件等数据进行相关数据统计分析。结果表明:京津冀污染地块主要分布于京津和冀南,长三角污染地块数量最大且分布广,珠三角污染地块则密布于珠江口。整体上土壤污染以重金属-有机复合污染为主(48.43%),地下水则是有机污染占比(42.49%)最大。化学原料及化学品制造业和金属冶炼及延压加工业污染地块风险负荷指数大于0.25,为较高风险;塑料和橡胶制品业、机械制造、金属制品业、电器机械及器材制造业和皮革、皮毛制造业污染地块为中风险,其余行业污染地块为低风险。场地土壤和地下水污染分布与历史行业类型息息相关,如土壤中化学原料及化学品制造业超标污染物种类最复杂,卤代烃(占比12%)和苯系物(占比10.4%)相比其余行业占比更重,地下水中各行业重金属污染和常规指标如氨氮需要关注。土层深度上各类典型污染物最大超标普遍分布在0~5m,整体上重金属最大污染超标深度大于有机污染最大超标深度;土壤性质方面超标污染则更集中于黏性土等低渗透性土层。     

Quantifying potential profit from material recycling: a case study in brick manufacturing

Efforts to increase the use of waste materials as substitutes for virgin primary materials in industry are considered an important step toward sustainable industrial development. Some industries, however, have struggled to increase the recycling of materials for a variety of reasons. This study proposes a new approach to searching for recycling across industry boundaries. By focusing on an entire industry, the locations where economic and environmental benefit exists can be identified. This research identifies brick manufacturing facilities in the United States that are most likely to gain substantial economic benefit from the recycling of waste products. The results of this case study indicate that an industry-based approach can provide economically feasible pathways towards sustainable industrial development, especially for data rich manufacturing nations like the United States.     

汽车使用对生态环境污染的分析研究

随着社会经济和汽车工业的飞速发展,汽车使用造成的污染日趋加剧。汽车在给人类带来便捷与文明的同时也成为破坏生态环境的元凶和能源的最大消耗者。本文在研究了汽车污染的类型、生成机理、特点和对生态环境造成的危害后,指出了汽车工业未来的发展趋势,即生产新型节能环保汽车。在政府倡导建设资源节约型、环境友好型社会的背景下,加强对节能环保汽车产品的研发和推广,以推动中国环保事业和汽车工业的发展。     

Inertia welding for assembly of copper squirrel cages for electric motors

The automotive industry is developing designs and manufacturing processes for new generations of electric motors intended for use in hybrid and electric vehicles. There is interest in replacing the aluminum traditionally used in induction motor rotors with copper to improve motor capability. This paper focuses on solid-state welding to join copper end rings to copper spokes in the fabrication of copper rotors. Inertia friction welding was explored to examine weldability of these copper components. A better understanding of inertia welding characteristics will help the advancements in its application for induction rotors. The limitations of this application are discussed.     

Coastal flood protection: What perspective in a changing climate? The THESEUS approach

Coastal areas are vital economic hubs in terms of settlement, industry, agriculture, trade and tourism to mention some key sectors. There are already many coastal problems including erosion, flood risk and long-term habitat deterioration. As economies continue to develop the asset base at risk will grow, while accelerating climate change will increase the likelihood of damaging extreme events, as well as accelerate habitat decline. Existing coastal management and defence approaches are not well tuned to these challenges as they assume a static situation.THESEUS project is developing a systematic approach to delivering both a low-risk coast for human use and healthy habitats for evolving coastal zones subject to multiple change factors. The project examines innovative mitigation and adaptation technologies and integrate the best of these technical measures in a strategic policy context through overarching guidelines. THESEUS activities are carried out within a multidisciplinary framework using 8 study sites across Europe, with specific attention to the most vulnerable coastal environments such as deltas, estuaries and wetlands, where many large cities and industrial areas are located.This paper describes THESEUS approach, and specifically: the Source-Pathway-Receptor-Consquence model for coastal risk assessment; the engineering, social, economic and ecological mitigation measures under analysis; the participatory approach with end users and coastal authorities for the selection and identification of the appropriate defence strategy to be planned in sudy sites.     

Industrial ecology framework for achieving cleaner production in the mining and minerals industry

Industrial ecology (IE) is an emerging framework adopted in the manufacturing, construction, and process industries to provide innovative solutions in strategic planning, leading to cleaner operation and production. An IE framework integrates a large number of processes, economic constraints, and environmental, health and safety considerations for optimized resource utilization. This paper provides a review of environmental management practices in the mining and minerals industry, emphasizing two concepts: IE and cleaner production. The mining and minerals industry provides primary materials for industrial activities; as such, it is an important component in the “industrial ecosystem.” This industry is subject to very stringent social and environmental scrutiny, while providing society with required natural resources to meet essential sustainable development requirements. The implementation of an IE framework in the sector will contribute to sustainable development.     

Building more sustainable solutions in production–consumption systems: the case of food for people with reduced access

In new product development, the ability to integrate different dimensions of sustainability at a value chain level is still a complex, problematic goal. As product-service approaches are increasingly enabling the introduction of more sustainable paths, this paper describes the authors' experience thus far when building insights into conditions for the implementation of integrated solutions in a process of co-development and testing in real life conditions, which are driven by a social need focusing on food for people with reduced access. Throughout this process, which brought together producers, consumers and other stakeholders to design and test industrialised, sustainable solutions, empirical evidence demonstrates feasibility and usefulness of the approach and insight into the conditions for implementing interactive, comprehensive multi-stakeholder processes in real life situations. In addition, results show that the delivery of innovative solutions enabled to offer social added value, economic profits and environmental improvements under specific experimental conditions.     

轻型汽车和汽车塑料配件涂装工艺过程的VOCs组分特征

通过采集和分析珠江三角洲(以下简称“珠三角”)地区轻型汽车和汽车塑料配件涂装工艺过程的VOCs样品,识别了上述两个行业不同涂装工艺过程的VOCs组分特征.结果表明:芳香烃(56.4%~75.5%)和OVOCs(11.0%~35.7%)为轻型汽车涂装工艺占比最大的两种VOCs组分;烷烃和烯炔烃在烘干工艺所占比重要高于喷涂工艺;1,2,4-三甲苯为电泳和面涂烘干工序的主要VOCs组分,间/对-二甲苯、乙酸丁酯、丙二醇甲醚醋酸酯分别为中涂、面涂和中涂烘干工序的主要VOCs组分.汽车塑料配件涂装工艺不同工序的VOCs组成相似,芳香烃(53.3%~58.3%)和OVOCs(40.9%~45.8%)为主要VOCs组成,甲苯、乙酸乙酯、乙酸丁酯等为主要VOCs组分.不同废气治理设施对汽车塑料配件涂装工艺VOCs组分会造成一定的影响.活性炭吸附治理设施处理后的主要VOCs组分为甲苯、乙苯和邻二甲苯等芳香烃组分,水喷淋治理设施则为乙酸乙酯、乙酸丁酯和丙二醇甲醚醋酸酯等OVOCs类组分.通过与其他研究对比,丙二醇甲醚醋酸酯作为原辅料和废气中的主要组分之一,在以往研究中并未识别出来,表明针对测试对象的原辅料与工艺信息的现场调研是开展VOCs组分特征及成分谱研究的基础工作,建议未来该方面研究加强对前期调研工作的重视.此外,建议关注行业发展趋势给VOCs成分谱研究带来的影响.