Environmental impacts of cocoa production and processing in Ghana: life cycle assessment approach

Ghana is the world's second largest producer of cocoa beans. In addition to exporting raw cocoa beans, the country also processes some of its beans into finished and semi-finished cocoa products for both the local and international markets. This paper is aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the environmental impacts associated with cocoa production and processing in Ghana by applying the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The analysis considered the entire system required to produce and process 1 kg of cocoa bean. It included the extraction of raw materials (e.g. fossil fuels, minerals), the production of farming inputs (e.g. fertilizers and pesticides) and all agricultural operations in the field (e.g. tillage, fertilizer and pesticides application, harvest, etc.). Transportation of beans to processing factory and industrial processing of the beans into cocoa butter, liquor, cake and powder were also included. The study was conducted in accordance with the international ISO procedural framework for performing LCA in the ISO 14040–14043 series.The overall environmental impacts resulting from cocoa production and processing activities and improvement options towards the sustainability of the system studied are presented and discussed.     

Tools and concepts for sustainable development,how do they relate to a general framework for sustainable development,and to each other?

We present a general framework to plan for sustainability and then relate it to some well-known tools for sustainable development. This framework follows from principles for how a system is constituted (ecological and social principles), and contains principles for a favorable outcome for the system (sustainability), as well as principles for the process to reach this outcome (sustainable development). The principles for sustainability define the favorable outcome and direct problem-solving upstream towards problemsources. A program of activities is then constructed by backcasting from defined outcomes to the current problems. This is followed by “metrics”, i.e. various concepts for measuring and monitoring the activities. Most concepts and tools for sustainable development function as metrics, for instance life cycle assessment (LCA), ecological footprinting (EF), and Factor X. An environmental management system (EMS), like ISO 14001 or EMAS, is an administrative vehicle that should systematically align a firm's specific outcomes, activities and metrics with a general framework for sustainability. From a strategic point of view, metrics should measure alignment of activities with the principles contained in a framework for sustainability. A framework is not an alternative to concepts and tools for metrics. We need them all, because they represent different interrelated levels of strategic planning.     

生命周期评价方法及其进展

生命周期评价方法在国外的 发展已近３０年，正成为企业和政府环境管理的工具。国外许多生态标志标准的确定，采用的都是生命周期评价方法，它还是国际标准化组织ＩＳＯ１４００系列标准的重要内容，我国对生命周期评价方法的认识和研究才刚刚开始，该文对生命周平价方法的技术框架，应用和存在的不足等作了简要论述。     

Ex-ante environmental assessments of novel technologies - Improved caprolactam catalysis and hydrogen storage

Utrecht University has conducted a pilot sustainability assessment for the executive board of the chemistry program ACTS (Advanced Chemical Technologies for Sustainability) of the Netherlands’ Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). These assessments represent prospective, i.e. ’ex-ante’ studies on the production of caprolactam by an improved catalyst and on different hydrogen storage options (i.e. compressed and liquefied hydrogen, storage in metal hydrides and storage in a metal organic framework). The pilot sustainability assessments followed the principles of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), thereby focusing on non-renewable energy use (NREU) and climate change (GWP100). It was found that caprolactam with the novel catalyst has lower impacts than petrochemical caprolactam production from benzene but higher impacts than bio-based caprolactam produced via fermentation. Regarding hydrogen storage, it was found that compressed and liquid hydrogen have the highest impacts. The impacts of the metal hydrides and the metal organic frameworks show by far the lowest environmental impacts. The main reason is that these materials can be reused up to 1500 times (refilling of tank), while for compressing and liquefaction of hydrogen energy is needed each time a tank needs to be refilled. The study demonstrates the successful application of ex-ante technology assessment.     

Towards sustainability in urban water: a life cycle analysis of the urban water system of Alexandria City,Egypt

Urban water authorities and water planers in many countries are struggling to satisfy the growing urban water and sanitation demands, while at the same time achieving sustainability of the urban water system. This research focused on the assessment of the environmental impact of today's Alexandria's urban water system and on the identification of options to improve the sustainability of the system. Therefore, a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used. The urban water system was modelled using SimaPro software, and the impacts of various options on the system were analyzed based on the Eco-indicator 99 assessment method. The results show that the highest impact in today's system is generated by the disposal of primary treated wastewater (68% of the total impact) and by high-energy-consuming water treatment plants (18% of the total impact). The research assessed different scenarios for improving the environmental performance of the system and a paradigm shift (decentralization and separation at-source of different kinds of household wastewater) was found to be the preferred long-term scenario.     

Sustainability Potential Analysis (SPA) of landfills – a systemic approach: theoretical considerations

Implementing sustainable development (SD) requires operationalizing this rather vague guiding principle in a socio-technological context. This paper refers to a notion of SD that stresses approaching SD from a systemic perspective. We first present the Function-Structure-Context Framework to appraise if and how systemic characteristics are considered in assessments. The latter framework includes a functional, structural, and contextual dimension, as well as the interdependencies of these dimensions. We then analyze four currently applied landfill assessment methods with respect to this framework: i.e., MCEA (Modified Cost Effectiveness Analysis), LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), RA (Risk Assessment), and TVA (Swiss Technical Ordinance Waste). With respect to the analyzed methods, we can reveal that each of them focuses on specific systemic dimensions in its assessment step, whereas none refers to the whole range of dimensions and interdependencies of the framework presented. We then propose the so-called Sustainability Potential Analysis (SPA) as an alternative comprehensive SD assessment approach, which has the potential to integrate the results of the other methods for achieving a systemic SD assessment.     

基于可持续性的城市总体规划环境影响评价指标体系

城市总体规划（简称“总规”）是实施城市可持续性战略的重要载体,战略环境评价（SEA）是连接抽象的、宏观的可持续发展战略与具体的、可操作的建设项目之间的桥梁,是实施可持续发展战略的政策工具;指标体系是SEA工作的核心工作和评价依据。然而,当前存在城市总体规划环境影响评价（总规环评）指标体系与城市规划内容、城市可持续性脱节,指标体系的设计缺乏理论支撑等问题。本文首先归纳出城市可持续性的一般内涵,然后通过逻辑关系分析、影响评价矩阵的方法,识别总规的可持续性影响,构建了可持续性总规环评指标体系框架,最后以太仓为案例说明框架的应用。     

动态生命周期评价的研究与应用现状

生命周期评价（LCA）在理论和实际应用中存在一些局限性,包括清单和评价方法缺乏时间维度和空间维度,主要表现为缺乏对产品能源系统随时间变化的考虑,使用静态的过时的清单数据而非基于时间的动态生命周期清单数据,以及影响评价方面缺乏动态特征因子的选择和计算方法.动态生命周期评价（DLCA）是针对工业和环境系统的时间和空间变化的动态建模过程的评价方法,可大大提高传统生命周期评价的科学性和准确性.本文从3个方面对动态生命周期评价方法进行总结和评述,即将时间信息作为不确定因素的动态建模分析;生产过程或污染物排放的实时数据的获取;基于时间分化的动态特征因子的影响评价方法.通过目前的动态生命周期评价的研究现状来看,其方法框架并不统一,另外缺乏科学的时间分化的LCI计算的数学模型和软件以及生命周期影响评价的建模解决方案.因此,本文对DLCA未来的发展进行展望,以期为LCA方法的研究、应用、发展和完善提供更多的支持.     

The Environmental Performance Strategy Map: an integrated LCA approach to support the strategic decision-making process

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a well-known tool for analyzing environmental impacts on a wide perspective with reference to a product system and the related environmental and economic impacts. The need for a novel approach that complements environmental and financial considerations is addressed in this study with the introduction of a new graphical representation: the Environmental Performance Strategy Map. This graphical map allows one to combine the main environmental indicators (footprints) with the additional dimension of cost. The paper defines the Sustainable Environmental Performance Indicator as a single measure for sustainability of a given option. Comparison of different options for strategic decision-making purposes can be enhanced and facilitated by the use of this indicator.     

生命周期评价在环境管理中应用的局限性及其技术进展研究

生命周期评价法(Life Cycle Assessment)在国际上广泛应用于工业企业部门、政府管理部门和服务行业,但最突出的贡献是在环境管理方面的应用.LCA的技术框架分为确定目的与范围、生命周期清单分析、生命周期影响评价(LCIA)和结果解释4个部分.LCIA的方法可归纳为中点法和终点法.LCA存在数据获取、清单分配、边界选择、评价模型、时空限制,以及结果不确定性等方面的局限性.为适应环境管理和评价技术本身的要求,LCA评价技术朝系统化方向发展,目前主要有IO-LCA、ALCA、CLCA、LCC、S-LCA和LCSA等评价技术.不同的评价技术从不同侧面拓展了LCA的应用领域和回避LCA评价的局限性,使得LCA越来越成为环境管理不可或缺的工具.     

The application of life cycle assessment to design

This paper explores the practical application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to product system development. While life cycle assessment methods have been studied and demonstrated extensively over the last two decades, their application to product design and development has not been critically addressed. Many organizational and operational factors limit the integration of the three LCA components (inventory analysis, impact assessment and improvement assessment) with product development. Design of the product system can be considered a synthesis of individual decisions and choices made by the design team, which ultimately shape the system's environmental profile. The environmental goal of life cycle design is to minimize the aggregate environmental impacts associated with the product system. Appropriate environmental information must be supplied to decision makers throughout each stage of the development process to achieve this goal. LCA can serve as a source of this information, but informational requirements can vary as the design moves from its conceptual phase, where many design choices are possible, to its detailed design and implementation. Streamlined approaches and other tools, such as design checklists, are essential. The practical use of this tool in product development also depends on the nature and complexity of the product system (e.g. new vs. established), the product development cycle (time-to-market constraints), availability of technical and financial resources, and the design approach (integrated vs. serial). These factors will influence the role and scope of LCA in product development. Effective communication and evaluation of environmental information and the integration of this information with cost, performance, cultural and legal criteria will also be critical to the success of design initiatives based on the life cycle framework. An overview of several of these design initiatives will be presented.     

Collaborative activity with business partners for improvement of product environmental performance using LCA

Collaborative activities with business partners have potential to improve environmental performance of product and life cycle assessment (LCA) is an essential technique to implement eco-design of product and production process. However, collection of LCA data from supply chain is a major issue for LCA practitioners. We propose a Supply Chain Collaboration Model (SCCM), which is a framework for collecting producer-specific LCA data from business partners and for promoting improvement activity of product environmental performance. We demonstrate the practicability of the SCCM using three case studies. In each case study, two or three partner companies organized a product improvement project and carried out process analysis techniques such as LCA and material flow cost accounting (MFCA). As a result, improvement activities from the economical standpoint could provide an incentive for business partners to collect LCA data, and thus the SCCM is an effective framework for eco-design.     

生命周期评价在中国城市垃圾减量化的应用

为减少城市垃圾,介绍了生命周期评价方法,并将其引入城市垃圾管理系统,建立了适合我国国情的城市垃圾生命周期评价框架。生命周期评价框架的建立有助于改进城市垃圾管理,是减少城市垃圾产生的有用工具。      

Uncertainty-based quantitative assessment of sustainability for higher education institutions

Evaluation of sustainability in various facets of life is gaining increasing importance. Traditionally, different multi-criteria decision-making methods have been used for sustainability assessment. “Sustainability” can be a qualitative concept, and as such several researchers have attempted fuzzy logic for the quantitative assessment of sustainability. This paper outlines a new evaluation model based on fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making. The model is tested for sustainability assessment of higher education institutions (HEIs). It is based on a driving force–pressure–state–exposure–effect–action (DPSEEA) framework and is called uncertainty-based DPSEEA-Sustainability index Model (uD-SiM). The uD-SiM is a causality-based model in which the sustainability index is an outcome of nonlinear impacts of sustainability indicators in different stages of DPSEEA. The percent contribution of driving forces on the sustainability index of HEI is investigated using sensitivity analysis. The study reveals that education in sustainability and global and local research trends are the major driving forces for achieving sustainability in HEI, followed by financial and economic growth rate, social equity, energy requirements rate, and institutional enhancement, in descending order. The results of uD-SiM were found to be more realistic and rational than our earlier proposed approach, D-SiM.     

产品生命周期可得性水足迹计算方法

水足迹方法试图量化评价人类活动对水资源可得性的影响,从而为水资源可持续利用提供科学的依据.水足迹的评价方法尚未统一,目前全球应用最为广泛的是WFN（water footprint network,水足迹协作网络）水足迹计算方法.基于LCA（life cycle assessment,生命周期评价）方法的基本框架,围绕水资源可得性的水量、水质和空间分布3个因素,在分析现有水足迹计算公式的基础上,指出了WFN水足迹计算方法的不足.根据国际水足迹标准（ISO 14046）的原则和要求,改进了WFN的水足迹计算公式,提出了产品生命周期WAF（water availability footprint,可得性水足迹）定义和评价方法,其中包括单元过程数据计算、背景过程数据处理和生命周期汇总.通过方法对比和案例研究得到:WAF方法统一了水消耗量与水污染量定义中的水质基准,可以明确区分水污染和水净化两类过程,还可以反映区域水资源稀缺程度的影响;采用WAF方法,在现有LCA数据库和软件的支持下可以更为规范地完成生命周期水足迹建模与计算但目前单元过程数据计算中各种污染物的基准浓度选取有不可避免的主观性,将直接影响到水足迹计算结果及其客观性,有待进一步研究.      

An occupational chemical priority list for future life cycle assessments

A chemical priority list is presented to screen and identify relevant chemicals, for which more detailed and industrial-sector specific quantitative exposure, risk and life-cycle assessments should be completed. A list of 38 solvents were ranked according to the framework of the LCA toxicity model, USEtox, and according to the framework proposed by the UNEP/SETAC working group on Indoor Exposure Assessment in LCA. An additional method, based on a risk assessment (RA) framework, was used to examine the robustness of the priority rank. Under both schemes dichloromethane, ethanol, formaldehyde, hexane and toluene all rank in the top ten positions. These chemicals are currently relevant with regard to health effects on a population level. Some of these chemicals are known as hazardous, while others, such as ethanol, have a low toxicity but were prioritized because of their extensive use and high exposure levels. This study attempts to combine the knowledge and methods of the LCA and occupational hygiene communities in assessing health impacts. It provides a consistent and transparent method for rapid comparative assessments of different chemicals and identifies the chemicals and workplaces that will require more thorough investigations.     

SAFE—A hierarchical framework for assessing the sustainability of agricultural systems

Sustainable development and the definition of indicators to assess progress towards sustainability have become a high priority in scientific research and on policy agendas. In this paper, we propose a consistent and comprehensive framework of principles, criteria and indicators (PC&I) for sustainability assessment of agricultural systems, referred to as the Sustainability Assessment of Farming and the Environment (SAFE) framework. In addition we formulate consistent and objective approaches for indicator identification and selection. The framework is designed for three spatial levels: the parcel level, the farm level and a higher spatial level that can be the landscape, the region or the state. The SAFE framework is hierarchical as it is composed of principles, criteria, indicators and reference values in a structured way. Principles are related to the multiple functions of the agro-ecosystem, which go clearly beyond the production function alone. The multifunctional character of the agro-ecosystem encompasses the three pillars of sustainability: the environmental, economic and social pillars. Indicators and reference values are the end-products of the framework. They are the operational tools that are used for evaluating the sustainability of the agro-ecosystems. The proposed analytical framework is not intended to find a common solution for sustainability in agriculture as a whole, but to serve as an assessment tool for the identification, the development and the evaluation of agricultural production systems, techniques and policies.     

The diffusion of environmental management in Greece through rationalist approaches: driver or product of globalisation?

Globalisation trends in economy and governance have resulted in a change in policy instruments towards harmonised initiatives, which are considered to a great extent pivotal for countries to engage with. ISO14001 is seen as constitutive of these wider concepts and is the focus here in explaining their diffusion in national contexts.This article questions the extent to where the adoption of ISO14001 in Greece is motivated by environmental sustainability or processes of economic globalisation. It indicates that in order to facilitate progress towards sustainability through environmental management, proper institutional arrangements and a legal framework must be established and executed by the government and society at large.     

生命周期评价方法研究综述——兼论混合生命周期评价的发展与应用

生命周期评价(Life cycle assessment, LCA)随着其评价对象不断复杂化、系统化,逐渐发展出包含基于清单分析的过程生命周期评价(Process-based LCA, PLCA)、投入产出的生命周期评价(Economic input-output LCA, EIO-LCA)和混合生命周期评价(Hybrid LCA, HLCA)三种方法。论文简述了各类LCA方法的发展过程和特征,并结合实例分析了各自的优势与不足。结果认为:自下而上的PLCA方法针对性较好,其评价结果较为详细,但由于主观边界设定,核算结果存在无法避免的截断误差;自上而下的EIO-LCA方法采用投入产出表进行评价,边界为整个国民经济系统,但存在部门聚合、数据滞后等问题;HLCA结合PLCA与EIO-LCA两种方法,既保持了结果的精准性,又消除了截断误差。研究最后总结并提出未来HLCA的发展方向,以期为LCA方法的进一步发展提供参考。     

基于循环特性的镍氢和锂离子电池环境影响机制分析

为了了解镍氢电池和锂离子电池在生产、使用、废弃或回收过程中的环境影响,建立了一种简单快速的二次电池环境影响机制分析方法。通过生命周期评价(LCA)方法,采用Eco-indicator99体系,综合考虑电池循环容量衰减和循环次数的影响,建立了二次电池环境影响机制分析模型,并运用此模型对两种实验用二次电池(镍氢电池和锂离子电池)的环境影响机制进行了研究。结果表明:1)在所选取的两种二次电池当中,锂离子(Li-ion)电池的环境影响明显比镍氢(Ni-MH)电池的低;2)随着循环次数的增加Li-ion电池环境影响衰减比Ni-MH电池的明显,即随着使用循环次数的增加,Li-ion电池对环境的影响会降低到更多。综合来说,所选取的Li-ion电池比Ni-MH电池更具环境可持续性。文中所提出的环境影响机制分析模型同样可以应用于其他二次电池,以期为环境友好型二次电池的开发提供帮助。