Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analytical tool used for the environmental optimization of products and services within the entirety of its life cycle. ISO 14040 recommends use of the technique in numerous areas of ...Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analytical tool used for the environmental optimization of products and services within the entirety of its life cycle. ISO 14040 recommends use of the technique in numerous areas of environmental management such as in designing for the environment, eco-labelling, environmental communications and the assessment of the effects of environmental activities. Despite being theoretically feasible, certain applications of the ecological assessment of a life cycle such as the possibility of identification and evaluation of environmental aspects with the use of LCA are, in practice, still new to many environmental managers. With its strong points, the technique seems to be a valuable tool, especially in the context of apparent concepts of Product-Oriented Environmental Management Systems (POEMS). In order to verify the hypothesis, the author decided to verify the level of use of LCA in the area of identification and assessment of environmental aspects in selected organizations. Therefore, questionnaire interviews were conducted with representatives of selected Polish and Swedish enterprises who, at the time of the interview, had certified environmental management systems. The organizations were analyzed with respect to applied methods and techniques used for identification and assessment of environmental aspects as well as the degree of use of LCA both in this respect and in other areas of environmental management. This paper will present the results of this research and conclusions.展开更多
Management has addressed the critical issue of environmental protection by developing environmental management systems. The purpose of this research is to describe the organizational structure for environmental protec...Management has addressed the critical issue of environmental protection by developing environmental management systems. The purpose of this research is to describe the organizational structure for environmental protection, an attribute of environmental management systems of privately held companies, certified with MS ISO 14001. Descriptive statistics are reported for the primary data. The commonly reported attributes provide evidence of high-level commitment to environmental protection： written environmental policy statement, corporate-level environmental management function, and Board of Directors＇ responsibility for oversight of environmental affairs. Findings indicate that companies have educational programs and environmental goals to disseminate environmental management values throughout their organizations.展开更多
In this worldwide consumer society the quest for new and more sophisticated products is ever present often leaving an unsustainable toll on the Earth＇s resources to the point where some commodities are reduced to lev...In this worldwide consumer society the quest for new and more sophisticated products is ever present often leaving an unsustainable toll on the Earth＇s resources to the point where some commodities are reduced to levels of scarcity The growing challenge for product creators is to provide new products that have the least impact on the environment. The need for sustainable products is growing annually but often product creators are either unwilling to engage or are uninformed as to how to engage with the sustainable creation processes. There is a requirement for a cohesive management strategy that can both inform industrialists and provide the tools for the implementation of a sustainable approach to product design and the product life cycle. This paper reviews several publications and builds on previous work （Johnson, Gibson, ＆ Barrans, 2011）, enhancing the commonly used Life Cycle Analysis （LCA） and creating a complete management strategy, which is the Sustainability Enhancement Program （SEP）. This incorporates ISO Standards as an operating platform. Embodied Energy （Ashby, 2012） is used as a metric by SEP so that the value of energy input within any product can be measured and reduced in the future product iterations.展开更多
This article provides a comparison of several Life Cycle Assessment methodologies and their conformity to the ISO 14001 Standards. The study found that all methods surveyed meet the basic requirements of ISO 14001 in ...This article provides a comparison of several Life Cycle Assessment methodologies and their conformity to the ISO 14001 Standards. The study found that all methods surveyed meet the basic requirements of ISO 14001 in regards to evaluating the environmental impact with integrated hybrid method most satisfying the requirements.展开更多
文摘Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analytical tool used for the environmental optimization of products and services within the entirety of its life cycle. ISO 14040 recommends use of the technique in numerous areas of environmental management such as in designing for the environment, eco-labelling, environmental communications and the assessment of the effects of environmental activities. Despite being theoretically feasible, certain applications of the ecological assessment of a life cycle such as the possibility of identification and evaluation of environmental aspects with the use of LCA are, in practice, still new to many environmental managers. With its strong points, the technique seems to be a valuable tool, especially in the context of apparent concepts of Product-Oriented Environmental Management Systems (POEMS). In order to verify the hypothesis, the author decided to verify the level of use of LCA in the area of identification and assessment of environmental aspects in selected organizations. Therefore, questionnaire interviews were conducted with representatives of selected Polish and Swedish enterprises who, at the time of the interview, had certified environmental management systems. The organizations were analyzed with respect to applied methods and techniques used for identification and assessment of environmental aspects as well as the degree of use of LCA both in this respect and in other areas of environmental management. This paper will present the results of this research and conclusions.
文摘Management has addressed the critical issue of environmental protection by developing environmental management systems. The purpose of this research is to describe the organizational structure for environmental protection, an attribute of environmental management systems of privately held companies, certified with MS ISO 14001. Descriptive statistics are reported for the primary data. The commonly reported attributes provide evidence of high-level commitment to environmental protection： written environmental policy statement, corporate-level environmental management function, and Board of Directors＇ responsibility for oversight of environmental affairs. Findings indicate that companies have educational programs and environmental goals to disseminate environmental management values throughout their organizations.
文摘In this worldwide consumer society the quest for new and more sophisticated products is ever present often leaving an unsustainable toll on the Earth＇s resources to the point where some commodities are reduced to levels of scarcity The growing challenge for product creators is to provide new products that have the least impact on the environment. The need for sustainable products is growing annually but often product creators are either unwilling to engage or are uninformed as to how to engage with the sustainable creation processes. There is a requirement for a cohesive management strategy that can both inform industrialists and provide the tools for the implementation of a sustainable approach to product design and the product life cycle. This paper reviews several publications and builds on previous work （Johnson, Gibson, ＆ Barrans, 2011）, enhancing the commonly used Life Cycle Analysis （LCA） and creating a complete management strategy, which is the Sustainability Enhancement Program （SEP）. This incorporates ISO Standards as an operating platform. Embodied Energy （Ashby, 2012） is used as a metric by SEP so that the value of energy input within any product can be measured and reduced in the future product iterations.
文摘This article provides a comparison of several Life Cycle Assessment methodologies and their conformity to the ISO 14001 Standards. The study found that all methods surveyed meet the basic requirements of ISO 14001 in regards to evaluating the environmental impact with integrated hybrid method most satisfying the requirements.
