Transcript Pollution Prevention & Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Pollution Prevention &
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Sponsored by:
AIA
Sustainable Design
Committee on the Environment
Pollution Prevention: P2
EPA Definition: source reduction & other practices reducing
or eliminating creation of pollution through: increased
efficiency in raw materials, energy, water, resources &
protecting natural resources by conservation.
It is prior to recycling, treatment or disposal & includes
reducing or eliminating pollution hazards to public health &
environment.
P2 Includes:
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equipment or technology modifications
process or procedure modifications
reformulation or redesign or products
substitution of raw materials &
improvements in housekeeping, maintenance, training or
inventory control
Source:
Green Energy
NRDC Report Benchmarking Air
Pollution from Top 100 Electric
Companies Shows Carbon Dioxide
Pollution Increasing.
In contrast, on a life cycle basis, green
energy eliminates more pollution than
any other industrial activity.
Green-e
renewable electricity certification
www.green-e.org
State of
Minnesota
Design for
Environment
(DfE) Toolkit
helps improve
product LCA
benefits
throughout the
supply chain
(fig. 1 Sustainable
Textile Standard).
General Product Life Cy cle
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
EPA’s DfE Program uses LCAs to
examine product environmental impacts
over their entire life cycle, from raw materials
extraction to manufacturing, use, & disposition.
LCA can help achieve P2.
Source:
EPA also used LCA to improve product design in:
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Auto refinishing
Adhesives
Garment & textile care
Flexographic & gravure printing
Industrial & institutional laundry
Integrated environmental management systems
Lead free solder
Source:
How are LCA Tools Used?
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For product design and improvement
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For product evaluation and comparison
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For product specification and purchase
What might be in an LCA toolkit?
 MTS Standards for Sustainable Products
 eLCie™ Web-tool for Product Selection
 BEES® System for Product Improvement
 LEED™ Green Building Rating System
EPA Sustainable LCA Technology
http://www.epa.gov/ord/NRMRL/std/sab/iam_traci.htm
EPA’s TRACI is used in the BEES LCA Tool
& characterizes impacts including:
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Ozone depletion
Global warming/climate change
Acidification
Eutrophication
Smog
Human health cancer
Human health noncancer
Human health criteria
Ecotoxicity
Fossil fuel use
Land use
Water use
http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/software/bees.html
BEES ISO Compliant LCAs are
available for 32 products
Trespa Meteon exterior finish
ISG Brick & Fly Ash Mortar
ISG 3-coat Stucco w/Fly Ash
ISG 1-coat Stucco w/Fly Ash
Trespa Virtuon partition/lockers
Trespa Athlon partition/lockers
Shaw Ecoworx Carpet Tile
C&A ER3 Carpet Tile
Bentley Prince Street Hyperion
Bentley Prince Street Mercator
Interface PrairieSchool
Interface Sabi
Interface Transformation
J&J Industries- SBR Latex
J&J Industries- LIFESPAN*MG
Mohawk Regents Row
Mohawk Meritage
Natural Cork Parquet Tile
Natural Cork Floating Floor
Forbo Linoleum/No-VOC Glue
Trespa Virtuon ceiling/casewk.
Trespa Athlon ceiling/casewk.
Products Cont…
Herman Miller Aeron Chair
Herman Miller Ambi Chair
Trespa Toplab Plus Counters
Trespa Athlon Counters
Lafarge Silica Fume Cement
ISG IP Cement
Lafarge NewCem Slag Cement
Generic 35 % Fly Ash Cement
Lafarge Portland Type I Cement
Lafarge CKD Soil Enhancer
BioTrans Transformer Oil
BEES LCAs on Bio-based Products Allows Them to be
Considered for Preferable Federal Government Purchasing
BEES supports Federal agencies purchase of biobased products &
is Sponsored by EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
Program, USDA & NIST.
NIST needs information on manufacturers’ products so that Federal
personnel may consider them in their purchase decisions.
http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/software/bees/please/USDA/bees_please.html
Climate Change
Environmental Performance
Overall Performance
US Green Building (USGBC) Council
LEED LCA Initiative Launch in 2004
USGBC Initiated ASTM & ISO LCA Standards in 1993
Product Example
Milliken Earth Square carpet
tiles: ISO compliant LCA
meet MTS’ LCA Standard.
LCA identifies product
benefits/impacts throughout
the supply chain, & is
required by law for
sustainable, green, or EPP
products because consumers
believe these products are
environmentally beneficial in
all respects.
Milliken Earth Square Certified
Gold Sustainable Textile
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For 99% postconsumer recycled content
For extended product Life
For more than 20% takeback
For transparent closed loop process
For achieving social equity
For LCA & DfE process
Sustainable Textile Standard©
The Institute for Market Transformation to
Sustainability (MTS) worked with the textile,
design & government communities, in approving a
National Consensus Sustainable Textile Standard©
for carpet, fabric & apparel.
Sustainable Textile Standard© Benefits
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Substantial Global Benefits for Carpet, Fabric & Apparel- Environmental,
Social, & Economic over the supply chain
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Textile Rating System: Certified, Silver, Gold & Platinum
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Business Benefits: cost savings, product differentiation, long term customer
relationships, liability reduction
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Market Definition of Sustainable Textile
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Life Cycle Environmental Performance Requirements
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Social Performance Requirements over the supply chain
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Defines Sustainable Agriculture for Textile
MTS Ad
Promotes LCA Label on Products
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Clearly links with
our message, and
with the needs of
our customers.
Advertisement asks
the most pertinent
question in the
mind of our
customers.
LCA of Lamps
Using LCA, the Greatest Impact by Far Over all Environmental
Impact Categories, is the Energy Efficiency of the Lamp, which
Supplants Primarily Coal Fired Power.
Thus, the best environmental choice is the lowest mercury
content, highest energy efficient, & longest life lamp, as
specified in LEED-Existing Buildings.
LCA of Wallboard
Components
Inventory & Impact Assessment of Releases & Energy Use
Collection and Evaluation of Data
Product Example
LCA is product specific (MARMOLEUM® ), not category specific (linoleum).
Every product stage in MARMOLEUM® and ARTOLEUM® is evaluated
against each environmental impact category below.
Life-Cycle Assessment…
the true measurement of environmental performance
Forbo Linoleum’s ISO 14040
Compliant LCA
Meets MTS’ LCA Standard.
Forbo provides a legally binding
& publicly disclosed
certification.
How do we use what we learn from LCA’s?
Manufacturing
LIFE-CYCLE
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS
Comprehensive lifecycle data shows a
significantly smaller
total environmental
impact than is typical
for that industry.
total environmental impact
(Actual numbers behind the index)
Environmental Impact of Typical Carpet Face Fiber (In Lbs unless
noted)
Per pound of fiber in carpet
Typical
Antron
Change
Industry
2000
Depletable Resources
7.4 lbs
6
-20%
Global Warming Emissions 21.3
12.6
-41%
Other Air Emissions
0.17
0.14
-20%
Land Emissions/Solid Waste 10.7
7.2
-33%
Water Use (In Gals)
5
3.3
-34%
Safety/Health (Benchmark)
Value Recovery
10
0
4
0.1
-60%
+10%
EPA Final Environmentally Preferable
Purchasing Guidance
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….environmental considerations as part of the
normal purchasing process.
 Emphasize pollution prevention…....
 Examine multiple environmental attributes…...
 Compare relevant environmental impacts…..
 Based on …. Accurate and meaningful information….
 Uses a life cycle approach
Product Performance
product or service
is tested to perform
to industry standards
Actively Specifying
• Developed by the International Design Center for the Environment
(IDCE) working in collaboration with Sylvatica, Tellart and others
• Primary users: architects, interior designers, and facilities managers
• Additional usage: manufacturers communicate the environmental impacts
of products using common metrics
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A science-based streamlined web LCA tool, comparing & reducing product
environmental cradle to cradle impacts
What does eLCie add to LCA tools?
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Increases designers’ access to LCA results
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Lowers manufacturers’ data collection time
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Improves data quality and transparency
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Reduces LCA costs for manufacturers
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Advances collaboration on LCA based tools
Thanks to our Sponsors
AIA
Sustainable Design
Committee on the Environment