Ari Nissinen

Analyzing the Environmental Benefits of Industrial Symbiosis Life Cycle Assessment Applied to a Finnish Forest Industry Complex

Summary Studies of industrial symbiosis (IS) focus on the physical flows of materials and energy in local industrial systems. In an ideal IS, waste material and energy are shared or exchanged among the actors of the system, thereby reducing the consumption of virgin material and energy inputs, and likewise the generation of waste and emissions. In this study, the environmental impacts of an industrial ecosystem centered around a pulp and paper mill and operating as an IS are analyzed using life cycle assessment (LCA). The system is compared with two hypothetical reference systems in which the actors would operate in isolation. Moreover, the system is analyzed further in order to identify possibilities for additional links between the actors. The results show that of the total life cycle impacts of the system, upstream processes made the greatest overall contribution to the results. Comparison with stand-alone production shows that in the case studied, the industrial symbiosis results in modest improvements, 5% to 20% in most impact categories, in the overall environmental impacts of the system. Most of the benefits occur upstream through heat and electricity production for the local town. All in all it is recommended that when the environmental impacts of industrial symbiosis are assessed, the impacts occurring upstream should also be studied, not only the impacts within the ecosystem.

Methodological Aspects of Applying Life Cycle Assessment to Industrial Symbioses

In view of recent studies of the historical development and current status of industrial symbiosis (IS), life cycle assessment (LCA) is proposed as a general framework for quantifying the environmental performance of by‐product exchange. Recent guidelines for LCA (International Reference Life Cycle Data System [ILCD] guidelines) are applied to answer the main research questions in the IS literature reviewed. A typology of five main research questions is proposed: (1) analysis, (2) improvement, and (3) expansion of existing systems; (4) design of new eco‐industrial parks, and (5) restructuring of circular economies. The LCA guidelines were found useful in framing the question and choosing an appropriate reference case for comparison. The selection of a correct reference case reduces the risk of overestimating the benefits of by‐product exchange. In the analysis of existing systems, environmentally extended input‐output analysis (EEIOA) can be used to streamline the analysis and provide an industry average baseline for comparison. However, when large‐scale changes are applied to the system, more sophisticated tools are necessary for assessment of the consequences, from market analysis to general equilibrium modeling and future scenario work. Such a rigorous application of systems analysis was not found in the current IS literature, but would benefit the field substantially, especially when the environmental impact of large‐scale economic changes is analyzed.

How can the sustainability of industrial symbioses be measured

In the scientific literature, there are (so far) few studies quantifying the environmental benefits or sustainability of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) networks although, at the same time, the potential tools for these kinds of assessments have been developed rapidly both in number and capacity. In this article, we first review the existing studies on the environmental performance of IS systems. We draw a conclusion that these studies usually only concentrate on one or a limited number of factors and also use a narrow approach to system boundaries considering just the impacts taking place within the symbiosis. Finally, we suggest that The Natural Step (TNS) System Conditions could constitute a basis which – through a set of sustainability criteria and a series of questions derived from them – would essentially steer the analyses made about the environmental performance and overall sustainability of the IS network at hand.

Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Air-Source Heat Pump and Innovative Ground-Source Air Heat Pump in a Cold Climate

This article compares climate impacts of two heat‐pump systems for domestic heating, that is, energy consumption for space heating of a residential building. Using a life cycle approach, the study compared the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of direct electric heating, a conventional air‐source heat pump, and a novel ground‐source air heat pump innovated by a citizen user, to assess whether such user innovation holds benefit. The energy use of the heat pumps was modeled at six temperature intervals based on duration curves of outdoor temperature. Additionally, two heat pump end‐of‐life scenarios were analyzed. Probabilistic uncertainty analysis was applied using a Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicated that, in ideal conditions, that is, assuming perfect air mixing, the conventional air‐source heat pumps emissions were over 40% lower and the ground‐air heat pumps emissions over 70% lower than in the case of direct electric heating. Although proper handling of the refrigerant is important, total leakage from the retirement of the heat‐pump appliance would increase GHG emissions by just 10%. According to the sensitivity analysis, the most influential input parameters are the emission factor related to electricity and the amount of electricity used for heating.

Environmental impacts and the most economically advantageous tender in public procurement

The “most economically advantageous tender,” as defined in the EUʼs public procurement directives, allows public purchasers to combine environmental aspects, price and other award criteria in decision making. The directives do not, however, determine how the environmental criteria should be built. Indeed, there could be different means to assess the “greenness” of competing tenders, and these various measurements of environmental impacts may lead to different assessments of the most economically advantageous tender. In this article, the determination of environmental award criteria is examined through a case study on a purchase of a goods transportation service, where the most economically advantageous tender is calculated by life cycle assessment and the environmental cost calculation method suggested by the EU, and compared to the results gained by the purchaserʼs equation. Also the contribution of the weighting for the “green” purchasing decision is discussed.

Developing a Benchmark Tool for Sustainable Consumption: An Iterative Process

This article presents the development process of a consumer-oriented, illustrative benchmarking tool enabling consumers to use the results of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to make informed decisions. LCA provides a wealth of information on the environmental impacts of products, but its results are very difficult to present concisely and in a way that is understandable to non-experts. A participatory co-development process was thus deemed necessary to create an easy-to-use presentation format. A brochure presenting the benchmarking tool was developed in an iterative process involving consumer focus groups, stakeholder workshops, and questionnaire-based feedback. The co-development process proved its value: in addition to learning what works and what does not, detailed suggestions on improved wording and figures were obtained, as well as a wealth of ideas for future applications.

Hourly-Based Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Electricity – Possibilities for Households and Companies to Decrease Their Emissions

The various emissions, including GHG emissions, from electricity production are a crucial part of environmental impact assessments of any kinds of products, services and consumption. Usually average annual emissions are used, but electricity market has lately increased interest in daily-based and hourly-based emission coefficients for electricity. In such markets, where technology mixture of the production includes technologies with widely different emission factors, there is potential for large variation in hourly based emission factors and consequently this offers potential for decreasing GHG emissions by efficient real-time based demand management. In this paper, we determine hourly based GHG emission factors and give examples how GHG emissions may be decreased in households and companies by changing the use patterns, and consequently timing of electricity use, the total amount of electricity consumption being unchanged. Electricity production in Finland, as well as the electricity consumption in Finnish households and companies are used as the cases. The examples from households and companies indicate the potential of managing hourly based demand loads and resulting GHG emissions. So far hourly-based emission coefficients have not been used (at least in significant amounts) in demand management in order to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change.

Environmental Information in Instructions for Use of Consumer Products

The European Union has highlighted the issue of environmentally sound use of products in the context of Integrated Product Policy, IPP. Accordingly, consumers should have easy access to understanda ...

Environmental Impacts of Transport as Award Criteria in Public Road Construction Procurement

Abstract Green practices and the life cycle approach are increasingly being adopted in the public procurement of road construction works. One example is the Finnish pilot project ‘Improvement of Highway 9’ carried out by the Finnish Road Administration in 2004, which aimed at using a life cycle assessment (LCA) in formulating the environmental award criteria in the tender competition. Although public purchasers are being encouraged to apply more LCA-based environmental criteria in their procurement, the extent to which the EU legislation on public procurement complies with this aim is not straightforward. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the LCA-based environmental award criteria used in the ‘Highway 9’ pilot project from the viewpoint of the basic principles and subsequent legislation on public procurement in the EU, focusing on the relationship between transport distance as an award criterion and the public procurement legislation. This study is carried out as an analysis of the legal aspects of the LCA-based environmental award criteria that were used in this specific case. The compliance of the environmental award criteria with the EU’s legal framework of public procurement is assessed by analyzing to what extent the criteria fulfil the requirements based on the procurement directives and Treaty principles, also called a ‘test of general principles’. The transport distance of materials is an inherent part of the scientific method LCA, but, due to the legal framework, it is not obvious that the offers can be evaluated in relation to the environmental burdens of transport without potentially discriminating against some bidders. Nevertheless, this paper looks for conditions and justifications to use the criterion of ‘transport distance’ and, more generally, the ‘environmental impacts of transportation’ as award criteria in the procurement of construction works within the EU. The ‘Highway 9’ pilot serves as a progressive example of taking green criteria, especially the environmental impacts of transportation, into account in the award criteria for road construction contracts.