Han Brezet

Communicating the eco-efficiency of products and services by means of the eco-costs/value model

Abstract At the Delft University of Technology, a new model has been developed to describe the sustainability of products, the ‘EVR model’. This model comprises two concepts: • the ‘virtual eco-costs’ as a LCA-based single indicator for environmental impact • the EVR (Eco-costs/Value Ratio) as an indicator for eco-efficiency In this publication, an experiment is described to test whether the EVR model leads to a good understanding of the eco-efficiency, of a product–service combination. In this experiment three separate groups of 8-11 people were asked to rank four alternative solutions of a product–service system (the after sales service and the maintenance service of an induction plate cooker) both in terms of sustainability and of general preference. The three respective groups were: • customers (among whom representatives of consumer organizations) • business representatives from the manufacturing company of the induction plate cookers • governmental representatives (employees of the Dutch ministries of environmental affairs and economic affairs, and of the Dutch provinces as well as consultants involved in governmental policies), all experts in the field of sustainability The basic idea was to ask each group to rank the four alternatives after three levels of information input: Level 1: basic explanation of the four alternatives. Some major features and characteristics such as price were given, but no environmental data. Level 2: on explanation of an LCA of the four alternatives, given in nine impact classes and the Eco-indicator 95. Level 3: an explanation of the EVR model and the EVR data of the four alternatives. Each time the group was asked to rank the proposed alternatives in terms of expected environmental performance and of ‘best choice in general’ (‘Which system would you have bought in a real life situation?’). From the experiments it can be concluded that: • The concept of eco-costs was accepted by the majority of the non-experts: they based their ranking on it. and they preferred it rather than direct LCA output or the damage based eco-indicator 95 data. • The environmental experts in the governmental group did not directly accept the concept of eco-costs model (they wanted in depth information first); they tended to stick to their existing knowledge of LCA data and the Eco-indicator 95. • ‘Overall’ preferences of the customers and business representatives were primarily ranked on the ‘perceived value’/costs ratio of the product–service combination; the sustainability of the product–service combination played a secondary role.

The virtual eco-costs ‘99 A single LCA-based indicator for sustainability and the eco-costs-value ratio (EVR) model for economic allocation

AbstractIn literature, many models (qualitatively as well as quantitatively) can be found to cope with the problem of communicating results of LCA analyses with decision takers. In a previous article of this Journal, an LCA-based single indicator for emissions is proposed: the ‘virtual pollution prevention costs ‘99’ (Vogtländer et al. 2000a).In this article, a single LCA-based indicator for sustainability is proposed. It builds on the virtual pollution prevention costs ‘99 for emissions, and adds the other two main aspects of sustainability: material depletion and energy consumption. This single indicator, the ‘virtual eco-costs ‘99’, is the sum of the marginal prevention costs of:Material depletion, applying ‘material depletion costs’, to be reduced by recyclingEnergy consumption, applying ‘eco-costs of energy’ being the price of renewable energyToxic emissions, applying the ‘virtual pollution prevention costs ‘99’ The calculation model includes ‘direct’ as well as ‘indirect’ environmental impacts. The main groups of ‘indirect’ components in the life cycle of products and services are:Labour (the environmental impacts of office heating, lighting, computers, commuting, etc.)production assets (equipment, buildings, transport vehicles, etc.) To overcome allocation problems of the indirect components of complex product-service systems, a methodology of economic allocation has been developed, based on the so called Eco-costs/ Value Ratio (EVR) model.This EVR calculation model appears to be a practical and powerful tool to assess the sustainability of a product, a service, or a product-service combination.

Life Cycle Simulation for Analyzing Product Service Systems

Product Service System (PSS) concept aims at minimization of environmental impacts with alternative form of product utilizations and services, while maintaining enterprises economical performance and service quality for users. In this study, a methodology to analyze PSSs with life cycle simulation is proposed. This approach enables the authors to systematically describe diversity in form of PSSs, and to evaluate and compare alternative PSSs from environmental and economic perspective. Case studies quantitatively imply the feasibility of further sustainable PSS by integrating existing PSSs

Allocation in recycling systems

Abstract‘Design for Recycling’ and dematerialization by enhancing the durability of products are major aspects of the quest for sustainable products. This article presents an LCA-based model for the integrated analyses of the product chain, its recycling systems, and its waste treatment systems at the ‘End of Life’ stage. The model is an extension of the EVR (Eco-costs/Value Ratio) model which has been published in this journal (Vogtländer et al. 2001), but can also be applied to other life cycle interpretation models, since the model as such is not restricted to the use of the eco-costs as a single indicator. The model has been developed to evaluate the design alternatives of complex products like buildings and cars. These products comprise several subsystems, each with its own special solution at the End of Life stage: Extending of the product life, object renovation, re-use of components, re-use of materials, useful application of waste materials, immobilization with and without useful applications, incineration with and without energy recovery, land fill.Since complex product systems always comprise a combination of these design alternatives, a methodology is given to calculate and allocate the eco-costs of the total system in order to select the best solution for sustainability. The methodology is characterized by:•A main allocation model of the recycling flow based on physical relationships,•a strict separation of the market value, the costs and the ecocosts in the system,•a main allocation model for extension of lifetime based on ‘depreciation of eco-costs’, parallel to economic depreciation.

Exploring the use of a game to stimulate energy saving in households

This paper presents a study called the Energy Battle, a game aimed at encouraging home occupants to save energy. Twenty student-households were provided with direct feedback and an online platform with energy feedback over time, ranking of the competing teams, tips and a game. The study showed that the game context strongly influenced the motivation to save energy. Overall, savings averaged 24%, with the highest savings level at 45%. Directly after completion of the Energy Battle, energy consumption increased among most of the households, although consumption levels tended to stay below the baseline measurement level taken before the Energy Battle. Follow-up interviews indicated that some of the behaviours developed in the game had transformed into habits. A game such as the Energy Battle appears to provide a powerful means to stimulate energy saving in the short term. The potential to achieve long term effects appears possible, however further research is required to understand long-term implications for an Energy Battle game.

LCA for ecodesign: the Dutch experience

Within the Delft University of Technologys DfS (design for sustainability) program, more than a hundred industrial ecodesign case studies have been executed during the period 1993-1998, both through graduate and PhD students as well as staff members of this program at the Subfaculty of Industrial Design Engineering. In the ecodesign approach of the Delft program several types of lifecycle thinking are advocated. This refers both to the selection of attention fields, to the creativity phase (finding green options) as well as to the environmental validation of the design improvement proposals. This approach is embodied both in manuals and in tools. The lifecycle thinking analysis methodology has a pivotal position in the ecodesign processes and tool applications as we operate them. Particularly in selection of attention fields and in the validation stage, LCA utilization is substantial. To a lesser extent this also holds for the creativity phase itself. In this paper, the Delft experiences with LCA in the practical ecodesign projects executed within industry are evaluated. This evaluation leads to the identification of both limitations and opportunities and directions for action and research efforts to enhance LCA. The paper discussee: LCA from the problem solving perspective; methodology issues; data issues; LCA from the business perspective; LCA as tool for communication to stakeholders; standardization; and future of LCA.

A Multi-Objective Reconfiguration Method of Supply Chains through Discrete Event Simulation

The paper proposes a method to examine multi-objective reconfigurability of an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) supply chain to flexibly adopt dynamically changing environmental restrictions and market situations. A discrete event simulation technique is applied to evaluate economic, environmental and delivery performance of a supply chain. Multiple-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) enables us to refine optimal reconfiguration rules from a large number of alternatives available in operational level. Simulation results show that the proposed method is able to evaluate reconfigurability to cope with growing environmental restrictions, while considering side effects on economic and delivery performance due to the reconfiguration

From ecodesign of products to sustainable systems design: delft's experiences

The paper presents ten years of experience with the integration of environmental aspects in product development from the Design for Sustainability (D@) program of TU Delft. It describes the lessons learnt from the different phases in the DjS research, starting with project based ecoredesign, followed by the integration of the Ecodesign methodology into a business management perspective and ending with nowadays experiments with the design of sustainable systems. Particularly, a new model for the development of “sustainable satisfaction delivery systems” is being proposed, that will be tested in further experiments of the Deyt University with entrepreneurs, industrial designers and environmental specialists. The model focuses the systems design team’s attention on three aspects: ihe device, the institutional or infrastructural context, and on user practices. These three aspects are displayed in a Sustainable Systems Triangle to facilitate the conceptualization process. Examples are being given of an ex-post analysis of sustainable systems examples, to show how the triangle model could work as a guidingprinciple for development teams.

Systemic barriers and enablers in humanitarian technology transfer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to collect information about barriers and enablers experienced by international experts when transferring medical equipment to countries affected by humanitarian emergencies and to discuss the suitability of the principles of “openness”, “interconnections” and “non-linearity” of systems to understand the nature of the barriers and enablers as described by the international experts. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, six semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts from humanitarian organizations. The interviews were based on a simplified model of the transfer of medical equipment adapted from supply chain literature. The model ensured that all the process steps undertaken by humanitarian organizations were considered. Afterwards, the interviews were transcribed and structurally analysed to derive barriers and enablers. Finally, the results were described in light of three theoretical principles of systems thinking. Findings – In total, 14 types of...

Greening the Design Brief

Front End Innovation is a hot research topic, but there is still little research done in its relationship to design for sustainability. This paper explores the challenges of integrating environmental sustainability in this early stages of an innovation process and the design brief. The study is based on a content analysis of 35 design briefs from Belgian SMEs and multinationals, and a focus group with representatives from 14 Belgian companies. This study assumes a limited uptake of sustainability in Belgian design briefs. Furthermore, it argues that the use of certain strategies, such as front-loading, pushing sustainability upstream in the briefing process and sustainability opportunity identification in the front end, could help in greening the design brief.