Jordi Oliver-Solà

Application of LCSA to used cooking oil waste management

PurposeUsed cooking oil (UCO) is a domestic waste generated as the result of cooking and frying food with vegetable oil. The purpose of this study is to compare the sustainability of three domestic UCO collection systems: through schools (SCH), door-to-door (DTD), and through urban collection centres (UCC), to determine which systems should be promoted for the collection of UCO in cities in Mediterranean countries.MethodsThe present paper uses the recent life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) methodology. LCSA is the combination of life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing, and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA).Results and discussionOf the three UCO collection systems compared, the results show that UCC presents the best values for sustainability assessment, followed by DTD and finally SCH system, although there are no substantial differences between DTD and SCH. UCC has the best environmental and economic performance but not for social component. DTD and SCH present suitable values for social performance but not for the environmental and economic components.ConclusionsThe environmental component improves when the collection points are near to citizens’ homes. Depending on the vehicle used in the collection process, the management costs and efficiency can improve. UCO collection systems that carry out different kind of waste (such as UCC) are more sustainable than those that collect only one type of waste. Regarding the methodology used in this paper, the sustainability assessment proposed is suitable for use in decision making to analyse processes, products or services, even so in social assessment an approach is needed to quantify the indicators.Defining units for sustainability quantification is a difficult task because not all social indicators are quantifiable and comparable; some need to be adapted, raising the subjectivity of the analysis. Research into S-LCA and LCSA is recent; more research is needed in order to improve the methodology.

Environmental analysis of the logistics of agricultural products from roof top greenhouses in Mediterranean urban areas

BACKGROUND As urban populations increase so does the amount of food transported to cities worldwide, and innovative agro-urban systems are being developed to integrate agricultural production into buildings; for example, by using roof top greenhouses (RTGs). This paper aims to quantify and compare, through a life cycle assessment, the environmental impact of the current linear supply system with a RTG system by using a case study for the production of tomatoes. RESULTS The main results indicate that a change from the current linear system to the RTG system could result in a reduction, per kilogram of tomatoes (the functional unit), in the range of 44.4-75.5% for the different impact categories analysed, and savings of up to 73.5% in energy requirements. These savings are associated with re-utilisation of packaging systems (55.4-85.2%), minimisation of transport requirements (7.6-15.6%) and reduction of the loss of product during transportation and retail stages (7.3-37%). CONCLUSIONS The RTG may become a strategic factor in the design of low-carbon cities in Mediterranean areas. Short-term implementation in the city of Barcelona could result in savings of 66.1 tonnes of CO₂ eq. ha(-1) when considering the global warming potential, and of 71.03 t ha(-1) when considering that the transformation from woodland to agricultural land is avoided.

Barriers and Opportunities Regarding the Implementation of Rooftop Eco.Greenhouses (RTEG) in Mediterranean Cities of Europe

Today 50 percent of the worlds population lives in cities. This entails an excessive exploitation of natural resources, an increase in pollution, and an increase in the demand for food. One way of reducing the ecological footprint of cities is to introduce agricultural activities to them. In the current food and agriculture model, the fragmentation of the city and the countryside means energy use, CO2 emissions from transport, and large-scale marketing requirements. Rooftop Eco.Greenhouses (RTEG) consist of a greenhouse connected to a building in terms of energy, water, and CO2 flows; it is a new model for a sustainable production, an eco-innovative concept for producing high quality vegetables and improving the sustainability of buildings in cities. The main objective of this study is to examine the barriers and opportunities regarding the implementation of RTEG in Mediterranean cities in Europe. The work method consisted of discussion seminars involving an interdisciplinary group of experts in the area of agronomy, architecture, engineering, environmental sciences, industrial ecology, and other related disciplines. The barriers and opportunities of RTEG take into account social, economic, environmental, and technological aspects and were determined and analyzed according to three scenarios of implementation: residential buildings, educational or cultural buildings, and industrial buildings. We would highlight the interconnection of the building and the greenhouse as an opportunity of RTEG, making use of water, energy, and CO2 flows between both, as well as the decrease in food transportation requirements. The methodology applied to the study was positive due to the interdisciplinary participation of experts which facilitated a global vision of the implementation of the project.

Service Sector Metabolism: Accounting for Energy Impacts of the Montjuic Urban Park in Barcelona

This article evaluates, from an industrial ecology (IE) perspective, the energy performance of the services inside an urban system and determines their global environmental impact. Additionally, this study determines which are the most energy demanding services and the efficiency of their energy use per visitor and per surface area unit. The urban system under study is the Montjuic urban park in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which can be considered a services system. In this case study we distinguished the different patterns of consumption among the service fields and, by studying each field individually, found the most efficient facilities and identified the most critical services based on energy use per visitor or per square meter. These findings are based on the use of energy flow accounting (EFA), life‐cycle assessment (LCA), and the energy footprint to analyze the Parks technical energy consumption. Electricity consumption represents nearly 70% of the total energy consumed by the services at Montjuic Park. The forest surface area required to absorb the CO2‐equivalent emissions produced by the life cycle of the energy consumed at Montjuic Park represents 12.2 times the Parks surface area. We conclude this article by proposing the incorporation of the methods of IE within the study of parks containing multiple services to improve energy management, and as a result, to raise the global environmental performance of the service sector.

Integrating Horticulture into Cities: A Guide for Assessing the Implementation Potential of Rooftop Greenhouses (RTGs) in Industrial and Logistics Parks

Abstract Recently, the application of rooftop greenhouses (RTGs) to integrate agriculture into cities has increased, although the area where they can be potentially implemented has not been quantified yet. Consequently, this paper aims to design a guide to evaluate the potential implementation of RTGs in industrial and logistics parks and to apply the guide to the case study of Zona Franca Park (Barcelona, Spain). Eight percent of the rooftops were identified as feasible for a short-term implementation of RTG, according to the defined technical, economic, legal, and agricultural criteria. Estimations indicated that the annual tomato production in this area could account for almost 2,000 tons, which is equivalent to the yearly tomato demand of 150,000 people. Besides, this production could substitute imported tomatoes, and avoiding their distribution would represent savings of 65.25 t of CO2 eq·m−2.

Life cycle assessment of granite application in sidewalks

PurposeSidewalks are important built areas for promoting environmental sustainability in cities since they support walking as a zero emission form of transportation contributing to protect the environment and the health of individuals. However, sidewalk management is typically focused on assessing their suitability for users without applying any environmental criteria on the infrastructure design. The paper aims to quantify the environmental impact that sidewalks can contribute to the urban space if no environmental criteria are applied in sidewalk design.MethodsThis study focuses on the environmental assessment of a very common sidewalk system found in cities to support pedestrian and light motorized traffic for over 45 years. The constructive solution consists of granite slabs (top layer) fixed on a mortar layer (3-cm thick) that is settled on a base of concrete (15-cm thick). The life cycle methodology was employed to conduct the environmental assessment of the system. The results are compared with the environmental outcomes of a sidewalk system that has the same function but is paved with concrete slabs to identify the environmentally optimal sidewalk design. The impact assessment method was CML Baseline 2001, and the inventory data were compiled from manufacturers associations, local authorities, and literature review.Results and discussionConstruction materials have the highest environmental impact (48–87%) in the sidewalk life cycle, where the granite top layer is the first contributor, although the amount of granite in the sidewalk system represents the 30% of the total weight of the construction materials used. A granite sidewalk has from 25% to 140% higher impact than a concrete one. The energy required to produce slabs is the key factor that characterizes the environmental impact of granite. Electricity and diesel consumption in stone cutting and moving represent over the 70% of the environmental burden of granite. The transportation of granite slabs is also relevant to the environmental impact. The use of imported granite could account for up to 76–177% of the total environmental impact of the sidewalk life cycle.ConclusionsAlthough granite is a natural material, using granite slabs as flooring material is not an environmentally suitable alternative over using concrete ones for paving sidewalks. The results have shown that if no environmental criteria are applied during sidewalk design and management, urban planners may be unconsciously contributing to an important environmental burden on the built environment. The ecodesign is a strategic opportunity to promote environmentally suitable urban infrastructures that contribute to promote urban sustainability in cities.RecommendationsEnergy efficiency techniques, water management, and well-considered transportation management should be developed and implemented in the granite industry to minimize the environmental impact of using it for paving. Additionally, further research is needed to quantify the environmental performance of other construction materials used in sidewalk construction in order to identify the best environmental alternatives and design improvements by optimizing the use of materials to the sidewalks functions.

Transition towards Sustainable Cities: Opportunities, Constraints, and Strategies in Planning. A Neighbourhood Ecodesign Case Study in Barcelona

Despite covering only 2.7% of the worlds total surface area, the worlds cities are responsible for 75% of the worlds energy consumption and 80% of greenhouse-gas emissions. For this reason, the redesign of cities is essential in the transition towards sustainability. However, planning and designing sustainable neighbourhoods is not a simple task, given that there is no agreement on what the sustainable settlement should be, nor on how this should be achieved. Furthermore, planners have to strive to achieve a balance between financial, environmental, and social goals, and must deal with multiple actors and stakeholders and with site-specific characteristics. The aim of this work is to describe the key determining factors—both opportunities and constraints—found in the process of designing and planning a neighbourhood, based on a case study in the city of Barcelona. In this practical experiment, led by the authors, the ecodesign methodology was applied on an urban scale in the neighbourhood of Vallbona, Barcelona, which occupies an area of 32.6 ha and will host 2120 dwellings. From this neighbourhood ecodesign exercise, it was found that territorial (urban form, urban fabrics, and density; availability of local resources), financial, legal, and political (local governments wishes and leadership) determinants are the most important. It is concluded that there is no single path to achieve urban sustainability, since the design of neighbourhoods in different locations will lead to different results.

Carbon dioxide emissions of Antarctic tourism

Abstract The increase of tourism to the Antarctic continent may entail not only local but also global environmental impacts. These latter impacts, which are mainly caused by transport, have been generally ignored. As a result, there is a lack of data on the global impacts of Antarctic tourism in terms of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This paper presents and applies a methodology for quantifying CO2 emissions, both for the Antarctic vessel fleet as a whole and per passenger (both per trip and per day). The results indicate that the average tourist trip to Antarctica results in 5.44 t of CO2 emissions per passenger, or 0.49 t per passenger and day. Approximately 70% of these emissions are attributable to cruising and 30% to flying, which highlights the global environmental relevance of local transport for this type of tourism.

Introduction to the Eco-Design Methodology and the Role of Product Carbon Footprint

Eco-design is used as a tool in the manufacturing and services sectors for improving the sustainability of products by integrating environmental aspects into the design stage, where most of the product impacts are determined. Laws (e.g., EU eco-design directive) and international schemes (e.g., ISO 14006) have encouraged the use of eco-design by companies; in addition, the literature has reported advances in methodology and widespread case studies in different economic sectors. This chapter aims to show a combined design for environment (DfE) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology for the implementation of eco-design by companies. The steps and tools of the methodology, as well as the most common strategies, are described. Product carbon footprint (PCF) plays an important role in the methodology in two main ways. First, PCF is one of the indicators that can be calculated with LCA, which has become a common environmental indicator used by companies, not only as quantitative data of the current environmental performance but also as a benchmark for further improvements. Second, PCF is used as a strategy for environmental communication to consumers through eco-labeling. The main strength of the carbon footprint is that stakeholders (business and consumers) are aware of and understand its meaning due to the presence of carbon emissions and global warming in mass media and public science studies.

Eco-Design and Product Carbon Footprint Use in the Packaging Sector

Packaging products are common in all industrial sectors and in the market place. However, packaging design needs to be optimized while avoiding superfluous designs that do not consider the environment in their design. Directive 94/62/EC established a framework in order to harmonize the environmental requirements for packaging as well as to determine targets for recycling and recovering packaging waste. In this chapter, the eco-design projects of different sectors are presented in order to show the different strategies that are used to improve the environmental performance of packaging products. The carbon footprint of the products is quantified and used as an environmental indicator. Common strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of packaging are optimizing the volume (and therefore reducing the transportation requirements), using renewable materials, and optimizing the end-of-life management.