Leila Mendes da Luz

Life Cycle Assessment as Entrepreneurial Tool for Business Management and Green Innovations

A transition for a green economy has encouraged companies to use new tools which promote internal corporate entrepreneurship, increase the competitiveness and achieve sustainable results. This article presented a theoretical discussion of how the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can presents as an entrepreneurial tool for modern business management and green innovation. Studies of LCA were analyzed showing benefits and applications in the areas of strategic planning, production, process of development of products, search and development, social and environmental responsibility, and marketing. As for green innovations, there were analyzed studies of innovations in products, processes and services. The tool assists in making sustainable decisions, fortifies the management of the business processes, the management of operations and the promotion of greener innovations.

Life cycle assessment of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) manufacturing process in Brazil

Brazil is one of the largest producers of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) in the world, and also the MDF has the highest domestic consumption and production rate in the country. MDF applications are highlighted into residential and commercial furniture design and also a wide participation in the building sector. This study aimed to propose ways of improving the environmental cradle-to-gate life-cycle of one cubic meter MDF panel by means of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) study. Complying with requirements of ISO 14040 and 14,044 standards, different MDF manufacturing scenarios were modelled using Umberto® v.5.6 software and the Ecoinvent v.2.2 life-cycle inventory (LCI) database for the Brazilian context. Environmental and human health impacts were assessed by using the CML (2001) and USEtox (2008) methods. The evaluated impact categories were: acidification, global warming, ozone layer depletion, abiotic resource depletion, photochemical formation of tropospheric ozone, ecotoxicity, eutrophication and human toxicity. Results identified the following hotspots: gas consumption at the thermal plant, urea-formaldehyde resin, power consumption, wood chip consumption and wood chip transportation to the plant. The improvement scenario proposals comprised the following actions: eliminate natural gas consumption at the thermal plant, reduce electrical power consumption, reduce or replace urea-formaldehyde resin consumption, reduce wood consumption and minimize the distance to wood chip suppliers. The proposed actions were analysed to verify the influence of each action on the set of impact categories. Among the results, it can be noted that a joint action of the proposed improvements can result in a total reduction of up to 38.5% of impacts to OD, 34.4% to AD, 31.2% to ET, and 30.4% to HT. Finally, MDF was compared with particleboard production in Brazil, and additional opportunities to improve the MDF environmental profile were identified.

Environmental profile analysis of MDF panels production: study in a brazilian technological condition

The main goal of this study was to analyze the environmental profile of MDF panel manufacturing in the Brazilian industry in terms of energy, emissions and dependence on renewable sources. The study was conducted by using the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), specifically through the development of the first Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of MDF in a Brazilian industry. The life cycle inventory and the production processes analysis were constructed using Umberto® v.5.6 software and following the ISO 14040 series. The study covers the life cycle of MDF production from gate-to-gate perspective, involving the on-site manufacturing system. The functional unit was defined in 1 m³ of MDF. About 76% of energy required to produce MDF is thermal (52.8% of thermal energy is required for the drying process of wood fiber). CO 2 is a major emission during the MDF production, where natural gas contributes to 96.7% of total CO 2 fossils. It was observed a low dependence of non-renewable source (19.2%) compared with the literature.

Percepción de los Estudiantes de Ingeniería: Tecnología y Curso Técnico sobre Responsabilidad Social Empresarial

This article identifies the perceptions of students in Engineering, Technology and Technical Course at the Federal University of Technology, Parana (UTFPR), Campus Ponta Grossa, on Social Responsibility (SR) using a structured questionnaire in three areas: i) perception of CSR in companies, ii) in relation to UTFPR, and iii) RS about themselves. Actions should be shared with the governments actions in promoting social welfare and development. Companies should be accountable and solve their social problems. Actions and projects of the institution are perceived with a positioning responsible socially in the formation. There is RS in shopping quality and the best practices are those that preserve the environment, recycle and respect human rights.

MÉTODOS DE AVALIAÇÃO DE IMPACTOS DO CICLO DE VIDA: UMA DISCUSSÃO PARA ADOÇÃO DE MÉTODOS NAS ESPECIFICIDADES BRASILEIRAS

A Avaliacao do Impacto do Ciclo de Vida (AICV) e realizada mediante a associacao dos dados do inventario do ciclo de vida (ICV) a categorias de impacto especificas. Este processo pode receber o auxilio de diferentes metodos de avaliacao. Porem, os metodos existentes nao condizem com as especificidades brasileiras, e isso representa uma das dificuldades encontradas na avaliacao do ciclo de vida no Brasil. Deste modo este estudo tem como objetivo, discutir a adocao de multiplos metodos para AICV nas especificidades brasileiras. Para isso, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa de carater exploratorio, onde foram abordados conceitos referentes a ACV, metodos para AICV e a adocao de multiplos metodos de avaliacao com intuito de atender as especificidades brasileiras. N ota-se que a possibilidade de comparacao dos resultados gerados por metodos diferentes apresenta-se como uma caracteristica predominante, deste modo as incertezas geradas no estudo de ACV podem ser reduzidas adotando-se multiplos metodos de avaliacao.