Understanding the Sustainability of Eco-Labeled Products When Compared to Conventional Alternatives

Sustainability considerations are becoming an intrinsic part of product design and manufacturing. Today’s consumers rely on package labeling to relay useful information about the environmental impact of a given product. As such, eco-labeling has become an important influence on how consumers interpret the sustainability of products. Three categories of eco-labels are theorized: Type I focuses on the use of labels that are certified by a reputable third party. Type II are eco-labels that are self-declared, potentially lacking scientific merit. Type III eco-labeling indicates the public availability of product LCA data. However, regardless of the type of eco-label used, it is uncertain if eco-labeling directly reflects improved product sustainability. This research focuses on exploring if eco-labeling reflects improved product sustainability by comparing eco-labeled products to conventional alternatives. To do this, we perform a comparative study of eco-labelled and comparable conventional products using a triple bottom line sustainability analysis, including environmental, economic, and social impacts. Here we show that for a selected set of products, eco-labeling does, in fact, have a positive correlation with improved sustainability. However, Type II eco-labeling shows a slight negative correlation with product sustainability. We found only one eco-labeled product (with Type II labeling) that had reduced environmental impact over the conventional alternative. Additionally, the majority of the eco-labeled products in the study are cheaper for the consumer in both initial cost and costs incurred throughout the product’s lifetime. In general, the results confirm that most eco-labels are indicative of improved sustainability. Future research can work towards improving Type II eco-labels, and promote policies that protect against false sustainability claims.

Modern Technologies to Achieve Social Housing from Environmentally Friendly Materials

In an era when the economic crisis is coupled with the immigrants crisis thus exponentially increasing the number of those who need social assistance the need of living spaces is increasingly more. Building of such areas requires a high consumption of resources without fully addressing the requirements of comfort and efficiency. The Life cycle assessment of the product LCA is an environmental management technique that identifies flows of materials, energy and waste of a product during a product life-cycle management and environmental impact. Life cycle assessment (LCA) models the complex interaction between a product and the environment from cradle to grave. It is also known as life cycle analysis or ecobalance. Even though the LCA methodology is applied in building social housing there are few studies which analyze its impact on the construction phase of design, production, use and post- use as well as how the use of precast technology would meet LCA. The study aims is to identify those technologies and building materials that meet both the increasing requirement of achievement of cheap social housing but also meet the quality and environment standards. In this context the LCA (Life-cycle assessment), help us to develop a new methodology which consider the concept of housing as a product made from organic materials, cheap, easy to put into practice, which retain their value over the life of the building with minimal intervention during operation, and when the demolition occurs, the used materials can be exploited with low power consumption and without harming the environment.

Greenhouse gas management model – a triple cause-effect logic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a greenhouse gas (GHG) management model for mitigating GHG emission. GHG emission by way of human activities is causing catastrophic effects on the natural environment in the form of climate change and global warming. GHG management of different products, bodies and processes is going on worldwide, expressed through carbon footprints by using product life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a useful approach, but it only looks at the micro level of cause-effect scenarios rather than the macro level cause-effect scenarios of GHG emission. Therefore, a system to scrutinize underlined assumptions and values of such policies/strategies is an urgent necessity. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the double-loop learning concept, which was proposed by Argyris in 1976, to develop a triple cause-effect model for the management of GHG emission. The proposed model has a knowledge system that introduces the learning loop of GHG emission and environmental impact management. Findings A case study is conducted to demonstrate how the proposed triple cause-effect model is operationalized. The ideas and benefits of the proposed model are further discussed. Originality/value A triple cause-effect model for the measurement and analysis of GHG emission is proposed in this paper to complement GHG management by using only product LCA. This paper seeks to show that GHG management should look at not only a single tree (product LCA approach) but also the whole forest (the proposed model).

Three eco-tool comparison with the example of the environmental performance of domestic solar flat plate hot water systems

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a procedure used as an analytical tool for the evaluation of the environmental impact caused by a material, a manufacturing process or product. For an end product, LCA requires both the identification and quantification of materials and energy used in all stages of the product’s life, together with their environmental impact. It requires therefore a huge amount of data about materials, components, manufacturing processes, energy consumption and the relevant environmental impacts. For this reason, a number of software and databases have been developed, in order to facilitate LCA users. These are the so-called Eco-Tools, used in an effort to minimize the environmental impact of a product from the materials and the energy used for production. In this paper, LCA is conducted for solar thermosyphonic systems, with the aid of three commercially available Eco-Tools, usually used by LCA practitioners, namely: Eco-It, GEMIS and SimaPro, and the results are compared. Although all three tools claim accordance with the international standards and guidelines, differences do exist. A typical solar thermosyphonic system (DSHWS) with a 4 m2 collector area and a capacity of 150 dm3 that covers the hot water needs of a three person family in Thessaloniki is used as case study. The results of the three tools are compared for each component of the solar system as well as for each material used and for the conventional energy substituted by the system.