Tools and Strategies

for Sustainable Consumption and Production

Outline

• Overall strategies• Concepts• Tools

- analytical- procedural- communication

• Policies and Instruments• What now?

Goal: Sustainable Development- the three pillars

Sustainability

Social

Environment Economy

Policy principles

• Continuous improvement• Transparency• Eco-efficiency• Precaution• Life cycle thinking• Polluter pays• Common but differentiated responsibilities

Overall Strategies

• Dematerialization• Life Cycle Management• Product Service Systems• Investment and insurance• Corporate responsibility• Reporting• Education and training

Dematerialization

• Addressing needs and functionality rather than the product alone

• Tracking throughput of materials and energy in industrial and consumption processes

• Major increase in resource productivity

Life Cycle ManagementLife cycle thinking provides a holistic framework taking the entire system of a product, process or service into account, enabling us to make realistic choices for the longer term taking multiple factors into account. – Life cycle thinking needs tools to make

it practical to regular activities and decisions.

Recy-cling

Refining

Manufac-turing

Exploration

Consumption/Use

Extraction

Return to theenvironment

Re-Use

Society’s Needfor Products and

Services

Obsolescence

Life Cycle Management II

Life Cycle Management (LCM) is an integrated concept for managing the total life cycle of goods and services towards more sustainable production and consumption.

– uses various procedural and analytical tools taken from the Product Sustainability Toolbox

– different applications and integrates economic, social and environmental aspects into an institutional context.

Product Service Systems

Product Service Systems (PSS): strategy to develop a marketable mix of products and services that are jointly capable of fulfilling a client's need - with less environmental impact.

- a need rather than a product- win-win solutions - de-coupling economic growth and

environmental degradation.

Product Service Systems II: Definition

“A Product-Service System can be defined as the result of an innovation strategy, shifting the business focus from designing and selling physical products only, to selling a system of products and services which are jointly capable of fulfilling specific client demands.”

UNEP (2002)

Product Service Systems III:Three main approaches

• Services providing added value to the product

life cycle

• Services providing “final results” for customers

• Services providing “enabling platforms” for

customers

Tools

• Business perspective• Analytical tools• Procedural tools• Communication tools• Toolbox

Business Goals

Companies can act in two very different ways to Society´s demand for sustainable development:

1. Reactive: Fulfilling existing laws, directives and perhaps standards

2. Proactive: Go beyond existing regulation to become leader and use sustainability aspects as business opportunities

Companies’ Potential Areas of Improvement

Processes: Eco-efficiency, Total Quality Management, CPA, EnTA, environmental risk assessment.

Products/ Services: Dematerialization, LCA, PSS, Eco-design, Function Based Approach.

Consumer communication: Consumer opportunities, Advertising and Marketing, Eco-labels.

Systems: Life Cycle Management, Material Flow Accounting, Environmental Management Systems, Multi-stakeholder dialogues, supply chain management.

Analytical tools

• Environmental Risk Assessment• Life Cycle Assessment• Material Flow Analysis• Function Based Approach

Predicted ExposureConcentration

Prediction of emission rate

EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT

Extrapolation

Dose-response tests

HAZARD IDENTIFICATION

- Risk Characterisation- Uncertainty Analysis

- Risk Characterisation- Uncertainty Analysis

EFFECT ASSESSMENT

Exposure prediction

Predicted No-Effect Concentration

Acceptable DailyIntake

Predicted Exposure Dose

Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA)

EnvironmentEnvironment Human Health

Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle.

– provides an adequate instrument for environmental decision support.

– reliable LCA performance is crucial to achieve a life-cycle economy.

– The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), has standardised this framework within the series ISO 14040 on LCA.

According to ISO 14040:According to ISO 14040:

Goal and scopedefinition

(ISO 14041)

InventoryAnalysis

(ISO 14041)

ImpactAssessment(ISO 14042)

ApplicationInterpretation(ISO 14043)

Life Cycle Assessment II: Structure

Acquisition ofraw material

Production

Use/ reuse/ maintenance

RecyclingWaste Management

Rawmaterial

Energy

AtmosphericEmissions

WasteWaters

SolidWastes

OtherWastes

Co-products

INPUT OUTPUT

Boundaries of the systemSystem Boundaries

Recycling/ Waste Management

Life Cycle Assessment III:Inventory Analysis

Acquisition ofraw material

Production

Use/ reuse/ maintenance

Life Cycle Assessment IV:Impact Assessment

Classification and Characterisation

Normalisationand Weighting

CO2

CH4

CFC

SO2

NOx

NH4

...

...

...

Climate Change

Acidification

...

EnvironmentalIndex

Material Flow AccountingMaterial Flow Accounting (MFA) refers to accounting in physical units (usually in tons); the life cycle of materials in a given location (i.e., substances, raw materials, products, wastes). Examples of flow accountings are:

• Eco-toxic substances that may cause environmental problems

• Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates due to their critical influence over eutrophication

• Aluminium, the economic use, recycling and reuse of which are to be improved

Function-based approach (FBA)“Human needs should be met by products and services that are aimed at specific ‘functions’ such as food, shelter and mobility, and that are provided through optimized consumption and production systems that do not exceed the capacity of the ecosystem.”

Life Cycle Initiative Brochure,

UNEP / SETAC, ‘International

Partnership’, 2003.

Function Based Approach II: Example

Need area or functionShelterFoodMobilityPersonal careLeisureClothingEducationTotal

Direct and indirect energy use per person*39%18%18%9%8%6%2%100%

*Average for Groningen/ the Netherlands as reported by Tukker (2003)

Procedural tools

• Environmental Management Systems• Eco-design • Supply chain management• E P R

Environmental Management Systems• An environmental management system (EMS) is a

means of ensuring effective implementation of an EM plan or procedures in compliance with environmental policy objectives.

• A key feature on any effective EMS is the preparation of documented system procedures and to ensure effective communication and continuity of implementation.

• There are certification systems for EMS as the ISO 14001 and EC EMAS scheme.

• Ongoing development towards product-orientated management systems (POEMS).

Eco-designLooks at the relation between a product and the environment. Some common propositions about eco-design or Design for Environment (DfE) include:

• captures the environmental impacts of the whole production-consumption chain;

• 60% to 80% of life-cycle impacts from products are determined at the design stage;

• DfE is to develop generic, company and product independent standards (under ISO TC207)

• way to engage business interest and action because it focuses on the products' market vulnerability.

To introduce the environmental parameterinto the design of products, processes and/or activities

in an effective manner

The environmental parameter becomes a business opportunity!

Eco-design II: Key message

Eco-design III: Changes in the product development procedure

1. Adjustment of the requirements (specifications) of the product, process or activity

2. Realisation of corresponding LCA or other

analysis tools to identify weak points

3. Development of Eco-design guidebook

Category 1: Highly recommended to carry out in short term.Category 2: Can be incorporated: the more the better.Category 3: Need further improvements.Category 4: Will be sorted out.

Technical and Economic feasibility

EnvironmentalAdvantages

+

+-

-

Category 3:Environmental benefitsTechnical and economic problems

Category 4:Few environmental improvementsTechnical and economic problems

Category 2:Few environmental improvementsTechnical and economic feasibility

Category 1:Environmental benefitsTechnical and economic feasibility

Eco-design IV: Prioritisation Matrix

Eco-design V: Example 1 - Humidity catchers

Eco-design VI: Example 2– Clothes from recycled material

Supply chain management

• Companies as customers can influence their suppliers to respect certain sustainability requirements with regard to the product they procure.

• Greening the supply chain.

Communication tools

• Consumer Communication and Marketing• Eco-labelling• Multi-stakeholder dialogue

Consumer Communication

Opportunities for the consumer to make a change:• Conscious purchasing• Consumer´s power (voting with the pocket, activism)• Waste separation, water, energy, etc.• Buy eco-efficient products (saving)• Quality of life versus consumerism• Sustainable life stylesCrucial role of retail sector

“I use Body Shop products which play a role in supporting third world countries and their jobs.”

Could brands be their authority figures?

Mass Media & Marketing are key

Consumer Communication II: Advertising and Marketing

Eco-labellingType I (ISO 14024) - third party certification labels: claims are based on criteria set by a third part. Examples include the EC Eco-Label, Nordic Swan and the German Blue Angel; Type II (ISO 14021) – self certified labels claims are based on specific declarations by manufacturers or retailers. Numerous examples e.g. ‘made from X% recycled material’; Type III (ISO /TR 1425) – Environmental Product Declarations or LCA based labels are claims consist of quantified products information base on life cycle impacts. Single issue labelling schemes such as the private Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and organic food labels do not fall within any of the categories but are partially converted by ISO 14020 – General Guidelines for Environmental Claims and Declarations.

Eco-labelling II: Examples

Multi-stakeholder dialogue

• Changes of the supply chain need often multi-stakeholder dialogue to allow that several players act together with the same aim.

Product Sustainability Toolbox

Data

Tools

Applications

Change

Product Sustainability Toolbox

Applications Material, Process and Product Comparison Investment Decision Support Strategic Planning Marketing, Customer and Regulatory

Compliance Weak Point Analysis Benchmarking

Product Sustainability Toolbox

Tools ERA, LCA, MFA, FBA Eco-design/ DfE Eco-labelling: Type I, II, III Supply Chain Management Multi-stakeholder dialogue Consumer Communication and more...

Policies and instruments

• Integrated Product Policy• Sustainable Procurement• Policy instruments to encourage SCP

Traditional life cycle view of policy

Resource Inputs

Use/Consumption

End of life/ disposalProduction

Traditional focus of governments

Traditional focus of governments

Maximise efficiencyMinimise

waste

Integrated Product Policy (IPP)• Life-Cycle Thinking – cumulative environmental impacts - from

the “cradle to the grave”. • Working with the market – setting incentives so that the market

moves in a more sustainable direction by encouraging the supply and demand of greener products.

• Stakeholder Involvement – it aims to encourage all those who come into contact with the product

• Continuous Improvement – improvements can often be made to decrease a product’s environmental impacts

• A Variety of Policy Instruments – the IPP approach requires a number of different instruments because there are such a variety of products and different stakeholders.

Sustainable Procurement Sustainable procurement is the process in which organisations buy supplies or services by taking into account:

– the best value for money considerations such as, price, quality, availability, functionality, etc.;

– environmental aspects ("green procurement": the effects on the environment that the product and/or service has over its whole lifecycle, from cradle to the crave);

– the entire Life Cycle of products;– social aspects: effects on issues such as poverty

eradication, international equity in the distribution of resources, labour conditions, human rights.

Policy instrumentsto encourage SCP

Regulatory: standards, norms, EPR, labelling, (enforcement)

Economic instruments: taxes, subsidies,credits, financial incentives, etc.

Social: awareness raising, education, information, voluntary initiatives

Others: indicators, green accounting...

Government Policy Instruments for Waste Prevention and Management

Economic Tools* Tax on packaging* Economicincentives for cleanerproduction and wasteprevention.

Regulatory Tools* EnvironmentalStandards.* Eco-labelling

VoluntaryApproaches andTechnologicalInnovation* Triple bottom line* Eco-design* De-materialisation* Shift from productsto services.

Economic Tools*Deposit-refundschemes* Taxes ondisposable productsand packaging.

Regulatory tools*Eco-labelling

Social Tools* EnvironmentalEducation* Information ongreen purchasing* Support tovoluntary initiatives.

Economic Tools* Waste fees & taxes* Pays as you throw

Regulatory tools* Extended ProducerResponsibility

* Regulation onwaste collection andrecycling schemes* Provision ofinfrastructure forrecycling

Social Tools* Information onrecycling schemes*. Support tovoluntary initiatives

ProductionPatterns

HouseholdConsumption Patterns

Waste generationand collection

Waste ManagementSystems

Economic Tools* Taxes onlandfilling andincineration.

Regulatory tools* Framework basedon waste hierarchy* Environmentalregulation on wastemanagement* Bans on landfilling* Target for reducinglandfilling andincineration of waste* Targets to increaserecycling rates

Technologyinnovation* Energy recoveryincinerators.* Cleaner technologyfor wastemanagement

Policies and Instruments for SCP II

*Source: OECD, 2002.

What Now? (general)

Global framework programme on SCP to be based on life cycle thinking

Global and regional activities to be developed and implemented

Examine the use of life-cycle related tools to support programme activities...

What now? (CP Practitioners)

• What does SCP mean in your day to day work?• What is needed to include life cycle perspectives

in current work? • How can the demand side and the question of

needs be addressed? • Who will you need to work with to achieve your

integrated target objectives?