The concept of monitoring of LCM results based on refrigerators case study

Abstract The paper presents the concept of new approach in measurement and evaluation of results in life cycle assessment of products as a result of implementing LCM methodology in companies, based on an exemplary product of a major household equipment producer in Poland. The new approach is established on a complex analysis of economical, environmental and social consequences of an objects' life cycle. Evaluation is generated by an unification of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social Life Assessment (SLCA) methodology. Obtained results were registered into a matrix, enabling the identification between undertaken development operations and their results. This created a possibility to determine alterations on economical, environmental and social levels of a products' indicators. Consecutively, the range of modifications allowed a comparison between the current "state of an art" solution and the one proposed by interested parties

Inclusion of Life Cycle Thinking in a Sustainability-Oriented Consumer’s Typology: A Proposed Methodology and an Assessment Tool

Characterizing consumers in terms of their propensity to practice sustainable consumption represents an interesting research challenge in which a crucial role is played by the questionnaire in terms of its structure and classification criteria. Various classification rules have been proposed in the literature, which can be used to identify consumer types and signify their propensity to practice the principles of sustainable development in daily life. In this paper, we based our approach in designing a classification tool on a combination of two elements: the concept of voluntary simplicity as a pillar for consumer characteristics and the idea of assessing consumers by using filters, in a modified form introducing many new aspects of life-cycle thinking. The tool proposed provides insight into the relationship between the consumer’s typology and behavior during purchasing decisions in daily life. The main function of the proposed tool is to assign respondents to one of the proposed consumer types distinguished and characterized in terms of many aspects of life cycle thinking. A pilot survey has been performed in order to verify the proposed tool, and the survey results have been presented in the paper, as well

Sustainable Design: A Case of Environmental and Cost Life Cycle Assessment of a Kitchen Designed for Seniors and Disabled People

Sustainable production and consumption patterns require a change in approach at the early conceptual stages, i.e., when planning and designing products and services. This article presents an example of sustainable kitchen design aimed at the needs of seniors and people with physical disabilities, which takes into account social, economic, and environmental aspects. The interdisciplinary project team used a variety of traditional design methods such as the identification of requirements using QFD (Quality Function Deployment) and FMEA (Failure Mode Effects Analysis), the development and verification of the technical concepts of the designed objects and their use, the development of construction and technological documentation, assembly drawings of the product architecture and its parts, function cost analysis, virtual and real prototyping, and tools based on the concept of a life cycle such as environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC). The analysis of the design solutions from the point of view of several criteria and several life cycle stages shows the complexity of the decision-making process and the difficulties in selecting a clearly favourable solution. Environmentally preferred materials may be difficult for users to accept due to their costs. On the other hand, materials that have a high environmental impact at the production stage may show great potential for final disposal

LCA as an element in environmental management systems—comparison of conditions in selected organisations in Poland, Sweden and Germany. Part 2: Results of survey research

Purpose In this two-part paper (Background and Initial Assumptions (Part 1) and Results of Survey Research (Part 2)), we present surveys whose main objective is to determine, whether and to what extent the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique is used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects in environmental management systems (EMS) and whether there are any differences in this respect between the companies and countries analysed.Methods The survey research was carried out using the computer assisted self-administered interviewing (CASI) method among selected Polish, German and Swedish organisations which implement EMS in accordance with the requirements of ISO 14001 and/or the EMAS regulation.Results The organisations investigated, regardless of their country, are dominated by qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques of assessment and identification of environmental aspects. LCA was used sporadically, although some differences can be observed between the countries analysed.Conclusions The environmental managers accustomed to traditional qualitative and semi-quantitative solutions, have not been given preparation to enable them to understand and adopt the different approaches such as LCA. On the other hand, representatives of the organisations investigated declared that they were ready to accept an even longer timescale for the identification and assessment processes relating to environmental aspects, which represents a potential opportunity for LCA. The more precise understanding and definition of environmental problems that are precisely defined in LCA would represent a novelty for environmental managers. In practice, environmental problems are defined in a general sense and rather ambiguously, as this level of detail is sufficient in the context of qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques commonly used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects

LCA as an element in environmental management systems—comparison of conditions in selected organizations in Poland, Sweden and Germany. Part 1: Background and initial assumptions

Purpose In this two-part paper (Background and Initial Assumptions (part 1) and Results of Survey Research (part 2)), we present surveys whose main objective is to determine whether, and to what extent, the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique is used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects in environmental management systems (EMS) and whether there are any differences in this respect between the companies and countries analysed.Methods The survey research was carried out using the computer assisted self-administered interviewing method among selected Polish, German and Swedish organisations which implement EMS in accordance with the requirements of ISO 14001 and/or the EMAS regulation.Results The organisations investigated, regardless of their country, are dominated by qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques of assessment and identification of environmental aspects. LCA was used sporadically, although some differences can be observed between the countries analysed.Conclusions The environmental managers accustomed to traditional qualitative and semi-quantitative solutions have not been given preparation to enable them to understand and adopt different approaches such as LCA. On the other hand, representatives of the organisations investigated declared that they were ready to accept an even longer timescale for the identification and assessment processes relating to environmental aspects, which represents a potential opportunity for LCA. The more precise understanding and definition of environmental problems that are precisely defined in LCA would represent a novelty for environmental managers. In practice, environmental problems are defined in a general sense and rather ambiguously, as this level of detail is sufficient in the context of qualitative and semi-quantitative techniques commonly used for the identification and assessment of environmental aspects