ECO 240 Ch 14: The Business Case for Environmental Sustainability
Expand on maximize\ing the amount of by-products and wastes which are biodegradable
-if wastes are biodegradable, they cannot be contaminated by toxins and hazardous materials -even with biodegradable wastes, the scale and rate of waste discharge must be controlled
The goal of eco-effectiveness is to
produce zero waste
According to eco-effectiveness:
products and how they are produced are designed so that materials flowing within the production system maintain their high quality in a closed-loop system
How have Nikes's efforts have been in-between 3M and Coca Cola
Nike has not integrated environmental goals as deeply as 3M but has a more comprehensive approach than Coca Cola
What is the 3 P's program
Pollution Prevention Pays
Examples of Businesses Using Eco-efficiency
The Pollution Prevention Pays (3P's)Program at 3M -the 3P philosophy is that is better to prevent pollution than to clean it up -3M has emphasized constant innovation to prevent waste at the source
another key concept for eco-effectiveness:
industrial ecology
Profitability is achieved in companies through
increased customer loyalty and enhanced cost saving, firms can increase their long-term profitability
why is the industrial system a linear system?
resources from the earth and biosphere are extracted → manufacture of products → consumption of products → discharge of wastes into the environment
natural ecosystem is a
closed-loop cyclical system
How is Interface pursuing Eco-effectiveness
-Interface is the largest manufacture of modular carpet -based on the vision of their founder, Interface started an initiative called Mission Zero -under Mission Zero, the goal is to have a zero environmental footprint and it has been very successful
How is Polyface Farms pursuing Eco-effectiveness
-Polyface Farm is a small, family farm raising livestock and poultry -it does this by using farming practices that mimic the nutrient cycles of a natural ecosystem -all waste is converted to food and chemicals and toxins are outlawed -it does all this while being a profitable business
Expand on businesses are not really committed to eco-efficiency but just want to enhance their public image
-eco-efficiency is just a marketing program to deceive the public into thinking a company's products contribute to the health of the environment -worse, eco-efficiency may be used to actually cover-up a company's damage to the environment
Expand on by-products and wastes that are not biodegradable, then the following must be maximized: reuse, remanufacturing and up-cycled
-remanufacturing: direct use of a by-product in making a new product -up-cycled: converting by-products and wastes into new materials or products of equal or greater value
What was the problem with businesses traditionally controlling waste they generated by end-of-pipe technologies
-the problem with this approach is that waste is not entirely stopped from entering the environment in some other way -for example, some factories built very high smokestacks: this kept the CO2 waste from the local area but then spread it farther out into the region
Use Innovations That Are Inspired by Nature:
-this is another approach to minimize hazardous wastes released by industrial production and consumption -biomimicry -nature manufactures materials at room temperatures, without harsh chemicals or high pressure, using water -according to this view, any waste that cannot be absorbed by the ecosystem is a failure of the current industrial/consumption processes
Expand on products must be designed in a way that by-products and wastes are minimize
-this means that there is waste prevention coming from the source of waste
3 tools for evaluating the manufacturing process
1. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 2. Design for the Environment (DfE) 3. Life Cycle Design (LCD)
4 Steps of Eco-efficiency
1. avoid or eliminate the discharge of highly toxic pollutants, if necessary, through regulation 2. reduce waste through product design and reformulation 3. reuse waste materials 4. recycle waste materials
Rewards of waste avoidance/using waste as a resource:
1. avoidance or deferment of pollution-control equipment costs 2. reduction in material and energy costs from improved design and manufacturing processes 3. increased sales from customer loyalty because of a company's environmental practices 4. improved management and labor relations because environmental control requires good coordination within the firm 5. constant focus on innovation and long-term profitability
Arguments against eco-efficiency:
1. businesses are not really committed to eco-efficiency but just want to enhance their public image 2. eco-efficiency really does not address the issue of biophysical limits
4 categories of the Nike materials analysis tool:
1. chemistry 2. energy impact 3. physical waste 4. water impact
What steps can firms take to minimize toxic wastes?
1. design products and production processes so they don't create toxic wastes 2. find substitutes for toxins 3. industries with toxic wastes need to work with end-users so wastes are properly disposed of 4. legislate and enforce laws so that the penalty for releasing toxic wastes is expensive 5. identify substances that are persistent toxins using well-defined criteria
3 steps to minimize the environmental impacts of energy use:
1. design products for energy efficiency 2. design manufacturing processes and industrial facilities for energy efficiency 3. evaluate the options for alternative energy resources which are renewable -types of alternative energy resources: wind, solar, hydro
Criticisms of Eco-effectiveness as a Viable Sustainable Business Practice
1. eco-effectiveness should be more linked to management and policy studies -currently, eco-effectiveness focuses on industrial ecology which emphasizes natural science and engineering 2. eco-effectiveness needs to put more emphasis on the flow of information in the design of industrial processes -currently, industrial ecology focuses on flow of matter and energy 3. the criterion of zero waste is made without formal consideration of economic efficiency 4. there are serious doubts about the idea of an industrial ecosystem and industrial symbiosis 5. there are problems with methods of measuring the success of eco-effectiveness practices 6. the basic assumptions of innovation inspired by nature may be overly simplistic
How does eco-effectiveness differ from eco-efficiency?
1. eco-effectiveness: it relies entirely on nature as the model for production and consumption eco-efficiency: it still embraces much of the current production and consumption processes 2. eco-effectiveness: waste elimination should be the ultimate goal of industrial system eco-efficiency: some waste from the industrial system is appropriate
What are environmental problems with fossil fuels?
1. fossil fuels are non-renewable and non-recyclable finite resources 2. fossil fuels are the major source of CO2 which is the dominant GHG 3. fossil fuels contribute to less than maximum energy efficiency
2 key concepts of industrial ecology:
1. industrial metabolism 2. the natural system should be imitated when designing industrial processes
Company-wide strategies for implement the 3P's:
1. integrating environmental considerations into product design 2. fully inform all stakeholders and ensure cooperation among stakeholders 3. develop a fair and effective reward system for environmental innovation
How is waste prevented?
1. product reformulation 2. process modification 3. equipment redesign 4. recycle and reuse of waste materials -this program has been very successful with 2.9M tons of waste prevented over the last 40 years
How can the linear industrial system be turned into a closed-loop cyclical system?
1. products must be designed in a way that by-products and wastes are minimize 2. maximize the amount of by-products and wastes which are biodegradable 3. for by-products and wastes that are not biodegradable, then the following must be maximized: reuse, remanufacturing and up-cycled
If nature is a model, what should the lessons of diversity be for how humans design industrial systems?
1. recognize symbiotic interdependence 2. recognize biophysical limits
How does Coca Cola want to maintain its water supply?
1. reduce usage 2. recycle water used in production 3. replenishment of water taken from nature
Components of Triple Bottom Line:
1. social responsibility 2. environmental stewardship 3. profitability
The Nike shoe production process is guided by 4 principles:
1. use materials with benign environmental impact 2. waste reduction 3. reduction in solvent use 4. innovation that leads to less toxicity and less waste
DFE
Design for Environment -scheme to incorporate environmental requirements into product design -what are examples of the criteria used to evaluate product design? non-toxic process and production materials, minimum energy use, minimum waste and by-products, recyclability, ease of reuse
LCA is
Life Cycle Assessment a tool to evaluate the environmental consequences of a product or activity across its entire life
LCD
Life Cycle Design -this is product specific and incorporates general requirements for lifetime requirements for a product -as well as environmental requirements, other requirement are reliability, maintainability, instability, safety
What is symbiosis cooperation?
The mutually beneficial relationship among different groups and species of organisms within an ecosystem
Expand on eco-efficiency really does not address the issue of biophysical limits. (2 variants)
a. corporations have not accepted the view that the biosphere is a closed system with a finite amount of natural resources -corporations believe in perpetual economic growth b. eco-efficiency is designed to only reduce but not eliminate waste -corporations who adopt eco-efficiency are only slowing down but not stopping environmental depletion and damage
What are the implication of recognizing biophysical limits? It allows businesses to
a. develop sustainable industrial processes b. realize the limits of the biosphere's resilience c. recognize that perpetual economic growth is not realistic
3 steps of LCA:
a. inventory analysis: identification of material, energy and waste within the industrial system b. impact analysis: qualitative and quantitative assessment of the environmental consequences of the industrial system c. improvement analysis: an analysis of the ways to reduce the environmental impact of the industrial system
What are the 3 major issues related to symbiotic interdependence?
a. savings of resources can be realized by organizing companies and communities into mutually beneficial networks b. the more interdependent and diverse the networks, the greater the economic and environmental benefits c. symbiotic interdependence is most advantageous when forms are interconnected at the local level
6 ways industrial processes can imitate nature:
a. use waste as a resources b. avoid toxic substances entering biosphere c. evaluate product and processes using a system approach d. rely on sunlight and non-polluting renewable energy sources e. value biodiversity and recognize biophysical limits f. use innovation inspired by nature
How is replenishment achieved?
a. watershed protection b. expansion of community water supply and sanitation c. increase efficiency of agriculture water usage d. water usage education and awareness programs
Environmental stewardship is achieved in companies through
adopting production methods which are eco-efficient, firms can achieve cost savings
Core principle of eco-effectiveness:
an industrial system is effective when production is organized in a cyclical system
What is industrial metabolism? an
an integrated collection of physical processes that convert raw materials and energy into finished products
according to eco-efficiency, waste is
avoided or used as a resource
important idea of eco-efficiency
being eco-friendly is consistent with profitability
How can companies be persuaded to adopt eco-efficiency?
by arguing for the Triple Bottom Line. How you get companies to take eco-efficiency seriously.
What is meant by a cyclical industrial system?
by-products and waste of production are reused or recycled for another product with the goal of waste elimination
Manufacturing processes need to be designed to allow for a flow of materials and energy in a
closed loop cycle
Biomimicry
discovering how nature uses the sun and simple compounds to produce totally degradable materials produce materials under similar conditions in order to reduce or eliminate waste
Toxic wastes can be devastating to ecosystems because
ecosystems have no way to deal with synthetic toxic systems -these toxic are generally dangerous for human health as well
In the short run, eco-efficiency may involve costs because of
investments in environment-friendly materials and product design
Eco-efficiency says:
it is environmentally more effective to prevent pollution at the source rather than removing it after it has been created
industrial system is a
linear system
Eco-efficiency requires companies to think in terms of
long-term profitability
Eco-efficiency can help your firm create
long-term profits
In an ideal, totally closed natural eco-system, only solar energy would come from outside the system while all materials would be constantly reused and recycled. however,
our industrial system is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels
what is closed-loop cyclical system?
the waste of one organism is used as nutrients by other organisms
what is industrial ecology?
this involves designing industrial processes as series of manmade ecosystems interfacing with the natural environment
The goal of the 4 steps of eco-efficiency
to produce more using less resources
Criticism of Coca Cola conservation initiative:
unlike 3M's program, Coca Cola's initiative is not company-wide and so eco-efficiency is not a guiding principle for what the company does
Social responsibility is achieved in companies through
workers being more productive, customers more loyal and communities more cooperative if they feel companies are good stewards of the environment
