Chapter 5s

What is the most critical phase in product life cycle assessment?

A) product design

Why is product design the most critical phase in product life cycle assessment?

Answers will vary but should look something like the following from the text: "The decisions that are made during this phase greatly affect materials, quality, cost, processes, related packaging and logistics, and ultimately how the product will be processed when discarded."

Describe some ways in which operations managers should address employee working conditions.

Answers will vary. Examples include: training and safety orientations, before-shift exercises, ear plugs, safety goggles, rest breaks, and proper disposal of material and chemical waste.

Provide at least two examples of misallocation of resources held in the common.

Answers will vary. The text mentions: (1) depletion of fish in international waters, and (2) polluted air and waterways.

What refers to looking at a product's life from design to disposal, including all the resources required?

B) a systems view

The carbon footprint is defined as a measure of total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by what four things?

B) an organization, a product, an event, or a person

What refers to how companies remain in business?

B) economic sustainability

What refers to analysis of environmental impacts of products from the design stage through end-of-life?

B) life cycle assessment

Products are more "environmentally friendly" when they are made:

B) using less energy.

What allows companies in Europe to buy and sell allowances for the right to pollute?

C) EUETS

What type of supply chains consider forward and reverse product flows over the entire life cycle?

C) closed-loop

What does CSR stand for?

C) corporate social responsibility

Within environmental regulation, the "cap-and-trade" principle produces a market that allows companies to purchase and sell what?

C) emission allowances

One way to think of sustainability is to consider the systems necessary to support the triple bottom line of the three Ps, which are:

C) people, planet, and profit.

________ supply chains consider forward and reverse product flows over the entire life cycle.

Closed-loop

What does UNFCCC stand for?

D) UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

The European Union Emissions Trading System works on what principle?

D) cap-and-trade

What is sometimes referred to as the fourth "R" of sustainability?

D) improved reputation

What are the 3 Rs for sustainability?

D) reduce, reuse, and recycle

Which of the following is true about ISO 14000 certification?

E) All of the above are true.

What does ISO stand for?

E) International Organization for Standardization

What is a measure of total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by an organization, a product, an event, or a person?

E) carbon footprint

Corporate social responsibility involves managerial decision making that considers what three impacts?

E) environmental, societal, and financial

Resources held by the public are also said to be held in what?

E) the common

Sustainability suggests that supplier selection and performance criteria should evaluate what types of issues with respect to the employees of the suppliers?

Examples include: safety in the work environment, whether living wages are paid, if child labor is used, and whether work hours are excessive.

A measure of the total greenhouse gas emissions caused directly or indirectly by an organization, a product, an event, or a person is the nitrogen footprint.

FALSE

ISO 9000 is a series of environmental management standards that contain five core elements.

FALSE

Life cycle assessment determines which stage of the product life cycle that the product currently is in.

FALSE

Managerial decision making that considers environmental, societal, and financial impacts is known as sustainability.

FALSE

The UNFCCC works on the "cap-and-trade" principle.

FALSE

UPS plans its truck routes with the fewest possible right turns.

FALSE

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs is known as corporate social responsibility.

False

A series of environmental management standards established by the International Organization for Standardization is called ________ .

ISO 14000

________ technologies today allow consumers, communities, public interest groups, and regulators to be well informed about an organization's performance.

Internet-based

________ materials translate into better fuel economy, fewer carbon emissions, and reduced operating cost.

Lighter (or Alternative)

Suppose that a firm has made the following computations for its design for disassembly: processing cost per unit = $13.00, disposal cost per unit = $9.00, resale revenue per unit = $22.00, and recycling revenue per unit = $8.00. What is the revenue retrieval for this product?

Revenue retrieval = $22.00 + $8.00 - $13.00 - $9.00 = $8.00

What is the formula for revenue retrieval of a product that has reached the end of its life?

Revenue retrieval = Total resale revenue + Total recycling revenue - Total processing cost - Total disposal cost

A design for disassembly cost-benefit analysis compares the amount of revenue that might be reclaimed against the cost of disposing of the product at its end-of-life.

TRUE

Economic sustainability means appropriately allocating scarce resources to make a profit.

TRUE

Internet-based technologies today allow consumers, communities, public interest groups, and regulators to be well informed about an organization's performance.

TRUE

One environmentally friendly approach to product design is to use lighter components.

TRUE

Reuse is one of the 3 Rs for sustainability.

TRUE

Social and environmental sustainability do not exist without economic sustainability.

TRUE

Some governments are implementing laws that mandate the outright reduction of GHG emissions by forcing companies to pay taxes based on the amount of GHG emissions that are emitted.

TRUE

Sustainability is often associated with corporate social responsibility.

TRUE

The operations manager's greatest opportunity to make substantial contributions to the company's environmental objectives occurs during product life cycle assessment.

TRUE

Those resources held in the common are often misallocated.

TRUE

Within environmental regulation, the "cap-and-trade" principle essentially allows companies to buy and sell the right to pollute.

TRUE

Identify the five core elements of ISO 14000.

The five core elements of ISO 14000 are environmental management, auditing, performance evaluation, labeling, and life cycle assessment.

Describe the European Union Emissions Trading System to combat climate change.

The system works on the "cap-and-trade" principle. This means that there is a cap, or limit, on the total amount of certain greenhouse gases that can be emitted by factories, power plants, and airlines in EU airspace. Within this cap, companies receive emission allowances, which they can sell to, or buy from, one another as needed.

Explain how to improve the triple bottom line with sustainability.

Throughout the supply chain, firms should strive to minimize raw material, energy, water, and waste in order to maximize the planet, people, and profit.

Social accounting can measure what types of things?

brand equity, management talent, human capital development and benefits, research and development, productivity, philanthropy, and taxes paid.

Inputs to a production system that do not have market prices are those held in the ________.

common

Companies that practice ________ introduce policies that consider environmental, societal, and financial impacts in their decision making.

corporate social responsibility (or CSR)

Design for ________ encourages designers to create products that can be taken apart and whose components can be recovered, minimizing impact on the environment.

disassembly

True sustainability involves thinking not only about environmental resources but also about what additional aspects?

employees, customers, community, and the company's reputation

Opportunities to reduce environmental impact during production typically revolve around the three themes of ________.

energy, water, and environmental contamination

The carbon footprint measures total ________ caused directly or indirectly by an organization, a product, an event, or a person.

greenhouse gas emissions

Analysis of environmental impacts of products from the design stage through end-of-life is known as ________.

life cycle assessment

The triple bottom line includes the three Ps of ________.

people, planet, and profit

Inputs to a production system that are held in the common do not have market ________.

prices

Companies can improve the triple bottom line with sustainability by minimizing what four things?

raw material, energy, water, and waste

The 3 Rs for sustainability are ________.

reduce, reuse, and recycle

To support economic sustainability, firms may supplement standard financial accounting and reporting with some version of ________.

social accounting

The term ________ refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

sustainability

Boeing's use of epoxy composites and titanium graphite laminate represent the environmentally friendly concept of ________.

using lighter materials

Describe the four ways in which Walmart is accomplishing its commitment to work with its suppliers to sell quality products that are safe, that create value for customers, and that are produced in a sustainable way.

(1) Improving livelihoods through the creation of productive, healthy, and safe workplaces and promoting quality of life. (2) Building strong communities through access to affordable, high-quality services such as education and job training that support workers and their families. (3) Preventing exposure to substances that are considered harmful or toxic to human health. (4) Promoting health and wellness by increasing access to nutritious products, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and promoting access to health care.

Identify two non-governmental organizations that provide guidance to businesses for reducing environmental impacts from disposal of materials to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

(1) UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and (2) International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

Identify three ways in which society is trying to address the misallocation of resources held in the common.

(1) moving some of the common to private property; (2) allocation of rights; (3) regulation

What percentage of the manufacturing process from Subaru's Lafayette, Indiana, plant goes to the landfill?

A) 0%

Suppose that a firm has made the following computations for its design for disassembly: processing cost per unit = $12.00, disposal cost per unit = $6.00, resale revenue per unit = $20.00, and recycling revenue per unit = $7.00. What is the revenue retrieval for this product?

C) $9.00

What percentage of the 2012 Mercedes S-class is recyclable?

D) 95%

Firms that do not consider the impact of their decisions on all of their stakeholders see reduced sales and profits.

TRUE

The European Union Emissions Trading System works on the ________ principle.

cap-and-trade

What refers to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs?

sustainability