The Experts below are selected from a list of 1236939 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Marileena Koskela - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Measuring eco-efficiency in the Finnish forest industry using public data
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2015Co-Authors: Marileena KoskelaAbstract:Abstract The aim of this paper is to discuss the measurement of eco-efficiency in the Finnish forest industry from three perspectives. First, the paper introduces a way to measure eco-efficiency in the Finnish forest industry. Second, the paper evaluates the suitability of public data for calculating eco-efficiency in the Finnish forest industry. Third, the calculations of selected eco-efficiencies are presented. The main method used in this research is the Delphi panel, and eco-efficiency indicators are based on the experts' rating. The environmental and economic performance information of the three biggest Finnish forest industry companies are used here as examples. According to the experts of the Delphi panel, the economic performance of the eco-efficiency should be measured using the ‘value added’ indicator. In environmental performance, they preferred the environmental impact or emissions groups. Based on public data, the value added data can only be calculated at the company level, although the environmental impact and emissions groups could be presented in detail as site-level figures. Eco-efficiencies can be calculated only with selected environmental aspects and for a limited time frame. The eco-efficiency calculations show varying trends for the three companies: improvements, declines and fluctuations in eco-efficiencies. The current research raises questions regarding the usability of public data as a source of research material, suitability of the indicators suggested for decision making of the forest industry, the need for more detailed data to study the development of the eco-efficiency of the Finnish forest industry and the need to compare the eco-efficiency performance of the Finnish forest industry with that of its international counterparts.
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defining eco efficiency a case study on the finnish forest industry
Business Strategy and The Environment, 2012Co-Authors: Marileena Koskela, Jarmo VehmasAbstract:Environmental reporting is a tool of corporate environmental management that can also be used as research material. The aim of this paper is to produce a comprehensive definition of eco-efficiency based on the literature and then compare it with definitions identified in the environmental reports published by selected companies. In addition, this paper presents a conceptual framework of the relationship between environmental and economic performance in the companies. Three Finnish companies in the forest industry are selected as case companies. This analysis reviews environmental reports published by the companies from 1998 to 2007. In short, eco-efficiency can be seen either as an indicator of environmental performance, or as a business strategy for sustainable development. The case companies very seldom give an exact definition of eco-efficiency in their environmental reports. However, different aspects of eco-efficiency are often referred to. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.
Tiina Pursula - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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eco efficiency indicator framework implemented in the metallurgical industry part 1 a comprehensive view and benchmark
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2016Co-Authors: Ida Ronnlund, M A Reuter, Susanna Horn, Jatta Aho, Maija Aho, Minna Paallysaho, Laura Ylimaki, Tiina PursulaAbstract:Purpose The purpose of this work was to develop an indicator framework for the environmental sustainability benchmarking of products produced by the metallurgical industry. Sustainability differentiation has become an important issue for companies throughout the value chain. Differentiation is sometimes not attainable, due to the use of average data, lack of comparative data, certain issues being overshadowed by others, and a very narrow palette of indicators dominating the current sustainability assessments. There is a need for detailed and credible analyses, which show the current status and point out where improvements can be made. The indicator framework is developed to give a comprehensive picture of eco-efficiency, to provide methods that enable relevant comparisons as well as the tools for communicating the results. In this way, the methodology presented in this study aims to make differentiation easier and thus aid companies in driving the development toward more sustainable solutions.
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eco efficiency indicator framework implemented in the metallurgical industry part 1 a comprehensive view and benchmark
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2016Co-Authors: Ida Ronnlund, M A Reuter, Susanna Horn, Jatta Aho, Maija Aho, Minna Paallysaho, Laura Ylimaki, Tiina PursulaAbstract:The purpose of this work was to develop an indicator framework for the environmental sustainability benchmarking of products produced by the metallurgical industry. Sustainability differentiation has become an important issue for companies throughout the value chain. Differentiation is sometimes not attainable, due to the use of average data, lack of comparative data, certain issues being overshadowed by others, and a very narrow palette of indicators dominating the current sustainability assessments. There is a need for detailed and credible analyses, which show the current status and point out where improvements can be made. The indicator framework is developed to give a comprehensive picture of eco-efficiency, to provide methods that enable relevant comparisons as well as the tools for communicating the results. In this way, the methodology presented in this study aims to make differentiation easier and thus aid companies in driving the development toward more sustainable solutions. The framework is based on the existing indicator framework Gaia Biorefiner, which is primarily intended for bio-based products. In this work, the framework was further developed for application in the metallurgical industry. The indicator framework is built by first looking at the issues, which are critical to the environment and global challenges seen today and which the activities of the metallurgical industry may have an impact on. Based on these issues, suitable indicators are chosen if they exist and built if they do not. The idea is that all indicators in a group form a whole, showing areas of innovation while refraining from aggregating and weighting, which often compromise a comprehensive and objective view. Both qualitative and quantitative indicators are included. The indicators are constructed following the criteria set by the EU and OECD for building indicators. Each indicator further has a benchmark. The rules for building the benchmark are connected to the indicators. Suitable data sources and criteria for the benchmark and the indicators are gathered from literature, publicly available databases, and commercial LCA software. The use of simulation tools for attaining more reliable data is also studied. The result is a visual framework consisting of ten indicator groups with one to five indicators each, totaling up to 31 indicators. These are visualized in a sustainability indicator “flower.” The flower can be further opened up to study each indicator and the reasons behind the results. The sustainability benchmark follows a methodology that is based on utilization of baseline data and sustainability criteria or limits. A simulation approach was included in the methodology to address the problem with data scarcity and data reliability. The status of the environment, current production technologies, location-specific issues, and process-specific issues all affect the result, and the aim of finding relevant comparisons that will support sustainability differentiation is answered by a scalable scoping system. A new framework and its concise visualization has been built for assessing the eco-efficiency of products from the metallurgical industry, in a way that aims to answer the needs of the industry. Since there is a baseline, against which each indicator can be benchmarked, a sustainability indicator “flower” can be derived, one of the key innovations of this methodology. This approach goes beyond the usual quantification, as it is also scalable and linked to technology and its fundamental parameters. In part 2, a case study “A case study from the copper industry” tests and illustrates the methodology.
Shishir Kumar Behera - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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methodological aspects of applying eco efficiency indicators to industrial symbiosis networks
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2014Co-Authors: Hungsuck Park, Shishir Kumar BeheraAbstract:Abstract In this study, we proposed eco-efficiency indicator as an integral parameter for simultaneously quantifying the economic and environmental performance of industrial symbiosis (IS) networks. Based on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development definition of eco-efficiency, the eco-efficiency indicators proposed include one economic indicator, and three generally applicable simplified environmental indicators (raw material consumption, energy consumption, and CO2 emission). Three eco-efficiencies corresponding to three environmental indicators are assessed using seven IS networks that were developed between 2007 and 2012, which are currently operational in Ulsan Eco-Industrial Park (EIP), South Korea. Our results indicate that the eco-efficiency of individual IS networks improved up to 28.7%. Besides, the evolution of seven IS networks comprising 21 companies resulted in an overall eco-efficiency enhancement of about 10%. The proposed eco-efficiency indicators for IS networks can be easily utilized to communicate with decision makers at any level to assist in transforming conventional industrial complexes to EIP. The implications of the study and limitations of the methodology are delineated.
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methodological aspects of applying eco efficiency indicators to industrial symbiosis networks
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2014Co-Authors: Hungsuck Park, Shishir Kumar BeheraAbstract:Abstract In this study, we proposed eco-efficiency indicator as an integral parameter for simultaneously quantifying the economic and environmental performance of industrial symbiosis (IS) networks. Based on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development definition of eco-efficiency, the eco-efficiency indicators proposed include one economic indicator, and three generally applicable simplified environmental indicators (raw material consumption, energy consumption, and CO2 emission). Three eco-efficiencies corresponding to three environmental indicators are assessed using seven IS networks that were developed between 2007 and 2012, which are currently operational in Ulsan Eco-Industrial Park (EIP), South Korea. Our results indicate that the eco-efficiency of individual IS networks improved up to 28.7%. Besides, the evolution of seven IS networks comprising 21 companies resulted in an overall eco-efficiency enhancement of about 10%. The proposed eco-efficiency indicators for IS networks can be easily utilized to communicate with decision makers at any level to assist in transforming conventional industrial complexes to EIP. The implications of the study and limitations of the methodology are delineated.
Ida Ronnlund - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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eco efficiency indicator framework implemented in the metallurgical industry part 1 a comprehensive view and benchmark
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2016Co-Authors: Ida Ronnlund, M A Reuter, Susanna Horn, Jatta Aho, Maija Aho, Minna Paallysaho, Laura Ylimaki, Tiina PursulaAbstract:Purpose The purpose of this work was to develop an indicator framework for the environmental sustainability benchmarking of products produced by the metallurgical industry. Sustainability differentiation has become an important issue for companies throughout the value chain. Differentiation is sometimes not attainable, due to the use of average data, lack of comparative data, certain issues being overshadowed by others, and a very narrow palette of indicators dominating the current sustainability assessments. There is a need for detailed and credible analyses, which show the current status and point out where improvements can be made. The indicator framework is developed to give a comprehensive picture of eco-efficiency, to provide methods that enable relevant comparisons as well as the tools for communicating the results. In this way, the methodology presented in this study aims to make differentiation easier and thus aid companies in driving the development toward more sustainable solutions.
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eco efficiency indicator framework implemented in the metallurgical industry part 1 a comprehensive view and benchmark
International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2016Co-Authors: Ida Ronnlund, M A Reuter, Susanna Horn, Jatta Aho, Maija Aho, Minna Paallysaho, Laura Ylimaki, Tiina PursulaAbstract:The purpose of this work was to develop an indicator framework for the environmental sustainability benchmarking of products produced by the metallurgical industry. Sustainability differentiation has become an important issue for companies throughout the value chain. Differentiation is sometimes not attainable, due to the use of average data, lack of comparative data, certain issues being overshadowed by others, and a very narrow palette of indicators dominating the current sustainability assessments. There is a need for detailed and credible analyses, which show the current status and point out where improvements can be made. The indicator framework is developed to give a comprehensive picture of eco-efficiency, to provide methods that enable relevant comparisons as well as the tools for communicating the results. In this way, the methodology presented in this study aims to make differentiation easier and thus aid companies in driving the development toward more sustainable solutions. The framework is based on the existing indicator framework Gaia Biorefiner, which is primarily intended for bio-based products. In this work, the framework was further developed for application in the metallurgical industry. The indicator framework is built by first looking at the issues, which are critical to the environment and global challenges seen today and which the activities of the metallurgical industry may have an impact on. Based on these issues, suitable indicators are chosen if they exist and built if they do not. The idea is that all indicators in a group form a whole, showing areas of innovation while refraining from aggregating and weighting, which often compromise a comprehensive and objective view. Both qualitative and quantitative indicators are included. The indicators are constructed following the criteria set by the EU and OECD for building indicators. Each indicator further has a benchmark. The rules for building the benchmark are connected to the indicators. Suitable data sources and criteria for the benchmark and the indicators are gathered from literature, publicly available databases, and commercial LCA software. The use of simulation tools for attaining more reliable data is also studied. The result is a visual framework consisting of ten indicator groups with one to five indicators each, totaling up to 31 indicators. These are visualized in a sustainability indicator “flower.” The flower can be further opened up to study each indicator and the reasons behind the results. The sustainability benchmark follows a methodology that is based on utilization of baseline data and sustainability criteria or limits. A simulation approach was included in the methodology to address the problem with data scarcity and data reliability. The status of the environment, current production technologies, location-specific issues, and process-specific issues all affect the result, and the aim of finding relevant comparisons that will support sustainability differentiation is answered by a scalable scoping system. A new framework and its concise visualization has been built for assessing the eco-efficiency of products from the metallurgical industry, in a way that aims to answer the needs of the industry. Since there is a baseline, against which each indicator can be benchmarked, a sustainability indicator “flower” can be derived, one of the key innovations of this methodology. This approach goes beyond the usual quantification, as it is also scalable and linked to technology and its fundamental parameters. In part 2, a case study “A case study from the copper industry” tests and illustrates the methodology.
Xavier Gabarrell Durany - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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industrial symbiosis indicators to manage eco industrial parks as dynamic systems
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016Co-Authors: Miria Camargo Felicio, Daniel Capaldo Amaral, Kleber Francisco Esposto, Xavier Gabarrell DuranyAbstract:Abstract The industrial symbiosis in eco-industrial parks requires intense broker involvement to be implemented. However, market changes and technological advancement could undermine the level of symbiosis during operations. In this research, the existing symbiosis indicators were identified and classified using a systematic literature review. The results demonstrated the necessity to achieve indicators sufficiently simple that brokers are enabled in confronting the monitoring and promotion of symbiosis. In this paper, an industrial symbiosis indicator is introduced that detects the variation of symbiosis over time and that provides a dynamic perspective of the eco-industrial parks. This indicator can be used in the underpinning of decisions and the provision of continuous improvement. It was evaluated in several theoretical scenarios created from real data. The three scenarios are: absence of symbiosis, presence of symbiosis, and perfect symbiosis. The results demonstrate consistency between the values of the indicator and changes in the scenarios. The industrial symbiosis indicator proposed was able to detect variations in symbiosis with simple measures, and could support managers in encouraging companies to actively engage in effort for more advanced levels of symbiosis. The concept of “environment impact momentum”, proposed and applied in this research, is a theoretical construct that could support a new class of indicators capable of identifying the dynamic behavior of eco-industrial parks.
