Building a Sustainability Benchmarking Framework of Ceramic Tiles Based on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine indices of environmental, economic and social sustainability related to the Italian production of ceramic tiles in porcelain stoneware in order to contribute to the construction of a reference benchmarking useful to decision makers, designers and end users of ceramic tiles. To achieve this goal, this paper is based on the Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) framework that incorporates the three dimensions of sustainability with cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) tools. The study has shown that in the production of porcelain stoneware one of the major environmental problems, in addition to production in the strict sense, is the distribution system of the product to end users and, to a lesser extent but always significant, the process of supplying raw materials. Finally, it was highlighted that the joint use of the three impact assessment tools (LCA, LCC, S-LCA) requires further methodological work to avoid the risk of double counting of sustainability performance. This research has adopted a detailed methodological approach, both in the collection and in the processing of data, keeping the main phases of the production process separate. In this way, it has been possible to highlight that the major environmental criticalities are just beyond the “gate” of the ceramic factories, along the logistics chain. The study also proposes for the Italian ceramic sector not only indicators of environmental sustainability but also economic and social.

Industrial sustainability performance measurement systems: A novel framework

“…To do this, the use of performance measurement indicators tailored to the firm's needs is necessary (Clarke-sather et al, 2011;Singh et al, 2016). However, the measurement of performance may also allow benchmarking activities with respect to sustainability (Ghadimi et al, 2012), for which the use of standardized indicators has been recommended (Ferrari et al, 2019;Paju et al, 2010). Benchmarking support requires comparison with peers operating in the same sector (Ferrari et al, 2019), but also depends on other contextual factors, such as the geographical area (Apaydin et al, 2018;Tanzil and Beloff, 2006) or firm size (Siebert et al, 2018).…”

Identifying the Equilibrium Point between Sustainability Goals and Circular Economy Practices in an Industry 4.0 Manufacturing Context Using Eco-Design

“…In a recent sustainability study carried out on a representative sample of Italian ceramic production models, it was pointed out that one of the phases of the lifecycle of the product with the greatest impact on the environment was the system of supply of raw materials (Ferrari et al 2019). In particular, the type of transport between mines and factories (e.g., ship, train, truck) and the distance between these two locations are critical elements from an environmental point of view.…”

“…Considering that about 20 kg (0.02 tons) of raw materials are needed to produce 1 square meter of tile, the Italian ceramic industry has an annual requirement of raw materials equal to: 415 million m 2 /year × 0.02 tons/m 2 = 8.3 million tons/year This figure show that the ceramic industry is a resource-intensive sector, even more so than the production process, where the transportation modes are mixed, and is a critical factor for the environment. Preliminary impact assessments (Ferrari et al 2019) have determined that the most polluting modes of transport are ships and trucks due to their significant CO 2 emissions into the atmosphere. Trains, on the other hand, are the most ecological way of transport.…”

Evaluation of Mechanical and Environmental Properties of Engineered Alkali-Activated Green Mortar

“…ACIMAC, the association of Italian manufacturers of machinery and equipment for the ceramic industry, published a report indicating that around 13.7 billion m 2 ceramic tiles were produced in 2018 worldwide [27]. Around 30% of the products in this industry go to waste.…”