Life cycle assessment of PVC in product optimisation and green procurement – fact-based decisions towards sustainable solutions

Abstract

Decision-making by life-cycle-approaches is a matter of responsibility and plays a substantial role in corporate identity of innovative companies. The use of customised tools and databases is growing. In product optimisation, the decisions can be based on available life-cycle information and a sustainable decision with a company's perspective can be drawn. Green procurement decisionmaking can be especially demanding because the 'best available decisions' from the viewpoint of the (often diverse thinking) public may be required. The presentation shows various effects of lifecycle-related decision-support in product optimisation and green procurement by applying and modifying successful approaches. Databases already available can be adapted to specific situations and offer an ideal basis for effective decision support. This issue is presented using PVC as an example. PE Europe is the leader of an international consortium working on a report for the European Commission, sorting and structuring available LCA facts about PVC for decision support in future PVC policy. The way of structuring available information led to a discussion of the pros and cons of different solutions, which will be shown. The overview of different aspects enables prioritisation using Life Cycle Assessment, to support decision making effectively and to avoid omitting important facts. Professionals in companies and in (public) procurement fields may be inspired to base their decisions on life-cycle related information and may be encouraged to take immediate steps towards sustainability. Academics obtain feedback on the most important topics in 'public' decision-support that will inspire further target-oriented life-cycle research.

Life cycle assessment of bioethanol‐based PVC

“…When using life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts in the life cycle of PVC, the depletion of fossil fuels was considered to be the most concerning environmental impact category, 1,2 and the production stages until the vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) were the main contributors. 3,4 Th ese conclusions can be corroborated by assessing PVC from ecoinvent database, 5 through several life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods, as presented in the Supplementary Material (SM-1).…”

Life Cycle Assessment of Luminescent Solar Concentrators Integrated into a Smart Window

“…In addition, the function of renewable energy generation through the surplus power output must be considered. According to these functions, the functional unit (FU) chosen was a 5.27 m 2 automated shading system window (thermal transmittance U w = 1.6-1.8 W/m 2 K), equipped with colored LSC fanlight (visible transmission t vis = 77% and solar factor g = 85%) [32][33][34] and which can produce 1.5 kWh/year [28]. Electricity generation was calculated through the analysis of monitored data; these data refer to the city of Novara (Italy) and depend to the local climatic conditions.…”

“…The life cycle impact assessment was conducted using the SimaPro 8.1 tool and the CML-IA baseline method, updated from the CML2001. CML-IA is one of the most frequently used models not only in PV LCA analysis but also for window-related LCA [32][33][34]37,38]. It considers a broad set of eleven impact categories which are shown in Table 1: In conclusion, the main objectives of this work can be summarized as:…”

Linear (IS)nI Multiblock Copolymers: Tailoring the Softness of Thermoplastic Elastomers by Flexible Polyisoprene End Blocks

“…Another approach to replace plasticized PVC in medical devices, such as medical tubes or intravenous bags, by TPE-based formulations was implemented by Kraton Polymers LLC. By compounding hydrogenated star-shaped structures possessing either diblock or triblock arms with a polydiene-rich midblock of high vinyl content with polyolefin-based resins, the material properties are met without the use of leachable substances. − With the replacement of PVC, also undesired release of dioxins upon incineration is avoided. , …”