Systemic eco-efficiency assessment of meso-level water use systems

Abstract

Eco-efficiency has recently become an important concept of environmental decision making, serving as a policy objective and, if linked with resource efficiency, can be a measure of progress towards sustainability. The need for improving eco-efficiency leads to the challenge of identifying the most promising alternative solutions which improve both the economic and the environmental performance of a given system ("eco-innovations"). A methodological framework for the eco-efficiency assessment of a water use system at the meso level has been developed in the context of the EcoWater research project and consists of four distinct steps. The first step leads to a clear, transparent mapping of the system at hand and the respective value chain, while the second step provides the means to assess its eco-efficiency, following a life-cycle oriented approach using the midpoint impact categories. An important novelty is the distribution of economic costs/benefits and environmental pressures over different stages and stakeholders in the value chain. The third step includes the selection of innovative technologies, which are assessed in the last step and combined with midterm scenarios in order to determine the feasibility of their implementation. The proposed methodological framework has been applied to eight alternative water use systems, revealing all their environmental weaknesses and identifying potential opportunities for eco-efficiency improvement. At the same time, through the systemic approach all the involved actors are urged to cooperate in order to (a) propose and build innovative technological solutions that will improve the overall eco-efficiency of the system; and (b) make suggestions on the necessary policy framework that will facilitate and promote their uptake. This ensures that upstream decisions in the value chain are coordinated with downstream activities and all potential synergies are identified, leading to the creation of "meso-level closed resource loops" and thus the promotion of a circular economy.

Life Cycle Assessment and Water Footprint of Hydrogen Production Methods: From Conventional to Emerging Technologies

“…The analysis encompasses all processes relating to the functioning of a product: from the extraction of raw materials through the production, use, and maintenance of the product to the reuse and disposal of all final waste. The systematic procedure of an LCA consists of four phases: goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation [3,20].…”

Factores ambientales del sector textil en el Valle de Aburrá

“…Se identificó que este sector de tintorería y acabados tiene implementada la estrategia de la reutilización del agua como una forma de minimizar el impacto ambiental y cumplir con los controles sobre los vertimientos permitidos, según la normativa legal que de acuerdo con Angelis-Dimakis et al, (2016) se deben plantear procesos para la reutilización del agua debido a la industrialización que tiene graves consecuencias para el medio ambiente y los seres humanos, como un método que debe estar siendo aplicado en los procesos que generan aguas residuales.…”

“…En cambio, el sector económico de estampación se encuentra en su mayor concentración en el centro de Medellín, identificando dentro de su matriz de impacto factores ligados a productos químicos y consumo de agua. Se identificó que la estrategia que está desarrollando este sector está fundamentada en el manejo de productos químicos ecológicos y en el control del agua que se vierte en el alcantarillado, pero Angelis-Dimakis et al, (2016), documenta que el tener un sistema ecoeficiente sustentable es manejar el factor de recuperación del agua que se utiliza en los procesos, resaltando que es un proceso de constante vigilancia. Este sector textil se requiere incorporar una estrategia para el manejo de las aguas residuales que genera para minimizar el impacto ambiental.…”

An eco-efficiency evaluation of community-scale rainwater and stormwater harvesting in Aarhus, Denmark

“…Some authors have expanded the environmental assessment with economic impacts for urban water systems by estimating the total economic value added (TVA) and providing eco-efficiency indicators (Angelis-Dimakis et al, 2016;Ribarova et al, 2013;Stanchev and Ribarova, 2016), while others have assessed the eco-efficiency of flood prevention actions in cities (Petit-Boix et al, 2015;Petit-Boix et al, 2016). Arampatzsis et al (2016) state that eco-efficiency indicators applied…”