Method for setting environmental targets in product development: : Incorporating use-phase impact by subsystem

• Autores: Daniel Collado Ruiz, Hesamedin Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi
• Localización: Journal of Industrial Ecology, ISSN-e 1530-9290, Vol. 20, Nº. 1, 2016, págs. 8-17
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • In order to address environmental aspects during redesign, the product specification must include related targets that are reachable and challenging. To do so, this article presents a stepwise approach for combining benchmarking information and component impact, out of life cycle assessment (LCA) scaling. This approach requires allocating environmental impacts to each subsystem, which is not commonly done for some life cycle phases in LCAs, most particularly for use phases. This article includes a methodology for allocating such impacts. The underlying criterion is avoiding complex calculations, to make the method more agile. This methodology is presented in a full case study of a complex product: a knuckle boom crane. The case study results in the percentage of impact reduction needed to meet the market average or best competitors. In particular, the results show that the cylinders of the crane have a high contribution to environmental impact, not only because of their weight, but also because of the active power consumed to activate them.