Moberg, Åsa
Borggren, Clara
Finnveden, Göran

Title

Books from an environmental perspective – Part 2: e-books as an alternative to paper books

Published in

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 16, 238-246, (2011), doi:10.1007/s11367-011-0255-0

Abstract

Purpose

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been proposed as a means to facilitate environmental sustainability. Dematerialisation is one potential way of doing this. For books, this could be realized through using e-book readers, which share many of the qualities of printed media and have notably low-energy requirements during use. The main aim of this study was to analyse the environmental impacts of an e-book read on an e-book reader, and to identify key issues determining the magnitude of the impact. A second aim was to compare the e-book product system with a paper book product system using a life cycle perspective.

Materials and methods

A screening LCA was performed on an e-book produced and read in Sweden. The e-book reader was assumed to be produced in China. The data used were general data from Ecoinvent 2.0 and site-specific data from companies participating in the study, whenever average data were not available.

Results and discussion

The results showed that production of the e-book reader was the life cycle step contributing most to the environmental impact of the system studied, although data on the e-ink screen were lacking. The disposal phase leads to avoided impact as materials are recycled; however, these results are less certain due to limited data availability. When the e-book was compared with a paper book, the results indicated that the number of books read on the e-book reader during its lifetime was crucial when evaluating its environmental performance compared with paper books. The results indicate that there are impact categories and circumstances where paper books are preferable to e-books from an environmental perspective and vice versa.

Conclusions

There is no single answer as to which book is better from an environmental perspective according to the results of the current study. To improve the e-book environmental performance, an e-book reader should be used frequently, the life time of the device should be prolonged, as far as possible, and when not in use anymore, the device should be disposed of in a proper way, making material recycling possible. In addition, the production of the e-reader should be energy efficient and striving towards minimisation of toxic and rare substances.

Borggren, Clara
Moberg, Åsa
Finnveden, Göran

Title

Books from an environmental perspective – Part 1: environmental impacts of paper books sold in traditional and internet bookshops

Published in

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 16, 138-147 (2011), doi:10.1007/s11367-011-0254-1

Abstract

Purpose

The sale and distribution of books are activities that have changed through increased use of the internet. The main aim of this paper was to determine the potential environmental impacts of paper books and identify key issues determining the magnitude of those impacts. A second aim was to study the environmental difference between a paper book bought in a traditional bookshop and through an internet bookshop. In addition, areas with a lack of data and major uncertainties were to be noted.

Materials and methods

A screening life cycle assessment was performed on an average hardback novel produced and read in Sweden. The data used were general data from Ecoinvent 2.0 and site-specific data from companies participating in the study, whenever average data were not available.

Results and discussion

The results showed the most important processes to be pulp and paper production. However, if a substantial distance was travelled by car, to buy a book or collect it, this had a major influence on the environmental performance. Comparing the two bookshop alternatives, the results showed a slight benefit for the internet bookshop due to fewer books being returned to the publisher and the avoidance of energy use at the traditional bookshop. The buyer of a book could significantly influence the total impact by choosing to walk to the bookshop or to combine the trip with several other activities to decrease the impact of the travel per activity performed. When books ordered via the internet were sent by postal services directly to the end consumer, the climate change impact was lowered.

Conclusions

This study showed that, in addition to the paper used, the way books are bought and distributed, including possible personal transportation, can significantly affect the total environmental impact of paper books. The impact per book read can be significantly decreased by sharing books with others.

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Sofia Alroth, Måns Nilsson, Göran Finnveden, Olof Hjelm and Elisabeth Hochschorner

Title

Weighting and valuation in selected environmental systems analysis tools – suggestions for further developments

Published in

Journal of Cleaner Production 19, 145-156 (2011), doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.04.016

Abstract

In environmental systems analysis tools like Life Cycle Assessment, strategic environmental assessment, cost–benefit analysis and environmental management systems, results need to be presented in a comprehensible way to make alternatives easily comparable. One way of doing this is to aggregate results to a manageable set by using weighting methods. In this paper, we explore how weighting methods are used in some selected Environmental Systems Analysis Tools (ESATs), and suggest possible developments of their use. We examine the differences in current use patterns, discuss the reasons for and implications of such differences, and investigate whether observed differences in use are necessary. The result of our survey shows that weighting and valuation is broadly used in the examined ESATs. The use of weighting/valuation methods is different in different tools, but these differences are not always related to the application; rather, they are related to traditions and views on valuation and weighting. Also, although the requirements on the weights/values may differ between tools, there are intersections where they coincide. Monetary weights, using either endpoint or midpoint methods, are found to be useful in all the selected tools. Furthermore, the inventory shows that that there is a common need for generic sets of weights. There is a need for further research focusing on the development of consistent value sets derived with a wide range of methods. In parallel to the development of weighting methods it is important with critical evaluations of the weighting sets with regard to scientific quality, consistency and data gaps.

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Moberg, Åsa
Borggren, Clara
Finnveden, Göran
Tyskeng, Sara

Title

Environmental impacts of electronic invoicing

Published in

Progress in Industrial Ecology 7, 93-113 (2010), doi: 10.1504/PIE.2010.036044

Abstract

Climate change threatens ecosystems and health and may cause severe economic impacts. All sectors of society need to act. New solutions based on information and communication technology (ICT) have been proposed to enable action. One possible conversion is from paper invoices to electronic invoices. The aim of this article is to increase current knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of a possible total transition from all paper invoicing to all electronic invoicing in Sweden regarding cumulative energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. A screening life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed as a life cycle perspective should preferably be used when considering environmental impacts of products. The results of the study show that there are benefits from transition to electronic invoices regarding cumulative energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. The magnitude of the benefits is mainly dependent on the amount of paper used for the traditional invoices and whether the electronic invoices are printed.

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Malmodin, Jens
Moberg, Åsa
Lundén, Dag
Finnveden, Göran
Lövehagen, Nina

Title

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Operational Electricity Use in the ICT and Entertainment & Media Sectors

Published in

Journal of Industrial Ecology 14, 770-790, (2010), doi: 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2010.00278.x

Abstract

The positive and negative environmental impacts of information and communication technology (ICT) are widely debated. This study assesses the electricity use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the ICT and entertainment & media (E&M) sectors at sector level, including end users, and thus complements information on the product level. GHGs are studied in a life cycle perspective, but for electricity use, only the operational use is considered. The study also considers which product groups or processes are major contributors. Using available data and extrapolating existing figures to the global scale for 2007 reveals that the ICT sector produced 1.3% of global GHG emissions in 2007 and the E&M sector 1.7%. The corresponding figures for global electricity use were 3.9% and 3.2%, respectively. The results indicate that for the ICT sector, operation leads to more GHG emissions than manufacture, although impacts from the manufacture of some products are significant. For the E&M sector, operation of TVs and production of printed media are the main reasons for overall GHG emissions. TVs as well as printed media, with the estimations made here, led to more GHG emissions on a global level in 2007 than PCs (manufacture and operation). A sector study of this type provides information on a macro scale, a perspective easily lost when considering, for example, the product-related results of life cycle assessments. The macro scale is essential to capture changes in total consumption and use. However, the potential of the ICT sector to help decrease environmental impacts from other sectors was not included in the assessment.

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Göran Finnveden, Michael Z. Hauschild, Tomas Ekvall, Jeroen Guinee, Reinout Heijungs, Stefanie Hellweg, Annette Koehler, David Pennington and Sangwon Suh

Title

Recent developments in Life Cycle Assessment

Published in

Journal of Environmental Management 91, 1-21, (2009), doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.06.018

Abstract

Life Cycle Assessment is a tool to assess the environmental impacts and resources used throughout a product’s life cycle, i.e., from raw material acquisition, via production and use phases, to waste management. The methodological development in LCA has been strong, and LCA is broadly applied in practice. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of recent developments of LCA methods. The focus is on some areas where there has been an intense methodological development during the last years. We also highlight some of the emerging issues. In relation to the Goal and Scope definition we especially discuss the distinction between attributional and consequential LCA. For the Inventory Analysis, this distinction is relevant when discussing system boundaries, data collection, and allocation. Also highlighted are developments concerning databases and Input–Output and hybrid LCA. In the sections on Life Cycle Impact Assessment we discuss the characteristics of the modelling as well as some recent developments for specific impact categories and weighting. In relation to the Interpretation the focus is on uncertainty analysis. Finally, we discuss recent developments in relation to some of the strengths and weaknesses of LCA.

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Moberg, Åsa
Johansson, Martin
Finnveden, Göran
Jonsson, Alex

Title

Printed and tablet e-paper newspaper from an environmental perspective — A screening life cycle assessment.

Published in

Environmental Impact Assessment Review 30, 177-191, (2010), doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2009.07.001

Abstract

Viable alternatives to conventional newspapers, such as electronic papers, e-papers or e-readers, are intended to have many of the qualities of paper, such as reading using reflective light, high resolution, 180° viewing angle. It has been suggested that the environmental impact of e-paper can be lower than for printed and internet-based newspapers. However, in order to find the facts of the matter, a thorough life cycle perspective covering raw material acquisition, production, use and disposal should preferably be used to study the environmental performance of the different products. A screening life cycle assessment was performed to describe the potential environmental impacts of two product systems; printed on paper and tablet e-paper newspapers. Results show that the most significant phase of the life cycle for both product systems was the production of substrate or platform. Accordingly, key aspects that may affect the resulting environmental performance of newspaper product systems were for the printed newspaper number of readers per copy and number of pages per issue and for the tablet e-paper newspaper lifetime and multi-use of the device. The printed newspaper in general had a higher energy use, higher emissions of gases contributing to climate change and several other impact categories than the tablet e-paper newspaper. It was concluded that tablet e-paper has the potential to decrease the environmental impact of newspaper consumption. However, further studies regarding the environmental impact of production and waste management of electronic devices and internet use, as well as more comprehensive assessment of toxicological impacts are needed. As the data on the electronic devices becomes more comprehensive this may prove to be a major limitation of electronic newspaper systems. Developers are suggested to strive towards minimisation of toxic and rare substances in production.

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Moberg, Åsa
Johansson, Martin
Finnveden, Göran
Jonsson, Alex

Title

Screening environmental life cycle assessment of printed, web based and tablet e-paper newspaper.

Published in

Report from the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communications, Stockholm, 2009 (Second edition).
TRITA-SUS 2007:1
ISSN: 1654-479X

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Måns Nilsson, Hans Wiklund, Göran Finnveden, Daniel K. Jonsson, Kristina Lundberg, Sara Tyskeng, Oskar Wallgren

Title

Analytical framework and tool kit for SEA follow-up.

Published in

Environmental Impact Assessment Review 29, 186-199, (2009), doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2008.09.002

Abstract

Most Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) research and applications have so far neglected the ex post stages of the process, also called SEA follow-up. Tool kits and methodological frameworks for engaging effectively with SEA follow-up have been conspicuously missing. In particular, little has so far been learned from the much more mature evaluation literature although many aspects are similar. This paper provides an analytical framework and tool kit for SEA follow-up. It is based on insights and tools developed within programme evaluation and environmental systems analysis. It is also grounded in empirical studies into real planning and programming practices at the regional level, but should have relevance for SEA processes at all levels. The purpose of the framework is to promote a learning-oriented and integrated use of SEA follow-up in strategic decision making. It helps to identify appropriate tools and their use in the process, and to systematise the use of available data and knowledge across the planning organization and process. It distinguishes three stages in follow-up: scoping, analysis and learning, identifies the key functions and demonstrates the informational linkages to the strategic decision-making process. The associated tool kit includes specific analytical and deliberative tools. Many of these are applicable also ex ante, but are then used in a predictive mode rather than on the basis of real data. The analytical element of the framework is organized on the basis of programme theory and ‘DPSIR’ tools. The paper discusses three issues in the application of the framework: understanding the integration of organizations and knowledge; understanding planners’ questions and analytical requirements; and understanding interests, incentives and reluctance to evaluate.

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Moberg, Å., Borggren, C., Finnveden, G. and Tyskeng, S.

Title

Effects of a total change from paper invoicing to electronic invoicing in Sweden. A screening life cycle assessment focusing on greenhouse gas emissions and cumulative energy demand.

Published in

Report from the KTH Centre for Sustainable Communications, Stockholm 2008.
TRITA-SUS 2008:3
ISSN:1654-479X

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