Product Design, Cleaner Production and Packaging 129 the selection of material for designing sustainable products, there are several useful guidelines for logistics and supply chain professionals. One may refer to databanks for hazardous substances, for example:
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● Hazardous Substances Data bank, United States National Library of Medicine (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/).
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● Priority list of hazardous substances, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, (ATSDR) (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/).
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● List of materials from Lenneth (http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/
elements/f.htm).
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● List of material subjected to several regulations in the United States, Environmental Protection Agency (http://www3.epa.gov/).
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● Other material selection criteria and tools such as Okala Ecodesign, Cambridge Materials Selector Software, etc.
Even though manufacturers may try to choose environmentally friend- lier materials and manufacturing technologies, they need to consider other factors such as supply availability, supply reliability, material and process quality, lead time and cost. The supply of raw materials, especially from agriculture activities, can be rather unpredictable due to the effects of climate change, over-finishing, pollution and natural disasters. Sourcing of raw materials from low-cost producing countries could reduce the cost of material input but increase lead times and supply uncertainty. In some cases, low-cost sourcing also increases the chances of suppliers using unacceptable labour practices and techniques that damage the environment.
environmental performance. Cleaner production attempts to improve the efficient use of energy and water consumption and raw materials, and prevent undesirable pollution during the production processes and the delivery of the product and services to customers. Cleaner production also seeks to optimize the reuse and recycling of hazardous and non-hazardous materials by embracing a value-chain lifecycle approach. Cleaner produc- tion is an integrated strategy that continuously protects the environment, consumers and workers while improving the industrial efficiency, profit- ability and competitiveness of enterprises. The fundamental principles of cleaner production are supported by the natural resource-based theory by Hart (1995), which argues that the sustainable production of products and services for human consumption is the basis for the sustainable competitive- ness of businesses.
Cleaner production requires a shift in the mindsets of industries. Industries have to shift away from ignoring pollution, diluting or dispersing pollu- tion, or focusing on end-of-pipe or pollution control solutions simply to comply with regulations. There is a need to recognize that the use of end-of- pipe technology simply shifts waste or pollutants from one environmental medium to another. Governmental environment agencies have to realize the disadvantages of command and control methods, which may increase the cost of compliance and encourage companies to explore other cheaper and Figure 5.2 Cleaner production
Additional revenue
Cost efficiency
Better environment
Material substitution
Source reduction
Energy conservation Design for environment
Resource efficiency Value chain lifecycle
Cleaner production is an integrated continuous strategy that enhances cost, efficiency and environment
Products Processes Services
Product Design, Cleaner Production and Packaging 131 yet polluting solutions. To implement cleaner production there is a need to understand the following concepts:
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● Eco-efficiency. Coined by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 1992, the term ‘eco-efficiency’ is defined as: ‘the delivery of competitively priced goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the lifecycle, to a level at least in line with the earth’s estimated carrying capacity.’ Eco-efficiency means producing more goods and services with less energy and fewer natural resources.
Eco-efficient businesses get greater value out of their raw materials as well as producing less waste and less pollution.
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● Waste minimization. Introduced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1988, waste minimization means the use of a waste-prevention approach focusing on on-site reduction of waste at source by changes in the input of raw materials, technology, operating practices and product design, and off-site recycling by direct reuse after reclamation.
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● Zero waste. Zero waste is a way to set targets for waste minimization.
It means no waste is sent to the landfill. It is a philosophy that encour- ages the redesign of product/resource lifecycles so that their production processes produce no waste, or new techniques are used to transform all waste into recycled materials, energy or something useful.
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● Pollution prevention. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pollution prevention is about source reduction.
It is about preventing or reducing waste where it originates, at source.
This also includes conservation of natural resources through increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water and land. Pollution prevention is part of the national environmental policy of the United States (EPA, 1990).
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● Green productivity. Similar to cleaner production, green productivity is a strategy for enhancing productivity and environmental performance in order to improve overall socio-economic development. Green productivity is used by the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) to address the chal- lenge of achieving sustainable production. Resource efficiency is another term of similar meaning used for example by the European Commission.
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● Industrial symbiosis. Industrial symbiosis is a form of eco-industrial development which applies the concept of industrial ecology to allow by-product resources (eg waste, heat and water) produced by
one industry to be used by other industries. It focuses on energy and material exchange. It promotes the sharing of information, services, utility and by-products among one or more industries in order to add value, reduce cost and improve environmental performance. Kalundborg Symbiosis (http://www.symbiosis.dk/en) is the world’s first functioning industrial symbiosis where private and public companies buy and sell waste from each other in a closed cycle of industrial production. The system helps save millions of cubic metres of water through recycling and reuse.
Cleaner production emphasizes the application of ‘integrated’ and ‘preven- tive’ systems instead of the typical end-of-pipe solutions. Based on the above concepts of cleaner productions, the following general principles of cleaner production can be applied to the entire production cycle:
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● reduce the consumption of raw materials and energy used in the produc- tion of one unit of product;
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● increase productivity by ensuring a more efficient use of raw materials, energy and water;
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● promote better environmental performance through reduction at source of waste and emissions;
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● reduce the environmental impact of products throughout their lifecycle by the design of environmentally friendly but cost-effective products;
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● reduce at source the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes generated and released;
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● eliminate as far as possible the use of toxic and dangerous materials.
Taking the above fundamental principles to a practical level, companies can establish principles of cleaner production themselves. For example, the following are the typical principles for cleaner agricultural production:
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● minimize the harmful impact of crop protection practices;
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● minimize the harmful impact of crop growth stimulating practices;
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● use water efficiently and care for the long-term availability of water;
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● care about the health of the soil;
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● conserve natural habitats;
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● care for and preserve the quality and health effects of the produce;
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● reuse and recycle packaging materials;
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● promote decent work and fair labour practices.
Product Design, Cleaner Production and Packaging 133 In order to make the above principles work, companies need to identify opportunities for implementing cleaner production. Many such opportunities are related to lean production efforts. Evidence shows that the adoption of ISO 9001 provides a foundation for the effective adoption of ISO 14001 and waste reduction efforts. The use of the 5Ss (sort, straighten, shine, standard- ize and sustain) or good housekeeping routines can make sure materials for production are clearly labelled and located at the right place and therefore allow for more efficient use. Good housekeeping helps prevent leaks and spills of hazardous materials. It also forms the basis for the effective implementation of standardized operation and maintenance procedures and practices through the implementation of total preventive maintenance (TPM). The application of better process control using statistical process control (SPC) techniques helps to reduce process variations and subsequently less rejection and rework.
The use of useful by-products for production helps to reduce consumption of raw materials while saving costs. Other by-products can be collected for on-site recycling and some can even be sold as another source of revenue.
By-products and energy can be exchanged using a concept called industrial symbiosis. Workers are reminded to switch off lighting and air conditioning when they are not required. Some of these opportunities require minimum financial investment; other opportunities which may require some initial investment include material substitution and product modification. This requires a change in the product design and manufacturing process. Product equipment can be modified by incorporating the latest technologies such as sensors to enable preventive and predictive maintenance. In addition, produc- tion experts may consider equipment modification and technology change.
Cleaner production can be achieved through technology innovation. The following are some examples of innovation solutions for cleaner production in the textile dyeing process:
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● To improve the techniques of purifying waste water discharged by the textile dyeing process, a Swedish researcher named Maria Jonstrup experimented with both fungal enzymes and bacteria from the drains at textile and municipal wastewater-treatment plants. She combined both biological and chemical purification techniques and collaborated with a Swedish clothing company, Indiska Magasinet, and its suppliers to test the new technique on a large scale.
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● In 2012, A Dutch Company called DyeCoo commercialized a machine to use carbon dioxide instead of water on an industrial scale to dye polyes- ter. The fabrics dyed in this process, called Drydye fabrics, have the same quality as those conventionally dyed, but use no water. The process halves
the consumption of energy and chemicals. Global brands such as Nike and Adidas have forged a partnership with the company; a Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Nike started using DyeCoo technology in 2013.
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● In 2012, a Company called ColorZen developed a treatment which changes cotton’s molecular composition, making it more receptive to dye without creating toxic discharge. They tested this formula on about 400 pounds of cotton fibre, successfully dyeing it with 95 per cent fewer chemicals, 90 per cent less water, 75 per cent less energy, and 50 per cent less dye in less than one-third of the standard eight hours.
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● A company called Novozymes, which specializes in developing enzymes for making products such as food, laundry detergents, bio-energy prod- ucts, agri-food products and pharmaceutical products, received an innovation award by the Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC) in 2014 for their patented Combi process, which uses neutral cellulases rather than acidic cellulasas to make it possible for textile manufacturers to combine biopolishing and bleach clean-up processes in the dying step.
These new processes save time, water, energy and ultimately costs.