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Topics on this page:
From the cradle to the grave
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How does an eco-efficiency analysis work?
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Eco-efficiency portfolio
The purpose of Eco-Efficiency Analysis is to harmonize economy and ecology. BASF SE in Ludwigshafen, Germany, is one of the first chemical companies to develop this method for use in its business activities. BASF plans to employ this approach to determine which products and processes it will pursue in the future.BASF started to develop this inhouse tool in 1996. To date, about 300 different products and manufacturing processes have been analysed using the new method. Eco-Efficiency Analysis is applied in order to use as few materials and energy as possible in producing our products and to keep emissions as low as possible. At the same time, our products must help our customers conserve resources.
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From the cradle to the grave
Eco-Efficiency Analysis assesses the life cycle of a product or manufacturing process from the "cradle to the grave." For example, it includes the environmental impact of products used by BASF as well as of starting materials manufactured by others. The analysis also takes the consumption behavior of end-users into account, as well as various recycling and disposal options.What is new about Eco-Efficiency Analysis is that it is based on customer benefits. For example, in an Eco-Efficiency Analysis of indigo - the dye that makes blue jeans blue - BASF's product was compared with newly developed BASF products and with competing products. BASF wanted to know how much product the customer needs to use to dye, say, 1000 pairs of jeans. How much energy is needed to do this? What emissions and waste result? And how long does the fabric hold its color? Questions like these help to determine which product best meets customer needs and which offers the most eco-efficient solution.
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How does an eco-efficiency analysis work?
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First, the environmental impact is described based on six categories:- Raw materials consumption
- Energy consumption
- Land use
- Air and water emissions and disposalmethods
- Potential toxicity
- Potential risks
Combining these individual data gives the total environmental impact of a product or process.Economic data are also compiled. All the various costs incurred in manufacturing or using a product are included in the calculation. The economic analysis and the overall environmental impact are used to make eco-efficiency comparisons.
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Economic and ecological data are plotted on an x/y graph. The costs are shown on the horizontal axis and the environmental impact is shown on the vertical axis. The graph reveals the eco-efficiency of a product or process compared to other products or processes. And it allows us to look into the future, since Eco-Efficiency Analysis is utilized in making strategic decisions and it also helps detect and exploit potential ecological and economic improvements.
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