Development and integration of environmental evaluation tools for the ecodesign of sustainable processes and products

Abstract

Industry is recognized as one of the main sources of environmental pollution and resource depletion, both causing environmental degradation; nonetheless, its contribution to development and wealth creation is also acknowledged. Therefore, the identification of sustainable options in this area is a key factor. Nowadays, the attitude towards pollution prevention and control and cleaner production is not just a response to emerging environmental laws and regulations (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals -REACH-, Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control –IPPC- Law, Integrated Product Policy –IPP-), but also a matter of corporate responsibility. Further, it has proved to be a way to increase profits. The sustainability definition has received certain criticism for its vagueness, ambiguity and difficulty to translate this concept at different levels. To overcome the difficulties of its implementation, a wide variety of indicators have been developed and applied over the years, providing metrics essential at the action level. This thesis poses a contribution to the development of environmental evaluation tools adapted to particular production sectors, aiming at providing metrics to guide decision making for the ecodesign of sustainable processes and products. Integrative frameworks that combine methodologies of different nature were proposed as the most suitable way to achieve comprehensive evaluations. At the same time, the simplicity of tools was pursued to make its application easier and more attractive for enterprises, avoiding the need of in depth training.