Page 183 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

162 Cha pte r Ei g h t

Although it is tempting to consider “Design for Cascadability” as
a product development practice, there are a number of challenges to
this approach. It is difficult to anticipate the requirements of subse-
quent links in the chain when designing an initial product. Moreover,
understanding these subsequent links may require collaboration
among designers in different companies. The quality and reliability
of relinked or augmented products is difficult to predict. Finally, and
perhaps most challenging, there is little economic incentive to moti-
vate the extra effort and expense of designing cascaded processes
unless the benefits of cascading accrue directly to the original manu-
facturer (e.g., cascading of forest products in the pulp and paper
industry). Nevertheless, with increasing interest in industrial ecol-
ogy, resource conservation, and greenhouse gas emission reduction,
new government incentive schemes and creative resource cascading
partnerships among companies are certain to emerge.

Industrial Ecology
Industrial ecology, as mentioned in Chapter 6, advocates shifting
from the traditional linear model of industrial systems to a closed-
loop model that resembles the cyclical flows of natural ecosystems. In
nature, there is no waste—one creature’s wastes become another
creature’s nutrients. Rethinking conventional product and process
technologies can lead to the discovery of innovative pathways for
transformation of industrial wastes into economically valuable re -
sources. This reduces the need for virgin natural resources, mitigates
environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and allevi-
ates the burden on limited landfill space [11].
The conversion of industrial process wastes to by-products,
called by-product synergy (BPS), is a particular version of industrial
ecology whereby companies collaborate to convert wastes into use-
ful energy and materials, rather than operating as isolated entities.
In simple terms, one facility’s wastes can become another facility’s
feedstocks, leading to financial gains for both parties. The U.S. Busi-
ness Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) originated the
BPS concept in 1997 [12] and has helped launch BPS networks in
several regions of the United States, including an impressive “waste
to profit” program in Chicago that has engaged over 80 companies
and diverted about 15,000 tons of waste from landfill in 2007 alone.
In the United Kingdom, the National Industrial Symbiosis Program
has attracted thousands of industry participants, diverted millions
of metric tons from landfill, and generated significant economic and
environmental benefits.
One of the earliest and best-known examples of industrial
ecology sits on the coast of Denmark in the Kalundborg industrial
region. Over a thirty-year period, beginning in the 1970s, a complex
web of waste and energy exchanges has developed among a number