Page 41 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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1. National eco-labels (also called “Label Type I” in ISO 14024); examples:
EC eco-label, Nordic Swan and Blue Angel
2. Self-environmental declarations (also called “Label Type II” in ISO
14021); examples: ozone friendly label, green dot and animal cruelty free
3. Indicators based on life-cycle assessments (also called “Label Type III”
in ISO/TR 14025); only example: environmental product declaration
(EPD) promoted by the governments of Sweden, Norway, Canada, Korea
and Japan, and companies such as Volvo and ABB

The related environmental product declarations gain popularity as tools, espe-
cially for business-to-business communication, and have great potential to be used
widely by institutional buyers in their efforts for green procurement. In general, for
the communication to consumers, one overall environmental Type I label based on
a single indicator is considered the most effective option to influence consumer
choices. However, consumers are likely to be interested in more detailed environ-
mental information for durable goods such as cars or electronics; a Type III label
might be provided to influence the purchase for these types of items.

1.5.4 ANALYTICAL TOOLS
The following analytical tools are relevant methods for environmental management:

• Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool standardized according to ISO
series 14040 for product-oriented environmental impact assessment and
will be further explained in Chapter 2.
• Environmental risk assessment (ERA) and impact pathway analysis (IPA)
are the tools generally used for the impact analysis in site-specific envi-
ronmental impact assessment. These tools will be described in more detail
in Chapter 3.
• Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) are
technoeconomic tools to support decision-making towards sustainability.
They refer to environmental costs, a topic explained in Chapter 3.
• Process simulation (and the related re-engineering) is an important tool
for the improvement of industrial processes. It allows foreseeing environ-
mental effects resulting from changes in process design before implemen-
tation.
• Accident prevention requires determining the environmental risk that
implies installation and operation of an industrial process due to undesir-
able events. Undesirable events are caused by unforeseen emissions of
pollutants for accidental reasons.
• Material Flow Accounting (MFA) and Input–Output Analysis (IOA) have
been developed to look at the life cycle of material substances in industrial
systems and the environment.

Analytical tools differ depending on the specific aspect of their focus; few of
them have been standardized by ISO.

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