Page 26 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

s gaseous fuels The development of life cycle assessment methods and applications 13
s hydrated ethanol-based fuels, namely Diesohol, which is a blend of 15% ethanol with
low sulphur diesel and an emulsifier, and hydrated ethanol produced from seven
upstream sources
s hydrogen
s light vehicle fuels, namely premium unleaded petrol (PULP) blended with 10%
anhydrous ethanol, and anhydrous ethanol blended with 15% PULP – again, the
ethanol was produced from seven upstream sources.
The LCA concluded that, in general, biodiesel and ethanol emit less greenhouse gases than
diesel, taking into account both the exbodied emissions of the fuels themselves and upstream
activities. The same was found to be true for most but not all other air toxins examined (see
also Chapter 10 for further discussion on biofuels).
Following this report, the federal government announced that 350 megalitres of biofuels
would be included in the national fuel mix by 2010 (Department of Industry Tourism and
Resources 2007). In 2003, CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Eco-
nomics (ABARE) and the Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) conducted a
desktop study of the appropriateness of the target (CSIRO et al. 2003). This study concluded
that the cost of government support for biofuels was likely to outweigh the benefits. In response,
the Prime Minister established a Biofuels Taskforce to review policy on biofuels, which reported
that Australia was unlikely to meet the 350-megalitre target by 2010, based on the current state
of the industry and low consumer demand. The Taskforce also found that the potential reduc-
tions in greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels were not sufficient to warrant a significant
policy change in their favour (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 2006). The
Prime Minister then reconfirmed the target and announced the development of industry
action plans to achieve it (Department of Industry Tourism and Resources 2007).

2.1.6 Water management
LCA has increasingly focused on water and wastewater management since the late 1990s. From
2000, Sydney Water undertook LCAs on specific issues including biosolids treatment and
alternative (reticulated and non-reticulated) water delivery options (Sydney Water 2000).
Yarra Valley Water in Victoria has also undertaken LCAs on alternative water and sewage serv-
icing options in a series of LCAs from 2003. (See Chapter 8 for an examination of Yarra Valley
Water’s LCA work and other water management issues in LCA.)

2.1.7 Sustainability covenants
Sustainability covenants, incorporated into the Victorian Environmental Protection Act 1970, are
voluntary agreements through which regulators and organisations or groups of organisations
can explore ways to reduce environmental impacts and increase the resource efficiency of their
products and services (EPA Victoria 2007). This policy initiative marks a co-regulatory partner-
ship approach between the regulator and commercial organisations. The intent is to provide a
more efficient means of maintaining higher environmental standards than the previous
‘command and control’ approach, which was principally based on works approvals and licences.
Hence, sustainability covenants are seen as an instrument to broaden business focus to include
social and environmental considerations compared with traditional point source management.
As mentioned above, EPA Victoria and PACIA signed a voluntary sustainability covenant
in January 2004. One of the commitments of the covenant is to develop:

guidance materials and decision support tools (including, for example, life cycle
assessment and environmental management accounting) that will assist the
industry to measure resource efficiency and potential ecological impact across the

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