Assessment of technical specifications and quality must be carried out at all stages of the life cycle. The objectives of assessing specifications and quality at each stage for each type of product can be individual. However, it is important to develop and implement the life cycle of new and modernized products, based on the target program "quality" containing planned activities. The goals of quality management at the stage of disposal in market conditions are the exclusion and minimization of harmful effects on the environment, saving energy and raw materials consumption after its use.

Central principle industrial ecology — life cycle assessment (LCC GOST R ISO 14040 ) (life-cjcleassessstep, LCA).

Essence of LCA consists in studying, identifying and evaluating the relevant environmental impacts of a material, process, product or system throughout its life cycle from creation to disposal or, more preferably, to re-creation in the same or another useful form. The Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry defines the LCA process as follows:

Life cycle assessment is an objective process of estimating the environmental impacts associated with a product, process or activity by counting and identifying the energy, materials and emissions used, and quantifying and realizing the opportunities to implement environmental improvements. The assessment includes the full life cycle of a product, process or activity, covering the extraction and processing of raw materials, production, transportation and distribution, use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and final disposal.

The life cycle diagram assumes that the corporation produces the final product for shipment and sale directly to the customer. Often, however, a corporation produces semi-finished products—chemicals for various processes, steel bolts, brake systems—made to be sold and incorporated into another firm's products. How does this concept apply in such circumstances?

Consider three different types of production:

• (A) production of semi-finished products or raw materials(for example, plastic blocks from petroleum raw materials or rolls of paper from recycled waste paper, wine materials from grape raw materials);
• (IN) production of components from semi-finished products(e.g. concentrates for the food industry, buttons for clothes made of steel or dyed cotton material);
• (WITH) processing of semi-finished products into final products (e.g. shirts, alcoholic beverages from finished wort).

Rice. Figure 5 shows production C, where the design and production team has virtually complete control over all stages of the product's life, except for stage 1, pre-production. For a corporation whose activities are of type A or B , perspective changes some stages of life, but not all.

Rice. 5 Activities in the five stages of the life cycle of products for consumer use. In environmentally responsible products, environmental impacts are minimized at every stage

Stage 1, pre-production . As long as the type A corporation is the actual source of materials, the concept of this life stage is identical for corporations of all types.

Stage 2, production. The idea of ​​this stage of life is identical for corporations of all types.

Stage 3, product delivery. The concept of this stage of life is identical for corporations of all types.

Stage 4, product use. For corporations A, the use of the product is essentially controlled by corporations B or C, although the properties of the product, such as the purity or composition of semi-finished products, may affect the production of by-products and waste. For corporations B, their products can sometimes impact the end-use stage of corporation C, as in the use of energy by cooling pipes or the requirement for lubrication of bearings.

Stage 5, repair, recycling or disposal. The properties of intermediate materials produced by A corporations can often determine the recyclability of the final product. For example, a number of plastics are now being designed to optimize their recyclability. For corporations B, the approach to stage 5 depends on the complexity of the part being produced. When it comes to a part, such as a capacitor, the quantity and variety of its materials and its structural complexity deserve consideration. If you can call it a module, the problems are similar to those of the final product manufacturer - ease of disassembly, repairability, etc.

Thus corporations A and B can and should deal with the valuation LCA their products, much like C corporations. The first three stages of life are in principle completely under their control. For the last two stages of life, the products of corporations A and B are affected by corporation C with which they deal, and in turn their products affect the performance of stages 4 and 5 of Corporation C products.

5.2 LCA order

Life cycle assessment can be a large and complex task with many options. However, there is general agreement on the formal structure of the LCA, which contains three stages:

1. definition of purpose and scope,
2. emissions inventory analysis
3. impact analysis and assessment;

at the same time, each stage is followed by the interpretation of the results(Fig. 6).

Fig.6 Stages of product life cycle assessment

1. definition of purpose and scope,

First, the purpose and scope of the LCA is determined, followed by the emission inventory and impact analysis. The interpretation of the results at each stage stimulates the analysis of possible improvements (which may feed back into each of the stages, so that the whole process is iterative). Finally, an environmental design guide is issued.

To start an LCA, there is no more important step than determining the exact scope of the assessment: what materials, processes or products should be considered and how broadly will the alternatives be defined? Consider, for example, the issue of discharges of chlorinated solvents from conventional dry cleaning. The purpose of the analysis is to reduce the impact on the environment. However, the scope of the analysis should be clearly defined. If limited, the scope may only include good housekeeping practices, end-of-pipe regulation, administrative procedures, and process changes. Alternative materials - in this case solvents - should also be considered. If, however, the scope is broadly defined, it may include alternative service delivery options: some evidence shows that many items are sent to dry cleaning not to be cleaned, but only to be ironed. Accordingly, offering alternative ironing services can significantly reduce emissions. You can look at the problem from a systemic point of view: given what we know about polymers and fibers, why are woven fabrics and cleaning processes still being used that require chlorinated solvents? Among the issues that would influence the choice of scale in cases similar to those mentioned above are: (a) who does the analysis and how much control can be exercised over the implementation of alternatives; (b) what resources are available to conduct the study; and (c) what is the narrowest scope of analysis that still provides adequate consideration of the systemic aspects of the problem?

The arrows represent the main flows of information. At each stage, the results are interpreted, thus allowing adjustments to be made to the environmental performance of the assessed activity.

You should also evaluate the resources that can be used to conduct the analysis. Most traditional LCA methods essentially allow unlimited data collection and thus virtually unlimited resource costs. As a general rule, the depth of analysis should balance the degree of freedom in choosing an alternative and the importance of the environmental or technological aspects leading to the assessment. For example, analyzing the use of various plastics in the casing of a currently manufactured portable CD player may not require a complex analysis: the degrees of freedom available to the designer in such a situation are already quite limited by the existing design and its market niche. On the other hand, government regulators intending to limit the use of raw materials in large quantities in many and varied manufacturing applications would want to conduct a truly comprehensive analysis, since the degrees of freedom in finding substitutes can be quite large and the environmental impact of substitutes widely used in the economy environment can be significant.

1. inventory analysis

The second component of LCA - inventory analysis (IALC GOST R ISO 14041) (sometimes called LCIA in foreign literature), is undoubtedly the best developed. It uses quantitative data to determine the levels and types of energy and materials used in an industrial system and the corresponding releases to the environment. The approach is based on the idea of ​​a family of material budgets in which analysts measure the input and output of energy and resources. Assessment is carried out throughout the life cycle.

1. impact analysis and assessment;

The third stage of the LCA, impact analysis, involves comparing the emissions of the system and the impacts on the outside world into which these emissions fall, or at least the loads on the outside world.

The interpretation phase is that based on the data obtained at the previous stages, conclusions are drawn and recommendations are given. At this stage, an explanation of the needs and opportunities for reducing the environmental impact of an ongoing or proposed industrial activity is often obtained. Ideally, this comes in two forms: (1) maintaining the LCA and (2) preventing contamination.

Less extensive, but still valuable, actions can be taken as a result of interpreting the results of the review (scoping) and emission inventory stages.

1

Today, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) or Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) method is one of the leading environmental management tools in the European Union, based on a series of ISO standards and designed to assess environmental, economic, social aspects and environmental impacts in product manufacturing and waste management systems. The purpose of the research work carried out by the authors was to explore potential areas in which this method of assessment could be applied. The authors analyzed the universal life cycle assessment method in relation to its historical aspects of development in the European Union, potential areas of application and use based on modern software products. The characteristics of the main stages of the life cycle assessment are given and the possibility of using the method for waste management systems in the environmental sector of Russia is shown. As a result of the literature analysis, one of the new areas of application of LCA is the comparison of different waste management systems or the development of a new waste management strategy. In the case of a waste management system analysis, LCA is taken as the basis for comparing the environmental performance of various waste management options and making strategic decisions in this area. The authors conclude that the LCA method deserves close attention from the Russian environmental sector, since the LCA method is an important analytical tool for substantiating the choice between different technologies, scenarios, with reliability, reliability of the results obtained.

life cycle assessment

environmentally friendly production

manufacturing process

waste management

1. GOST R ISO 1440-2010. Environmental management. Life Cycle Assessment. Principles and structure / National standard of the Russian Federation. - M. : Standartinform, 2010.

2. Christensen T. Solid Waste Technology & Management. - ISWA, 2011. - 1026 pp.

3. Damgaard A. Life-cycle-assessment of the historical development of air pollution control and energy recovery in waste incineration // Waste Management. - 2010. - No. 30. - P. 1244-1250.

4. Guinée J.B., Gorrée M., Heijungs R. Handbook on Life Cycle Assessment. Operational Guide to the ISO Standards. - Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002. - 692 pp.

5. Horne R., Verghese K., Grant T. Life cycle assessment: principles, practice and prospects - CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 2009. - 173 pp.

6. ISO (2006a): Environmental management - life cycle assessment - principles and framework. ISO 14040. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.

7. ISO (2006b): Environmental management - life cycle assessment - requirements and guidelines. ISO 14044. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.

8. Klöpffer W., Grahl B. Ökobilanz (LCA): Ein Leitfaden für Ausbildung und Beruf. - WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 2009. - 426 pp.

9. McDougall F., White P., Franke M., Hindle P. Integrate Solid Waste Management: A Life Cycle Inventory, 2nd Edition. - Blackwell Science Ltd., 2001. - 198 pp.

Introduction

Today method Life cycle assessments, OCJ (Russian) or life-cycle assessment, LCA (English)- one of the leading environmental management tools in the European Union, based on a series of ISO standards and designed to assess the environmental, economic, social and environmental aspects of production systems and waste management. Universal in its kind, the LCA method is used in almost all industries, in particular in mechanical engineering, construction, electronics, traditional and alternative energy, polymer production, food production, product design and waste disposal.

OLC is a relatively young method, but not as young as many people make it out to be. Approaches and reflections on life cycles can be found in old literary sources. For example, the Scottish economist and biologist Patrick Geddes back in the 80s. XIX century developed a process that can rightfully be considered the forerunner of the inventory. His research lay in the field of energy supply in the extraction of hard coal.

In 1969, The Coca-Cola Company funded one of the earliest LCA studies of the 20th century, conducted at NII Midwest (USA), to compare different types of packaging materials in two environmental dimensions: waste production and natural resource depletion. The NII used a methodology called resource and environmental profile analysis. (REPA-Resource and Environmental Profile Analysis s ) . Later, in 1974, the same research institute developed a project to compare several types of packaging, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (USA). It is these two projects that have become a classic consistent example of the application of the LCA methodology in a particular company. Such studies are now mainly referred to as material balance.

The same applies to the first German study on the ecological balance of milk packaging, carried out in 1972 by the scientist W. Oberbacher. (B. Oberbacher) At the institute " Battelle Institute" in Frankfurt am Main. In the seventies, professor Müller-Wenck (Müller Wenk,Universität St.-Gallen, Institut für Ökonomie und Ökologie) from the University of St. Gallen, Institute of Economics and Ecology (Switzerland) pioneered the concept of "environmental accounting". A significant event of this period in 1984 was the study of the Swiss Federal Materials Testing Laboratory (EMPA) and the Swiss Federal Agency for the Environment (bus) on environmental packaging parameters "Ecological report of packaging material". The term LCA was first used in this study.

In 1993 at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) by the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAK) life cycle assessment was defined in the Code of Practice (LCA). Similar definitions can be found in "DIN Normenausschuss Grundlagen des Umweltschutzes (NAGUS) 1994" and in the Nordic Guidelines, which were commissioned by the Scandinavian Ministers of the Environment.

During the last ten years, due to the rapid development of computing technology and the creation of extensive databases, interest in LCA has increased even more. An increasing number of government organizations, companies and research institutions are using LCA in their decision-making processes and to develop plans for the development of production of both individual products and entire sectors of the economy. The main software products on the European market that have won recognition:

• SimaPro - Holland;
• GABi, UMBERTO - Germany;
• EASEWASTE - Denmark;
• Ecoinvent v2.3 - Switzerland.

However, with the advent of many methodologies and software products for conducting LCA, problems arose when comparing the results of analyzes of different studies, since until recently there was no common methodology, evaluation criteria and equivalent sources of information. That is why the International Standard ISO 14040-14043 was developed, which unified the LCA methodology and provided an opportunity to compare the results of different analyzes.

There are several definitions of LCA. For example, the International Standards Organization defined the concept of the life cycle as follows: “... successive and interconnected stages of the life system of a product or process, starting with the extraction of natural resources and ending with the disposal of waste”, and life cycle assessment is: “... a systematic set of procedures for the collection and analysis of all material and energy flows of the system, including the environmental impact during the entire life cycle of the product and / or process ... ".

Life cycle assessment is the process of evaluating the environmental impacts associated with a product, process or other activity by identifying and quantifying:

• volumes of consumed energy, material resources and emissions into the environment;
• quantitative and qualitative assessment of their impact on the environment;
• identifying and evaluating opportunities to improve the ecological state of the system.

The assessment is carried out with the aim of obtaining a comprehensive environmental impact assessment that provides more reliable information for making economic, technical and social decisions. It should be emphasized that LCA itself does not solve environmental problems, but rather provides the necessary information to solve them. Based on the main principle of the LCA - "from the cradle to the grave", the entire production chain is subject to greening - from production to its disposal.

LCA is an iterative method - that is, all work is carried out in parallel with the continuous analysis of the results obtained and the adjustment of the previous stages. An iterative approach within the system and between stages ensures comprehensiveness and consistency in the study and presentation of results. The principles, content, requirements of the stages of the LCA are regulated by ISO standards.

According to ISO 14040, life cycle assessment consists of four stages.

1. Definition of purpose and scope (ISO 14041).

In determining the purpose and scope the purpose of the study and the boundaries of the system under study (temporal and spatial), describe the data sources used, as well as the methods used to assess environmental impacts, and justify their choice. However, at later stages it may be necessary to revise and adjust the adopted parameters, for example, to narrow the boundaries or range of environmental impacts considered if there is a lack of information.

2. Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (ISO 14041).

Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (life cycle inventory analysis) is the longest and most costly stage at which data are collected on the input and output flows of matter and energy involved in production. To account for them, the production system is divided into separate modules, based on the stages of the product life cycle (raw material extraction, semi-finished products, manufacturing, sale, use, disposal of the product). In addition, within some stages, which are particularly complex in terms of technology, modules can be identified that correspond to single production processes. For example, in the production of a packaging polyethylene film from a semi-finished product (granular low-density polyethylene), it is advisable to single out the following modules: melting the granules, extrusion, cooling and packaging of the film. It is important when carrying out an inventory analysis to take into account all transportation related to the life cycle of products, both between individual stages of the life cycle (for example, from the supplier of raw materials to the manufacturer), and within them (for example, in the workshops of the enterprise).

3. Life cycle impact assessment (ISO 14042).

Life cycle impact assessment (life cycle impact assessment), i.e. assessment of the significance of potential environmental impacts is carried out based on the results of the inventory analysis and is methodologically the most difficult and therefore the most controversial stage of the LCA.

In this phase of the LCA, it is first of all important to order the environmental impacts recorded at the previous stage into the so-called categories of impacts (consumption of mineral resources and energy, generation of toxic waste, destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer, greenhouse effect, reduction of biological diversity, damage to human health, etc.) . In the future, it is necessary to quantify each of the categories and compare these diverse impacts in order to answer the question of which of them causes the greatest damage to the natural environment (for example, greenhouse gas emissions or soil erosion). A number of methodologies (and corresponding software products) have been developed for impact assessment, none of which is universal and subjective.

4. Life cycle interpretation (ISO 14043).

The objective of the last phase of the LCA life cycle interpretations (life cycle interpretation) is to develop recommendations for minimizing harmful effects on the environment. Improving the environmental performance of products by taking into account LCA recommendations ultimately brings with it many environmental (for example, reduced material and energy consumption of the product) and economic benefits (for example, savings on the purchase of raw materials, increasing demand from an environmentally conscious consumer, improving the economic image of the enterprise and etc.).

Although the LCA process consists of four successive stages, the LCA is an iterative procedure in which the experience gained at a later stage can serve as feedback leading to a change in one or more of the earlier stages of the assessment process.

For what purpose is LCA used in Europe? This question is one of the key ones to motivate any organization making a decision about fundamental changes in production, product design or organization management. The main reasons for conducting an LCA for a product or service are:

• the organization's desire to collect information on the environmental impacts of a product or service in order to identify opportunities to reduce its environmental impact;
• explaining to consumers the best ways to use and end-use products;
• collection of information to support and provide eco-certificates (for example, to obtain an eco-label).

Today, the LCA method finds more and more practical application in various industries. In addition to its direct application for product evaluation, LCA is also used in a wider context to develop complex business strategies, public policies related to various aspects of society.

In the last decade, research in the field of waste management using the LCA methodology has played an increasingly important role in choosing the most appropriate solutions for their disposal. In the case of a waste management system analysis, LCA is taken as the basis for comparing the environmental performance of various waste management options and making strategic decisions in this area. In the European Union, LCA is expected to become an important tool for all aspects of the waste management system in the future. Unfortunately, very often when assessing the life cycle of products, waste is not given enough attention. Typically, product LCA focuses on the production of the product, at the stage of its use, and waste often remains outside the boundaries of the system for which the environmental impact is calculated. In the case of LCA waste, on the contrary, used products that have already ended their lives are the main goal of research .

It should be noted that the systems analyzed in the LCA of waste management tend to have a complex structure, since waste management itself is a complex system that is difficult to study. In addition, other related systems, such as energy production, production from recycled materials, etc., are also considered in the assessment process. Table 1 shows several differences that need to be considered when evaluating these systems (Table 1).

Table 1- Comparison of the application of life cycle assessment methods for products and for the waste management system

PRODUCTS	WASTE
LCA can be used to optimize the life cycle of a specific product, usually within the infrastructure of the system (power generation system, transport system, solid waste management system)	LCA is used to optimize the infrastructure of systems for waste management
LCA was first applied to products (in the 80s)	LCA came into use later (in the 1990s)
A functional unit is defined in terms of the purpose of the product. For example, washing clothes or delivering a certain weight or volume of a product to a consumer	Usually, the functional unit refers to the amount of waste generated, usually 1 ton per 1 inhabitant.
The boundaries of the system include the extraction of raw materials, the production of a product from it, the sale of the product, the use of the product, and its disposal.	The boundaries of the system begin from the moment when materials (products) become waste. The system includes all stages of waste treatment (from collection and transportation to processing or disposal). That is, until the materials cease to be part of the waste, due to emissions into the atmosphere or into water, turning into inert materials at landfills, or again become a useful product.
LCA is applied by those who can manage product development, production and marketing	LCA applied by those planning a solid waste management system

As a result of the conducted literature analysis, it can be concluded that one of the new areas of application of LCA is the comparison of different waste management systems or the development of a new waste management strategy. Despite the presence of a regulatory framework (GOST R ISO 14040-43), the LCA methodology in Russia has not yet received significant development and practical application. Currently, the results of only a few Russian studies on the application of LCA in industry have been published - in the field of road and air transport, construction work, the production of packaging materials, agricultural products, and waste management. The LCA method deserves close attention from the Russian environmental sector, as it is an important analytical tool for substantiating the choice between different technologies, scenarios, with reliability, reliability of the results obtained.

Reviewers:

• Fedotov Konstantin Vadimovich, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, General Director of the Research and Design Institute "TOMS", Irkutsk.
• Zelinskaya Elena Valentinovna, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, General Director of EcoStroyInnovations LLC, Irkutsk.

Bibliographic link

Ulanova O.V., Starostina V.Yu. A BRIEF REVIEW OF THE METHOD FOR ASSESSING THE LIFE CYCLE OF PRODUCTS AND WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS // Modern problems of science and education. - 2012. - No. 4.;
URL: http://science-education.ru/ru/article/view?id=6799 (date of access: 01.02.2020). We bring to your attention the journals published by the publishing house "Academy of Natural History"

GOST R ISO 14040-99

GOSSTANDART OF RUSSIA

Moscow

Foreword

1. DEVELOPED by the All-Russian Research Institute of Standardization (VNIIstandart) and the All-Russian Research Institute of Classification. terminology and information on standardization and quality (VNIIKI)

INTRODUCED by the Scientific and Technical Department of the State Standard of Russia

2. ADOPTED AND INTRODUCED BY Decree of the State Standard of Russia dated February 22, 1999 No. 45

3. This standard is an authentic text of the international standard ISO 14040-97 Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Principles and tour»

4. INTRODUCED FOR THE FIRST TIME

5. RE-ISSUE

Introduction date 1999-07-01

Introduction

Importance of the issue of environmental protection and possible impacts associated with manufactured and consumed products 1 , increases interest in the development of methods aimed at reducing these impacts. One method being developed for this purpose is life cycle assessment (LCA). This International Standard provides the principles and structure of an LCA to support the study and reporting of an LCA, and some minimum method requirements.

The life cycle assessment method includes:

Taking inventory 2 relevant input and output streams of the product system;

Assessing the potential environmental impacts associated with these flows;

Interpretation of the results of the inventory analysis and the stages of impact assessment, depending on the purpose of the study.

This method evaluates the environmental aspects and potential impacts throughout the product life cycle (i.e. "from cradle to grave") from the acquisition of raw materials to production, operation and disposal. The main categories of environmental impacts are resource use, human health and environmental impacts.

1 . Here, the term "product" also includes service systems.

2 . The inventory may cover environmental aspects that are not directly related to the inputs and outputs of the system.

The LCA method makes it possible to:

Improving the environmental aspects of products at various points in their life cycle;

Decision making in industrial, governmental or non-governmental organizations (for example, in strategic planning, prioritization, product or process design and redesign);

Selecting appropriate environmental performance indicators, including measurement methods;

Marketing (for example, when making an environmental claim related to an eco-labeling system or an environmentally friendly product declaration).

The LCA method is at an early stage of development. Some parts of the method, such as impact assessment, are still in their infancy, so there is a lot of work to be done and practical experience to be gained in order to move to the next level of practical application of the LCA method. Thus, it is important to correctly interpret and apply the results of an LCA accordingly.

For the successful application of the LCA method in understanding the environmental aspects of products, it is essential that it maintains its technical validity while at the same time being flexible, practical and cost-effective. This is especially important for small and medium enterprises.

The scope, scope, and level of detail of an LCA study depend on the object and intended use of the results. The depth and breadth of LCA studies depends on the purpose of the particular study. In all cases, however, the principles of structure established in this International Standard should be followed.

LCA is one of several environmental management techniques (eg risk assessment, environmental performance or environmental performance assessment, environmental auditing and environmental impact assessment) and is not applicable to all situations. As a general rule, LCA does not address the economic and social aspects of products.

The LCA method has the following limitations:

The nature of the choices and assumptions made in relation to an LCA (eg delineation of system boundaries, selection of information sources and categories of impacts) can be subjective;

Models used for inventory analysis or environmental impact assessment are limited by appropriate assumptions and may not be suitable for all potential impacts;

The results of LCA research focused on global and regional issues may not be suitable for local applications, i.e. local conditions may not be adequately represented by regional or global conditions;

The accuracy of LCA studies may be limited by the degree of availability of the necessary or lack of relevant information, its quality, for example, gaps, the types of information available, its grouping, averaging, specificity for a given location of an object;

The lack of spatial and temporal parameters in the inventory data used to assess impacts introduces uncertainty into impact outcomes. This uncertainty varies depending on the spatial and temporal characteristics of each impact category.

It should be noted that the information gained from the LCA study process should be used as part of a larger decision-making process and can be used to reach an overall compromise. Comparison of the results of different LCA studies is possible only when the assumptions and context of each study are the same. These assumptions should also be clearly articulated for the sake of transparency.

This International Standard contains the principles and structure for conducting LCA studies, as well as some methodological requirements for this process. For more information, see and related to the various stages of an LCA.

This Standard is not intended to create non-tariff barriers to trade, increase or change an organization's statutory obligations.

1 area of ​​use

This International Standard establishes the general framework, principles and requirements for conducting and reporting on life cycle assessment studies. The details of the life cycle assessment method are not covered here.

2. Regulatory references

The following standards contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this standard. At the time of publication, the edition cited was current. Since all standards are subject to revision, it is recommended that the most recent edition of the standard indicated below be applied. Member countries of IEC and ISO maintain registers of currently valid International Standards.

Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Determination of the purpose, research area and inventory analysis

Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Life cycle impact assessment

Environmental management. Life cycle assessment. Life cycle interpretation

3 Definitions

For the purposes of this International Standard, the following definitions apply.

3.1 Distribution (allocation ) - separation of input or output flows of a single process in relation to the product system under study.

3.2. Comparative conclusion (comparative assertion ) - a conclusion characterizing the environmental efficiency (environmental friendliness) of various types of products of the same functional purpose.

3.3. elementary stream (elementary flow):

material or energy included in the system under study, which was removed from the environment without their prior transformation by a person, or

materials or energy leaving the system under study, which are released into the environment without their subsequent transformation by a person.

3.4. Environmental aspect (environmental aspect ) is an element of an organization's activities, products or services that can interact with the environment.

3.5. functional unit (functional unit ) is a quantitative characteristic of the product system used as a standard unit (measurement) in the study of LCA.

3.6. input stream (input ) - materials or energy that enter the unit process.

Note - Materials may include raw materials and products (components).

3.7. Interested party (interested party) - individual or group of individuals who interested in the environmental performance (environmental friendliness) of the product system or the results of the LCA.

3.8. Life cycle (life cycle ) - sequential or interrelated stages of the product system from the acquisition of raw materials or the development of natural resources to the disposal of products.

3.9. Life cycle assessment, LCA (life cycle assessment ) - collection and evaluation of input and output flows, as well as potential environmental impacts from - the product system at all stages of the product life cycle.

3.10. Life cycle impact assessment (life cycle impact assessment ) is the phase of the life cycle assessment aimed at understanding and evaluating the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts of a product system.

3.11. Life cycle interpretation (life cycle interpretation ) - the phase of the life cycle assessment, in which the results of the inventory analysis or impact assessment, or both, are linked to the goal and scope in order to draw certain conclusions and make recommendations.

3.12 Life cycle inventory analysis (life cycle inventory analysis ) - the life cycle assessment phase, which includes the collection and quantification of inputs and outputs for a given product system at all stages of the product life cycle.

3.13 Output stream (output ) are the materials or energy that come out of a unit process.

Note - Materials may include raw materials, semi-finished products, finished products, emissions (discharges) and waste.

3.14. Practitioner (performer) (practitioner ) is the individual or group of individuals completing the LCA.

3.15. Production system (product system ) - a set of materially or energetically related unit processes that performs one or more specific functions.

Note - Here, the term "product" includes systems of services.

3.16. Raw material(raw material ) - primary or secondary material used to manufacture products.

3.17. System boundaries (system boundary ) is the relationship between a product system and the environment or other product systems.

3.18 Transparency(transparency ) - an open, adequate and understandable presentation of information.

3.19. Single process (unit process ) is the smallest part of the product system for which data is collected in the LCA process.

3.20. Waste(waste ) is any output stream from a production system that is removed.

4 Features and phases of an LCA

4.1. Features of LCA

The main salient features of the LCA methodology are as follows:

Research related to LCA should be systematic and appropriately focused on the environmental aspects of product systems from raw material acquisition to disposal;

The depth of detail and time frame of an LCA study can vary greatly depending on the intended purpose and scope;

The scope, assumptions, description of data quality, methods applied and results obtained from an LCA should be clear and transparent. In LCA studies, data sources should be discussed and documented;

Depending on the intended application of the LCA study, measures should be taken to preserve confidentiality and ownership of the information;

The LCA methodology should be receptive to incorporating new scientific results and technology improvements;

There are special requirements for LCA studies that are used for the comparative conclusion presented to the public;

There is no scientific basis for reducing LCA results to a single quantifier or number, as there are trade-offs and complexities at different stages in the life cycle of the product systems being analyzed;

There is no single method for conducting LCA studies. As stated in this International Standard, organizations should be flexible in their implementation of an LCA based on the specific application and user requirements.

4.2. Phases of an LCA

The life cycle assessment should include goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation of results, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Phases of an LCA

5. Methodological structure

In addition to the general requirements set out below, this International Standard contains additional the requirement that the definition of a goal, areas of application, and inventory analysis should meet the requirements of the standard.

5.1 Determining purpose and scope

The purpose and scope of an LCA study should be clearly defined and consistent with the intended use.

5.1.1. Purpose of the study

The purpose of the research should clearly indicate the intended use, reasons in completion of the study and the intended recipient, i.e. who is expected to report the results of the study.

5.1.2. Scope of the study

In determining the scope of an LCA study, the following should be established:

The functions of the product system or, in the case of comparative studies, the functions of the systems under consideration;

functional unit;

The researched production system;

Product system boundaries;

Distribution procedures (input, output streams);

Impact types and impact assessment methodologies used, as well as subsequent interpretation;

data requirements;

Assumptions;

Restrictions;

Requirements for the quality of primary data;

The type of critical review, if any;

The type and form of reference required for the study.

The scope should guarantee compatibility, sufficiency of breadth, depth and detail of the study to achieve the goal.

LCA is an iterative method. Therefore, it may be necessary to modify the scope of the study as additional information becomes available along the way.

5.1.2.1. Function and functional unit of the system

The scope of an LCA study should clearly state the functions of the system under study. A functional unit is a measure of the characteristics of the functional output streams of a product system.

The main purpose of the functional unit is to provide a measurement standard for input and output flows. This unit is necessary to allow for comparability of LCA results. The comparability of LCA results is particularly important to ensure that there is a common basis for comparing different systems.

The system may have a number of possible functions depending on the circuits and the scope of the study. The functional unit associated with the scope must be defined and measurable.

Example : The functional unit for a coating system can be taken to be the surface area protected (coated) for a given period of time.

5.1.2.2. System boundaries

The system boundaries determine which unit processes should be included in the LCA.

The boundaries of the system are determined by several factors, including the intended use of the study, the assumptions made, preference criteria, data constraints, and the cost to the intended recipient (consumer of the results).

The choice of inputs and outputs, the level of aggregation within the data category, and system modeling should be consistent with the purpose of the study. The system must be modeled so that the input and output flows at its boundaries are elementary.

The criteria used in establishing system boundaries should be identified and justified in the scope of the study. As part of LCA studies used to make a comparative judgment presented to the public, analyzes of material and energy flows should be performed to determine whether they are included in the scope of the study.

5.1.2.3. Data quality requirements

Data quality requirements are determined by the characteristics of the data needed for the study. These requirements should contribute, as appropriate, to the objectives and scope of the LCA study. Data quality requirements should include:

Time period covered;

Geographic conditions;

technological factors;

Correctness, completeness and representativeness of data;

Consistency and reproducibility of methods used in LCA;

Data sources and their representativeness;

Degree of information uncertainty.

Where a study is used for comparative purposes, the assertion made to the public should refer to the data quality requirements mentioned above.

5.1.2.4. System Comparison

In comparative studies, the equivalence of the systems being compared must be determined before results are interpreted. The comparison should use the same functional units and the same methodological aspects such as characteristics, system boundaries, data quality, allocation procedures, decision rules for estimating inputs and outputs and assessing impacts. Any differences between systems in these parameters should be identified and recorded.

For a comparative opinion to be presented to the public, the evaluation of the systems must be carried out in accordance with the critical review process (). Another requirement for a comparative opinion is that an impact assessment has been carried out.

5.1.2.5. Critical review

A critical review is a method for determining whether an LCA study meets the requirements of this International Standard in terms of methodology, data and reporting. The need for a critical review, who and how should conduct it, is determined by the scope of the study.

It should be noted that LCA Critical Reviews are optional and any of the review options listed in .

5.2 Life cycle inventory analysis

5.2.1. General Description of Life Cycle Inventory

Inventory analysis includes procedures for collecting and calculating data in order to quantify the relevant input and output data streams of a product system. Inputs and outputs may include resource use, emissions to air, releases to water and land associated with the system.

Depending on the objectives and scope of the LCA, these data can be used to interpret the results. These data also provide input for life cycle impact assessments.

The inventory analysis process is iterative. As data is collected and the system is explored, new system requirements or new constraints may be established, requiring changes in data collection procedures to achieve the purpose of the study. Occasionally, issues may arise that require a re-examination of the purpose or scope of the study.

5.2.2. Data collection and calculation procedures

Qualitative and quantitative data for inclusion in the inventory analysis should be collected for each unit process within the system boundary.

The procedures used to collect data may vary depending on the scope, unit process, or intended use of the study.

Data collection can be a resource intensive process. The scope should consider practical limitations on data collection and document them in the study report.

Some features of the calculations:

Allocation procedures are necessary when dealing with systems that include multi-component products (eg multi-component petroleum products). Material and energy flows and their associated releases to the environment must be linked to the various components of the product in accordance with clearly stated procedures, which must be documented and justified;

The calculation of the energy flow should take into account the various fuel and energy sources used, the conversion efficiency and distribution of the energy flow, the inputs and outputs associated with the production and use of this energy flow.

5.3. Life cycle impact assessment

The impact assessment phase of an LCA is aimed at assessing the significance of potential environmental impacts based on the results of a life cycle inventory analysis. Broadly speaking, this process involves linking inventory data to specific environmental impacts and trying to make sense of these impacts. The level of detail, the choice of impacts to be assessed and the methodologies used depend on the purpose and scope of the study.

This evaluation may include an iterative process of revisiting the purpose and scope of the LCA study to determine whether the objectives of the study have been achieved, or whether the purpose and scope should be changed if the assessment indicates that they cannot be achieved.

The impact assessment phase may include, among others, the following elements:

Linking inventory data to categories of impacts (classification);

Modeling inventory data within impact categories (characterization);

Possible aggregation of results in specific cases, if significant (determination by weighting).

Note - The data obtained before the weighing must be kept.

The methodology and scientific approach for impact assessment is still being developed. Impact category models are at various stages of development. There is no generally accepted methodology for consistently and accurately linking inventory data to specific potential environmental impacts.

There is subjectivity in the life cycle impact assessment phase, for example in the selection, modeling and evaluation of impact categories. Thus, to ensure that assumptions are clearly described and documented, transparency is critical to impact assessment.

5.4. Life cycle interpretation

Interpretation is the phase of LCA in which the results of the inventory data analysis and the impact assessment are linked, or only the results of the inventory data analysis according to the stated purpose and scope are linked to draw conclusions and recommendations.

The results of this interpretation should be in the form of conclusions and recommendations for decision makers, according to the purpose and scope of the study.

The interpretation phase may include an iterative process of examining and revising the scope of the LCA and the nature and quality of the data collected for the purpose.

The results of the interpretation should reflect the results of the "sensitivity analysis" performed.

While subsequent decisions and actions may include environmental factors identified as a result of the interpretation, they are outside the scope of an LCA study as they take into account other factors such as technical performance, economic and social aspects.

6. Reporting

The results of an LCA must be impartially, completely and accurately reported to the consumer. The type and form of the report should be determined when formulating the scope of the study.

Results, data, methods, assumptions and limitations should be transparent and presented in sufficient detail to enable the consumer to understand the complexities and trade-offs involved in an LCA study. The report should also allow the results to be used and interpreted in a way that is consistent with the objectives of the study.

If the results of an LCA are to be communicated to a third (interested) party that is not an authorized person or executor participating in the study, regardless of the form of communication, a reference report must be prepared for the third party with which there is communication.

The report should cover:

A) General aspects:
	authorized person for LCA, LCA implementer (internal or external);
	date of preparation of the report;
	a statement that the study was conducted in accordance withthe requirements of this standard;
b)definition of purpose and scope;
V)life cycle inventory analysis: collection procedures and data calculation;
G)assessment of impacts throughout the life cycle (methodology and results of the impact assessment carried out);
e)lifecycle interpretation:
	results;
	assumptions and limitations related to the interpretation of the results, and the methodology and data associated with them;
	data quality assessment.
e)critical review:
	name and status of persons performing the review;
	critical review reports;
	The methods used to conduct an LCA are scientifically and technically sound; The data used adequately correspond to the purpose of the study; Interpretations reflect identified limitations and the purpose of the study; The study report is transparent and serves its purpose. Since this International Standard does not specify requirements for the purposes or uses of an LCA, critical review cannot verify or validate either the purposes chosen for an LCA or the use cases for which the results of an LCA are applied. The scope and type of critical review required should be determined when formulating the scope of the LCA study. 7.2. The need for a critical review (expertise) The critical review should contribute to the understanding and credibility of LCA studies, for example when involving stakeholders. The use of LCA results for comparative judgments raises some questions and requires critical review (peer review), as this application is likely to affect stakeholders external to the LCA study. In order to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings or negative impacts on external stakeholders, critical reviews of LCA studies should be conducted when the results are used to support comparative conclusions. However, the mere fact that a critical review has been conducted should in no way be construed as support for any comparative conclusion based on the LCA study. 7.3. Critical review (examination) processes If an LCA study is subject to a critical review (peer review), the scope of the review should be defined. The scope of the review should state why the review is being undertaken, what level of detail it will cover, and who should be involved in the critical review process. Where appropriate, agreements to maintain the confidentiality of the content of the LCA should be indicated. 7.3.1. Review by internal expert A critical review can be done within the organization. In this case, it is performed by an internal expert independent of the LCA study. This expert should be familiar with the requirements of this International Standard and have the necessary scientific and technical experience. The conclusion of the review is prepared by the person conducting the LCA study and then reviewed by an internal independent expert. The conclusion of the review may also be prepared by an internal independent expert. The final part of the review should be included in the LCA study report. 7.3.2. Review by external expert Critical review (expertise) can be performed outside the organization. In this case, it is performed by an external expert independent of the LCA study. This expert should be familiar with the requirements of this International Standard and have scientific and technical experience. The conclusion of the review is prepared by the person conducting the LCA study and then reviewed by an external independent expert. The conclusion of the review may also be prepared by an external independent expert. The conclusion of the review, the comments of the implementer and any response to the recommendations made by the reviewer should be included in the LCA study report. 7.3.3. Stakeholder Review The study designee selects an external independent expert to chair the review panel. Based on the goals, scope, and financial resources allocated to the review, the supervisor selects other independent qualified individuals to participate in the review. The panel may include other interested parties, such as government agencies, non-governmental groups or competitors. The conclusion of the review and the panel's report, together with the expert's comments and any responses to the recommendations of the reviewers or panel members, should be included in the LCA study report. Keywords: environmental management, life cycle assessment, principles, structure.

Product life cycle assessment.

The environmental component of marketing is aimed at increasing the purchasing potential of products and strengthening through the creation of the buyer's perception of the environmental benefits of products in all its phases ((from production to disposal).

From the point of view of international standards, the corporate environmental management system provides solutions to environmental and economic issues by allocating resources, distributing responsibilities and constantly evaluating the methods, procedures and processes used.

From the standpoint of the modern view, KEM can be defined as part of the overall enterprise management system that implements its competitiveness. It must be understood that environmental issues are no different from other aspects of industrial activity, since environmental costs or profits are components of a business.

Corporate environmental management.

Environmental management as a scientific direction is the development and study of a set of methods for effectively solving joint economic, economic and environmental problems.

As a type of state activity, economic management should ensure the growth of sustainable well-being of the entire state and its individual objects with uncontrolled preservation of the bioregulation of the natural environment.

The subject of corporate environmental management serve the environmental aspects of the enterprise, the products produced by this activity and the services provided.

The purpose of corporate environmental management (CEM) is to minimize the negative impacts of production activities on the environment, to achieve a high level of environmental safety of the processes of production and consumption of products and services provided, and these goals must be consistent with the goals of ensuring the current and long-term competitiveness of the enterprise.

The environmental management system should be permanent and coordinated with work in other areas, for example, in the areas of production management, finance, quality, labor protection and general safety.

3.5. Environmental component of marketing.

In this case, all elements of marketing should be used: both the product itself and its distribution, communications and price, in order to explain to consumers what additional benefits they will receive by buying an environmentally friendly product, all other things being equal competitive qualities

explain the extreme importance of "getting green" as a consequence of the natural process of modern development, which has its own intermediate goals and objectives on the path to prosperity.

The basis of marketing in general and environmental marketing in particular is market research. When analyzing markets, the following indicators are of greatest interest:

Market capacity, i.e., possible sales volumes of a particular product;

Market and predictive sales research;

Buyer behavior research;

Studying the practices of competitors;

A study of the possible reaction to the appearance of a new product on the market of a particular country.

Most often, the results of this analysis, including from an environmental point of view, are used in the development of business plans.

To determine the reaction of the market, and especially the market for products that meet environmental requirements, commodity interventions are often practiced - an unexpected release of a batch of goods with new consumer properties. Then the behavior of customers, competitors, government, etc. is systematically studied.

The raw materials from which the product was made are more environmentally friendly raw materials with the lowest content of synthetic components;

The production process with the least anthropogenic impact on the environment, i.e., the predominant use of low-waste and waste-free technologies;

The possibility of easy processing or regeneration of the final product, while the intermediate products must also have similar properties;

The ability of the packaging material to regenerate. The designation of a product as environmentally friendly already attracts attention, even if the consumer does not know what the essence of its cleanliness or “greenness” is.

When creating a product, the developer must perceive the concept of "environmentally friendly product" at three levels:

The product's environmental performance level by design (fundamental ). At this level, the answer to the question is given: what will the buyer actually buy? After all, any product is a means and a way to solve a problem. For example, an enterprise, buying adsorbents for water purification, acquires clean water.

The level of transformation of a product by design into a real product: water filters, resource-saving technologies, desalination plants, environmental consulting services, environmental specialists. A real product usually has 5 characteristics: a quality level, a set of features, a specific design, a brand name, and a characteristic packaging.

The level at which the developer can provide additional services and benefits to the product . For example, a consumer of clothing made from natural materials needs laundry, cleaning, and quality assurance services.

When making decisions about the production of materials, the location or their procurement from outside, it is extremely important to consider the appropriateness of the use of hazardous materials, components or processes, i.e. the environmental aspect. When agreeing on a delivery method, an enterprise must provide for the use of environmentally friendly packaging materials and vehicles, the use of effective methods of bar coding, product certification, and environmental labeling of goods.

Complex of marketing communications consists of four means of influence:

Sales promotion through the distribution of samples, coupons, packaging at a reduced price, issuance of test coupons; exposition and demonstration of goods at points of sale; price discounts for a certain quantity of goods, holding contests, lotteries, games, etc.;

Propaganda, i.e. dissemination of commercially important information about a product or a favorable presentation in the media.

Personal selling, i.e. verbal presentation of goods during a conversation with one or more buyers in order to make a sale.

In order to achieve mutual understanding and cooperation of the organization with the public, it is extremely important to fulfill at least three conditions:

Ü ensure that both the general public and individual specialized groups are widely informed.

Organize effective feedback.

To involve the public in the process of discussion and decision-making, taking into account the interests of various social groups.

One of the components of the environmental assessment of the characteristics of economic activity is the assessment of the life cycle of products.

Product Life Cycle Assessment allows to assess its potential impact on the environment and reduce the level of such impacts. This method includes:

a) defining the goals and objectives of the life cycle assessment;

b) formation of a list of input and output parameters (sheet of material and energy flows) - inventory analysis;

c) assessment of the potential impact on the environment associated with the input and output flows of matter and energy;

d) interpretation of the results and their documentation.

This method is used for:

Evaluation of opportunities to improve the environmental aspects of products at various stages of the life cycle;

Assistance in making strategic planning decisions, setting priorities in the design or reconstruction of production, products, processes;

The choice of indicators of "environmental friendliness";

Increasing the competitiveness of products and increasing profits;

Marketing;

Environmental labeling or for the withdrawal of an application-declaration of environmentally friendly products;

Environmental audit;

Environmental insurance.

The main features of assessing the characteristics of the life cycle of products include:

1) Systematic adequate assessment of the environmental aspects of products at the stages of their life cycle;

2) Dependence of the depth of detail and the time frame of the assessment on the goals and objectives set;

3) Certain measures to protect the confidentiality and appropriateness of the use of the results.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an examination (list or inventory) of the resources used in the manufacture, use and disposal of products, and an assessment of their impact on the environment. LCA can also be applied to technologies. The first step is to determine the scope of the study. At this stage, the boundaries are established through which material resources and energy enter this cycle, and products and waste released into the air and water, as well as solid waste, leave this cycle. The study may cover the extraction of raw materials, production, transportation and use of products up to the point of disposal or recycling. Such an examination is quite specific and based on facts, and must be carried out in accordance with the standards ISO.

The second stage is the environmental impact assessment. The criteria used in the examination are objective, but it is difficult to assess this impact, since the impact thresholds for a number of reasons may be different in different places. We have already mentioned the example of reservoirs into which sewage is discharged, which can be very different - from a shallow river to an estuary.

Standards ISO on LCA were developed as part of an international collaboration coordinated by the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and the EU Commission (CES). The following standards have been released:

750 14040:1997 - LCA. Principles and foundations;

ISO 14041:1998 - LCA. Goals, scope definitions and status analysis;

ISO 14042:2000 - LCA. Life cycle impact assessment;

ISO 14043:2000 - LCA. The concept of the life cycle;

ISO/TS 14048:2000 - LCA. Data storage format;

ISO/TR 14049:2000 - LCA. Application examples ISO 14041 to goals, scope definitions and state analysis.

Life cycle assessment is useful for identifying and quantifying points in the life cycle where significant environmental impacts occur, as well as assessing the impact of life cycle changes (for example, replacing one technology with another). An example of an LCA is provided in a joint work of firms Tetra Pak, StoraEnso and the Swedish Forestry Industries Federation with an analysis of carton minimization and changes in printing technology, polymer extrusion coating, distribution, recovery and recycling systems, all of which reduced the environmental impact in the life cycle of a liter milk carton.

Conclusion

The current state of the problems of paper and cardboard is not due to environmental considerations. Their secondary processing began to be used at least 100 years ago for technical and commercial reasons. In 2002, waste paper provided about 45% of the world demand for fiber semi-finished products. The amount of collected and recycled fiber is increasing for several reasons:

Increasing demand for fiber with increased production of paper and paperboard; increasing the collection of waste paper through increased public awareness and the introduction of waste management programs.

You can list the benefits of each of the three main sources of fiber:

1. Cellulose is a flexible fiber that allows for stronger products; after bleaching chemically pure pulp, its smell and taste become neutral, which allows it to be successfully used for packaging food products that are sensitive to taste and smell; processing aids are recovered and reused; the energy used in the production is renewable, as it comes from the non-cellulosic components of the wood.
2. Wood pulp is a rigid fiber that gives paper and cardboard bulk, that is, giving an increase in thickness for a given mass per unit area (g / m 2); this allows the production of more rigid products compared to products based on other fibers; provides a high yield of wood; they can be chemically treated for bleaching, have a sufficiently neutral odor and taste to allow packaging of many food products that are sensitive to taste and odors.
3. Recycled fiber has the necessary functional properties and is cost effective. Its quality depends on the original paper or cardboard. The use of recycled fibers in the manufacture of paper and paperboard is socially accepted and economical, but its environmental benefits have not been proven. It is believed that the main advantage in terms of ecology is the "preservation of forests" through recycling and waste disposal.

Another advantage is that recycled fibers retain the solar energy originally stored in it, and this energy is consumed in the production and use of virgin fibers. However, energy is consumed in the collection of waste and the delivery of waste paper to processing plants; in addition, proportionately more energy is required for the manufacture of secondary products. In the production of paper and board with recycled fiber, additional losses occur, and since equivalent recycled products have more fiber, proportionally more water must be evaporated during production. Since fossil fuels provide all this energy, emissions to the atmosphere are also proportionately larger.

These facts are not presented out of a desire to be polemical, but solely to contrast them with the notion that the use of recycled fiber is somehow better for the environment. In logistical terms, primary fibers are also necessary for recycling. It is difficult to replace virgin fiber with recycled one in a short time, and economic constraints and society's need for waste disposal will lead to an increase in the recovery and use of waste paper. This is important because the sustainability of resources depends on both environmental impacts and economic and social needs.

You can point to the specific advantages of different types of fibers and their combination in obtaining different types of paper and paperboard intended for different uses. Not all fibers are fully interchangeable, and therefore it is inappropriate to insist on a mandatory minimum level or content of recycled fiber.

Virgin fiber is required to meet the performance requirements of many industrial paper and paperboard applications. It is also necessary to maintain the quality of the recovered fibers and the total quantity required by the industry as a whole. Virgin fiber is also needed to replace (replenish) recycled fibers lost during reprocessing. Fibers cannot be regenerated indefinitely; in addition, processing reduces the length of the fibers and, ultimately, they remain in the sludge. Therefore, it can be argued that both primary and secondary fibers are necessary in practice.

Renewability of resources has been shown to depend on social, economic and environmental factors. Many point out that environmental disputes on certain issues such as the ratio of virgin and recycled fibers in products have already grown into debates characterized by a more systematic approach to environmental problems, namely:

• extraction of raw materials;
• using energy to make paper and board;
• production of packaging from them;
• compliance with air emissions, wastewater and solid waste standards at all stages;
• ensuring the needs of products in packaging at all stages of the life cycle - packaging, distribution, transportation, sale and use by the end user;
• disposal of packaging at the end of its life cycle with the possibility of its reuse, recycling, incineration with energy recovery or landfill.

The system as a whole must be environmentally, economically and socially sustainable, and must include processes to ensure its continual improvement. The foregoing confirms that it is this approach that is currently used in the production and use of packaging based on paper and cardboard.

Stocks of wood for the pulp and paper industry are renewable. Independent forest certification is carried out in many regions, including North America and Europe. More than 50% of the energy used in the pulp and paper industry comes from renewable sources. Enterprises that do not use biomass in their production process and plants that are supplied with electricity are in the same position from the point of view of society in terms of the resources used.

Currently, energy is obtained mainly from fossil fuels, but the share of renewable resources is constantly growing. Businesses have increased their energy efficiency through cogeneration (CHP) and reduced their emissions by switching from coal and oil to natural gas. Water consumption has also decreased, and the quality of wastewater has improved. The amount of recycled paper and paperboard, as well as the proportion of recycled fibers used in the production of paper and paperboard, has increased.

With its activities in all these areas and thanks to independent expertise for compliance with international environmental standards (ISO 14000, EMAS) and quality management (ISO 9000) firms involved in the production and use of paper and cardboard packaging continue to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement.

Finally, an important characteristic of the pulp and paper industry, on which its claims of sustainability are based, is the role it plays in the global carbon cycle. The carbon cycle is the basis of the relationship between the atmosphere, sea and land (Fig. 2.5). All life on Earth depends on carbon in one form or another. Paper and cardboard are also included in this cycle because:

• atmospheric CO 2 is absorbed by the forest, and in the wood it turns into cellulose fibers;
• trees in their totality form forests;
• forests have a significant impact on climate, biodiversity, etc. by storing solar energy and CO 2 ;
• the main raw material for paper and cardboard is wood;
• the non-cellulosic components of wood provide more than 50% of the energy used to make paper and board, which leads to the fact that CO 2 is again returned to the atmosphere;
• part of paper and cardboard used for a long time (for example, books), as well as timber, act as a “carbon sink”, removing CO 2 from the atmosphere;
• when paper and cardboard are burned after use with energy recovery and when biodegraded in landfills, they release CO 2 into the atmosphere.

The paper industry is investing in forestry. This leads to the accumulation of new wood, and its volume significantly exceeds the volume of cut wood. In addition, the amount of CO 2 used to produce new wood exceeds the amount generated when biofuels are used in paper and board production, and at the end of their life cycle through energy recovery combustion or biodegradation.

Rice. 2.5. Carbolic (carbon) paper and board cycle

Thus, the pulp and paper industry effectively contributes to the development of forestry and removes CO 2 from the atmosphere, which serves the desired goal of ensuring the sustainable development of society.