EC releases practical guide to green products and services
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vestments that our Nation has made,” reads the report. But it cautions, “the NIT research landscape is changing rapidly and dramatically. . . . These changes will require additional resources—some combination of new funds and redirected existing funds—along with additional attention by multiple Federal agencies.” Federal departments and agencies, along with businesses, universities, and professional societies, are also addressing materials-related data challenges as part of another OSTP initiative, the Materials Genome Initiative. The Materials Genome Initiative was announced in June 2011 and aims to cut in half the time it takes to discover, develop, and manufacture new materials, and to dramatically reduce the associated cost. This
EC releases practical guide to green products and services http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository
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report published in May by the European Commission’s (EC) inhouse science service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), provides key information for policymakers and business managers on how to assess the environmental impacts of products and services. It helps to pave the way toward a resource-efficient Europe and aims to help design more sustainable products, which are indispensable in a world of seven billion people and limited resources, according to JRC. “Life-Cycle Thinking” (LCT) is key to making substantial improvements in the environmental performance of goods and services. This concept looks at the environmental impact of production, distribution, and consumption activities from cradle to grave, quantifying the environmental impact of products from the extraction of natural resources to product recycling or waste disposal. The International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) was developed to provide guidance for greater consistency and quality assurance of Life-Cycle Assessments (LCAs). The JRC report provides useful information that will help public administrations to
use the ILCD as a technical reference for environment-related policies, supporting them also for issuing tenders for service contracts. It supports business managers in developing greener, more efficient products and technologies by implementing LCT in a structured and coherent manner. It also helps policymakers and business actors to improve their environmental image and save money by implementing robust LCAs that will increase stakeholders’ confidence and resource efficiency, and promote more environmentally friendly supply chains. LCT helps to assess the sustainability of supply chains, use, and end-of-life management options for goods and services. LCA is a structured scientific method, internationally standardized according to ISO 14040 and 14044 that facilitates the implementation of LCT. This scientific method quantifies the resources consumed, emissions, and related environmental, health, and resource depletion issues that are associated with any specific good or service. Some of the topics it addresses include climate change, summer smog, ecotoxicity, human cancer effects, materials, and ener
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