Measurements, standards, and data in support of the sustainable use of materials
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Measurements, standards, and data in support of the sustainable use of materials Dianne L. Poster, Michael J. Fasolka, Richard R. Cavanagh, and Ellyn S. Beary Industry is increasingly aware that sustainability combines environmental, societal, and economic considerations in product development and that this linkage, while driving improved performance, can pose both a business opportunity and a challenge. On one hand, innovations make good business sense by bringing new products to supply a growing market demand for sustainable goods. On the other hand, new regulatory standards demand cleaner, less-toxic products, which can be difficult to develop economically, and require an agreed-upon infrastructure to demonstrate compliance, which can also be difficult and expensive. In this article, we discuss how measurements, standards, and data, being developed and deployed worldwide by national metrology institutes (NMIs) and standards-developing organizations (SDOs), are helping industry enable the sustainable use of materials. Examples include bio-based polymers, lightweight automobiles, fly-ash-based concrete, and lead-free solders. Measurements, standards, and data also support energy efficiency and renewable energy and ease industry compliance with new and emerging regulations, including those that demand less-toxic components.
Introduction Sustainability is at the intersection of public, government, and private interests. Citizens around the world are seeking products and practices that support the sustainable use of materials, governments are enacting policies that promote it, and businesses wish to provide products and services that appeal to consumers and meet government regulations. How can any of these groups be assured that their efforts to support sustainability are effective? The answer is “standards.” Standards enable the public, governments, and businesses to make progress and realize improved sustainability in a uniform manner. Three different types of standards typically come into play: regulatory standards, documentary standards, and measurement standards. Regulatory standards enforce the provisions of legislation. They set requirements that industry and the public must follow, and they allow government agencies to enforce conformance with those requirements. For example, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards that define how much asbestos is allowed in specific chemical forms in a variety of
products. In addition, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), EPA regulates household, industrial, and manufacturing solid waste. The RCRA in particular gives the EPA the authority to control hazardous waste “from cradle to grave” and includes the rules necessary for governing its generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal.1 Documentary standards specify uniform technical criteria and methods to enable comparisons among products, processes, and test results. They are established by various standardsdeveloping organizations (SDOs). SDOs can be national or intern
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