Mohan Y., Nawshad H. & Alain D.

Issus and Challngs in Lif Cycl Assssmnt in

th Minrals and Mtals Sctor, 2012: A Chanc to Improv Raw Matrials
fficincy
This papr critically rviws and analyzs xisting litratur concrning lif cycl assssmnt
(LCA) and its application to th minrals and mtals sctor which ar cor ingrdints in most of
th packaging matrials. This xtnsiv litratur sarch uncovrs many of th issus that rquir
immdiat attntion from th scintific community involvd with LCA. Th mthodological
drawbacks, mainly problms with inconsistncis in LCA rsults for th sam situation undr
diffrnt assumptions and issus rlatd to data quality, ar considrd to b th currnt
shortcomings of LCA. In th minrals and mtals sctor, it is important to incras th
objctivity of LCA by way of stimating and rporting thos uncrtaintis (Mohan t al); for
xampl, whthr land us has to b considrd in dtail or at a rough lvl. In rgard to abiotic
rsourc charactrization, th wight and tim scals to b considrd bcom a vry critical
issu of judgmnt (Mohan t al). How th tmporal and spatial dimnsions should b
incorporatd into LCA is on of th biggst challngs ahad for thos who ar concrnd. Th
contnt of this papr is quit rlvant to th AB papr sinc it triggrs a nd for addrssing ths
issus which will nabl LCA to b usd as a policy tool in nvironmntal dcision making.
Thr has bn normous unrsolvd dbat with rspct to land us impacts, abiotic rsourc
dpltion, allocation procdur opn-loop rcycling and spatial and tmporal dimnsions (Mohan
t al). An xampl cas has bn prsntd for Australian iron or using SimaPro softwar basd
on publishd invntory data to dmonstrat that uniformity is rquird. Hnc, discussions
aimd at bringing consnsus amongst all th stakholdrs involvd in LCA (i.. industry,
acadmia, consulting organizations and govrnmnt) ought to b prsntd. This rviw brings
into prspctiv som of thos contntious issus that ar widly dbatd by many rsarchrs.
Blonk t al in thir papr Fasibility of oprationalization of dpltion of abiotic rsourcs in
LCA via th ky rsourcs nrgy and land confrs with Mohan t al in that most availabl
modls suggst that or grad dcrass smoothly with tim following a log-normal or logbinomial distribution and thus th objctivity of LCA should b incrasd in any rlvant and
maningful ways. Bjorklund A. . (2002) in his publication ntitld Survy of approachs to
improv rliability in LCA also confrs with Mohan t al and argus that thr is a missing
framwork for th systmatic uncrtainty analysis of LCA. H adds that mor guidanc is
ndd, togthr with an incrasd numbr of good practics. Guidlins would b ncssary to
hlp practitionrs.

Muilrman H. & Blonk H. Towards a sustainabl us of natural rsourcs, 2001. Stichting

Natuur n Miliu
In this rport th authors dmonstrat th nd to rduc th consumption of natural rsourcs
(nvironmntal impacts) in th conomy and provid th initial imptus for a nw policy to kp
th us of natural rsourcs within sustainabl limits. According to th authors, discovris of
nw dposits, tchnological advancs and falling nrgy prics hav mad possibl th rcovry
of lowr grad ors, and th stimatd rmaining liftims of som rsourcs hav bn
considrably xtndd (Muilrman & Blonk). Howvr, this is not a rason for complacncy.
Soonr or latr, at th currnt rat of consumption, th rsrvs of crtain rsourcs will b
xhaustd (Muilrman & Blonk). This may b a long way off for a numbr of fossil fuls and
minral ors, but othr rsourcs such as biodivrsity and frtil soils ar bing usd up so
quickly thr is a dangr that critical thrsholds will b crossd. Th drain on biotic rsourcs is
particularly alarming; biodivrsity and frtil soils ar bing rapidly usd up. Half th natural
forst covr worldwid has alrady disappard, 13% in th last 30 yars. urop only has 1% of
its original forst covr lft (Muilrman & blonk). And thr is no sign of this attack on
biodivrsity diminishing. Commrcial logging for timbr is rsponsibl for most of dforstation.
Th prssur on th rmaining forsts is incrasing as th worldwid dmand for commrcial
timbr products grow spcially for papr industris and packaging industris. Muilrman &
Blonk furthr stablishs that th us of raw matrials largly dtrmins th rat of consumption
of natural rsourcs. Th xtraction and us of natural rsourcs ar rsponsibl for
nvironmntal problms all ovr th world, and th social and conomic impacts of thir us
cannot always b justifid. This papr is applicabl in th AB papr sinc it brings out th nd to
dsign and implmnt rlvant and applicabl policy masurs to safguard natural rsourcs
from th possibl xtinction from ovr utilization. Similar to Muilrman & Blonk accusations, a
papr by RIVM 200a, National Miliuvrknning 5 2000-2030, argus that th worldwid
dmand for fossil and minral rsourcs continus to grow. Dspit thr bing global policis to
rduc grnhous gass which may inhibit growth in th xtraction and us of fossil fuls and
mtal ors, thr is littl sign of this. Kramr K.J. 2000 on his papr, Food Mattrs. On
rducing nrgy us and grnhous gas missions from houshold food consumption, also
agrs that th dmand for a numbr of minral ors may vn b rising fastr and th dmand
for mtals is forcast to doubl ovr th nxt 50 yars. Widma P. in his papr, Can rsourc
dpltion b omittd from nvironmntal impact assssmnts, howvr tnds to diffr with
othrs arguing that dspit th incras in nrgy rquirmnt for rsourc xtraction, it is
unlikly that nrgy will bcom a limiting rsourc.

WWF Intrnational. Nw conomics foundation. World consrvation monitoring

cntr: Living Plant Rport, 1998. Gland: WWF Intrnational.
This rport by WWFs attmpts to provid a quantitativ answr to th qustion: how fast is
natur disapparing from th arth? As a scondary ambition, th rport also dscribs how
human prssurs on th natural nvironmnt ar changing ovr tim, and how ths ffcts vary
btwn countris. On main rason bhind th dclin in th worlds natural walth is
incrasing human activity, highr conomic activity and a largr population (WWF
Intrnational). Th authors of this rport xplors six causs of global nvironmntal chang. Th
first thr rlat to th consumption of rnwabl rsourcs: grain and mat, fish and safood,
and wood and papr (WWF Intrnational). Ths vital commoditis ar usd dirctly by popl
for food, nrgy, or matrials. Th scond thr rlat to impacts on th biosphr that ar
happning as a consqunc of th consumption of food, nrgy, or matrials (WWF
Intrnational): th us of artificial frtilizrs, th missions of carbon dioxid into th
atmosphr, and th consumption of cmnt. Globally, th consumption of rsourcs and
pollution of th natural nvironmnt ar incrasing, on avrag by around 2 pr cnt pr yar
sinc 1970, although a rduction in th growth rat ovr th last dcad may possibly b
discrnd. But, on th othr hand, humanity may hav alrady xcdd th sustainabl lvl, for
xampl in fish consumption and carbon dioxid missions (WWF Intrnational). This rport is
hlpful as far as this AB is concrnd sinc, it givs an importanc of trying to rvrs ths
ngativ trnds. Rcommndations on what govrnmnts, businsss, and consumrs can do
should b dvlopd and basd on WWF policy and aim to slow down and vntually halt th
dgradation of th worlds natural nvironmnts. A rport by Paul C. Strn, Oran R. Young, and
Danil Druckman dubbd Global nvironmntal Chang: Undrstanding th Human
Dimnsions (1992) admits that all th human causs of global nvironmntal chang happn
through a subst of proximat causs, which dirctly altr aspcts of th nvironmnt in ways
that hav global ffcts. This is similar to th viws of WWF rport authors. Turnr, B.L. 1989 in
his papr, Th human causs of global nvironmntal chang suggsts that th possibl forcs
driving global nvironmntal changs can b groupd into six catgoris: population; lvl of
afflunc; tchnology; political conomy; political structur; and attituds and valus. This
approach is quit diffrnt from WWFs prspctiv of th six causs of global nvironmnt
chang. Ths mixd conclusions indicat th importanc of furthr studis of th rlationship
btwn lvl of afflunc and nvironmntal chang.

Bonini A. Complmntary and comptitiv rgims of accumulation: natural rsourcs and

dvlopmnt in th world-systm, 2012. Dpartmnt of Sociology. Johns Hopkins
Univrsity.
During th post-war priod, natural rsourc production has oftn bn associatd with
priphralization in th world-conomy. This papr sks to dmonstrat that this association
dos not hold whn xamind from a long-trm prspctiv, and xplains th conditions undr
which natural rsourc production can support upward conomic mobility in th world-systm.
First, this papr provids vidnc that th rsourc xtraction has not always quald
priphralization in th world-conomy, as dmonstratd by, among othr things, th upward
conomic mobility of th Unitd Stats, Canada, Australia and Nw Zaland during th
nintnth cntury. It thn puts forth a nw hypothsis that th xistnc of opportunitis for raw
matrial producing countris dpnds on whthr th hgmonic rgim of accumulation at a
givn tim structurs th conomy in a way that is ithr complmntary or comptitiv to th
conomic dvlopmnt of raw matrial producing countris (Bonini). By xamining th British
cntrd rgim of accumulation during th nintnth cntury, it is vidnt that it was
comparativly complmntary to conomic dvlopmnt in raw matrial producing countris
whras th twntith cntury Unitd Stats cntrd rgim was comparativly comptitiv
with raw matrial producrs. Basd on a comparison with Britain and th Unitd Stats, th
papr also suggsts that Chinas incrasingly cntral rol in th world-conomy may b
comparativly complmntary to conomic dvlopmnt in raw matrial producing countris.
This papr bcoms rlvant in this papr in that it uss a world-systms prspctiv and provs
that, in fact, rsourc xtraction dos not qual priphralization in th world-conomy. Frank,
1969 in his papr, Capitalism and Undrdvlopmnt in Latin Amrica, concurs with Bonini in
that poor countris provid rich industrializd countris with chap natural rsourcs, thrby
prptuating a world hirarchy of walth in which raw matrial producrs rmain at th bottom.
In an attmpt to gt up from th bottom poor countris vntually find thmslvs in a fix by
xploiting vn mor natural rsourcs to fd th unnding dmand from industrializd
countris. Auty, 2001in his papr, Sustaining Dvlopmnt in Minral conomis: Th
Rsourc Curs Thsis, also supports th thory that raw matrial walth supports th upward
conomic mobility at th xpns of natural rsourcs. Contrary to th othr authors, Williams,
1989; Hagrstrand and Lohm 1990; Pfistr and Mssrli 1990 argus that high lvls of
afflunc and industrial dvlopmnt (and thus th ability to draw rsourcs from lswhr) can
b associatd with th rturn of forst covr and incras of othr natural rsourcs.

UN Sustainabl nrgy for All: Th Businss Opportunity. A comprhnsiv analysis of

priority actions across 19 industry sctors, 2012.
This rport prsnts th findings which ar th rsult of rsarch, intrviws, and focus groups
conductd in support of Sustainabl nrgy for All by th Unitd Nations Global Compact and
Accntur. This collaboration with th privat sctor hlpd to idntify mrging trnds, bst
practics, and opportunity aras rlatd to sustainabl nrgy dvlopmnt. Th rport provids
an ovrviw of th rlvanc of Sustainabl nrgy for All for businss. This ovrviw discusss
th opportunitis companis hav to gnrat businss valu through thir actions in support of
Sustainabl nrgy for All; th priority actions that ar common across industris; th ky
nablrs of succss (such as financ and policy); and th valu that th Sustainabl nrgy for
All platform can bring to th privat sctor. According to th authors of this rport, th worlds
nrgy landscap is shifting radically. Massiv global businss opportunitis and risks will
incrasingly b drivn by this shift (Unitd Nations global compact). It is thrfor critical that
businss ladrs undrstand th inxtricabl ti btwn this shifting nrgy landscap and thir
own growth and markt xpansion stratgis. Th rport furthr provids a knowldg bas for
companis looking to tak action throughout th ntrpris, from th boardroom to th facility
lvl, to advanc th objctivs of Sustainability nrgy for All: bnfiting th world whil
advancing thir own sustainabl businss valu. Th dynamics of th nrgy markt ar rapidly
changing. nsuring univrsal accss to modrn nrgy srvics, doubling th global rat of
improvmnt in nrgy fficincy, and doubling th shar of rnwabl nrgy in th global mix
in lss than two dcads will rquir an nrgy rvolution akin to th industrial and
information rvolutions (Unitd Nations global compact). This nrgy rvolution will dpnd on
an unprcdntd lvl of systms planning and coordination, and a shard vision addrssing
nrgy infrastructur, tchnology, policy, financ, and markt considrations. In rlation to th
consumr packagd goods industry this rport assrts that th industry is rsourc intnsiv,
using nrgy at many diffrnt points throughout th product lifcycl (Unitd Nations global
compact). Sourcing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, consumption, and disposal all
rquir significant amounts of nrgy. Consumr packagd goods companis ar continuing to
xpand into mrging markts and dvlop products with a vry high rplacmnt rat both
factors which impact th industrys us of nrgy. Th rlvanc of this sourc to th AB papr
coms in in that as conomis gain accss to nrgy, capital, and conomic growth, populations
start to dmand products and srvics that rquir vn mor nrgy. If th world is abl to
provid nrgy to its growing population, it will opn larg markts for th privat sctor across
all industris including th packaging industry. Thrfor, nrgy accss must b providd in a
sustainabl way in ordr to minimiz impacts to th nvironmnt and maximiz th long-trm
valu of invstmnts. In thir World nrgy Outlook 2011, th Intrnational nrgy Agncy
concurs with this rport stating that, in th priod from 2010 to 2035, non-OCD countris will
account for 90 prcnt of population growth and 90 prcnt of nrgy dmand growth. China,
India, Indonsia, Brazil, and th Middl ast ar prdictd to hav th highst rat of growth in
nrgy consumption. Similar to this rport, a papr prsntd to India invstmnt confrnc and
dubbd A changing global nrgy landscap: implications for India agrs that th global
nrgy landscap ovr th nxt two dcads can b improvd by advancing accss to nrgy,
improving nrgy fficincy, and incrasing th us of rnwabl nrgy.

Chaouki G. Lif Cycl Assssmnt of Packaging Matrials for Milk and Dairy Products,
2012. Int. J. of Thrmal & nvironmntal nginring Volum 4, No. 2
This papr introducs th mthods and tools that will guid in th dsign analysis of th rol of
matrials and procsss slction in trms of mbodid nrgy, carbon foot print, rcycl
fraction, and sustainability critria. Th goal of this papr was to valuat th nvironmntal
impacts of packaging systms for milk and dairy products through thir ntir lif cycl. Th
nrgy consumption and missions producd during th matrial primary production,
manufacturing, transportation, and th us of th milk and dairy packaging ar dtrmind. Th
analysis was prformd on on litr glass, plastic, and carton milk bottls and fifty litrs
aluminum can. Th rsults show th phas of th lif cycl of th milk packaging that maks th
largst impact on th nvironmnt and th matrial slction stratgis to minimiz co-impact.
Matrials for milk and dairy products includ papr and papr basd products (coatd or lind),
glass, tin plat, aluminum foil, timbr (wood), plastics and laminats (Chaouki). Th matrials
and th nrgy ndd to mak and shap th food packaging systms ar drawn from natural
rsourcs. Th dmand of natural rsourcs throughout th 20th cntury appard infinitsimal.
Thr is also a link btwn th population growth and rsourc dpltion (Chaouki). Th global
rsourc dpltion scals with th population and with pr-capita consumption. Th dsign of
packaging for milk and milk drivd products is dtrmind by th dmand of th product, th
nvironmntal awarnss, th consumr markt and th nw tchnology dvlopmnt (Chaouki).
Th slction of th bst matrials to satisfy th dsign critria (prvnt th intraction of th
food products with xtrnal nvironmnt from th tim it is packags till th product is
consumd) and at th sam tim rduc th nrgy us and th nvironmntal impacts during th
lif of this product is vry important during th dsign procss. This sourc contributs to th AB
papr in that it valuats th nvironmntal impacts of packaging systms for milk and dairy
products through thir ntir lif cycl. Th nrgy consumption and missions producd during
th matrial primary production, manufacturing, transportation, and th us of th milk and dairy
packaging ar dtrmind. Ths matrials ar manufacturd into products that ar usd, and, at
th nd of thir livs, discardd, a fraction prhaps ntring a rcycling loop, th rst committd
to incinration or land-fill. nrgy and matrials ar consumd at ach point in this cycl
(phass), with an associatd pnalty of CO2, SOx, NOx and othr missions, hat, and gasous,
liquid and solid wast. Haydia Izazola and Alan Jowt in thir papr, Population, Natural
Rsourcs and nvironmnt agrs with Chaouki arguing that population growth and conomic
dvlopmnt ar thratning th worlds rich hritag through th xpansion and intnsification
of agricultur, th uncontrolld growth of industrialization, th dstruction of natural habitats,
and urban sprawl. Cohn and Jol in thir papr How many popl can th arth support?
howvr, disagrs with Chaoukis prspctiv and stats that vry littl mpirical vidnc
xists to prov th ffcts of population on th nvironmnt ar primarily ngativ. Thodor
Panayotou in his papr Population and nvironmnt also confrs with Chaoukis viws
adding that on top of th ffcts of population growth on global rsourc availability, on th
global nvironmnt and on th prospcts for continud growth of th world conomy, thr ar
also srious concrns as to th ffcts of population growth on local rsourcs such as soil, watr,
forst, fishris, pasturs and th urban nvironmnt.