The European Green Deal and the German Resource Efficiency Programme both aim at decoupling resource consumption and associated environmental burdens from economic growth. Monitoring the progress of such policies requires robust estimates of environmental pressures and impacts, both from a domestic and a footprint perspective. Building on the life cycle assessment-based consumption footprint (CoF) indicator, developed by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, we assess the environmental impacts of Germany's consumption in the areas of food, mobility, housing, household goods, and appliances during the period 2010â€Ì2018. A comparison between European and national consumption statistics revealed some differences in terms of data composition, granularity, consumption intensities, and calculated environmental impacts. Using national data sources results in slightly lower environmental impacts (e.g., due to differences in the assessment scope of national statistics) and requires some data preparation to match the CoF indicator. Emerging consumption trends can be highlighted using national data. Both data sources converge on main trends: Germany transgresses the safe operating space for several impact categories, with consumption of food, household goods, and mobility being the main drivers. Domestic impacts have decreased over time at the expense of outsourcing environmental pressures and impacts to other countries. The CoF indicator could complement resource monitoring frameworks and might be further aligned to the national context using country-level consumption statistics and life cycle inventory data. Quelle: Wiley
The term downcycling is often used anecdotally to describe imperfections in recycling. However, it is rarely defined. Here, we identify six meanings of the term downcycling as used in scientific articles and reports. These encompass the material quality of reprocessed materials, target applications, product value, alloying element losses, material systems, and additional primary production. In a proposal for harmonized and more specific terminology, we define downcycling as the phenomenon of quality reduction of materials reprocessed from waste relative to their original quality. We further identify that the reduced quality can express itself thermodynamically, functionally, and economically, covering all perspectives on downcycling. Dilution, contamination, reduced demand for recycled materials, and design-related issues can cause those downcycling effects. We anticipate that this more precise terminology can help quantify downcycling, keep materials in the loop longer, use materials more often and at higher quality, and therefore assist in reducing material-related environmental impacts. © 2022 The Authors
Das Ziel des Verbundprojekts besteht darin, die Innovationsfähigkeit von Unternehmen durch eine systematische Verbindung von Arbeitsqualität und Ökologie zu stärken. Das Teilvorhaben der hanseWasser Bremen verfolgt drei Ziele: Erstens sollen betriebliche Arbeitsprozesse und -strukturen in arbeitsökologischer Hinsicht partizipativ weiterentwickelt werden, um den Kulturwandel für ein nachhaltiges Wirtschaften zu verstetigen. Zweitens sollen neue klimafreundliche Produkte entwickelt werden. Drittens sollen die arbeitsökologischen Kompetenzen von Fach- und Führungskräften wie Beschäftigten gefördert werden. Die Produktentwicklung sowie die Weiterentwicklung von Prozessen und Strukturen sollen einer guten Arbeitsqualität und ökologischen Anforderungen entsprechen. Dafür sind geeignete Indikatoren zu entwickeln, die sowohl inner- wie auch außerbetriebliche Effekte abbilden. Zur Entwicklung und Erprobung unternehmensinterner Gestaltungsansätze soll ein bereichs- und hierarchieübergreifender Steuerungskreis gebildet werden, der zur Koordination des Teilvorhabens sowie dessen Kommunikation nach Innen und Außen dient. Für die beiden genannten Zielsetzungen des hanseWasser-Teilvorhabens werden zunächst arbeitsökologische Bestandsaufnahmen durchgeführt. Diese bezieht gleichermaßen die Arbeitsqualität und ökologische Innovationspotenziale sowie mögliche Synergien oder Widersprüche an der Schnittstelle von Arbeitsqualität und ökologischen Neuerungen ein. Auf dieser Grundlage werden konkrete Gestaltungsfelder bestimmt, in denen modellhaft und exemplarisch arbeitsökologische Gestaltungsoptionen entwickelt und erprobt werden. Flankierend hierzu werden Module und Maßnahmen der arbeitsökologischen Kompetenzentwicklung von Fach- und Führungskräften sowie Beschäftigten entwickelt und erprobt. Die arbeitsökologischen Gestaltungslösungen werden evaluiert.
Global demand for tellurium has greatly increased owing to its use in solar photovoltaics. Elevated levels of tellurium in the environment are now observed. Quantifying the losses from human usage into the environment requires a life-cycle wide examination of the anthropogenic tellurium cycle (in analogy to natural element cycles). Reviewing the current literature shows that tellurium losses to the environment might occur predominantly as mine tailings, in gas and dust and slag during processing, manufacturing losses, and in-use dissipation (situation in around 2010). Large amounts of cadmium telluride will become available by 2040 as photovoltaic modules currently in-use reach their end-of-life. This requires proper end-of-life management approaches to avoid dissipation to the environment. Because tellurium occurs together with other toxic metals, e.g. in the anode slime collected during copper production, examining the life-cycle wide environmental implication of tellurium production requires consideration of the various substances present in the feedstock as well as the energy and material requirements during production. Understanding the flows and stock dynamics of tellurium in the anthroposphere can inform environmental chemistry about current and future tellurium releases to the environment, and help to manage the element more wisely. Quelle: http://www.publish.csiro.au