See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/225403328

Indicators of Sustainable Production

Article in Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy · October 2003

DOI: 10.1007/s10098-003-0221-z

CITATIONS READS

243 5,652

2 authors:

Damjan Krajnc Peter Glavič

University of Maribor University of Maribor
25 PUBLICATIONS 1,752 CITATIONS 142 PUBLICATIONS 4,253 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Peter Glavič on 16 January 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Original paper Clean Techn Environ Policy 5 (2003) 279–288
DOI 10.1007/s10098-003-0221-z

Indicators of sustainable production

Damjan Krajnc, Peter Glavič

279
Abstract The main cause of environmental damage is List of symbols
unsustainable production and consumption, especially in UP Unit of production (e.g. mass in t or kg, volume in
industrialized countries. Achieving sustainable develop- m3, number, monetary value in EUR, etc.)
ment will require changes in industrial processes, in the PO Production output
type and quantity of resources used, in the treatment of
waste, in the control of emissions, and in the products
produced. One of the difficulties in measuring the com-
pany’s level of sustainability is to determine which direc- Introduction
tions of change are leading towards sustainability. Hence, In the present age there is extensive pressure on the
it is necessary to apply appropriate metrics that will enable ecosystems and biodiversity of the world. During the last
these assessments. This paper presents indicators for few decades, humans have remodeled physical, chemical
assessing and promoting business sustainability—indica- and biological systems in new ways and at faster rates than
tors of sustainable production. It first introduces the main ever recorded on Earth. We have to solve problems asso-
concepts of such production and a set of necessary con- ciated with climate change, ozone depletion, global
ditions that firms must fulfill in order to be sustainable. It warming, acid rain, bioaccumulation of toxic substances,
identifies major functions of indicators and it proceeds to species loss, deforestation, depletion of natural resources,
presenting the role of indicators. population growth, etc. The human race must confront the
The paper focuses on sustainable production, propos- accumulated facts of a potential collapse of critical eco-
ing indicators of sustainable production, which could be systems and we are forced into quick changes over the
used as strategic metrics for assessing the sustainability entire planet. The environmental movement needs to
level of a company and for identifying more sustainable address the global problems. However, environmental
options for the future. They enable a large amount of activity at local, regional, state and international levels
information to be compressed into a format easier to seems to be an appropriate and necessary (but not suffi-
manipulate, compare and understand. The proposed cient) step towards sustainability.
indicators focus on the environmental aspect of sustain- At the moment the survival of humans and the planet as
able production. However, to achieve sustainable pro- a whole depends upon guiding human development in
duction, a company should incorporate social and positive directions that are healthy, diverse, and sustain-
economic indicators as well. Most of the indicators able. According to the report of the Brundtland Commis-
included can be applied across industry. However, they are sion (1987), sustainable development is defined as
not aimed at being uniformly applicable to all sectors. development that meets the needs of the present without
According to the flows in the manufacture they are divided compromising the ability of future generations to meet
into input and output indicators and they are based on their own needs. Although the definition reaches the heart
commonly measured environmental aspects of sustainable of the problem, it enables different interpretations, since
production (energy use, materials use, water consumption, people have different goals and sensitivities. Most
products, wastes, and air emissions) covering key global endeavors on sustainable development are based on sup-
issues. The paper represents a new approach to the sys- porting cultural, social, economical, industrial, and tech-
tematization of indicators and their symbols and units. nological development while preserving the natural
environment. Achieving sustainable development is no
easy task. Not only perceptible changes in decision-mak-
ing at the highest levels, but also progress in production
Received: 28 February 2003 / Accepted: 30 April 2003
Published online: 31 July 2003 and consumption will be needed. Sustainability will be the
Springer-Verlag 2003 driving force for 21st century industry much as automa-
tion was for 20th century industry, and steam was for 19th
D. Krajnc, P. Glavič (&) century industry (O’Brien 1999).
Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, The industry sector is responsible for most material
University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, flows within human society as well as for the exchange of
P.O. Box 219, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
E-mail: [email protected]
material and energy with the environment. Present
Tel.: +386 2 229 44 51 industrial systems are not sustainable in the long term
Fax: +386 2 252 77 74 because of their excessive demands upon natural
 Clean Techn Environ Policy 5 (2003)

non-renewable resources. In the future, society will need to communities and consumers, and socially and creatively
rely on sustainable growth rather than destructive con- rewarding for all working people (Lowell Center 1998).
sumption. The achievement of such ambitious objectives
requires a radical re-think of many of industry’s practices. Achievement of sustainable production
Continuous improvement is not enough and a step change A number of characteristics must be satisfied in order to
in environmentally related performance is required. ensure that production processes and the use of products
Environmental considerations must be integrated into the and materials operate within environmental limits. If the
corporate culture and business planning at all levels of objectives of sustainable production are to be achieved,
design, manufacturing, distribution, and disposal. On a then companies must minimize all kinds of wastes as
global scale, reductions in material throughput, energy use well as the use of natural resources, raw materials and
and environmental degradation of over 90 % will be energy. They must design, produce, distribute, and dis-
280
required by the year 2040 to equitably meet the needs of a pose of or recycle products in such a way that the
growing world population within the planet’s ecological associated environmental impacts and resource usage
means. This demand on industry to achieve current levels levels are at least in line with the Earth’s estimated
of industrial growth with only one-tenth of the input of carrying capacity. This goal requires a fundamental
resources has been labeled ‘‘the factor 10 approach’’ re-think in the design of a product to take account of all
(O’Brien 1999). It strives to achieve a ten-fold efficiency of stages of a product’s life cycle, and a shift in manufac-
using energy, resources and other materials. turing processes from cleaning technologies to clean
To know whether we are meeting the goal of sustainable technologies, which reduce the actual level of emissions
development, we need to be able to measure progress. produced as well as the energy and other resources used
Therefore, the sustainability strategy includes indicators, during processing (O’Brien 1999). A set of necessary
to give a measurable overview of trends and it involves conditions that firms must fulfill in order to be
action by all sectors, especially industrial systems, which sustainable includes:
should play an important part in the attainment of
sustainability goals. – Reducing the use of materials and energy in products
and their production
Sustainable production – Closing of material loop systems, to conserve resources
The concept of sustainable production emerged at the and prevent waste
United Nations Conference on Environment and Devel- – Minimization or avoidance of waste
opment in 1992 and is a key component of sustainable – Reuse and recycling products
development, which balances three principal require- – Disposing of non-recyclable products or production
ments: the social, economic and environmental objective waste in an environmentally acceptable way
(Fig. 1). – Planning of products which are easy to repair, adapt-
The Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (LCSP) able, durable and with longer lifetime
defines sustainable production as the creation of goods – Minimization of transportation needs
and services using processes and systems that are – Cleaner production technologies and procedures
non-polluting, conserving energy and natural resources, throughout the product life cycle
economically viable, safe and healthful for employees, – Improving a process technology
– Research and development in environmentally sound
technologies
– Consideration of the social role played
Only recently have many leading companies begun to
work on reduction of their impact on the environment.
They have already developed some key indicators for their
businesses and are tracking and reporting them, but the
results are not readily comparable, because these indica-
tors have been developed internally within business
sectors (NRTEE 2001).
Since there are no benchmarks that would indicate
from which level firms could be declared sustainable, the
focus is on comparing the firms between themselves.
Some are more efficient, or inefficient, in all respects.
Most often, however, they might be efficient in specific
respects but inefficient in others. Therefore, we need a
methodology to take appropriate tradeoffs (Callens and
Tyteca 1999).

Indicators of sustainable production

‘‘Measure what can be measured, and make measurable
Fig. 1. A model of sustainable development (Azapagic 2000) what cannot be measured.’’ Galileo Galilei
D. Krajnc, P. Glavič: Indicators of sustainable production

Defining and developing indicators multiplicity of indicators and metrics being developed in
Indicators have numerous applications. They compress this fast growing field shows the importance of the
large amounts of information from different sources into conceptual and methodological work in this area
a format easier to understand, compare and manipulate. (Voinov 1997).
Companies can use indicators to set targets and monitor In spite of evidence that it is not possible to set up
consequent success. Interpretation becomes easier if sustainability indicators that are applicable to any com-
targets can be set for the indicators themselves. These pany or organization, thus far a number of different ap-
targets help the decision-maker visualize what actions proaches to standardization have been proposed. The
will need to be emphasized in future (Finnish Environ- problem, however, is to introduce a quantitative measure
ment 2000). of sustainable production, since some aspects of sustain-
In the literature we can trace numerous definitions of ability (especially the social aspect) cannot be quantita-
281
indicators. However, it is more useful to state the primary tively expressed. With some issues such as energy use and
role of indicators. Gallopı́n (1997) identifies the following water use there are no difficulties since they are common
major functions of indicators: for all companies. However, more specific indicators have
to be defined separately, dependent on the sector.
– Assessing conditions and trends in relation to goals and Recently, some experts are trying to introduce fuzzy set
targets theory and to develop fuzzy mathematical models to assess
– Reflecting the status of a system sustainable development. A potential problem in the
– Providing early warning information practical application of the fuzzy model applying
– Anticipating future conditions and trends approximate reasoning concerns the combinatorial nature
– Comparing across place and situations of the fuzzy rules. For example, the assessment of the
– Highlighting what is happening in a large system contribution of n sustainability indicators to sustainable
(Changing views on change 1998) development using two linguistic values (e.g. acceptable
and unacceptable) results in a fuzzy rule base of 2n rules.
The indicators of sustainable production would enable Therefore, we have 1,024 rules for only ten indicators.
identification of more sustainable options through Because of the exponentially increasing number of fuzzy
(Azapagic and Perdan 2000): rules, the fuzzy rule base soon becomes non-transparent
and difficult to apply (Cornelissen et al. 2001).
– Comparison of similar products made by different Based on a set of criteria for sustainability and on
companies conventional mass and energy balances, the concept of a
– Comparison of different processes producing the same sustainable process index (SPI) was introduced (Krotschak
product and Narodoslawsky 1996). The SPI measures the potential
– Benchmarking of units within corporations impact (pressure) of processes on the ecosphere and
– Rating of a company against other companies in the compares mass and energy flows induced by human
sector activities with natural flows. As natural flows are always
– Assessing progress towards sustainable development of linked to area (examples are the growth of biomass, pre-
a sector cipitation and, most importantly, solar radiation) the basic
unit of the SPI is area. The lower the requirement of area
Numerous organizations are presently trying to for a given activity is, the less is the impact of this activity
develop a set of indicators to state the progress of a on the environment.
company towards sustainability. Veleva and Ellenbecker However, in order to cope up with the complexity of
(2001) have analyzed four of the best-known indicator sustainability-related issues for different systems, the
frameworks: indicators have to reflect the wholeness of the system as
– International Organization for Standardization (ISO well as the interaction of its subsystems. Their purpose is
14031) to show how well the system is working and they are
– Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) strongly dependent on the type of the system they monitor
– World Business Council for Sustainable Development (Afgan et al. 2000).
(WBCSD)
– Center for Waste Reduction Technologies (CWRT) Proposed indicators of sustainable production
‘‘Everything should be as simple as possible, but not
Results demonstrate that most indicator frameworks simpler.’’ Albert Einstein
are still under development and none is applicable as a It is recommendable that a company first begins with
whole to evaluate sustainable production. Unlike envi- simple, easy to implement measures of compliance and
ronmental indicators, social issues receive the least resource efficiency and then moves toward more complex
attention in existing indicator frameworks. indicators, addressing supply-chain, social effects and life-
There is a trend toward using a manageable number of cycle impacts. Using indicators of sustainable production
indicators (between ten and twenty) that are simple and is one part of a process of continuous improvement, where
easy to apply. Indicators can be used alone or in thematic the goal is to move the organization from adopting
sets, which are useful for demonstrating the links between primarily low-level measures to using all levels of indica-
issues and for analyzing the reasons behind trends tors of sustainable production (Veleva and Ellenbecker
(Scottish Executive Central Research Unit 2001). The 2001).
 Clean Techn Environ Policy 5 (2003)

Fig. 2. Main dimensions of an indicator

282

Fig. 3. Organizational chart of

indicators of sustainable pro-
duction

The criteria for the sustainability assessment of the into financial and employees’ indicators. The paper sug-
company have to reflect six aspects: gests some examples for each indicator, yielding the first
step toward sustainable production. Results from their
– Resource use aspect plot testing could demonstrate which ones need to be
– Product aspect modified and which ones are working well for most
– Environment aspect companies. Examples of indicators of sustainable pro-
– Economic aspect duction are presented in Table 1. Proposed indicators of
– Quality aspect sustainable production aim to (Geiz and Kutzmark 1998;
– Social aspect Veleva and Ellenbecker 2001):

To incorporate indicators of sustainable production the – Reflect sustainability concept

company must identify a period for tracking and calculating – Provide a set of indicators applicable to most compa-
an indicator (e.g. fiscal year, calendar year, 6 months, nies
quarter, month) and define units of measurement. It must – Suggest simple and easy way to implement indicators
also identify a type of measurement (absolute or adjusted) – Avoid the use of too many indicators
and boundaries, which determine how far a company wishes – Suggest indicators that cover key global issues (e.g.
to go in measuring the indicator (Fig. 2). global warming, ozone depletion, acidification, nutri-
The framework presented here focuses on the main fication, etc.)
aspects of sustainable production, relating to the social, – Provide companies with a new metrics and guidance on
environmental and economic aspects of sustainability. how to measure their achievements toward sustainable
However, these aspects should also incorporate other production
experts such as sociologists, economists, psychologists,
etc. The framework is based on examples of indicators that
could be applied at a company. They are simple and easy
to use, based on available data and commonly measured
aspects of production (e.g. materials use, energy use, water
consumption, products, waste, air emissions, etc.). The
environmental indicators are divided into input and out-
put indicators (Fig. 3) based on flows in the manufacture
presented in Fig. 4. The economic indicators are divided Fig. 4. Flows in manufacture
D. Krajnc, P. Glavič: Indicators of sustainable production

Table 1. Indicators of sustainable production

Indicator Quantity Symbol Unit

1. Social indicators
1. Specific employee number Number of employees/unit of production Nemployee 1/UP
2. Employee turnovera Number of employees who have resigned or Xemployee 1
1¼1
been made redundant/total number employed
The salary of the upper 10% of employees EUR
3. Payment ratio Rpayment EUR ¼1
The salary of the lower 10% of employees
Number of employees satisfied with their work 1
4. Fraction of workers satisfied with their work Xsatisf. 1 ¼1
Total number of employees
Number of promotions 283
5. Promotion ratea Rpromot. 1
1 ¼1
Total number employed
6. Time of employee illness Time of lost workdays because of injuries and illnesses tillness days
Charitable contributions to the community EUR
7. Fraction of charitable contributions Xcontrib. EUR ¼1
Total revenues
8. Number of community projects Number of projects of the company with its community Ncooper. 1
Mass of locally consumed products kg
9. Mass fraction of local consumption
Total output mass of products
wloc. cons. kg ¼ 1
10. Index of community population growth Population growth in the community in % rcom. pop. 1
2. Environmental indicators > 2.1 Input indicators > 2.1.1 Energy use indicators
1. Total energy consumptionb Total energy consumed Etot. J
Total energy consumed J
2. Specific energy consumption Espec. UP
Production output
Consumption per source of energy J
3. (Source of energy) fraction Esource J ¼1
Total energy consumption
Renewable energy consumption J
4. (Renewable energy) fraction Erenew. J ¼1
Total energy consumption
5. Energy for recycling Energy used for recycling Erecycl. J
Total energy consumed J
6. Energy intensityc Eintensity EUR
Value of product sold or Value added
7. Total energy costsb Absolute CE, tot. EUR
Total energy costs EUR
8. (Energy costs) fraction CE, spec. EUR ¼1
Total production costs
Costs per source of energy EUR
9. Average costs of energy source CE, source J
Consumption per source of energy
2. Environmental indicators > 2.1 Input indicators > 2.1.2 Materials use indicators
1. Total material consumptiond Absolute mass mmat., tot. kg
ðTotal material inputÞ mass kg
2. Specific material consumption mmat., spec. UP
Production output
b ðRenewable raw material inputÞ mass kg
3. Fraction of renewable raw materials wrenw. mat. kg ¼1
ðTotal material inputÞ mass
b ðProduction outputÞ mass kg
4. Raw materials efficiency graw mat. kg ¼1
ðRaw materials inputÞ mass
e ðRecycled material inputÞ mass kg
5. Recycled material fraction wrecycl. mat. kg ¼1
ðTotal material inputÞ mass
6. Variety of hazardous materialsb Number Nhaz. mat. 1
7. Hazardous materials input massb Absolute mass mhaz. mat. kg
8. Total material costsb Absolute value Cmat., tot. EUR
c ðTotal material inputÞ mass kg
9. Material intensity Imat. EUR
Value of product sold or Value added
2. Environmental indicators > 2.1 Input indicators > 2.1.3 Water use indicators
1. Total water consumptionb Absolute volume Vwater, tot. m3
Water consumption volume m3
2. Specific water consumption Vwater, spec. UP
Production output
b Consumption volume per type of water m3
3. Volume fraction of water type /water type m3 ¼1
Total consumption volume
4. Total water costsb Absolute value Cwater, tot. EUR
Water costs
5. Water cost fractionb Cwater, spec.
EUR
EUR ¼1
Total production costs
Costs per type of water EUR
6. Volume water type cost Cwater type m3
Consumption volume per type of water
 Clean Techn Environ Policy 5 (2003)

Table 1. (Contd.)

Indicator Quantity Symbol Unit

2. Environmental indicators > 2.2 Output indicators > 2.2.1 Product indicators
Mass of products with environmental labels kg
1. Mass fraction of products with an environmental labelb wEL prod. kg ¼ 1
Total mass of products
Mass of products from recyclable materials kg
2. Mass fraction of products from recyclable materialsb wrecycl. prod. kg ¼ 1
Total mass of products
Mass of products designed for recovery kg
3. Mass fraction of products designed for wrecov. prod. kg ¼ 1
disassembly, reuse or recyclingd Total mass of products
284
4. Product durabilitye Time of durability tdurability Days, d
or years, a
5. Revenues from eco productsb Absolute value REV EUR
b Revenues from ecoproducts EUR
6. Revenue fraction of eco products REVeco prod. EUR ¼ 1
Total revenue
b
7. Total packaging mass Absolute mass mpack. kg
b Packaging mass kg
8. Packaging mass fraction of the product wpack. kg ¼ 1
Total mass of products
Reusable packaging mass kg
9. Mass fraction of reusable packagingb wreus. pack. kg ¼ 1
Total packaging mass
b
10. Packaging costs Absolute value Cpack. EUR
Packaging costs
11. Specific packaging costsb Cpack., spec.
EUR
UP
Production output
2. Environmental indicators > 2.2 Output indicators > 2.2.2 Solid waste indicators
1. Total solid waste massb Absolute mass ms, tot. kg
Mass of specific type of solid waste kg
2. Specific solid waste mass ms, spec. UP
Production output
3. (Solid waste mass) for recoveryb Recovered solid waste mass absolute ms, recov. kg
4. (Solid waste mass) for disposalb Non-recovered solid waste mass absolute ms, disp. kg
Recycled solid waste mass kg
5. Recycling mass fraction ws, recycl. kg ¼ 1
Total mass of solid waste
b Mass of non
recovered solid waste kg
6. Disposal mass fraction ws, non-recycl. kg ¼ 1
Total mass of solid waste
b Mass of hazardous solid waste kg
7. (Hazardous solid waste) mass fraction ws, haz. kg ¼ 1
Total mass of solid waste
8. (Hazardous solid waste) massb Mass of hazardous solid waste released ms, haz. kg
into the environment
9. Total solid waste costsb Absolute value Cs, tot. EUR
Total solid waste costs
10. Solid waste cost fractionb Cs, spec.
EUR
EUR ¼ 1
Total production costs
2. Environmental indicators > 2.2 Output indicators > 2.2.3 Liquid waste indicators
1. Total volume of liquid wasteb Absolute volume Vl, tot. m3
Total volume of liquid waste m3
2. Specific liquid waste volume Vl, spec. UP
Production output
3. Non-polluted liquid waste volumeb Absolute volume Vl, non-poll. m3
4. Polluted liquid waste volumeb Absolute volume Vl, poll. m 3

b Pollution load mass ðe:g: P; N; AOX;:::Þ kg

5. Specific pollution mass ratio Rpoll., spec. UP
Production output
b Mass of pollutants kg
6. Pollution mass concentration in liquid waste cl, poll. m3
Liquid waste volume
7. Total liquid waste costsb Absolute value Cl, tot. EUR
b Total liquid waste costs EUR
8. (Liquid waste) cost fraction Cl, spec. EUR ¼1
Total production costs
2. Environmental indicators > 2.2 Output indicators > 2.2.4 Air emissions indicators
Total mass of CO2 equivalents kg
1. Mass fraction of greenhouse gasesc wCO2 equiv: kg ¼ 1
Total mass of products
Total mass of CO2 equivalents kg
2. Greenhouse gases intensity IGHGs EUR
Value of product sold or Value added
Total mass of SO2 equivalents kg
3. Acidification mass fractiond wSO2 equiv: kg ¼ 1
Total mass of products
D. Krajnc, P. Glavič: Indicators of sustainable production

Table 1. (Contd.)

Indicator Quantity Symbol Unit

Total mass of SO2 equivalents kg

4. Acidification mass intensity Iacidif. EUR
Value of product sold or Value added
Total mass of ethylene equivalents kg
5. Photochemical ozone creating wC2 H4 equiv: kg ¼ 1
potential mass fractionc Total mass of products
Total mass of ethylene equivalents kg
6. Photochemical ozone creating IPOCP EUR
potential mass intensityc Value of product sold or Value added
Total mass of phosphate equivalents kg
7. Eutrophication mass fraction wPO3
¼ 1 285
Total mass of products 4 equiv: kg

Total mass of phosphate equivalents kg

8. Eutrophication mass intensity Ieutroph. EUR
Value of product sold or Value added
9. Costs of purifying airb Absolute value Cpur. air EUR
b Absolute purifying cost EUR
10. Costs fraction of purifying air Cpur. air, fract. EUR ¼1
Total production costs
3. Economic indicators > 3.1 Financial indicators
EUR
1. Fraction of value added in GDP Value added/GDP GDPcontrib. EUR¼1
2. Value of investments in sustainable development Investments in sustainable R&D as fraction ISD EUR
of the expenses of the company
3. Value of investments in environmental protection Investments of company in environmental Ienvironment EUR
protection
4. Environmental responsibility costs Costs in case of environmental damage Cenv. resp. EUR
responsibility
Number of complaints 1
5. Specific number of complaints of customers ncomplaints kg
Mass of products sold
EUR
6. Value fraction of investments in ethical activity A profit invested in ethical business fethic. act. EUR ¼1
activities
7. Number of sustainable environmental reports Yearly number of positive/negative paper Nreports 1
reports on environmental and social activity
of the company
8. Number fraction of suppliers Fraction of suppliers without environmental, Rsup., unprobl. 1
health and safety violations
9. Number of contact breaks Number of contract breaks with suppliers Ncontr. breaks 1
because of disagreement with environmental,
health and safety standards
3. Economic indicators > 3.2 Employees indicators
1. Cost of employee Cost of employee per production output Cemployee EUR/UP
2. Employee labor service duration Average period of employee labor service tlabor a
3. Costs of health protection of employee Total costs of health protection of employee Chealth EUR
4. Noise level Level of sound pressure at the working stations Lnoise dB
5. Investments in employee development Investments in employee’s education and Ieduc. EUR
professional/personal development
6. Time of employee education Average time of education per employee teduc. h
7. Number of suggested improvements by employee Number of suggested improvements in quality, Nsug. improv. 1
social, environmental, health and safety aspect
of production per employee
a
(IChemE)
b
(FEM and FEA 1997)
c
(AIChE)
d
(Veleva and Ellenbecker 2001)
e
(Azapagic and Perdan 2000)

Indicators objectives fraction of renewable energy sources are essential for

sustainable production.
Energy use indicators objective Energy use is usually measured at the point of con-
The manufacturing sector is a major consumer of energy. sumption, i.e. the plant or establishment. To be able to add
Energy consumption and production have resulted in major or compare the data determined, megajoules (MJ) should
pressures on the environment, from both a resource use and be used. Since natural gas usage is usually calculated in
a pollution point of view (UN Sustainable Development cubic meters (m3), fuel oil in liters (L) and electricity in
2001). Especially important are the effects of consumption kWh these measurements must be converted. Table 2
of fossil fuels, of which the most significant are emissions of illustrates the most important conversion coefficients of
greenhouse gases. Improving energy efficiency in order to mass (in kg) or volume (in Lor m3) for the input of energy
reduce fossil fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions sources using their energy value (MJ). Another important
and related air pollution emissions, and increasing the coefficient is the mass of CO2 emitted per energy value for
 Clean Techn Environ Policy 5 (2003)

Table 2. Energy contents of energy sources (Statistic Canada solvent-free paints and varnishes). They report on the
1989) politics of the main raw, auxiliary and ancillary materials of
Fuel type Volumic Energy the company. Since the company has to deal with a huge
variety of materials, preparing an input–output balance
Petroleum products sheet can assist in determining the structure. In order to be
Heavy fuel oil 41.73 MJ/L able to compare input quantities, they should be recorded
Light fuel oil 38.68 MJ/L in standard units of mass (in kilograms, kg or tonnes, t).
Diesel 38.68 MJ/L
Kerosene 37.68 MJ/L
Gasoline 34.66 MJ/L Water use indicators objective
Petroleum coke 42.38 MJ/L Oil refineries, petrochemical plants, special chemical pro-
Natural gas ducers, pulp and paper industry, electric utilities, food and
286 Natural gas 37.78 MJ/m3
Propane 25.53 MJ/L beverage industry, mining, etc. are large users of water. In
Butane 28.62 MJ/L industry, water is used as a cooling/heating medium, a
Fuel type Massic Energy cleaning agent, a reaction solvent, etc. Water use indica-
Coal tors track the water consumption of the company. They
Anthracite 27.70 MJ/kg are intended to stimulate a reduction of water consump-
Bituminous 29.00 MJ/kg
Sub-bituminous 18.30 MJ/kg tion by wastewater reuse, regeneration, recycling or pro-
Lignite 15.00 MJ/kg cess changes.
Coke 28.83 MJ/kg
Biomass Product indicators objective
Wood 18.00 MJ/kg
Hog fuel 18.00 MJ/kg The exponential growth in world population and the
Black liquor 14.00 MJ/kg recognition that materials, fuels and other resources are
Fuel type Conversion factor finite force us to change our widespread culture of disposal.
Electricity 3.60 MJ/(kW h) The sustainable principle demands durable products that do
not consume large quantities of resources during their
Table 3. The conversion coefficients for calculating the mass of
production, use, maintenance, and repair. This requires
CO2emissions of combustion processes (FEM and FEA 1997) new, flexible products with a long useful life. From the view
of the company, product design, internal production,
Energy source CO2 production (kg/MJ) products, parts, packaging and material recovery have to be
considered in relation to the usage of materials and the
Brown coal 111
Brown coal coke 104 quality of products, processes and systems.
Hard coal 93 Product indicators measure improvements in the
Mineral oil (crude) 80 environmental impact of individual products or the com-
Fuel oil: light 72 plete range of products. They also indicate relative
Fuel oil: heavy 78
Diesel 74 advantages or disadvantages in comparison to other
Turbine fuels 74 products and/or competitors. Product indicators can refer
Natural gas 56 to the environmental aspects of the internal manufacturing
Petroleum gas 58 process of one company only or the entire life cycle of the
External supply of electricity 137 product (e.g. including its use, preliminary and interme-
diate production, transportation and disposal).
fuel type. These coefficients range between about 100 kg/
MJ for coal to about 50 kg/MJ for natural gas. Specific CO2 Solid waste indicators objective
emission coefficients for some fuel types are presented in Waste reflects inefficiencies in the production process and
Table 3. represents a failure in designing both the process and the
product. The protection of the environment needs new
Material use indicators objective techniques for treatment and disposal of wastes (CEFIC).
The Earth’s resources are not inexhaustible and some raw Several universities, governments, business and other
materials will eventually become limited in supply. The organizations are working to develop, promote and apply
necessary reduction in the demand for virgin raw mate- a zero waste strategy as the ultimate goal of sustainability.
rials and non-renewable resources will only be achieved by It strives for (Zero Waste Alliance 2001):
developing disassembly technologies, recycling and – 100 % resource efficiency
remanufacturing capabilities on a commercial scale and by – Zero solid and hazardous waste
designing products with these concepts in mind. Recovery
– Zero emissions—to air, water or soil
and re-use of materials can extend their useful life several
times before eventual disposal to the environment
– Zero waste in production
(O’Brien 1999). Because of these combined problems, – Zero waste in product life
recycling technology is becoming a growing priority for – Zero toxics
society (CEFIC). The company can achieve sustainability only by waste
Material use indicators lead to the replacement of elimination, which leads to reducing extraction from nat-
problematic materials with environmentally safer alterna- ure, eliminating waste to nature, improving economic
tives (e.g. renewable raw materials, recyclable raw materials, efficiency and making more resources available to all. To
D. Krajnc, P. Glavič: Indicators of sustainable production

become sustainable the companies must follow examples indicators are focused on environmental aspects of sus-
in nature, which are cyclical and have no waste. That is not tainable production. However, to achieve the sustainable
an easy task, but the quantities of waste taken to landfill production, a company should incorporate social and
sites must be reduced as much as possible. Waste should economic indicators as well. Most of the indicators
in the first case be minimized, subsequently recycled, included can be applied across industry, but they are not
recovered for raw materials, energy extracted from it by aimed at being uniformly applicable to all sectors.
incineration and as a last alternative deposited on a landfill According to the flows in the manufacture they are divided
site. The waste indicators track the company’s success in into input and output indicators and they are based on
waste reduction. commonly measured environmental aspects of sustainable
production (energy use, materials use, water consumption,
Waste water indicators objective products, wastes, and air emissions) covering key global
287
The once-through use of industrial water is becoming both issues.
uneconomical and environmentally unacceptable. The One of the possible weaknesses of the developed
recovery and recycling of industrial wastewater is a more framework could be in the subjectivity related to the
attractive option. However, before the recycling of waste- choice of decision-makers in what to measure. However,
water, it is necessary to minimize the quantity of waste- any set of indicators is going to be affected by the
water that appears during the process. There are a variety decision-makers. Also, it is very hard to determine which
of reasons driving manufacturers to pursue wastewater indicators are effective since the same indicator may be
minimization (Goldblatt et al. 1993): effective at one company and ineffective at another.
Therefore, each indicator has to be considered on an
– Reduced availability of fresh water
individual basis to reflect specific characteristics of
– Discharge permit compliance
different companies.
– Legislation banning priority It is not expected that indicators of sustainable pro-
– Economics (taxes) duction alone can change the current production pattern.
– ‘‘Good neighbor’’ policy To achieve sustainable production, stimulation by various
Waste water indicators provide companies with metrics parties (national regulators, pressure groups, suppliers,
to measure their achievements in a reduction of water consumers, employees, media, trade associations, etc.) will
consumption. be needed. However, indicators of sustainable production
can provide companies with assessment metrics to deter-
Air emissions indicators objective mine their actual situation with respect to a sustainable
Air emissions have a particular significance due to their production, to raise their awareness and to set their goals.
diverse environmental impacts (acid precipitation,
stratospheric ozone depletion, greenhouse effect with References
climate change, etc.). The emissions of different Afgan NH, Carvalho MG, Hovanov NV (2000) Energy system
substances can be used as basic air emissions indicators. assessment with sustainability indicators. Energy Policy 28:604
Due to the variety of air pollutant types they can be limited AIChE, Center for Waste Reduction Technologies (CWRT), focus
area: sustainability metrics, http://www.aiche.org/cwrt/project/
to the most relevant substances (CO2, CH4, SO2, NOx, sustain.htm
particulate matter, CFCs, VOCs, etc.). Azapagic A, Perdan S (2000) Indicators of sustainable development
Due to the high cost involved, small and medium-sized for industry: a general framework. Trans Inst Chem Eng 78B:244–
companies do not usually take a direct measurement of the 246
mass of air emissions into consideration. In the context of Brundtland Commission (1987) Our common future—from one earth
to one world. Oxford University Press, Oxford
climate change, it has become increasingly desirable to Callens I, Tyteca D (1999) Towards indicators of sustainable devel-
convert energy consumption to carbon emissions per unit opment for firms: a productive efficiency perspective. Ecol Econ
of production. The fuels consumed can be converted to 28:43–44
carbon emissions using the coefficients in Table 3. Carbon CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council. Chemistry—Europe
and the future. http://www.cefic.be/allcheme/index.htm
emissions will therefore change both with changes in Changing views on change: participatory approaches to monitoring
energy efficiency and with changes in fuel type (UN the environment (1998) SARL Discussion Paper 2 (July)
Sustainable Development 2001). Cornelissen AMG et al. (2001) Assessment of the contribution of
sustainability indicators to sustainable development: a novel
Conclusions approach using fuzzy set theory. Agr Ecosyst Environ 86:183
FEM and FEA (1997) A guide to corporate environmental indicators.
Sustainable development is becoming increasingly Federal Environment Ministry, Bonn, and Federal Environmental
important for industry. Recently some companies have Agency, Berlin
begun introducing a sustainability assessment to be able to Finnish Environment (2000) Finland’s indicators for sustainable
supervise the actual status of products and operations with development. http://www.vyh.fi/eng/environ/sustdev/indicat/
inds2000.htm
respect to sustainable production. This paper focused on Gallopı́n G (1997) Indicators and their use: information for decision
sustainable production and summarizing indicators, making, sustainability indicators. Report on the project on indi-
which could be used as strategic metrics for assessing cators of sustainable development. Wiley, Chichester
sustainability level of the company and for identifying Geiz D, Kutzmark T (1998) Developing sustainable communities—the
future is now. Public Manage Mag. International City/Country
better options for the future. They compress a large Management Association, Washington, D.C.
amount of information into a format that is easier to Goldblatt ME, Eble KS, Feathers JE (1993) Zero discharge: what, why,
manipulate, compare and understand. The proposed and how. Chem Eng Prog 89(4):22–27
 Clean Techn Environ Policy 5 (2003)

IChemE, Institution of Chemical Engineers. The sustainability met- Scottish Executive Central Research Unit (2001) Environment
rics: sustainable development progress metrics (recommended for group research programme research findings no. 13,
use in the process industries). http://www.icheme.org/sustain- sustainability indicators for waste, energy and travel for Scotland.
ability/metrics.pdf Entec UK
Krotschak C, Narodoslawsky M (1996) The sustainable process in- Statistics Canada (1989) Quarterly report on energy supply-demand
dex—a new dimension in ecological evaluation. Ecol Eng 6(4):241 in Canada, 57-003, Ottawa
Lowell Center for Sustainable Production (1998) Sustainable pro- UN Sustainable Development (2001) Indicators of sustainable devel-
duction: a working definition. Informal Meeting of the Committee opment: guidelines and methodologies. http://www.un.org/esa/
Members sustdev/isd.htm
NRTEE (2001) The National Roundtable on the Environment and the Veleva V, Ellenbecker M (2001) Indicators of sustainable production:
Economy. Eco-efficiency indicators: workbook (pdf). framework and methodology. J Cleaner Prod 9:519–549
http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca/Publications/Eco-efficiency_Work- Voinov AA (1997) Paradox of sustainability. Institute for Ecological
book/index.html Economics, Solomons, Mo.
288 O’Brien C (1999) Sustainable production—a new paradigm for a new Zero Waste Alliance (2001) Zero waste—key to our future (the case
millennium. Int J Prod Econ 60–61:1–7 for zero waste). http://www.zerowaste.org

View publication stats