Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Oct 1, 2002
... With the Swiss electricity mix the environmental impacts from receiving the same amount of ne... more ... With the Swiss electricity mix the environmental impacts from receiving the same amount of news through ... US firms were able to cut logistics expenditures in half by introducing ICT in their ... savings depend on several parameters, such as the load rate of vehicles and delivery ...
Executive Summary The SPREE Water Research (Work Package 4) objectives are: - To develop sector-s... more Executive Summary The SPREE Water Research (Work Package 4) objectives are: - To develop sector-specific methodological tools in the water sector to measure the impacts derived from the shift towards servicizing; - To broader the understanding why previous policies in the water sector haven't led to absolute decoupling; - To explore existing examples and best practices (if exist) in servicizing systems within the water sector and to identify additional potential servicizing systems opportunities; - To understand the role of ICT and eco-innovation in servicizing in the water sector; - To build a conceptual framework for assessing social aspects of servicizing systems in the water sector, in particular, the links between water and wellbeing; - To identify potential servicizing policy paradigms that can lead to an absolute decoupling in the water sector; - To collect relevant data for the servicizing system and servicizing policy in the sector, according to the general methodologies developed in WP3 (“Methodology development”) and the sectorspecific methodologies developed in WP4. Following pre-defined tasks set out under WP4, the aim of this deliverable is twofold: (1) It sets out the conceptual and methodological frameworks of servicizing in the water sector, and (2) It serves to identify the specific water system to be investigated in the project and presents the appropriate methodologies to be employed for researching this system in the SPREE water sector countries (UK, Spain and Israel). Exploring the key elements and aspects of servicizing in the water sector seeks to clarify also the links between water and well-being and the role of servicizing in decoupling water and well-being.
The increasing semiconductor functionality relies on more complex integrated circuits with higher... more The increasing semiconductor functionality relies on more complex integrated circuits with higher component densities. Miniaturisation and its implications on resource consumption in semiconductor facilities have been fairly well explored in a number of life cycle ...
During the next three to five years, the municipality of Palanga will make a number of crucial de... more During the next three to five years, the municipality of Palanga will make a number of crucial development decisions that will have significant longterm impacts on the lives of its citizens. Because Palanga is a beautiful region whose largely unspoiled natural resources attract many tourists, it is critical that these decisions be made with a view towards environmental sustainability so as not to destroy the natural scenery that has drawn so many visitors to the area over the years. Implementation of a comprehensive strategic planning process that integrates the perspectives of Palanga’s infrastructure sectors — energy-, water-, waste- and transportationmanagement will help to bring about a coherent vision of development. Significant public involvement in the municipality’s planning and decisionmaking processes will be also required to ensure public support for these decisions. In the short term, a number of inexpensive, incremental improvements are possible that can improve the performance of the municipality’s infrastructure and promote sustainable development. (Less)
• Transforming present production and consumption systems towards Circular Economy will require t... more • Transforming present production and consumption systems towards Circular Economy will require that new models for value provision are devised by companies and accepted by consumers• Numerous factors drive companies towards initiating the shift to more circular material flows• Businesses also face many barriers on their way towards circular business models• There is opportunity space to collectively work on reducing existing barriers and enhancing drivers and factors that may facilitate and enable companies to shift to circular business models
The life cycle of electronic products is associated with significant environmental impacts. Compa... more The life cycle of electronic products is associated with significant environmental impacts. Compared to many other products, the production of electronics and in particular semiconductors is resource intensive and generates a number of highly toxic waste streams in manufacturing and post-consumer stages of product life cycle. Electronics manufacturing industry has been successful in reducing environmental impacts on per product basis increasing resource efficiency, preventing pollution and reducing material toxicity. However, technological improvements have been able to negate the effects of growing consumption and rapid product obsolescence, so that the absolute impacts from the life cycle of electronics continue growing. This thesis builds on the premise that technological improvements are insufficient in reducing the negative environmental implications from the life cycle of electronics. Reducing the levels and/or changing the patterns of consumption is a necessary complementary strategy. Dematerialisation through product servicising is considered an effective approach in this respect, since it could provide alternative means of consumption without infringing the interests of producers and consumers. This thesis explores the environmental implications of servicing electronic products by studying the case of substituting traditional computing systems based on owned PCs, with outsourced computing services delivered through centralised IT systems. The research builds on the analysis of the case of Application Service Provider (ASP) services. Through a comparative analysis of traditional decentralised and centralised server-based computing systems, where computing resources on a server are shared between several users, the author highlights factors influencing a wider application of service-based IT solutions in commercial and residential sectors and the potential for associated environmental benefit. The thesis also discusses methodological challenges in environmental assessments of electronic products and services and provides recommendations for improvements.
The paper addresses the challenges of supply chain management in the electronics sector influence... more The paper addresses the challenges of supply chain management in the electronics sector influenced by the trends of globalisation, production outsourcing and emerging product-related environmental policies. The trends have forced the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to take eco-design and supply chain management (SCM) initiatives, which pose challenging demands on the suppliers in developing countries, who increasingly become important actors in
... on electronic products, the user stage has the highest impact for global warming, which is es... more ... on electronic products, the user stage has the highest impact for global warming, which is especially typical for ICT products with ... The largest environmental impacts occur in global warming, re-source depletion, toxic poisoning and human health impact categories. ...
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Oct 1, 2002
... With the Swiss electricity mix the environmental impacts from receiving the same amount of ne... more ... With the Swiss electricity mix the environmental impacts from receiving the same amount of news through ... US firms were able to cut logistics expenditures in half by introducing ICT in their ... savings depend on several parameters, such as the load rate of vehicles and delivery ...
Executive Summary The SPREE Water Research (Work Package 4) objectives are: - To develop sector-s... more Executive Summary The SPREE Water Research (Work Package 4) objectives are: - To develop sector-specific methodological tools in the water sector to measure the impacts derived from the shift towards servicizing; - To broader the understanding why previous policies in the water sector haven't led to absolute decoupling; - To explore existing examples and best practices (if exist) in servicizing systems within the water sector and to identify additional potential servicizing systems opportunities; - To understand the role of ICT and eco-innovation in servicizing in the water sector; - To build a conceptual framework for assessing social aspects of servicizing systems in the water sector, in particular, the links between water and wellbeing; - To identify potential servicizing policy paradigms that can lead to an absolute decoupling in the water sector; - To collect relevant data for the servicizing system and servicizing policy in the sector, according to the general methodologies developed in WP3 (“Methodology development”) and the sectorspecific methodologies developed in WP4. Following pre-defined tasks set out under WP4, the aim of this deliverable is twofold: (1) It sets out the conceptual and methodological frameworks of servicizing in the water sector, and (2) It serves to identify the specific water system to be investigated in the project and presents the appropriate methodologies to be employed for researching this system in the SPREE water sector countries (UK, Spain and Israel). Exploring the key elements and aspects of servicizing in the water sector seeks to clarify also the links between water and well-being and the role of servicizing in decoupling water and well-being.
The increasing semiconductor functionality relies on more complex integrated circuits with higher... more The increasing semiconductor functionality relies on more complex integrated circuits with higher component densities. Miniaturisation and its implications on resource consumption in semiconductor facilities have been fairly well explored in a number of life cycle ...
During the next three to five years, the municipality of Palanga will make a number of crucial de... more During the next three to five years, the municipality of Palanga will make a number of crucial development decisions that will have significant longterm impacts on the lives of its citizens. Because Palanga is a beautiful region whose largely unspoiled natural resources attract many tourists, it is critical that these decisions be made with a view towards environmental sustainability so as not to destroy the natural scenery that has drawn so many visitors to the area over the years. Implementation of a comprehensive strategic planning process that integrates the perspectives of Palanga’s infrastructure sectors — energy-, water-, waste- and transportationmanagement will help to bring about a coherent vision of development. Significant public involvement in the municipality’s planning and decisionmaking processes will be also required to ensure public support for these decisions. In the short term, a number of inexpensive, incremental improvements are possible that can improve the performance of the municipality’s infrastructure and promote sustainable development. (Less)
• Transforming present production and consumption systems towards Circular Economy will require t... more • Transforming present production and consumption systems towards Circular Economy will require that new models for value provision are devised by companies and accepted by consumers• Numerous factors drive companies towards initiating the shift to more circular material flows• Businesses also face many barriers on their way towards circular business models• There is opportunity space to collectively work on reducing existing barriers and enhancing drivers and factors that may facilitate and enable companies to shift to circular business models
The life cycle of electronic products is associated with significant environmental impacts. Compa... more The life cycle of electronic products is associated with significant environmental impacts. Compared to many other products, the production of electronics and in particular semiconductors is resource intensive and generates a number of highly toxic waste streams in manufacturing and post-consumer stages of product life cycle. Electronics manufacturing industry has been successful in reducing environmental impacts on per product basis increasing resource efficiency, preventing pollution and reducing material toxicity. However, technological improvements have been able to negate the effects of growing consumption and rapid product obsolescence, so that the absolute impacts from the life cycle of electronics continue growing. This thesis builds on the premise that technological improvements are insufficient in reducing the negative environmental implications from the life cycle of electronics. Reducing the levels and/or changing the patterns of consumption is a necessary complementary strategy. Dematerialisation through product servicising is considered an effective approach in this respect, since it could provide alternative means of consumption without infringing the interests of producers and consumers. This thesis explores the environmental implications of servicing electronic products by studying the case of substituting traditional computing systems based on owned PCs, with outsourced computing services delivered through centralised IT systems. The research builds on the analysis of the case of Application Service Provider (ASP) services. Through a comparative analysis of traditional decentralised and centralised server-based computing systems, where computing resources on a server are shared between several users, the author highlights factors influencing a wider application of service-based IT solutions in commercial and residential sectors and the potential for associated environmental benefit. The thesis also discusses methodological challenges in environmental assessments of electronic products and services and provides recommendations for improvements.
The paper addresses the challenges of supply chain management in the electronics sector influence... more The paper addresses the challenges of supply chain management in the electronics sector influenced by the trends of globalisation, production outsourcing and emerging product-related environmental policies. The trends have forced the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to take eco-design and supply chain management (SCM) initiatives, which pose challenging demands on the suppliers in developing countries, who increasingly become important actors in
... on electronic products, the user stage has the highest impact for global warming, which is es... more ... on electronic products, the user stage has the highest impact for global warming, which is especially typical for ICT products with ... The largest environmental impacts occur in global warming, re-source depletion, toxic poisoning and human health impact categories. ...
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Papers by Andrius Plepys