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Abstract: Sustainable development presents us all with the challenge of living in ways which are compatible with the long-term constraints imposed by the finite carrying capacity of the closed system which is Planet Earth. The chemical engineering approach to the management of complex systems involving material and energy flows will be essential in meeting the challenge. System-based tools for environmental management already embody chemical engineering principles, albeit applied to broader systems than those which chemical engineering conventionally covers. Clean technology is an approach to process selection, design and operation which combines conventional chemical engineering with some of these system-based environmental management tools; it represents an interesting new direction in the application of chemical engineering to develop more sustainable processes. Less conventional applications of chemical engineering lie in public sector decisions, using the approach known as post-normal science. These applications require chemical engineers to take on a significantly different role, using their professional expertise to work with people from other disciplines and with the lay public. The contribution of chemical engineering to the formation of UK energy policy provides an example of the importance of this role. Recognising the role of engineers as agents of social change implies the need for a different set of skills, which just might make the profession more attractive to potential new recruits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article encourages retailers to provide consumers with a choice of environmentally safe and sustainable products. To this end, the European Union has been implementing the integrated product policy, an approach to encouraging products with improved life-cycle performance. With the IPP enforced, eco-labels identifying products with better environmental performance, which gives consumers the information to decide, are emphasized on Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). The EPD declares the environmental credentials of products. However, apart from the EPD, in general, progress with IPP has been slow. But at least in Europe, the barriers to using environmental performance to guide public purchases have been removed and the IPP approach could foster the development of new products.

Indicators which reflect environmental, economic, health and safety issues, have been categorized as microecometrics and macroecometrics. The former, generally flow based measures, have been developed for local, firm-wide or product based assessments. Microecometrics include materials intensity, energy consumption and emissions data, often from life cycle perspectives. They are, generally, intensive and are scaled with respect to unit of production, GDP or per capita, though other normalization factors have been proposed. In contrast macroecometrics tend to be extensive and represent global conditions such as temperatures and environmental concentrations. Ecometrics are subjective and reflect the dominant value of the individual, family unit, stakeholder group or firm. As such overaggregating or reducing the number of ecometrics for given applications, such as the rating of investments or access to credit, presents potential conflicts. Furthermore, while eco-indicators used for internal corporate reporting should not, necessarily, be validated, those microecometrics which involve external reporting, or multiple stakeholders, are arbitrary if not derived from, or based on, comprehensive life cycle approaches. This paper summarizes ECOMETRICS’98, a workshop held in Lausanne, Switzerland in January 19–20, 1998. It discusses ecometric needs of various users including consumers, designers, private sector decision makers as well as politicians and policy makers. A discussion regarding appropriate microecometrics for industrial sectors including chemical, pharmaceutical, insurance, finance, electronics, manufacturing and consumer products is also summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Torrefied wood pellets have better performances than conventional pellets. • Replacing coal with BC torrefied pellets reduces GHG emissions by at least 85%. • GHG reductions are greatest when BC pellets are used overseas. • The most efficient processing sequence is drying-torrefaction-grinding-pelleting. • In addition to carbon tax, other mechanisms are needed to support pellet industry. With increasing international trade in wood pellets for use as fuel, the carbon footprint over the supply chain is of growing concern. The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is endowed with clean electricity and rich biomass resources, which are essential for developing a low-carbon wood pellet industry. This work aims to quantify the life cycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of torrefied wood pellets in comparison with conventional pellets, derived from forest residues in BC and transported to replace coal at power plants in Europe, the Asia Pacific region and elsewhere in Canada. The GHG reduction costs in different markets are also quantified. Five possible production configurations are analysed with uncertainties taken into consideration. Torrefied wood pellets are found to have better environmental performance than conventional pellets. The best production process, which follows the sequence drying-torrefaction-grinding-pelletization, can reduce primary energy consumption and carbon footprint by about 30% compared to conventional pellets. Over the life cycle, transportation contributes most GHG emissions (>50%), while electricity use, including sawmilling and pellet production, represents the greatest energy consumption (~50%). Life cycle analysis reveals that GHG emissions from the supply chain offset at most 15% of the savings from using BC torrefied wood pellets to replace coal. GHG reductions are greatest when the pellets are used in overseas markets, especially the Asia Pacific region and the EU, rather than domestic Canadian markets. The current carbon taxation level cannot cover the abatement cost of BC pellets; other mechanisms are still needed to support the sustainable development of the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]