Businesses are grappling with a profound dilemma – the pursuit of economic prosperity versus the goal of ecological sustainability. Climate change impacts increase with each passing day, compelling industries to reconcile their operations with the urgent need for a sustainable, eco-conscious paradigm. The book, Waste Management and Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Business Practice, is an authoritative response to this pressing global challenge. Delving into the issues surrounding the environmental impact of economic activities, it explores the intersection where industries must navigate the delicate balance between profit-making and the preservation of our planet. This book delves into the disconcerting truth that industries are substantial contributors to the global emissions of greenhouse gases. It presents a compelling case, supported by the United Nations Environment Program’s findings, that businesses wield immense power in either perpetuating environmental degradation or steering us towards a greener, more sustainable future. Despite the growing voices for eco-friendly practices, businesses often find themselves caught in the tug-of-war between profitability and environmental responsibility. This book argues that the time for a shift towards sustainable business practices is now, offering a comprehensive guide to academic scholars, researchers, and professionals seeking to understand and implement transformative strategies.

The first book of its kind, the Life Cycle Assessment Handbook: A Guide for Environmentally Sustainable Products will become an invaluable resource for environmentally progressive manufacturers and suppliers, product and process designers, executives and managers, and government officials who want to learn about this essential component of environmental sustainability. As the last several decades have seen a dramatic rise in the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in decision making, the interest in the life cycle concept as an environmental management and sustainability tool continues to grow. The LCA Handbook offers a look at the role that life cycle information, in the hands of companies, governments, and consumers, may have in improving the environmental performance of products and technologies. It concisely and clearly presents the various aspects of LCA in order to help the reader better understand the subject. The content of the book was designed with a certain flow in mind. After a high-level overview to describe current views and state-of-the-practice of LCA, it presents chapters that address specific LCA methodological issues including creating life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment, and capturing eco-systems services. These are followed by example applications of LCA in the agri-food industry; sustainable supply chain management; solid waste management; mining and mineral extraction; forest products; buildings; product innovation; and sustainable chemistry and engineering. The international success of the sustainability paradigm needs the participation of many stakeholders, including citizens, corporations, academia, and NGOs. The handbook links LCA and responsible decision making and how the life cycle concept is a critical element in environmental sustainability. It covers issues such as building capacity in developing countries and emerging economies so that they are more capable of harnessing the potential in LCA for sustainable development. Governments play a very important role with the leverage they have through procurement, regulation, international treaties, tax incentives, public outreach, and other policy tools. This compilation points to the clear trend for incorporating life cycle information into the design and development processes for products and policies, just as quality and safety concerns are now addressed throughout product design and development.

This book is a uniquely pedagogical while still comprehensive state-of-the-art description of LCA-methodology and its broad range of applications. The five parts of the book conveniently provide: I) the history and context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with its central role as quantitative and scientifically-based tool supporting society’s transitioning towards a sustainable economy; II) all there is to know about LCA methodology illustrated by a red-thread example which evolves as the reader advances; III) a wealth of information on a broad range of LCA applications with dedicated chapters on policy development, prospective LCA, life cycle management, waste, energy, construction and building, nanotechnology, agrifood, transport, and LCA-related concepts such as footprinting, ecolabelling,design for environment, and cradle to cradle. IV) A cookbook giving the reader recipes for all the concrete actions needed to perform an LCA. V) An appendix with an LCA report template, a full example LCA report serving as inspiration for students who write their first LCA report, and a more detailed overview of existing LCIA methods and their similarities and differences.

This volume provides a comprehensive method for optimizing solid waste management practices and procedures at college and university campuses through the use of cluster analysis to combine Life Cycle Assessment and Analytical Hierarchy Process. Author Pezhman Taherei uses Malaysia’s University of Malaya as a case study and model, and through this method was able to assess which combination of waste disposal, management, and recycling techniques generate the least environmental impact while retaining the maximum cost savings for the university. A method for analysis of solid waste composition is also proposed. Higher education institutes generate thousands of tons of solid waste per year. Comprehensive solid waste management programs, which take integrated solid waste management systems into consideration, are one of the greatest challenges to achieving campus sustainability. This system can serve as a guide and blueprint for other universities that are taking steps toward sustainability through improved solid waste management.

Sustainable production presented from an overarching perspective. The book provides information on the identification and assessment of footprints, concepts of sustainability practice in manufacturing companies, stakeholder management and communication. For the reader practical examples permit the analysis of the current situation and emerging developments. the current technical status of footprint analysis according to the Green House Gas Protocol is displayed. case studies with a focus on the manufacturing industry are discussed.

The book provides an overarching perspective on sustainability from a historical, practical and legal perspective. It offers a holistic understanding of economic and ecologic concepts. Schools for sustainable business models are introduced and discussed. As a broader concept Life Cycle Assessments are discussed and examples for their application are provided with a focus on CO2 Footprints. Ecodesign as measures for reducing Carbon Footprints are introduced both for physical products and for service organizations. From an organizational perspective it is clear that managing the reduction of the sustainability-related impact is a matter that has to involve all stakeholders. Tasks for all involved are given and their contributions are described. As it is crucial to provide evidence for the activities reported audits are described as well methods to transfer information to the appropriate stakeholders. The book is targeted at practitioners and students who want to get to know the subject or need to implement the respective measures in companies.

The book presents high-quality research papers from the Seventh International Conference on Solid Waste Management (IconSWM 2017), held at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad on December 15–17, 2017. The conference, an official side event of the high-level Intergovernmental Eighth Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific, aimed to generate scientific inputs into the policy consultation of the Forum co-organized by the UNCRD/UNDESA, MoEFCC India, MOUD India and MOEJ, Japan. Presenting research on solid waste management from more than 30 countries, the book is divided into three volumes and addresses various issues related to innovation and implementation in sustainable waste management, segregation, collection, transportation of waste, treatment technology, policy and strategies, energy recovery, life cycle analysis, climate change, research and business opportunities.

This open access book includes a selection of contributions from the Life Cycle Management 2019 Conference (LCM) held in Poznań, Poland, and presents different examples of scientific and practical contributions, showing an incorporation of life cycle approach into the decision processes on strategic and operational level. Special attention is drawn to applications of LCM to target, organize, analyze and manage product-related information and activities towards continuous improvement, along the different products life cycle. The selection of case studies presents LCM as a business management approach that can be used by all types of businesses and organizations in order to improve their sustainability performance. This book provides a cross-sectoral, current picture of LCM issues. The structure of the book is based on five-theme lines. The themes represent different objects that are focused on sustainability and LCM practices mainly related to: products, technologies, organizations, markets and policy issues as well as methodological solutions. The book brings together presentations from the world of science and the world of enterprises as well as institutions supporting economic development.

This volume is a technical and operative contribution to the United Nations "Decade on Education for Sustainable Development" (2005-2014), aiding the development of a new generation of designers, responsible and able in the task of designing environmentally sustainable products. The book provides a comprehensive framework and a practical tool to support the design process. This is an important text for those interested in the product development processes.

Sustainability is a growing area of research in ecology, economics, environmental science, business, and cultural studies. Specifically, sustainable waste disposal and management is a growing concern as both solid and liquid wastes are rapidly expanding in direct correlation with population growth and improved economic conditions across regions. The Handbook of Research on Waste Management Techniques for Sustainability explores the topic of sustainable development in an era where domestic and municipal waste is becoming a concern for both human and environmental health. Highlighting a number of topics relating to pollution, green initiatives, and waste reduction in both the public and private sector, this research-based publication is designed for use by environmental scientists, business executives, researchers, graduate-level students, and policymakers seeking the latest information on sustainability in business, medicine, agriculture, and society.