This Diploma thesis is focused on the assessment of environmental load of a bottle crown cork. The theoretical part describes the current global environmental problems and a chosen environmental legislation, which may also apply to engineering companies. In thesis is included the description of a various methodologies for assessing the environmental load, from which was a method LCA (product life cycle assessment) for solving the problem chosen. The thesis describes the crown cork and its production. In practical part is made the environmental load evaluation of this product. Three variants of the crown cork are selected, whose life cycles are simulated and analysed. The results of the variants are afterwards compared.

Le colture energetiche su larga scala, cosi come l’utilizzo di biomassa forestale non residuale, impattano notevolvente i cicli di nutrienti, la biodiversità e l’occupazione di suolo (i tre limiti del pianeta già oltrepassati, oltre al cambiamento climatico) risultando non riconciliabili con uno spazio di operazione sicuro per l’umanità. Occorre piuttosto perseguire fonti di energia rinnovabile che consentano di disaccoppiare il sistema energetico dall’emissione di gas climalteranti ed al contempo richiedano un uso minimo del suolo e limitati impatti sui cicli dei nutrienti e sulla biodiversità.La biomassa forestale residua, la biomassa coltivata in terreni marginali / abbandonati con un basso apporto di nutrienti e la biomass residual proveniente da altri settori dell'economia possono fornire una fonte temporanea di energia per quei settori più difficili da dissociare dai combustibili fossili, in un percorso che porti verso una società in meno dipendente dalle tecnologie di combustione. / Large scale dedicated cultivation of bioenergy on fertile arable land or the large scale deployment of biomass from standing forest, with their impact on nutrient cycles, biodiversity and land occupation (the three planet boundaries which are already overtaken beside climate change) is difficult to reconcile with a safe operating space for humanity. Renewable energy sources allowing the decoupling of energy systems from GHG emission requiring a minimal land use, and therefore limited impacts on nutrient cycles and biodiversity, are to be pursued. Residual biomass such as forest harvest residues, biomass cultivated in marginal/abandoned land with low nutrients input, and biowaste from other sectors of the economy may provide a temporary source of energy for those sectors more difficult to decouple from fossil fuels, towards a society less dependent on combustion technologies.

The following thesis deals with methods to increase the reliability of the results in life cycle assessment. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part points out the typologies and sources of uncertainty in LCA and summarises the existing methods dealing with it. The methods are critically discussed and pros and cons are contrasted. Within the second part a case study is carried out. This study calculates the carbon footprint of a cosmetic product of Li-iL GmbH. Thereby the whole life cycle of the powder bath Blaue Traube is analysed. To increase the reliability of the result a procedure, derived from the first part, is applied. Recommendations to enhance the product´s sustainability are then given to the decision-makers of the company. Finally the applied procedure for dealing with uncertainty in LCAs is evaluated. The aims of the thesis are to make a contribution to the understanding of uncertainty in life cycle assessment and to deal with it in a more consistent manner. As well, the carbon footprint of the powder bath shall be based on appropriate assumptions and shall consider occurring uncertainties. Basing on discussed problems, a method is introduced to avoid the problematic merging of variability uncertainty and data uncertainty to generate probability distributions. The introduced uncertainty importance analysis allows a consistent differentiation of these types of uncertainty. Furthermore an assessment of the used data of LCA studies is possible. The method is applied at a PCF study of the bath powder Blaue Traube of Li-iL GmbH. Thereby the analysis is carried out over the whole life cycle (cradle-to-grave) as well as cradle-to-gate. The study gives a practical example to the company determining the carbon footprint of products. In addition, it meets the requirements of ISO guidelines of publishing the study and comparing it with other products. Within the PCF study the introduced method allows a differentiation of variability uncertainty and knowledge uncertainty. The included uncertainty importance analysis supports the assessment of each aggregated unit process within the analysed product system. Finally this analysis can provide a basis to collect additional, more reliable or uncertain data for critical processes.

The Photovoltaic Industry is at a crossroads for change. Improving the sustainability of this complex system requires a thorough understanding of the entire life cycle of the solar module production. The product life cycle is thereby divided into the value added steps of raw material extraction, outsourced production, in-house production, operation, and recycling. Furthermore, the following report distinguishes between social, ecological, and economic sustainability. The report offers a compacted matrix with all parts of sustainability and each life cycle stage in order toshow companies of the photovoltaic industry the sensible areas. This should be a first step for improving the sustainability in the whole life cycle of a solar module.

More and more local governments (municipalities and county councils) include the indirect climate impacts of consumption in their environmental work. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an established tool for inventorying both direct and indirect impacts of a product or service, but when the climate impact of an entire organization's consumption of products and services is of interest, the inventory of data can easily become excessive. Through the years, various methods for enabling life cycle inventory on the organizational level have been developed. Hybrid-LCA is one of them where the term "hybrid" comes from that the method combines a so-called bottom up with a top down approach of the data inventory. The practical application of hybrid-LCA and the usefulness of the assessment results for local governments are not self-evident. This study aims to investigate the practical application of hybrid-LCA as a tool for inventorying climate impact for municipalities’ and county councils’ consumption. The purpose includes identifying the challenges associated with the practical procedure when conducting a hybrid-LCA and evaluating the inventory results’ usefulness in municipalities and county councils’ climate work. The results of the study are based on semi-structured interviews, a case study in which hybrid LCA is applied and a workshop where the case study is evaluated. The results show that the hybrid-LCA enables both a holistic approach to the climate impact and a level of detail for selected areas, making it possible to prioritize areas and identify measures to reduce the climate impact from consumption. The main challenges that arise in the practical procedure of the hybrid-LCA are associated with inventory and verification of foreground data and matching purchases of product groups to standardized classifications. To simplify the execution, increase transparency and facilitate monitoring, local governments are recommended to investigate the possibility of coordinating purchasing system and labeling product groups, in accordance with standardized classifications. It is also recommended to request information about a products weight and material content from suppliers. The uncertainties associated with the outcome of a hybrid-LCA are and remain large, therefore it is important that the results are communicated in terms of potential environmental impacts.

The building sector contributes to a large part of the total emissions of greenhouse gases, which demands for increased sustainability in all phases of a buildings’ lifecycle. Choices of building materials and the respective required maintenance and replacements are becoming more important if further reductions of climate impacts should be obtained. Folkhem is a Swedish construction company who constructs multi-storey buildings made of wood. The company has shown interest in developing knowledge about how the selection of building materials effects the impacts on climate, the extent of necessary maintenance and replacement work as well as economic consequences. The aim of this master thesis was to evaluate the potential climate impacts and costs for different scenarios of maintenance and replacements of selected exterior building components for Folkhem’s planned building in Stadshagen, in Stockholm. The façade, roof, windows and balconies have been in focus. To fulfill the aim of this study, life cycle assessment and a simplified cost analysis have been carried out. With the basis of the results from this study, recommendations of building materials for the chosen building components in Folkhem’s planned building have been stated. A façade made of pine impregnated with boiled linseed oil is recommended as façade cladding, and OrganoWood is recommended for the balcony decking. Folkhem planned to use wooden windows, but it is recommended that these are substituted to aluminum coated wooden windows. No recommendation could be provided for the roof from this study. The following conclusions have been made; More attention should be payed to the phases of maintenance and replacement when carrying out LCAs for timber buildings, since general assumptions could be misleading. The origin of the building materials could have a significant climate impact if several replacements need to be performed, since this includes a large number of transports of materials. Different building materials or building components have different lifespans and needs for maintenance. To reduce costs and potential climate impacts, long lifespans with little need for maintenance are desired. Planning for a specific lifespan of the building and the required maintenance and replacements may contribute to reduce the potential climate impacts. Maintenance is recommended for timber buildings, since this could reduce the need for replacements, which could reduce the potential climate impacts. LCA can be a useful tool for Folkhem to plan for maintenance and replacements of their timber buildings if improvements are performed regarding LCA data quality. LCA can provide guidance for Folkhem to choose sustainable building materials, with regards to maintenance and replacements at an early stage in the design process. A future study could be to perform a more detailed LCA of the materials and products that required assumptions in this study, for instance the surface treatments for maintenance. A more detailed LCA of all maintenance that should be conducted in a building could be of interest as well, and to investigate the impacts from excluded processes in this study. Alternative building materials for the exterior building components could be evaluated as well as different percentages of painting area. More impact categories than climate change could also be evaluated. Impacts from the building lifecycle phases of repair and refurbishment could also be interesting to evaluate in order to receive an overview of the total potential climate impacts and costs from all parts of the lifecycle of a building. Another approach could be to investigate if maintenance and replacement are carried out as described from technical literature and manufacturers in reality. Finally, a more thorough cost analysis could be carried out, evaluating how a housing society would be affected from costs from maintenance and replacement.

SammanfattningProdukter produceras idag i stor utsträckning för att tillfredsställa konsumenters behov varpåmiljöbelastningen eskalerar i takt med efterfrågan och produktionen som sker därefter. Lösningenpå problemet kan sammanfattas i ekodesign där miljöoptimering av produktutvecklingen skerutifrån ett helhetsperspektiv; råvaruutvinning, produktion, användning, återvinning, slutligtomhändertagande samt transporter.Teknik-konsultföretaget ÅF uppmärksammade detta problem hos svenska producenter ochstartade 2008 en intern sektion, EcoDesign center, som erbjöd sina kunder ekodesignrelateradetjänster. Utmaningarna och problemen hos kunderna har med tiden förändrats och för att centretska kunna erbjuda sina kunder relevanta tjänster, undersöks i detta arbete svenska producentersrelation till ekodesign idag.Syftet med arbetet har varit att kartlägga producenternas problem och utmaningar inommiljöanpassad produktutveckling och samtidigt utvärdera ÅF EcoDesign centers förutsättningaratt tillgodose sina kunder. Att utifrån denna kunskap komma med förbättringsförslag ochrekommendationer på hur centrets ekodesigntjänster kan optimeras har varit målet med arbetet.Resultatet visar att ekodesignarbetet inte är tillräckligt utbrett vilket främst beror på bristfälligefterfrågan av ekodesignade produkter. Kundefterfrågan är direkt kopplat till ekonomiskaincitament, företag drivs i vinstsyfte och utan en efterfrågan kommer ekodesignarbete inteimplementeras. Producenterna har inte insett eller förstått den ekonomiska potentialen medmiljöeffektiv produktutveckling och tror det är dyrt och tidsödande. En orsak till detta kan varabristen på enkla ekodesignverktyg, då de flesta existerande verktyg kräver experter.Kunskapsbristen är ett faktum, vilket producenterna själva ser som ett av de största hindren förimplementering av ekodesign i produktutvecklingsprocessen.ÅF:s EcoDesign center bör satsa på en inledande ekodesigntjänst som kartlägger vad för typ avekodesigntjänst deras kunder behöver hjälp med. Denna tjänst ska fungera som en inkörsport tillövriga ekodesignområden som EcoDesign center rekommenderas att satsa på i framtiden; PRS(Product Regulatory Support), strategi, eco screening, utbildning, tjänstedesign ochmarknadsföring. / Products are currently produced to satisfy customer needs to a large extent whereupon theenvironmental impact escalates due to the demand and production. A solution to the problemcan be summarized in the term eco design where the environmental optimization of a producthas a holistic perspective, including everything from raw material extraction, production, uses,recycling, disposal and transport.ÅF, a technology consulting firm, drew attention to this problem and started EcoDesign centerin 2008, an in-house section where they offered their customers eco design related services. Thechallenges and problems in their customers needs have changed over time and understandinghow the center should provide their customers with relevant service is investigated in this thesis.The aim of the thesis has been to identify producers’ problems and challenges with greenproduction and at the same time evaluate EcoDesign center's prerequisites to satisfy theircustomers’ needs. Based on this knowledge, the aim has been to come up with suggestions andrecommendations on how the center can optimize their eco design related services.The result shows that the eco design work is not sufficiently widespread, mainly due to a poordemand for eco designed products. Customer demand is directly linked to economic incentives,companies run for profit and without a demand an eco design work will not be implemented.Producers have not realized the economic potential of eco effective products and think it isexpensive and time consuming. One reason can be the lack of simple eco design tools, sinceexisting tools require expertise. The lack of knowledge is a fact, which the producers consider tobe one of the biggest obstacles to implement eco design in the product developing process.EcoDesign center should invest in an initial eco design service that identifies in which types ofeco design areas their customer needs help. This service will act as a gateway to other eco designservices offered at the center. In the future, EcoDesign center is recommended to focus on thefollowing, eco design related work; PRS (Product Regulatory Support), strategy, eco screening,education, service design and marketing.

Achieving a sustainable production has become more important in the same phase as the environmental focus grows. Sustainable production means that you take into consideration the economical and environmental life cycle, that can be analyzed and measured with help from LCC (Life Cycle Cost) and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment). The purpose of this study has been to increase the understanding for how LCC and LCA can be used in order to improve the economical and environmental sustainability within manufacturing processes. The goal has been to identify weaknesses and improvement potential in order to strengthen sustainability. There has also been a purpose to create a template with the purpose to promote other companies to identify which factors need to be improved. Data has been collected through structured interviews and other documents from the studied company. Results and conclusions present that the studied company’s production is economically and environmentally sustainable but there is room for improvement.  The improvement suggestions that the authors have come up with is following: - Reduce costs by improving the flow within the production - Shorten the distance of transportation by choosing local suppliers - Choosing more environmentally friendly transportation. / Att uppnå en hållbar produktion är någonting som blir viktigare och viktigare med de ökade miljökrav som ställs. Hållbar produktion innebär att man tar hänsyn till den ekonomiska och miljömässiga livscykeln, som kan analyseras och mätas med hjälp av LCC (Life Cycle Costs) och LCA (Life Cycle Assessment).  Syftet med denna studie har varit att ge en ökad förståelse för hur LCC och LCA kan användas för att förbättra den ekonomiska och miljömässiga hållbarheten inom produktioner. Målet med studien har varit att identifiera svagheter och förbättringspotential inom produktionsprocesser för att stärka hållbarheten. Det har även funnits ett syfte att skapa en mall med syfte att främja andra företag att identifiera vilka faktorer som behöver förbättras. Data har samlats in genom strukturerade intervjuer och annan dokumentation från det studerade fallföretaget. Resultat och slutsats presenterar att företagets produktion är ekonomiskt och miljömässigt hållbart men att förbättringspotential finns. De förbättringsförslag som författarna kom fram till var följande: - Reducera kostnader genom att förbättra flödet - Minska transportsträckan genom lokala leverantörer - Välja miljövänligare transport / <p>Digital presentation som följd av Covid-19.</p>

I den här studien har en beräkningsmodell byggts för hur PHA skulle kunna produceras av substrat i avloppsvatten från Gruvöns bruk. Därefter har en jämförande livscykelanalys utförts där PP-sugrör inom Europa ersätts med PHA-sugrör från bruket. Målet med studien är att utvärdera och jämföra miljöpåverkan för en engångsprodukt av PHA med en engångsprodukt av PP. Syftet är att undersöka ett alternativt material till PP på grund av att fossila resurser är ändliga samt att alternativa material kommer krävas i och med europeiska kommissionens förbud mot engångsplast som träder i kraft 2022. Arbetet utförs också för att bidra med mer forskningsunderlag gällande PHA från restströmmar. Livscykelanalysen utfördes med ISO-standard: 14040 och 14044 som riktlinje för utförande. 1 ton sugrör valdes som funktionell enhet och hela produktens livscykel undersöktes med undantag för användningsfasen. PHA-produktion på bruket beräknades teoretiskt där mass- och energiflöden från modellen sedan användes för miljöbedömning. SimaPro valdes som programvara för LCA-beräkning, miljödata hämtades från databasen Ecoinvent 3 och ELCD där 10 av 18 miljöfaktorer inom metoden ReCiPe midpoint (h) undersöktes kompletterat med kumulativt energibehov (CED).   Resultaten i studien visar en minskning av miljöpåverkan med 99 % om sugrör av PP skulle ersättas med sugrör av PHA från Gruvöns bruk. Samtidigt beräknades CED öka med cirka 50 %. Analyser av resultatet visar att giftighet för ekosystem i sjöar och hav vid materialframställning för PP är de största faktorerna för PP-sugrörets påverkan, motsvarande cirka 85 % av den totala miljöpåverkan. Inkludering av fler produktionsvariationer indikerar också att det finns potential att ytterligare sänka miljöpåverkan från PHA-sugrör samt att få en lägre energianvändning än för PP-sugrör genom att ändra metod för extraktion samt temperatur i fermenteringsprocessen. Resultaten är osäkra på grund av LCA-verktygets osäkerheter, brist på miljödata samt brist på studier. Resultaten kan dock användas för att se trender och potential. Ett exempel är att ingen större skillnad ses mellan engångsprodukter av PP och PHA när enbart klimatpåverkan och energi för produktion undersöks men när hela livscykeln undersöks med fler miljöfaktorer så verkar PP ha klart högre miljöpåverkan än PHA. Slutsatsen som dras är att engångsprodukter av PHA från varma restströmmar har potential att ersätta engångsprodukter av PP på ett för miljön hållbart sätt. Det kan vara en möjlig lösning till att fortsätta producera engångsprodukter som berörs av plastförbudet samt att lätta på en del av problematiken kring utarmning av fossila resurser. Mer studier gällande möjliga användningsområden samt en småskalig pilotanläggning på Gruvöns bruk rekommenderas som vidare steg för att utforska potentialen av PHA från restströmmar. / In this study, a calculation model has been built on how PHA could be produced from forest industrial wastewater at Gruvöns pulp- and paper mill. Subsequently, a comparative life-cycle analysis has been carried out where production of PP-drinking straws in Europe is replaced with PHA-straws from the mill. The objective of the study is to assess and compare the environmental impact of a disposable PHA product with a disposable PP product. The purpose of the study is to examine an alternative material for PP due to the finite nature of fossil resources and the fact that alternative materials will be required when the plastic ban from the European Commission on disposable products comes into force 2022. An additional purpose is to provide more research data on PHA from residual streams. The lifecycle analysis was performed with ISO standard: 14040 and 14044 as a guideline and 1 ton of straw was selected as the functional unit. The entire life cycle was examined with an exception of the usage phase. PHA production at the mill was theoretically calculated and mass and energy flows from the model was then used in the environmental assessment. SimaPro was selected as the software for LCA calculation, environmental data was retrieved from the Ecoinvent 3 database and ELCD database. 10 out of 18 environmental factors within the ReCiPe midpoint (h) method were investigated complemented with cumulative energy demand (CED). The results of the study show a 99 % reduction in environmental impact if drinking straws of PP would be replaced with straws from PHA from Gruvön's mill. At the same time, CED was estimated to increase by about 50 %. Analyses of the results show that the toxicity of material production to marine and freshwater ecosystems is the most influential factor in the impact of PP straws, representing around 85 % of the total environmental impact. Expansion of the calculation model showed that there is potential to further reduce the environmental impact of PHA straws as well as the energy requirements to a level that is lower than that of PP straws by changing method of extraction and fermentation. The results are uncertain due to the uncertainties of the LCA tool, lack of environmental data and lack of studies. However, the results can be used to see trends and potential. One example is that no major difference is seen between disposable PP and PHA products when only climate impact and energy for production are examined, but when the entire life cycle is examined with more environmental factors, PP appears to have a significantly higher environmental impact than PHA. The conclusion drawn in the study is that disposable PHA products from hot residual streams have potential to replace disposable PP products in an environmentally sustainable manner. This may be a possible solution to continue producing disposable products that are affected by the plastic ban and to alleviate some of the problems surrounding depletion of fossil resources. Further studies on possible uses and a small-scale pilot plant at Gruvön's mill are recommended as further steps to explore the potential of PHA from residual streams.

This study examines the climate impact of the thermal insulation materials, glass wool and polyurethane. Two wall constructions with a size of one square meter are used in the study to compare their carbon footprints and determine which material has the lowest environmental impact. For the walls to be comparable, they need to have the same U-value. The study will be limited to only examining the materials from a cradle-to-gate perspective. Literature searches will be conducted for data collection. For the calculation of environmental impact, the study will examine Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), and the Boverket’s Climate Declaration.Environmental data for building materials is calculated using LCA, and from this, EPDs can be generated, which contain summarized environmental data. This study collects environmental data from EPDs Boverket’s Climate Database. U-values are calculated using the U- and λ-value method, and then the mean value is derived. Subsequently, the quantities of the materials are determined, and the walls' total Global Warming Potential (GWP) is calculated.According to the results of the study, walls with polyurethane and glass wool insulation show a significant difference in their carbon footprints. GWP calculations show that the wall with polyurethane insulation emits approximately 33 kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents), while the wall with glass wool insulation emits around 17 kg CO2e. The results also indicate that the insulation layers alone exhibit a significant difference in carbon footprint, approximately 20 kg CO2e for polyurethane and 4.0 kg CO2e for glass wool. The significant difference may be attributed to the oil-based production of polyurethane. The study also found that the manufacturing stage contributes the most to the climate impact for both insulation materials.When selecting insulation materials, other material properties also need to be investigated, such as fire resistance, acoustic performance, and more. The economic aspect also plays a significant role in the selection process.From an environmental perspective, the conclusion indicates that glass wool insulation is the better choice. / I denna undersökning kommer klimatpåverkan av värmeisoleringsmaterialen glasull och polyuretan undersökas. Två väggkonstruktioner med en storlek på en kvadratmeter används i studien för att jämföra dess koldioxidavtryck för att avgöra vilket material som har lägst miljöpåverkan. För att väggarna ska vara jämförbara behöver de ha samma U-värde. Studien kommer begränsa sig till att bara undersöka materialen från vagga-till-port.Litteratursökningar kommer genomföras för informationsinsamling. För beräkning av miljöpåverkan kommer studien undersöka LCA (livscykelanalys), EPD:er(miljövarudeklarationer) och Boverkets Klimatdeklaration.Miljödata för byggnadsmaterial beräknas genom LCA, och från detta kan man ta fram EPD:er som innehåller dess sammanfattade miljödata. Den här studien hämtar miljödata från EPD:er och Boverkets Klimatdatabas. Beräkning av U-värden utfördes med U- och λ-värdesmetodendär sedan medelvärdet tas fram. Därefter mängdas materialen och sedan beräknas väggarnas totala GWP (global uppvärmningspotential).Enligt studiens resultat visar väggarna med polyuretan- och glasullsisolering en stor skillnad på deras koldioxidavtryck. Beräkningar av GWP visar väggen med polyuretanisolering har utsläpp på ca 33 kg CO2e (koldioxidekvivalenter) medan väggen med glasullisolering har utsläpp på ca 17 kg CO2e. Resultatet visar också att enbart värmeisoleringsskikten har stor skillnad i koldioxidavtrycket, ca 20 kg CO2e för polyuretan och ca 4,0 kg CO2e för glasull.Den stora skillnaden kan bero på att framställningen av polyuretan är oljebaserad. Studien visade också att den största klimatpåverkan kommer från tillverkningsskedet för båda isoleringsmaterialen.Vid val av isoleringsmaterial behöver även andra materialegenskaper undersökas till exempelbrandmotstånd, akustik med mera. Även den ekonomiska aspekten har betydelse för valet.Slutsatsen ur ett miljöperspektiv visar att glasullsisoleringen är det bättre valet.