This paper presents design approaches to induce behavioral shifts toward product sharing through a case study on laundry activities in Japan. Business models involving provision of temporary access to goods are garnering attention as a way to reduce environmental impacts from the current pattern of consumption. However, the success of such business models is a matter of consumer choice, and there exist hurdles for consumers to forego ownership and transfer to product sharing. To understand the forces that affect consumer behavior involving product sharing and to design effective interventions for behavioral shifts, we conducted in-depth interviews and a web survey. From the results, we specified the decision processes in a behavioral shift between home washing and laundromat use, and generated “implementation of a communal laundromat in an apartment building” as a promising way for consumers to shift toward laundromat use. Based on our calculation, the proposed approach has a potential to reduce environmental impact of a hypothetical community by 1.8% in greenhouse gas emissions and 16% in resource use relative to when only home washing is practiced. Our study provides an example of designing interventions for product sharing through reflecting actual usage patterns and consumer motivations.
Abstract:We assessed the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the process for producing cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), which are considered to be a valuable sustainable woody biomass feedstock. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with CNF production are greater than the emissions associated with producing most plastic materials used in vehicle components because the grinding process during CNF production generates significant GHG emissions. The cost of CNF production is also higher than the cost of producing comparable plastics for automotive use because of the high cost of the pulverization process. The sensitivity analysis in this study suggested that GHG emissions and manufacturing costs could be reduced by 19.1-76.4% and 3.6-12.2%, respectively, by improving the energy efficiency of CNF production by two to five times. We compared the potential social risks associated with CNF production between Japan and Vietnam using a product social impact life cycle assessment database. It is desirable to reduce the social risk on the fair salary and child labor, and to improve the safe and healthy living conditions in the local communities that import wood chips harvested in Vietnam.
This study aimed to define the use of product–service system (PSS) associated with laundry businesses, such as coin-operated self-service laundromats (CL) and laundry services (LS), in order to get a better understanding of the environmental implications of PSS in laundry habits in Bangkok, Thailand. The motivation to use PSS could vary according to the specific consumer needs often defined by cultures, and therefore the environmental impacts from the PSS use would result differently from country to country. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with Bangkok residents to determine the laundry habits related to the use of PSS. As a result, the use of private washing machines (PW) was found to be the main option, and CL and LS were used as an additional option in the laundry habits. The most widely observed use pattern in Bangkok was the use of CL as an alternative to PW instead of buying a new machine for a new life in dormitories or other residences away from home. At that time, hand washing (HW) was also used for saving money and for the cleanliness. Regarding the environmental potential, the relationship between the PSS users and laundry habits was specifically analyzed. The group who uses PSS frequently tended to do laundry less often than those who only use PW. Meanwhile, the need for even more services is also expected to increase among the PSS users. The need to improve the quality of laundry is expected to increase with the improvement of quality of living in Bangkok in the near future. However, at the same time, these observations imply that a change of consumer behaviors related to the use of PSS determines the resulting energy consumption and environmental burdens. To further clarify sustainable consumption and production systems, a quantitative analysis of the environmental impact of the laundry habits remains as a future task.
Utilization of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) as a substitute for plastic resins to reduce the total vehicle weight is under consideration, even though the total amount of plastic resin used is very small compared to steel. This study aims to investigate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission effect of the use of CNF as substitutes of plastic resins as composite materials in vehicles. In order to estimate the reduction of GHG effected, two scenarios were proposed: Business as usual (BAU) and CNF-added (CNFa). The amount of GHG emissions from the part of plastic components in a vehicle were evaluated and compared using life cycle assessment (LCA) in the two scenarios. The total GHG emissions in the CNFa scenario declined by about 21.2 per cent compared to the BAU scenario. Although the GHG emissions coefficient of CNF is relatively high compared to plastic resins', the total amount of GHG emissions decreased probably due to reduction in weight of the part of plastic components in a vehicle by replacing plastic resins with CNF.
✜ Abstract:In the face of increasing demand for woody biomass, mill residues continue being used more frequently than logging residues in Japan because of their relative ease of use.The Japanese government set a target ratio of logging residue use to 30 percent by 2030 compared with less than 1 percent in 2009. This study examined GHG emissions and the economic effects of logging and mill residues, which are employed as raw materials for various purposes in Maniwa, Japan.In 2012, 23,710 tonnes of woody biomass resources were collected and used in Maniwa, of which roughly 79 percent were logging residues. These resources are manufactured into several types of wood products, such as chips, bark, and chip dust. The manufactured products are then transported and consumed for paper, poultry litter, and fuel. Based on this, three scenarios were organized by changing the type of woody biomass resource use as follows: the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, the logging-residues-only utilization (LRU) scenario, and the mill-residues-only utilization (MRU) scenario. Under the LRU scenario, the expected regional effect is almost 188 million JPY, whereas the MRU scenario achieves almost 20 times more financial benefits than the LRU scenario with the integrated woody biomass station. However, approximately 13 full-time jobs can be created under the LRU scenario, which is 1.6 times higher than the 6 jobs created under the MRU scenario. In terms of GHG emissions, the LRU scenario can reduce GHG emissions by up to roughly 211t CO2eq/t compared to the MRU scenario.Overall, the promotion of logging residue use for manufacturing wood products has significant advantages over mill residues in both the reduction of GHG emissions and the growth of regional economies.
This study estimated the economic effect of utilizing woody biomass as a raw material for high value-added (HVA) material products such as master batch of cellulose Nanofiber (CNF-MB) and high standard Chip-dust (HSD) in Maniwa, Japan. In order to analyze the economic effects, two scenarios were described and compared: the BAU scenario and the HVA scenario. The results show that utilizing woody biomass for manufacturing material products can increase the net benefits to businesses as well as stimulate the economic ripple effect and job creation in a local region such as Maniwa. Moreover, the effects of HVA products can be greater than those for the four kinds of existing products. These results could help clarify the effectiveness of utilizing woody biomass in material products as a method to promote woody biomass business and regional development.
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