The capacity to calculate and communicate the beneficial environmental impact of products and services is lacking in scientific guidelines. To fill this gap, this article presents a new approach for calculating the carbon handprint of products. The core of the suggested approach involves comparing the carbon footprint of an improved product with the carbon footprint of the baseline product, and subsequently calculating the reduction in greenhouse gas emission that can be achieved by utilizing the improved product. The proposed approach is founded on the standardized life cycle assessment methodology for footprints until the use stage, and it provides a framework to recognize the effects of the remaining life cycle stages in the actual operational environment. This calculation is meant to be used by manufacturers that wish to show potential customers the positive climate impacts offered by the manufacturer's product. The carbon handprint approach complements the existing methodologies by introducing new definitions and consistent guidelines for comparing the baseline product and the improved product. This article presents the developed calculation approach and demonstrates the approach with one case study about renewable diesel. Results of the diesel handprint calculation indicate that a driver can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by choosing renewable diesel over baseline fuel. Thus, the producer of the renewable diesel will create a handprint.Organizations can use carbon handprints for quantifying the greenhouse gas reductions their customers can achieve by utilizing the product. Thus, the carbon handprint can be a powerful tool in communications and marketing. By conducting carbon handprint assessments, a company can also find out how their product qualifies in comparison to baseline products. Therefore, carbon handprints can also support decision-making and lifelong product design.
The amount of money that could potentially be saved by households by reducing unnecessary consumption and directed to sustainable investments without compromising the social needs in Finnish households was studied. The study was conducted by using statistical data and by creating short-and long-term scenarios to assess potential savings resulting from changes in household behaviour. According to the results, a Finnish household could save and subsequently allocate an average of €3400-€15,000 annually to invest in sustainability. The greatest potential for preventing unnecessary consumption is related to (1) food and drinks, and (2) transportation. In the long-term scenario, reducing expenditures in the category of housing also provides opportunities for high savings. A significant share of the saving created by sustainable patterns of consumption can be directed for example to investments in renewable energy.
Rapid climate change mitigation requires carbon sequestration in addition to greenhouse gas emission reductions. Agriculture may have a high potential for carbon sequestration due to improved practices. However, it is not known how the global warming impacts of crop production could be mitigated especially within an agricultural system. The aim of this study is to evaluate possibilities to neutralize global warming impacts in crop production using biochar produced from side flows and buffer zone biomass. A life cycle assessment methodology is utilized in this research for oat production in the boreal climate zone. Global warming impact reductions are compared for three different side flow utilization options. Traditionally, side flows have been utilized in energy or fodder production, and these options are compared to biochar production at a system level. The potential to use buffer zone biomass for biochar production is also studied. Willow has been selected as a biomass source in buffer zones. Oat production leads to greenhouse gas emissions especially due to the use of fossil and mineral fertilizers in cultivation and heat energy, electricity and fuels in various process phases. The production of one metric ton of oat flakes from cradle to gate generates 700 kg of CO2eq emissions. Biochar and energy production from side flows enables a greater reduction in global warming impacts than the feed use of side flows. Buffer zones in willow biomass and biochar production may enable the full neutralization of the global warming potential of oat production within an agricultural system. Further research with actual measurements is required especially on biochar impacts on soil emissions such as N2O. This research shows that it could be possible to neutralize global warming impacts from crop production using available technologies and available biomass in agricultural systems. A framework is created for carbon neutral crop production using side flows and buffer zone biomass through biochar.
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