Cleaner Production and LCA as Complementary Tools in Environmental Assessment: Discussing Tradeoffs Assessment in a Case of Study within the Wood Sector in Brazil

Abstract

Cleaner production has been used for several years in Latin America to minimize waste generation while reducing material and energy consumption. Despite those environmental benefits, its implementation may sometimes lead to changes in products or processes whose environmental performance can yield either positive or negative outputs when examined within a broader context, meaning it is necessary to complement cleaner production with other environmental tools that can provide environmental assessments. This paper presents a combination of cleaner production with life cycle assessment (LCA) applied within the wood industry in a case study in Salvador, a state of Bahia (Brazil), regarding the production of two models of wooden chairs. The study selected life cycle assessment as a scientific tool to quantify the environmental impacts of the models having ILCD 2011 midpoint and cumulative energy demand methods. The results confirmed the presence of environmental tradeoffs among the models that were not considered during the cleaner production program implemented. This paper also includes a proposal of a flowchart to guide the implementation of cleaner production when deciding to implement changes in material, energy source, processes, final destination, or lifespan of the product evaluated, identifying the stages where environmental assessment like life cycle assessment may be required to address tradeoffs.

Ecomap or Ecomapping in the productive sector: Practical tool for the diagnosis of the environmental situation

“…These tools are techniques or methods that allow to exercise control in determining the current environmental status of a process or service, in order to strategically support the use of resources, thus generating a preventive proposal that includes actions aimed at support the processes, re-evaluate the objectives, goals, verify and exercise control in environmental management, in addition to providing valuable information for decision-making, thus generating an impact on the environment with less risk and generating an integration of the processes that would lead to the reduction of waste and emissions. What is simply summarized in social, environmental and economic benefits (Panameño et al, 2019;Pereira et al, 2018;Koroljova & Voronova, 2007).…”

Opportunities for Cleaner Production (CP) Using Process Flow Analysis: Case Study of a Furniture Manufacturer in the City of Palhoça (SC, Brazil)

“…It is also important to highlight the importance of the "continuous implementation of CP programs, especially in Latin America, where a large part of their economy depends on small-and medium-sized enterprises" which require "lower need for financial resources" [12] (p. 17). The implementation of CP opportunities and the reduction and control of pollution at the source can start with companies from the furniture sector through "simple changes in operational conditions, layout, and in the way materials are handled" (in Portuguese: "Mudanças simples nas condições operacionais, no leiaute e no manuseio dos materiais" [8] (p. 19)), with technology transfer playing a key role [8] (p. 19).…”