Comparative Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analysis of Traditional and E‐commerce DVD Rental Networks

Abstract

This study is a comparative life-cycle assessment (LCA) of two competing digital video disc (DVD) rental networks: the e-commerce option, where the customer orders the movies online, and the traditional business option, where the customer goes to the rental store to rent a movie. The analytical framework proposed is for a customer living in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. The primary energy and environmental performance for both networks are presented using a multicriterion LCA. The package selected by the traditional network is responsible for 67% of the difference in total energy consumption of the two alternatives. Results show that the e-commerce alternative consumed 33% less energy and emitted 40% less CO 2 than the traditional option. A set of sensitivity analyses test the influence of distance traveled, transportation mode, and reuse of DVD and DVD packaging on the final results. The mode of transportation used by the customer in the traditional business model also affects global emissions and energy consumption. The customer walking to the store is by far the best option in the traditional network; however, the e-commerce option performed comparatively better despite all transportation modes tested. A novel economic indicator, ESAL, is used to compare different transportation modes based on the level of stress exerted on the pavement. The two networks are compared on the basis of cost accounting; consistent with its energy and environmental advantages, the e-commerce network also exerts lesser economic impact, by $1.17, for the functional unit tested. Keywords consumption entertainment greenhouse gas (GHG) industrial ecology life-cycle assessment (LCA) sustainable consumption e-supplement available on the JIE Web site

Part II: Policy instruments for sustainable road transport

“…However, later studies, for example of DVD retailing in the US, showed the teleshopping alternative used 33 per cent less energy and up to 40 per cent less CO2, mainly due to improved packaging (Sivaraman et al, 2007). Weltevreden and Rotem-Mindali (2008) find support for both increased and decreased travel due to teleshopping in the literature and Mokhtarian (2004) argues that although travel will increase, the magnitude of the effect is very difficult to determine in general.…”

The energy and greenhouse-gas implications of internet video streaming in the United States

“…[22]. Table 2 presents DVD characteristics, embodied energy estimates, and shipping distances that are utilized as base-case values this study [13,23,24]. A distance of 1825 km for shipping a DVD from manufacturing plant to store location is assumed based on previous work [22] and applied to all four DVD types, assuming a broad placement of stores and distribution centers across the US.…”

“…A postal service transport of 210 km (round trip) is assumed to deliver the mail purchased DVDs from distribution warehouse to consumer [23] in diesel trucks, with the primary energy and CO 2 (e) emissions of transport again estimated from [25]. A 17 km (round trip) distance is assumed by personal vehicle for Store Purchased, based on estimates by [24] for the average round trip distance to retail CD stores in the US.…”

Design and assessment of a sustainable networked system in the U.S.; Case study of book delivery system

“…Sivaraman and colleagues [4] studied comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of two competing digital video disc (DVD) rental networks; the e-commerce and traditional business option. The traditional business option consumed more primary energy than the e-commerce option.…”