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2017 | 17 | 43 | 491-513

Article title

Environmental Classification of Products in a Context of Ecodesign in Small and Medium Enterprises

Content

Title variants

PL
Środowiskowa klasyfikacja produktów w kontekście ekoprojektowania w małych i średnich przedsiębiorstwach

Languages of publication

EN

Abstracts

EN
More and more often a life cycle thinking is considered as a valuable element of environmental management. Product-based environmental management systems often refer to ecodesign, which can be used in various aspects of product management. Due to their own specificity, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often encounter difficulties when conducting ecodesign activities. The paper presents a simplified approach based on the life cycle-based environmental classification of products intended for using in SMEs as a starting point for eco-design. A main goal of the paper is to propose such classification and discuss its role in improving the environmental performance of products. The presented analysis included 50 products classified according to the chosen criteria. As the first step, a cluster analysis has been performed and a distinction between passive and active products has been made. A main conclusion was that the information received from the cluster analysis may be insufficient to be a sole basis for ecodesign. A second classification has been performed basing on the selected environmental impact indicators (GWP100a and CED) calculated for three life cycle stages: a production, an use and a final disposal. The final products’ classification reflects the differences in environmental hotspots between products and can be used for supporting the SMEs in implementation of life cycle-based eco-design processes.
PL
Od pewnego czasu kreowane jest podejście do zarządzania środowiskowego bazujące na cyklu życia wytwarzanych produktów i usług oraz ich wpływie na środowisko. W tak zorientowanym systemie zarządzania ważną rolę pełni ekoprojektowanie, które może mieć zastosowanie w różnych aspektach zarządzania produktem. Specyfika małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw powoduje jednak, że realizowanie w ich przypadku procesów ekoprojektowych może być problematyczne. W artykule podkreślono wzrastające znaczenie ekoprojektowania w kontekście tej grupy podmiotów oraz przedyskutowano wykorzystanie w tym obszarze środowiskowej klasyfikacji produktów. Głównym celem było zaproponowanie klasyfikacji, która pozwalałaby na zdefiniowanie środowiskowych klas produktów oraz identyfikację przyczyn negatywnego oddziaływania ich cyklu życia. Dla ustalenia jakimi kryteriami należy się kierować klasyfikując dany produkt wykonano analizę skupień na grupie 50 wyselekcjonowanych obiektów badawczych. Uzyskana jednak klasyfikacja produktów nie pozwoliła na kontrybucję poszczególnych etapów cyklu życia w tworzeniu wpływu na środowisko, a jedynie na wyróżnienie zasadniczo dwóch grup produktów typu active oraz passive. W rezultacie uznano, iż analiza skupień z racji, iż nie pozwala na identyfikowanie środowiskowych punktów krytycznych, może być traktowana przez projektantów jedynie jako źródło informacji uzupełniających, a nie jako główne podejście do podziału produktów. Z tego względu dokonano podziału analizowanych produktów według udziałów procentowych wartości wskaźnika Potencjału Globalnego Ocieplenia (GWP100a) oraz Skumulowanego Zapotrzebowania na Energię (CED) w trzech etapach cyklu życia: produkcji, użytkowania oraz końcowego zagospodarowania. Otrzymana klasyfikacja stanowi wytyczne w zakresie doskonalenia produktów w oparciu o proponowane strategie ekoprojektowe i może być pomocna zwłaszcza małym i średnim przedsiębiorstwom.

Year

Volume

17

Issue

43

Pages

491-513

Physical description

Dates

online
2017-09-15

Contributors

  • Faculty of Commodity Science, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Poland
  • Faculty of Commodity Science, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Poland
  • Faculty of Commodity Science, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Poland
  • Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Poland
redactor

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Document Type

Publication order reference

YADDA identifier

bwmeta1.element.desklight-9399247e-6f92-461a-991d-7983ab312f19
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