31 Development of a Method for Measuring Resource Efficiency …
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(ii) Expression by calculating and substituting the environmental influence coefficient of the second term of Eq. 31.3 with social or intentional circulation.
(iii) By substituting this coefficient into the usage value and the number of years
of product use from Eq. 31.2, the impact of sharing and reuse measures is
represented.
To verify the effectiveness of the developed indicator, we conducted a case study
with a Panasonic product.
31.3 Case Study
31.3.1 Selection of Environmental Impact Coefficients
In this case study, we used two environmental impact coefficients: TMR, the material
footprint, and EDIP, the resource depletion characteristic coefficient.
TMR stands for Total Material Requirement and is the sum of direct and indirect
substance inputs and hidden substance flow. It expresses how many kilograms of
substances were required to obtain one kilogram of a certain resource. Since using
TMR allows the environmental impact to be intuitively understood, it was adopted
for this case study.
EDIP is a coefficient weighted for each material type from the perspective of
resource depletion. It was adopted because it appears in the item concerning resource
depletion in the product environmental footprint methodology being advanced in the
EU, where the circular economy framework is flourishing.
31.3.2 Case Study Product
The product for the case study was selected partly due to its involvement with remanufacturing, a topic of lively discussion among circular economy proponents. Manufacturing is a type of product reuse. The manufacturer rebuilds appliances recovered
from the market and then ships them back to the market again. Products that are
used for a long time and tend to deteriorate with age are suitable for remanufacturing. After some consideration, we decided to use refrigerated showcases installed
in supermarkets as our case study product.
Figure 31.1 displays a showcase overview. Food is displayed on each shelf, and
refrigeration is required to maintain food freshness. Therefore, a heat exchanger is
installed inside the refrigerated showcase.
In addition, steel is often used for the enclosure so that it can withstand the load
when food products are displayed. However, when used for a long period of time,
the inside of the showcase is humid, so care must be taken to prevent rusting.
473
(ii) Expression by calculating and substituting the environmental influence coefficient of the second term of Eq. 31.3 with social or intentional circulation.
(iii) By substituting this coefficient into the usage value and the number of years
of product use from Eq. 31.2, the impact of sharing and reuse measures is
represented.
To verify the effectiveness of the developed indicator, we conducted a case study
with a Panasonic product.
31.3 Case Study
31.3.1 Selection of Environmental Impact Coefficients
In this case study, we used two environmental impact coefficients: TMR, the material
footprint, and EDIP, the resource depletion characteristic coefficient.
TMR stands for Total Material Requirement and is the sum of direct and indirect
substance inputs and hidden substance flow. It expresses how many kilograms of
substances were required to obtain one kilogram of a certain resource. Since using
TMR allows the environmental impact to be intuitively understood, it was adopted
for this case study.
EDIP is a coefficient weighted for each material type from the perspective of
resource depletion. It was adopted because it appears in the item concerning resource
depletion in the product environmental footprint methodology being advanced in the
EU, where the circular economy framework is flourishing.
31.3.2 Case Study Product
The product for the case study was selected partly due to its involvement with remanufacturing, a topic of lively discussion among circular economy proponents. Manufacturing is a type of product reuse. The manufacturer rebuilds appliances recovered
from the market and then ships them back to the market again. Products that are
used for a long time and tend to deteriorate with age are suitable for remanufacturing. After some consideration, we decided to use refrigerated showcases installed
in supermarkets as our case study product.
Figure 31.1 displays a showcase overview. Food is displayed on each shelf, and
refrigeration is required to maintain food freshness. Therefore, a heat exchanger is
installed inside the refrigerated showcase.
In addition, steel is often used for the enclosure so that it can withstand the load
when food products are displayed. However, when used for a long period of time,
the inside of the showcase is humid, so care must be taken to prevent rusting.