Ecological Footprint Assessment …
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Many other indices are used to compare various processes or activities or products
based on the emissions, energy required, etc. But to really measure whether the
human activities are really sustainable for humans, as well as other living beings on
the planet, is a challenging task.
Sustainability is a very broad concept which includes all the human activities
and their impacts. Industrial sustainability is the approach which aims to improve
the productivity of industries by considering the energy and resources (human and
material) used and their impacts on the environment. Industrial sustainability firstly
includes financial stability, which is the primary requirement for any industry to
sustain. Later it also involves the social and environmental factors which are equally
important in the world, which is presently developing very fast and at the same time
facing the severe environmental problems like global warming. Industrial sustainability is generally attained by improving technology, improving energy efficiency
and switching to renewable energy resources, etc.
Initially, sustainability was thought to forecast the need for industrial products or
processes demanded by the market and the raw material and other resources’ availability from an economic perspective. Various studies have suggested various tools to
measure industrial sustainability in recent times. Ford developed the Product Sustainability Index (PSI), which was based on eight factors of environmental, social and
economic importance [19]. Another methodology suggests product life cycle analysis which involves four phases of product: pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, use
and post-use; and then measure the suggested Product Sustainability Index (ProdSI)
to compare [20].
These product-based indicators are meant to compare the products of similar kinds
and justify which product is more sustainable in a given condition. To measure and
compare the sustainability of an industry, the Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI)
was developed based on the multi-attribute decision theory methodology, which
monitored various attributes under three general criteria: financial (industry must
exist for long to be sustainable), in-walls (within the industry) and out-walls (area
outside the factory but influenced by industry) [3]. This indicator has the flexibility
to give importance to general attributes by using weighting fraction and might give
varying results based on the varying weighing factor, which is generally based on
individual experiences.
Another Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI) was suggested to compare various
industries (similar or dissimilar) based on three major factors of sustainability, i.e.
economic, social and environmental [14]. The simplicity of this indicator enabled
comparing the process/manufacturing industries rather than product-based analyses
as suggested by initial indicators. This ISI is a simplified tool, which represents
the socio-economic benefit of any type of industry per unit of its carbon emissions.
Carbon emissions could be direct and indirect. The direct carbon emissions may be
due to the inherent nature of the production process, while the indirect emissions are
caused due to energy consumption in the production process. The ISI as proposed
assesses social, economic and environmental goals of any type or types of industries
(i.e. small, medium or large scale). The concept of ISI is illustrated in Fig. 1. The
expression of the ISI is as follows:
43
Many other indices are used to compare various processes or activities or products
based on the emissions, energy required, etc. But to really measure whether the
human activities are really sustainable for humans, as well as other living beings on
the planet, is a challenging task.
Sustainability is a very broad concept which includes all the human activities
and their impacts. Industrial sustainability is the approach which aims to improve
the productivity of industries by considering the energy and resources (human and
material) used and their impacts on the environment. Industrial sustainability firstly
includes financial stability, which is the primary requirement for any industry to
sustain. Later it also involves the social and environmental factors which are equally
important in the world, which is presently developing very fast and at the same time
facing the severe environmental problems like global warming. Industrial sustainability is generally attained by improving technology, improving energy efficiency
and switching to renewable energy resources, etc.
Initially, sustainability was thought to forecast the need for industrial products or
processes demanded by the market and the raw material and other resources’ availability from an economic perspective. Various studies have suggested various tools to
measure industrial sustainability in recent times. Ford developed the Product Sustainability Index (PSI), which was based on eight factors of environmental, social and
economic importance [19]. Another methodology suggests product life cycle analysis which involves four phases of product: pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, use
and post-use; and then measure the suggested Product Sustainability Index (ProdSI)
to compare [20].
These product-based indicators are meant to compare the products of similar kinds
and justify which product is more sustainable in a given condition. To measure and
compare the sustainability of an industry, the Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI)
was developed based on the multi-attribute decision theory methodology, which
monitored various attributes under three general criteria: financial (industry must
exist for long to be sustainable), in-walls (within the industry) and out-walls (area
outside the factory but influenced by industry) [3]. This indicator has the flexibility
to give importance to general attributes by using weighting fraction and might give
varying results based on the varying weighing factor, which is generally based on
individual experiences.
Another Industrial Sustainability Index (ISI) was suggested to compare various
industries (similar or dissimilar) based on three major factors of sustainability, i.e.
economic, social and environmental [14]. The simplicity of this indicator enabled
comparing the process/manufacturing industries rather than product-based analyses
as suggested by initial indicators. This ISI is a simplified tool, which represents
the socio-economic benefit of any type of industry per unit of its carbon emissions.
Carbon emissions could be direct and indirect. The direct carbon emissions may be
due to the inherent nature of the production process, while the indirect emissions are
caused due to energy consumption in the production process. The ISI as proposed
assesses social, economic and environmental goals of any type or types of industries
(i.e. small, medium or large scale). The concept of ISI is illustrated in Fig. 1. The
expression of the ISI is as follows: