123
The move towards sustainable products will take many years to progress through
legislative and business processes. During this time, retailers, consumers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will continue to call for transparency and clear
statements about the constituents of the goods they purchase.
The Eco2chem project for eco-effi ciency measurement set up at sector level in
Belgium and actively supported by local authorities and several research organizations, aims to select the best-fi t eco-effi ciency measurement methods applicable to
chemical processes and products. The main outcome is SUSCHEMCompass, a
web-based tool to help companies, especially SMEs, select the eco-effi ciency measurement method best suited to their specifi c needs.
The tool focuses on measurement methods for the economic and environmental
aspects at company level and/or project level, but may be extended to social aspects
in a follow-up project. A variety of methods have been identifi ed, ranging from
quick scans to thorough life cycle analysis and from freely available tools to proprietary tools. For each method, the web-based tool includes an information sheet summarizing the history and scope of the method, and what it can and cannot measure.
The tool can be used by all interested parties free of charge (CEFIC 2012 ).
3.3 Sustainability Improvements Support with Eco-Effi ciency
Studies: Pavement Preservation Technology
for Asphalt Roads
The society depends on roads as a vital component of their national economies.
Ensuring that these roads are safe, long-lasting and cost effectively installed and
maintained is thus essential to the sustainability of the transportation network.
Pavement preservation is the systematic scheduling of nonstructural maintenance
applications to protect engineered road pavements and extend their service life. This
helps promote better road conditions, increases safe driving by minimizing surface
deterioration and the potential for structural failure and is a more effi cient use of tax
payer money. The challenge facing many government agencies and key material
specifi ers is how can they decide which pavement preservation technologies and
materials are the most eco-effi cient? On what basis should they make their comparison and what metrics truly defi ne the sustainability of road construction materials?
BASF in collaboration with a key customer, Vance Brothers, utilized the ecoeffi ciency analysis to compare the relative eco-effi ciencies of two of the more prevalent pavement preservation technologies for urban roads in the United States. The
life cycle environmental and economic impacts of a polymer modifi ed asphalt emulsion based micro-surfacing technology were compared to a two-inch polymermodifi ed hot mix overlay. The analysis was based on the environmental and
economic impacts required to maintain a one-mile stretch of a 12 ft lane of urban
road using best engineering practices for a 40 year lifetime. The question was
whether it was more sustainable to install a more durable layer (hot mix overlay also
10 Sustainability Improvements and Life Cycle Approaches in Industry Partnerships
The move towards sustainable products will take many years to progress through
legislative and business processes. During this time, retailers, consumers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) will continue to call for transparency and clear
statements about the constituents of the goods they purchase.
The Eco2chem project for eco-effi ciency measurement set up at sector level in
Belgium and actively supported by local authorities and several research organizations, aims to select the best-fi t eco-effi ciency measurement methods applicable to
chemical processes and products. The main outcome is SUSCHEMCompass, a
web-based tool to help companies, especially SMEs, select the eco-effi ciency measurement method best suited to their specifi c needs.
The tool focuses on measurement methods for the economic and environmental
aspects at company level and/or project level, but may be extended to social aspects
in a follow-up project. A variety of methods have been identifi ed, ranging from
quick scans to thorough life cycle analysis and from freely available tools to proprietary tools. For each method, the web-based tool includes an information sheet summarizing the history and scope of the method, and what it can and cannot measure.
The tool can be used by all interested parties free of charge (CEFIC 2012 ).
3.3 Sustainability Improvements Support with Eco-Effi ciency
Studies: Pavement Preservation Technology
for Asphalt Roads
The society depends on roads as a vital component of their national economies.
Ensuring that these roads are safe, long-lasting and cost effectively installed and
maintained is thus essential to the sustainability of the transportation network.
Pavement preservation is the systematic scheduling of nonstructural maintenance
applications to protect engineered road pavements and extend their service life. This
helps promote better road conditions, increases safe driving by minimizing surface
deterioration and the potential for structural failure and is a more effi cient use of tax
payer money. The challenge facing many government agencies and key material
specifi ers is how can they decide which pavement preservation technologies and
materials are the most eco-effi cient? On what basis should they make their comparison and what metrics truly defi ne the sustainability of road construction materials?
BASF in collaboration with a key customer, Vance Brothers, utilized the ecoeffi ciency analysis to compare the relative eco-effi ciencies of two of the more prevalent pavement preservation technologies for urban roads in the United States. The
life cycle environmental and economic impacts of a polymer modifi ed asphalt emulsion based micro-surfacing technology were compared to a two-inch polymermodifi ed hot mix overlay. The analysis was based on the environmental and
economic impacts required to maintain a one-mile stretch of a 12 ft lane of urban
road using best engineering practices for a 40 year lifetime. The question was
whether it was more sustainable to install a more durable layer (hot mix overlay also
10 Sustainability Improvements and Life Cycle Approaches in Industry Partnerships