Q&A on Green Manufacturing
Sustainability consists of fulfilling the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations, while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social well-being.
ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities.
- Emission of Greenhouse Gases
- Energy and Fuel Management
- Product Packaging
- Air Quality
- Water Usage and Wastewater Management
- Climate Change
- Impact on Biodiversity
- Impact on Lifecycle of Product and Services
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
Human activities such as the burning of oil, coal and gas, as well as deforestation are the primary cause of the increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.
- Scope 1: direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by the organization (e.g., emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles).
- Scope 2: “Energy indirect” emissions resulting from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, heating, cooling and steam consumed within the organization.
- Scope 3: All other indirect emissions that occur outside the organization, including both upstream and downstream emissions.
Carbon neutrality is reached when the same amount of CO2 is released into the atmosphere as is removed by various means. The healthiest way is not to emit more CO2 than can be absorbed naturally by the world’s forests and plants, which act as carbon sinks through the process of photosynthesis – they take in CO2 from the air and turn it into oxygen – helping to reduce emissions.
When carbon-neutral refers to balancing out the total amount of carbon emissions, net-zero carbon means no carbon was emitted from the get-go, so no carbon needs to be captured or offset. For example, a company’s building running entirely on solar, and using zero fossil fuels can label its energy as “zero carbon.”
A carbon audit, sometimes referred as a ‘carbon footprint’, is a mean of measuring and recording the GHG emissions of an organization or building within a defined system boundary.
Carbon trading is a market-based system. Governments or companies can buy and sell licenses to produce carbon dioxide. It aims to support renewable energy and reduce the production of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
It is the “greening” of manufacturing, in which workers use fewer natural resources, reduce pollution and waste, recycle and reuse materials, and moderate emissions in their processes.
A product carbon footprint communicates the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions that are produced or consumed during the life cycle of a product. The product footprint can be expressed as an annualized impact or on a per use or dosage basis.
Wastewater management is an important approach to protect water resources and it is defined as the collection, treatment, and reuse of wastewater. In wastewater collection network as one of important infrastructures, undesirable performance can lead to different problems.
Energy optimization considers energy efficiency, demand response and fuel switching to minimize the environmental effect and maximize benefits for the climate and society.
