Eco-efficiency for the Dairy Processing Industry - Fact Sheet Sumary

This Toolkit was developed for the Australian dairy processing industry on behalf of Dairy Australia. At the conclusion of the project, industry participants gained exclusive access to a comprehensive Eco-Efficiency Manual, which outlined many of the opportunities available to the industry. Summary fact sheets were also prepared as publicly available resources and these are available for download below

Eco-efficiency for the Dairy Processing Industry

This manual has been developed to help the Australian dairy processing industry increase its competitiveness through increased awareness and uptake of eco-efficiency. The manual seeks to consolidate and build on existing knowledge, accumulated through projects and initiatives that the industry has previously undertaken to improve its use of raw materials and resources and reduce the generation of wastes. Where there is an existing comprehensive report or publication, the manual refers to this for further information. Eco-efficiency is about improving environmental performance to become more efficient and profitable. It is about producing more with less. It involves applying strategies that will not only ensure efficient use of resources and reduction in waste, but will also reduce costs. This chapter outlines the environmental challenges faced by Australian dairy processors. The manual explores opportunities for reducing environmental impacts in relation to water, energy, product yield, solid and liquid waste reduction and chemical use.

The anammox case - A new experimental manifesto for microbiological eco-physiology

The anaerobic ammonium oxidation process is a new process for ammonia removal from wastewater. It is also a new microbial physiology that was previously believed to be impossible. The identification of Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans and its relatives as the responsible bacteria was only possible with the development of a new experimental approach. That approach is the focus of this paper. The approach is a modernisation of the Winogradsky/Beyerinck strategy of selective enrichment and is based on the introduction of the molecular toolbox and modern bioreactor engineering to microbial ecology. It consists of five steps: (1) postulation of an ecological niche based on thermodynamic considerations and macro-ecological field data; (2) engineering of this niche into a laboratory bioreactor for enrichment culture; (3) black-box physiological characterisation of the enrichment culture as a whole; (4) phylogenetic characterisation of the enriched community using molecular tools; (5) physical separation of the dominant members of the enrichment culture using gradient centrifugation and the identification of the species of interest in accordance with Koch's postulates; (6) verification of the in situ importance of these species in the actual ecosystems. The power of this approach is illustrated with a case study: the identification of the planctomycetes responsible for anaerobic ammonium oxidation. We argue that this was impossible using molecular ecology or conventional 'cultivation based techniques' alone. We suggest that the approach might also be used for the microbiological study of many interesting microbes such as anaerobic methane oxidisers.

Eco postal: um programa socioambiental com gera????o de emprego e renda

Na Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Tel??grafos (ECT), um grande n??mero de empregados recebe uniformes com periodicidade semestral, o que inclui tamb??m a troca peri??dica dos malotes inutilizados pelo desgaste. Por quest??es de seguran??a, todo esse material inserv??vel era destinado ao aterro sanit??rio. Mas, desde 2004, foi encontrado um novo destino para esses objetos a partir das cooperativas formadas em conv??nio com a Universidade Federal do Paran??, Associa????o Comercial do munic??pio de Toledo e Organiza????es N??o-Governamentais (ONGs). As cooperativas transformam artesanalmente esse material em v??rios produtos que geram emprego e renda, especialmente para as fam??lias que, em muitas situa????es, viviam do subemprego. Isso demonstra a import??ncia que a empresa confere ??s a????es de responsabilidade social que ultrapassam a oferta de servi??os com qualidade ?? comunidade, assegurando que todo o processo de trabalho seja feito de forma socialmente respons??vel. Este programa gera emprego e renda para aproximadamente 50 fam??lias em todo o estado, com projeto de amplia????o para outras regi??es

Eco universidade: plano ambiental para uma universidade socioambientalmente correta

Com a transforma????o da Escola Superior de Agricultura de Lavras na Universidade Federal de Lavras (Ufla), a estrutura existente n??o estava preparada para suportar o crescimento. O saneamento era feito por meio de sumidouros, os res??duos de laborat??rios (qu??micos e biol??gicos) eram descartados de forma inadequada prejudicando o meio ambiente, havia ocorr??ncia de inc??ndios na ??rea do campus. A Administra????o da Ufla estruturou uma s??rie de a????es para solucionar esses problemas. Assim surgiu o Plano Ambiental da Ufla, que aborda conceitos de sustentabilidade e compreendeu a????es que envolvem praticamente todas as quest??es ambientais (implanta????o de Programa de Gerenciamento de Res??duos Qu??micos, tratamento dos res??duos s??lidos, saneamento b??sico, esta????o de tratamento de esgoto, constru????es ecologicamente corretas, prote????o de nascentes e matas ciliares, preven????o e controle de inc??ndios, preven????o de endemias e gest??o de energia). Hoje a Ufla ?? uma universidade sustent??vel

Avaliação da eco-eficiência de uma empresa de serviços: caso prático

Mestrado em Engenharia Química

ECO-betão com adição de resíduo da indústria petrolífera

Dissertação de natureza Científica para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização em Edificações

ECO@GRO Digital: Uma ferramenta WebGIS de apoio na consultadoria e gestão agro-florestal

Dissertação apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciência e Sistemas de Informação Geográfica

A case study on the eco-efficiency performance of a composite processing industry: evaluation and quantification of potential improvements

In this study, an attempt was made in order to measure and evaluate the eco-efficiency performance of a pultruded composite processing company. For this purpose the recommendations of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WCSD) and the directives of ISO 14301 standard were followed and applied. The main general indicators of eco-efficiency, as well as the specific indicators, were defined and determined. With basis on indicators’ figures, the value profile, the environmental profile, and the pertinent eco-efficiency ratios were established and analyzed. In order to evaluate potential improvements on company eco-performance, new indicators values and eco-efficiency ratios were estimated taking into account the implementation of new proceedings and procedures, at both upstream and downstream of the production process, namely: i) Adoption of a new heating system for pultrusion die-tool in the manufacturing process, more effective and with minor heat losses; ii) Recycling approach, with partial waste reuse of scrap material derived from manufacturing, cutting and assembly processes of GFRP profiles. These features lead to significant improvements on the sequent assessed eco-efficiency ratios of the present case study, yielding to a more sustainable product and manufacturing process of pultruded GFRP profiles.

Assessing the eco-efficiency of a composite processing industry: evaluation and quantification of potential improvements’

In this study, an attempt was made in order to measure and evaluate the eco-efficiency performance of a pultruded composite processing company. For this purpose the recommendations of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WCSD) and the directives of ISO 14301 standard were followed and applied. The main general indicators of eco-efficiency, as well as the specific indicators, were defined and determined. With basis on indicators’ figures, the value profile, the environmental profile, and the pertinent ecoefficiency’s ratios were established and analyzed. In order to evaluate potential improvements on company eco-performance, new indicators values and eco-efficiency ratios were estimated taking into account the implementation of new proceedings and procedures, both in upstream and downstream of the production process, namely: a) Adoption of new heating system for pultrusion die in the manufacturing process, more effective and with minor heat losses; c) Recycling approach, with partial waste reuse of scrap material derived from manufacturing, cutting and assembly processes of GFRP profiles. These features lead to significant improvements on the sequent assessed eco-efficiency ratios of the present case study, yielding to a more sustainable product and manufacturing process of pultruded GFRP profiles.

Eco-efficiency approaches towards a sustainable composite materials manufacturing industry’

In this study the potential eco-efficiency performance of a pultrusion manufacturing company was assessed. Indicators values and eco-efficiency ratios were estimated taking into account the implementation of new proceedings and procedures in the production process of glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP) pultrusion profiles. Two different approaches were foreseen: 1)Adoption of a new heating system for pultrusion die in the manufacturing process, more effective and with minor heat losses; and 2) Recycling approach, with partial waste reuse of scrap material derived from manufacturing, cutting and assembly processes of GFRP profiles. These features lead to significant improvements on the sequent assessed eco-efficiency ratios of the present case study, yielding to a more sustainable product and manufacturing process of pultruded GFRP profiles.

A case study on the improvement of eco-efficiency ratios: application to a composite processing industry

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) defines Eco-Efficiency as follows: ‘Eco- Efficiency is achieved by the delivery of competitively priced-goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and resource intensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at least in line with the earth’s estimated carrying capacity’. Eco-Efficiency is under this point of view a key concept for sustainable development, bringing together economic and ecological progress. Measuring the Eco-Efficiency of a company, factory or business, is a complex process that involves the measurement and control of several and relevant parameters or indicators, globally applied to all companies in general, or specific according to the nature and specificities of the business itself. In this study, an attempt was made in order to measure and evaluate the eco-efficiency of a pultruded composite processing company. For this purpose the recommendations of WBCSD [1] and the directives of ISO 14301 standard [2] were followed and applied. The analysis was restricted to the main business branch of the company: the production and sale of standard GFRP pultrusion profiles. The main general indicators of eco-efficiency, as well as the specific indicators, were defined and determined according to ISO 14031 recommendations. With basis on indicators’ figures, the value profile, the environmental profile, and the pertinent eco-efficiency’s ratios were established and analyzed. In order to evaluate potential improvements on company eco-performance, new indicators values and ecoefficiency ratios were estimated taking into account the implementation of new proceedings and procedures, both in upstream and downstream of the production process, namely: a) Adoption of new heating system for pultrusion die in the manufacturing process, more effective and with minor heat losses; b) Implementation of new software for stock management (raw materials and final products) that minimize production failures and delivery delays to final consumer; c) Recycling approach, with partial waste reuse of scrap material derived from manufacturing, cutting and assembly processes of GFRP profiles. In particular, the last approach seems to significantly improve the eco-efficient performance of the company. Currently, by-products and wastes generated in the manufacturing process of GFRP profiles are landfilled, with supplementary added costs to this company traduced by transport of scrap, landfill taxes and required test analysis to waste materials. However, mechanical recycling of GFRP waste materials, with reduction to powdered and fibrous particulates, constitutes a recycling process that can be easily attained on heavy-duty cutting mills. The posterior reuse of obtained recyclates, either into a close-looping process, as filler replacement of resin matrix of GFRP profiles, or as reinforcement of other composite materials produced by the company, will drive to both costs reduction in raw materials and landfill process, and minimization of waste landfill. These features lead to significant improvements on the sequent assessed eco-efficiency ratios of the present case study, yielding to a more sustainable product and manufacturing process of pultruded GFRP profiles.

Acqusition and data analysis of the eco-efficiency for the establishment of indicators parameters for industrial environmental sustainability

The industrial activity is inevitably associated with a certain degradation of the environmental quality, because is not possible to guarantee that a manufacturing process can be totally innocuous. The eco-efficiency concept is globally accepted as a philosophy of entreprise management, that encourages the companies to become more competitive, innovative and environmentally responsible by promoting the link between its companies objectives for excellence and its objectives of environmental excellence issues. This link imposes the creation of an organizational methodology where the performance of the company is concordant with the sustainable development. The main propose of this project is to apply the concept of eco-efficiency to the particular case of the metallurgical and metal workshop industries through the development of the particular indicators needed and to produce a manual of procedures for implementation of the accurate solution.