CO₂ -based assessment for sustainable production planning in the metal processing industry

By assessing the emissions of greenhouse gases of finished goods over their entire lifecycle, it can be seen that a significant part of the emissions is caused in production and related upstream processes. A strong focus on resource-efficient production techniques could provide possibilities for significant emission reduction in these processes. This causes the need of a quantitative comparison of different production techniques and processes by their total CO2-eq.-emissions. Especially small enterprises may not be able to provide information on energy and resource flows and resulting emissions on a level that is detailed enough to reveal emission reduction potentials.

The assessment model introduced is applicable for every enterprise to quantify production-related emissions of their finished goods and to compare them with other possible production techniques and processes, in order to facilitate CO2-based production planning. The model is highly flexible, as calculations are based on a process database that can easily be modified. Moreover, the input of country-specific and manufacturer-specific data like country-specific electricity-mix or material-manufacturer-specific CO2-eq.-emissions enables a high customization level.