Legislation

Compliance• Be aware of directives or other binding

controls that affect the materials and processes you use

• Understand what is required to comply with the directives and controls

• Have (or develop) tools to make compliance as painless as possible

• Explore ways to make compliance profitable rather than a burden;

• exploit compliance information as a marketing tool for example

Historical approach to environmental law

• Ignore it: pretend it isn’t there.

• Dilute it: make the stack taller; pump it further out to sea

• Fix it where it is a problem: the “end of pipe” approach

• Prevent it in the first place: The first appearance of design for the environment

• Sustainable Development: life in equilibrium with the environment (where we are now)

What to do

• It is difficult to negotiate enforceable treaties that bind all nations of the planet to a single course of action.

• Agreements, Declaration of Intents and Protocols get proposed for signature.

Sources

• Protcols can derive from printed materials, conferences, and other sources.

• Some critical triggers for protocols are presented next

1962

Rachel Carson, Silent SpringExamination of the consequences of DDT and the impact of technology on the environment

1972

Club of Rome Limits to Growth

the report that triggered the first of a sequence of debates in the 20th century on the ultimate limits imposed by resource depletion.

1972

The Earth Summit in StockholmThe first conference convened by the United Nations to discuss the impact of technology on the environment.

• Principle 21: The right to exploit one’s own environment

Stockholm Declaration

1987

The UN World Commission on Environment and Development Our Common FutureKnown as the Brundtland Report, it defined the principle of sustainability as “Development that meets the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

• Precautionary Principle: While there are possibilities of large irreversible impacts, the lack of scientific certainty should not stop preventive action from being taken

WCED Report

1987

Montreal ProtocolThe International Protocol to phase out the use of chemicals that deplete ozone in the stratosphere

• Ozone depletion allows UV radiation to reach the surface of Earth, damaging living organisms. The culprits are typified as chloroflourocarbons (CFCs) that were widely used as refrigerants and blowing agents for polymer foams, particularly for house insulation.

Montreal Protocol

1992

Rio DeclarationAn international statement of the principles of sustainability, building on those of the 1972 Stockholm Earth Summit.

• Principle 2: The right to development without damage to others

Rio Declaration

1998

Kyoto ProtocolAn international treaty to reduce the emissions of gases that cause climate change

• Sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European Community that have signed it, committing them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the five year period 2008-2012

Kyoto Protocol

2001

Stockholm ConventionThe first of ongoing meetings to agree on an agenda for the control and phase-out of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

2001

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Climate Change 2007: The Physical BasisThis report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) establishes correlation between carbon in the atmosphere and climate change

National Legislation• Usually quite dense and specific.

• Four broad forms:

• Setting up standards• Voluntary agreements negotiated with

industry• Binding legislation that imposes

requirements with penalties if they are not met

• Economic instruments that seek to use market forces to induce change: taxes, subsidies, and trading schemes

Standards

• ISO 14000 - Environmental Management systems

• ISO 14040, 41, 42, 43 - broad procedures for the steps shown in a previous lecture about life cycle assessment

• ISO 14025 - guides reporting LCA data as an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) or Climate Declaration (CD)

• Communicate information about environmental performance of products as a “declaration”

• The data used must follow ISO 14040 family and validated by 3rd party.

• The EPD describes the output of a full LCA or part of one.

• The CD is limited to emissions that contribute to global warming: CO2, CO, CH4, and N2O

ISO 14025

• Aimed to internalize costs and conserve materials

• Increase manufacturers’ responsibilities.

Voluntary Agreements and binding legislation

US RCRA

• Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, EPA 1976

• Protect the public from harm caused by waste disposal

• Encourage reuse, reduction and recycling

• Clean up spilled or improperly stored waste

The solid waste program, under RCRA Subtitle D, encourages states to develop comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous industrial solid waste and municipal solid waste; sets criteria for municipal solid waste landfills and other solid waste disposal facilities; and prohibits the open dumping of solid waste.

1.The hazardous waste program, under RCRA Subtitle C, establishes a system for controlling hazardous waste from the time it is generated units its ultimate disposal – in effect, from "cradle to grave".

2.The underground storage tank (UST) program, under RCRA Subtitle I, regulates underground storage tanks containing hazardous substances and petroleum products.

US EPA 35/50 CFR

• Code of Federal Regulation (1988), protection of the environment identified 16 priority chemicals with the aim of reducing industrial toxicity by voluntary action over a 10 year period

VOCs Applications

BenzeneIntermediate production of styrene, thus many

polymers

Carbon tetrachloridesolvent for metal degreasing, lacquers, dry-

cleaningChloroform Solvent

Methyl ethyl ketonesolvent for metal degreasing, lacquers

Tetrachloroethylene Solvent for metal degreasingToluene Solvent

Trichlorethylene Solvent, base of adhesivesXylenes Lacquers, rubber adhesives

Toxic Metals/Salts Applications

Asbestosfibro-board reinforcement, thermal and electrical

insulationAntimony Bearing, pigments in glasses

Beryllium + compounds Space structures, copper-beryllium alloysCadmium and

compoundsElectrodes, plating, pigment in glasses and

ceramicsChromium compounds electroplating, pigments in glasses and glazes

Lead + compounds Storage batteries, bearing alloys, solders

Mercury + compoundsControl equip., liquid electrode in chemical

production

Nickel + compoundsNickel carbonyl at intermediate in nickel

productionRadioactive materials Materials science, medicine

Toxic Chemicals ApplicationsCyanides Electroplating, extraction of gold and silver

• The European Directive EC 1999/13

• limit the emissions of VOCs from organic solvents and carriers

• organic-based paints

• industrial cleaning fluids, etc.

• Compliance mandatory since 2007.

EC 1999/13 VOCs (1999)

EC 2000/53 ELV

• End-of-life Vehicles: EC Directive establishes rules for recovering materials from “dead” cars.

• Initial target: recycling/reuse of 80% by weight & safe disposal of hazards (2006)

• By 2015, 85%.

• Encourages re-engineering

RoHS 2002• Hazardous Substances Directive (2002)

• Restriction Of the use of Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment

• EU market ban for new equip containing more than certain amount of Pb, Cd, Hg, Hexavalent Cr, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE)

WEEE 2002• Waste Electrical and Electronic

Equipment. EU directive seeks to increase recovery, recycling, and reuse of electronic equipment.

• Producers must finance collection, recovery, and safe disposal of products with certain recycling targets.

• Products failing to meet the requirement must be marked accordingly.

WEEE 2002

EuP 2003

• Energy using Products; EU. Establishes framework for ecodesign requirements for energy consuming products.

• Manufacturers “shall demonstrate that they have considered the use of energy in their product as it relates to materials, manufacture, packaging, transport, and distribution, use, and end of life. For each of these the consumption of energy must be assessed and steps to minimize it identified.”

REACH 2006

• Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemical Substances. EC Directive, June 2007, phased in over 11 years.

• Places responsibility on manufacturers to manage risks from chemicals and find substitutes for bad one.

• List has 30,000 compounds on it.

• Affects anyone using more than 1 ton/year.

• Mfgs in Europe and importers into Europe must register restricted substances with a detailed technical dossier.

• List properties and assessment of environmental and health impact, and risk-reduction measures adopted.

• Without pre-registration, it is illegal for mfgs and importers to place substances on market.

REACH 2006

Economic Instruments

Economic instruments manipulate market forces to influence the behavior of consumers and manufacturers in ways that are more subtle and effective than conventional controls, and they generally do so at a lower cost.

UK Dep’t for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

• Landfill tipping fees: $10-40/ton in US (depends on state); $80/ton in UK

• Fuel tax: varies by state and country (in US, $0.46 fed + $0.27 state/gal = $$0.73/gal. Holland: $3.50/gal)

• Aggregate tax (US: nominal; $0.04/ton; EU $3.00/ton)

• Emissions tax (varies)

• Deposit on bottles and cans

Green Taxes

New Taxes

• Does not guarantee environmental outcome

• Some will just pay the tax

• People don’t trust governments to use the tax money responsibly

Trading Schemes

• Create a market for sustainability

• Kyoto Meeting 1987 addressed a market for emissions.

• Allows participants to buy and sell permits for emissions or credits for reduction in emissions for certain pollutants

Emissions Trading

• The Regulator determines total acceptable emissions and divides into tradable units called permits.

• These are allocated to participants based on their actual carbon emissions at some chosen point in time.

Emissions Trading

• Emissions from a particular company vary up and down with time.

• Improved efficiencies can drop the emissions

• Increased product demand/sales can increase emissions

Emissions Trading

• A company that emits more than its allocated allowances must purchase allowances from the market.

• This gives companies flexibility in determining their approach to emissions while still meeting a target value determined by the Regulator.

Emissions Trading

• Companies that reduce emissions can sell their allowances and get financial benefit for reduced pollution as well as environmental.

Emissions Credits

• Offset carbon release (for example) by purchasing credits in activities that sequester carbon; or replace fossil fuels with alternatives

• plant trees, solar power, tidal power...

Emissions Offsets• Offsetting provides an excuse for

companies to continue to pollute as usual, passing to cost to the customer

• The scheme only works if the mitigation project runs its planned life. Trees typically need 50-80 years - if they are felled prematurely the offset is not achieved.

• It is hard to verify that credit payments actually reach the projects.

Carbon Offsets

http://www.hulu.com/embed/vr_ICWQceZZUxKs-a_iLew

The Consequences

Some challenges• Documentation of the use of any of 30,000

listed chemicals

• Analysis of energy and materials in all energy-use products

• Finding substitutes for VOCs and other restricted substances

• Mandatory take-back, disassembly, and acceptable disposal of a large range of products.

NaturalNaturalResourcesResources

MaterialMaterialProductionProduction

ProductProductManufactureManufacture

ProductProductUseUse

End ofEnd ofFirst lifeFirst life

Rising cost of energyResource taxes

TakebackLegislation

Landfilltax

Redistributionenabled by IT

Service provisionreplacing sales

Standardse.g. ISO 14000

Increased MfgResponsibility

• Governments intervene when they want to change the way people and organizations behave.

• Regulations, controls, directives impose reporting requirements, set tax levels, and establish trading schemes to create incentives for change

• Some impacts are global. The externalized costs fall on the nations responsible for the impact and those that are not.

• Solutions require international agreements.

• Binding, universal and enforceable regulations are not possible.

• Protocols and statements can be negotiated.

Discussion

• “Grrrrrreen”

• “Every Saab is green”

• “Carbon emissions neutral across the entire Saab range”

• “Switch to carbon neutral motoring”

• They would plant 17 native trees in the first year following a Saab vehicle purchase as a carbon offset.

• In Dec 2007, Saab started the advertising campaign.

• Why did the company withdraw the campaign?

Discussion

Discussion

• What are the merits and difficulties associated with taxation as a plan to control pollution?

Discussion

• What are the merits and difficulties associated with trading schemes as a plan to control pollution?

• Carbon trading sounds like the perfect control mechanism to enable emissions reduction. But nothing is perfect.

• Research imperfections in the system and report your findings.

Assignment