Comparative life cycle assessments: The case of paper and digital media
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- 作者：Justin G. Bull ; Robert A. Kozak
- 关键词：Life cycle assessment ; Electronic media ; Paper media ; Moore's Law
- 刊名：Environmental Impact Assessment Review
- 出版年：February, 2014
- 年：2014
- 卷：45
- 期：Complete
- 页码：10-18
- 全文大小：337 K
文摘
The consumption of the written word is changing, as media transitions from paper products to digital alternatives. We reviewed the life cycle assessment (LCA) research literature that compared the environmental footprint of digital and paper media. To validate the role of context in influencing LCA results, we assessed LCAs that did not compare paper and print, but focused on a product or component that is part of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. Using a framework that identifies problems in LCA conduct, we assessed whether the comparative LCAs were accurate expressions of the environmental footprints of paper and print. We hypothesized that the differences between the product systems that produce paper and digital media weaken LCA's ability to compare environmental footprints. We also hypothesized that the characteristics of ICT as an industrial sector weaken LCA as an environmental assessment methodology. We found that existing comparative LCAs offered problematic comparisons of paper and digital media for two reasons 鈥?the stark material differences between ICT products and paper products, and the unique characteristics of the ICT sector. We suggested that the context of the ICT sector, best captured by the concept of 鈥淢oore's Law鈥? will continuously impede the ability of the LCA methodology to measure ICT products.