Environmental Sustainability and Industries

Environmental Sustainability and Industries identifies and discusses critical areas related to environmentally conscious industrial development of products and services that may support more sustainable and equitable societies.

The book addresses pollution prevention by referring to the use of processes, practices and materials that reduce or eliminate the generation of pollutants at the source of production, more efficient use of raw materials, energy, water or other resources or by conserving natural resources by maintaining clean production. It explains industrial energy efficiency as the most cost-effective use of energy to provide energy to perform the manufacturing process, reducing energy wastage as well as the total consumption of primary energy resources.

Life cycle assessment is used as an analytical method to quantify environmental impacts, focusing on environmental considerations concerning process design and optimization, and including various sustainable manufacturing parameters in the context of industrial processes and proposes a classification of identified parameters to evaluate and optimize the manufacturing performances. The book also dives into industrial ecology investigating how, where and why environmental improvements can be made to develop a sustainable industry, meeting the needs of current generations, without sacrificing the needs of the future ones.

The book analyzes a company's environmental, social and economic performance and their interrelationships, emphasizing the importance of identifying and understanding causal relationships between alternative approaches to action and their impact on financial and non-financial performance. It concludes with a view on the future of sustainable industrial systems stressing change as a joint effort of scientists, governments, people in business, and academicians.