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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2010

Special Issue Editor
Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Matthias Finkbeiner
Chair of Sustainable Engineering, Department of Environmental Technology, Technische Universität Berlin, Office Z1, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, D-10623 Berlin, Germany
Website: http://www.see.tu-berlin.de/
E-Mail: matthias.finkbeiner “at” tu-berlin.de
Interests: sustainable engineering; life cycle assessment; carbon footprinting; water footprinting; resource efficiency; eco-efficiency; life cycle costing; social LCA; life cycle management; sustainability assessment; sustainable production and consumption

Published Papers
No papers have been published in this special issue yet.
Special Issue Information

Letter from the editor:

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is nowadays accepted by all stakeholders as a guiding principle for both public policy making and corporate strategies. However, the biggest challenge for most organisations remains in the real and substantial implementation of the sustainabilty concept. At the core of the implementation challenge is the question, how sustainability can be measured, especially for products and processes. As long as these questions are not answered, there will be no consistent development towards sustainability and the use of the term remains arbitrary.

My hypothesis is, that the systems or life cycle approach has to be applied for all sustainability dimensions (environmental, economical, social) in order to achieve reliable and robust results. This can be put in the conceptual formula based on Klöpffer:

LCSA = LCA + LCC + SLCA

LCSA -= Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment
LCA -= Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
LCC -= LCA-type Life Cycle Costing
SLCA -= Social Life Cycle Assessment

This special issue seeks to demonstrate the important role that life cycle approaches can play for measuring sustainability. It is intended to provide a forum for scientific progress on both the overall concept of life cycle sustainability assessment as well as the individual tools supporting it.

Prof. Dr. Matthias Finkbeiner
Guest Editor

Submission

All manuscripts should be submitted to sustainability “at” mdpi.org with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Article Processing Charges (APC) for publication in this Open Access journal are 300 CHF (Swiss Francs) per accepted Paper. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.
Keywords
•life cycle sustainability assessment
•life cycle assessment
•life cycle costing
•social lca

Open position at the University of Bayreuth as Post-Doc/PhD:

Quantification of Land Use Impacts on Functional Biodiversity in Life Cycle Assessment.

For more information see http://www.pes.uni-bayreuth.de/en/open_positions/index.html

Press Release from BASF January, 28th, 2010: http://www.basf.com/group/pressrelease/P-10-137 

Eco-efficiency analysis confirms that formic acid salts are cost efficient and easy on the environment 

Using cesium and potassium formates in completion fluids that stabilize boreholes in gas production is more eco-efficient than the application of brines based on zinc bromide, calcium bromide and calcium chloride. This is the result of an eco-efficiency analysis performed by BASF. Formates are salts of formic acid, a BASF intermediate.

The scientific study compared which of the products is better suited from the economic and ecological point of view to be used in completion fluids for stabilizing boreholes. In a life-cycle assessment, formates outperformed the bromides named above as well as calcium chloride as a lower-cost, environmentally more benign alternative. Formates achieved superior results also with respect to waste disposal: while waste bromide brine needs to be disposed of at considerable cost, formate brines are biologically degradable, which allows on-site disposal.

Completion fluids are used in gas production after the initial drilling operation to stabilize the well. Pressure in the well may exceed 1,000 bar. Special-purpose liquids are used to balance this pressure to prevent uncontrolled blowout of water or gas and a breakdown of the well bore. To achieve this the fluid must be of exceptionally high density – water-soluble salts like potassium and cesium formates have this density.

BASF Eco-Efficiency analysis background:

The BASF eco-efficiency analysis is a strategic tool for examining the cost and environmental impact of products, processes and entire system solutions. This method allows BASF to optimize its product portfolio for the requirements of a development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Sustainable Development). To date, BASF experts have completed more than 400 eco-efficiency analyses, including third-party projects in which they shared BASF expertise with others. The eco-efficiency analysis developed by BASF and certified by German technical surveillance association TÜV seeks to compare products or processes that target identical customer benefits. This involves an overall study of alternative solutions. In a life-cycle assessment, the total cost and the ecological impact are determined, a special process is then applied to aggregate the findings and visualize them clearly. The eco-efficiency analysis as an overall process was certified in 2002 by “TÜV Rheinland,” the Rhineland technical surveillance association. The ecological assessment underlying the eco-efficiency analysis is based on DIN EN ISO 14040 and 14044.

Formic acid – an all-rounder

BASF’s customers use formic acid in a wide range of applications. The acid helps to keep certain feeds fresh and free of salmonellae, removes paints and rust from metallic surfaces and descales kettles and boilers. In breweries and wineries it disinfects kegs, casks and barrels; applied as an auxiliary in the pharmaceutical and crop protection industry it regulates pH values and acts as a dirt remover and disinfectant. Formic acid salts, the so-called formates, serve as high-class deicing agents and valuable auxiliaries in oil production.

Posting by Henkel:

Henkel is built on people who continuously foster excellence in an environment with innovative brands and superior technologies with their inventive talent and pioneering spirit, ensuring that customers and consumers in more than 125 countries can trust in them. Could you imagine making this your reality? Apply to Henkel today.

Environmental Scientist / Engineer (f/m) is needed to strengthen their Environmental Safety Assessment team.

We perform demanding assessments of chemicals to determine their potential effects on the environment. The results of these assessments are used to demonstrate the advantages of Henkel products. Our instruments encompass Life Cycle Analysis to evaluate the consumption of natural resources. With thorough risk assessments of chemical substances as such and in Henkel-products we warrant that our products are safe for the environment.  You have graduated from university (ideally with a Ph.D.) with a degree in natural sciences or engineering. During the course of your studies you have gained first experience in either life-cycle assessment or ecological risk assessment. You convince our internal customers as well as out external partners with your social competence and your precise communication. You are able to work under pressure and in a variety of teams, and your analytical skills are thorough.

You speak and write English and German fluently, and you have sound command of the relevant office software.

Your contact person is Barbara Bartsch 

If you are interested to start your international career with Henkel by April 1 (the latest), please apply online at www.henkel.com/careers 

More information at www.henkel.com,

http://www.henkel.com/SID-0AC8330A-94E8F034/careers/ipply-our-vacancies-17750.htm