Dipartimento di Ricerche Energetiche e AMbientali (DREAM), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Palermo, Italy.
Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2010 Jan;6(1):52-60. doi: 10.1897/IEAM_2008-065.1.
The paper presents an application of the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) to the planning and environmental management of an “eco-industrial cluster.” A feasibility study of industrial symbiosis in southern Italy is carried out, where interlinked companies share subproducts and scraps, services, structures, and plants to reduce the related environmental impact. In particular, the research focuses on new recycling solutions to create open recycling loops in which plastic subproducts and scraps are transferred to external production systems. The main environmental benefits are the reduction of resource depletion, air emissions, and landfilled wastes. The proposed strategies are also economically viable and they suggest cost abatement for the involved companies. This research shows the need for a multidisciplinary approach to data processing and to complexity managing of the investigated systems. In this context, life-cycle thinking is required to be promoted throughout the economy, as well to be as a part of all decisions on products and other criteria such as functionality, health, and safety. The Life-Cycle Assessment approach can be assumed as a methodology for influencing decision makers to make sustainable choices.
本文将生命周期评估（LCA）应用于“生态产业集群”的规划和环境管理。对意大利南部的工业共生进行了可行性研究，在该研究中，相互关联的公司共享副产品和废料、服务、结构和工厂，以减少相关的环境影响。特别是，该研究侧重于新的回收解决方案，以创建开放的回收循环，其中塑料副产品和废料被转移到外部生产系统。主要的环境效益是减少资源枯竭、空气排放和填埋废物。所提出的策略在经济上也是可行的，并为相关公司降低了成本。这项研究表明，需要采用多学科方法来处理数据，并对所研究系统的复杂性进行管理。在这种情况下，需要在整个经济中推广生命周期思维，作为产品和其他标准（如功能、健康和安全）决策的一部分。生命周期评估方法可以作为一种影响决策者做出可持续选择的方法。
