Indicators as a Foundation of Eco-Labelling of Baked Clay Construction Products in the Republic of Serbia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Creating a Set of Indicators That Connect the Manufacture of Baked Clay Construction Products and the Environment
2.2. Indicator Priority
2.3. Evaluation of Indicators
2.4. Criteria for Eco-Labelling
- YES (100%), completely applicable indicator—maximum value of the referent indicator,
- Partially applicable indicator—an estimated value is 50% of the value of the referent indicator and
- NO (0%), the indicator cannot be applied—the indicator value is 0.
- If the value of SUMINDindividual is more than 80% of the value of SUMIND, i.e., is more than 200 points, the manufacturer acquires the right to eco-label their products.
- If the value of SUMINDindividual is within the range of 70% to 80% of the value of SUMIND, i.e., if 175 < SUMINDindividual < 200 points, the manufacturer has a possibility to acquire the right to eco-label their products provided they make certain corrections to the production process.
- If the value of SUMINDindividual is lower than 70% of the value of SUMIND, i.e., is less than 175 points, the manufacturer cannot acquire the right to eco-label their products.
3. Results
- the leading manufacturer from Northern Serbia meets the criteria for an eco-label because SUMINDindividual = 203.5 which is higher than the referent 200 points,
- the leading manufacturer from Western Serbia has SUMINDindividual = 183 (it falls within the range 175 < SUMINDindividual < 200 points) and can meet the requirements for an eco-label provided it makes certain corrections, and that
- the leading manufacturer from Southern Pomoravlje has SUMINDindividual = 136, which is less than the lowest referent value, i.e., less than 175 points, so it does not meet the requirements for an eco-label without significant corrections.
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
- the manufacturer meets the requirement for obtaining an eco-label,
- the manufacturer can gain the right to an eco-label provided they introduce certain corrections to their production process, and
- the manufacturer does not meet the requirements for an eco-label.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Label | Indicator Name | Indicator Interpretation | Category DPSIR |
---|---|---|---|
I01 | Technological characteristics of the production process based on baked clay | Significant for forming a relationship between the production and the environment because it can be used to identify the consumption of raw materials and energy sources. | D |
I02 | Technical characteristics of construction product—brick, block | Serves to estimate: object energy efficiency, sound isolation, compliance with EU guidelines and European product standards (CE). | D |
I03 | Clay consumption | Useful for assessing the remaining amount of the non-renewable natural resource—brick clay—and for long-term production capacity planning. | P |
I04 | Fresh water consumption | A measure of optimal exploitation of water in the production process. It can also indicate the problems related to water consumption. | P |
I05 | Energy consumption | Indicates the consumption of energy in the production process and the assessment of non-renewable energy sources consumption. | P |
I06 | Emissions of pollutants into the air | Used for tracking emissions released from the production line into air (checking whether the emissions fall within the range of emission limit values—ELV) | P |
I07 | Emissions of pollutants into water | Refers to measuring and examining the quality of wastewater (checking the range of emission limit values—ELV, impact on recipient, data collection for register keeping) | P |
I08 | Noise emissions | Refers to noise measurement in a closed space—an industrial facility, in accordance with corresponding legal regulations. | P |
I09 | Air pollution | Used for measuring the quality of air in the area surrounding the production facility and for forecasting the air pollution prevention measures. | S |
I10 | Water pollution | Used for quality rating of surface water in the recipient into which wastewater from the production facility is released and for forecasting the measures for surface water pollution prevention. | S |
I11 | Impact on soil | Used for assessing: the surface of the soil which changes its purpose, the surface of degraded soil, disposed waste and spilled oil derivatives in the surface mining. | I |
I12 | Process waste | Indicates the quantity of process waste and the quantity of waste materials used for secondary purposes. | P |
I13 | Dust from waste gas purification devices | Used for estimating the quantity of dust resulting from waste gas purification and the quality of the purification. | P |
I14 | Wastewater quality | Represents a measure of the pressure which the wastewater from the production process puts on the environment. | P |
I15 | Sludge from water treatment plants | Enables the estimate of the quantity of sludge made during the purification of wastewater in the process and the assessment of economic profitability of its use for other purposes after additional processing. | P |
I16 | Packaging waste | Used for the estimate of the quantity of packaging waste made during the packaging of finished products and the possibility of its recycling and reuse. | P |
I17 | Industrial consumption index in the municipality | Indicates the environmental problems in the municipality created by the manufacturing of baked clay construction products, the taking of appropriate monitoring measures and financial investments into gas purification plants, wastewater treatment plants and waste treatment. | D/P |
I18 | Greenhouse gases emission | Provides information on the trends concerning emissions from main anthropogenic sources of GHG in the industry of baked clay construction products. | P |
I19 | Basic emergy indicators in clay brick production | Indicates the assessment of the share of renewable/non-renewable resources and the assessment of clay brick production sustainability taking into consideration the environment, services and economic factors. | I |
I20 | Other emergy indicators in clay brick production | Serves for the assessment of emergy sustainability based on emergy degrees. | I |
I21 | Potential incidence of disease due to emissions from brick kilns | Measures the incidence of human diseases caused by emissions from brick kilns. | I |
I22 | Legislation | The need to define a legal framework in the industry of baked clay construction products so as to avoid negative impacts on the environment and to make the products environmentally acceptable. | R |
I23 | Production of electricity by solar power plants | Indicates the possibility of producing electricity for personal needs by solar power plants and the reduction of carbon footprint on a global level. | R/I |
I24 | Switch to BAT (best available technology) | Reflects a manufacturer’s willingness to switch to BAT. | R |
Group | Description | Value |
---|---|---|
I | Data availability | |
Not available | 0 | |
Partially available | 1 | |
Available | 2 | |
II | Data quality | |
No data on methodology | 0 | |
There are quality data or methodology for data collection | 1 | |
There are both data and methodology for data collection | 2 | |
III | Significance for the production of baked clay construction products | |
No significance | 1 | |
Has some significance | 2 | |
Useful | 3 | |
Significantly useful | 4 | |
Extremely useful | 5 | |
IV | Significance for the environment | |
No significance | 1 | |
Has some significance | 2 | |
Useful | 3 | |
Significantly useful | 4 | |
Extremely useful | 5 |
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Knežević, S.; Prokić, D. Indicators as a Foundation of Eco-Labelling of Baked Clay Construction Products in the Republic of Serbia. Sustainability 2023, 15, 5515. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065515
Knežević S, Prokić D. Indicators as a Foundation of Eco-Labelling of Baked Clay Construction Products in the Republic of Serbia. Sustainability. 2023; 15(6):5515. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065515
Chicago/Turabian StyleKnežević, Suzana, and Dunja Prokić. 2023. "Indicators as a Foundation of Eco-Labelling of Baked Clay Construction Products in the Republic of Serbia" Sustainability 15, no. 6: 5515. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065515