1、Designation: E3027 18aStandard Guide forMaking Sustainability-Related Chemical Selection Decisionsin the Life-Cycle of Products1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E3027; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revisi
2、on, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon () indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope1.1 This guide outlines sustainability factors for productmanufacturers to consider when comparing alterna
3、tive chemi-cals or ingredients across the life cycle of a product. Such ananalysis could be used in product development, answeringcustomer inquiries, or replying to regulatory requests, amongothers.1.2 This guide integrates many of the principles of greenchemistry and green engineering in evaluating
4、 the factorsacross the social (including human health), economic, andecological attributes in the use of a particular material andpotential alternatives in a particular product.1.3 This guide provides an outline for the contents of areport of the results of the analysis, including an executivesummar
5、y, detailed report, and retrospective.1.4 This guide does not provide guidance on how to performchemical risk assessment, alternatives assessment, life-cycleassessment, or economic analysis, or how the alternativesdecision-making framework will be completed.1.5 This guide does not suggest in what or
6、der the social,ecological, or economic attributes of sustainability should beevaluated or which one is most important. This is a decision ofthe company performing the decision-making evaluation.1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns, if any, associated with its use.
7、It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety, health, and environmental practices and deter-mine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.1.7 This international standard was developed in accor-dance with internationally recognized principles o
8、n standard-ization established in the Decision on Principles for theDevelopment of International Standards, Guides and Recom-mendations issued by the World Trade Organization TechnicalBarriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.2. Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standard:2E2114 Terminology for Sustainability Rel
9、ative to the Perfor-mance of Buildings2.2 NSF/ANSI Standard:3NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking water system component-sHealth effects2.3 Other Standards:US EPA Design for the Environment (DfE) AlternativesAssessment Criteria for Hazard Evaluation4Clean Production Action GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals5
10、3. Terminology3.1 Definitions: For definitions related to sustainability notdefined within this guide, refer to Terminology E2114.3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:3.2.1 alternatives decision-making framework, nprocessby which the alternatives are evaluated in any product life-cycle
11、 stage/phase with the goal of creating a product with animproved or less impactful result.3.2.2 assessment, alternative, nthe activity of comparingthe existing material and the material identified as a possiblealternate.3.2.3 confidential business information, nbusiness detailsincluding, but not lim
12、ited to financial data, businessrelationships, product ingredients, or manufacturing processesthat are unique to and held as proprietary to an organization.3.2.3.1 DiscussionConfidential business information mayalso be referred to as trade secret information, especially as itrelates to product formu
13、lation and manufacturing processes.1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E60 on Sustainabilityand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E60.80 on General SustainabilityStandards.Current edition approved April 1, 2018. Published April 2018. Originallyapproved in 2015. Last pr
14、evious edition approved in 2018 as E3027-18. DOI:10.1520/E3027-18A.2For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org. For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information, refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM we
15、bsite.3Available from NSF International, P.O. Box 130140, 789 N. Dixboro Rd., AnnArbor, MI, 48105, http:/www.nsf.org.4Available from US EPA, Safer Choice Program, Office of Pollution Preventionwhereas,others may use ecological attributes such as energy and waterconsumption, generation of greenhouse
16、gases, carbonfootprint, and others.6.5.3.2 The end-user input may heavily influence the otherfactors that should be included across all life-cycle stages andall three attributes of sustainability.6.6 Economic Considerations of End of Life:6.6.1 End-of-life considerations differ with products.6.6.2 D
17、isposal methodology will impact economics. Forexample, if a product is considered hazardous per environmen-tal regulations, there may be additional handling and disposalcosts incurred by the user, local tax base, or producer.6.6.3 Compostability, recyclability, biodegradability, take-back programs a
18、nd the ability to repurpose a product or properdisposal costs will have economic considerations. For example,while it may be viable economically to recycle a specificmaterial in some geographic areas, the lack of collection orprocessing infrastructure, lack of a viable market to use therecycled or r
19、eclaimed products or other factors may make itinfeasible in others.7. Ecological Considerations7.1 General:7.1.1 Ecological considerations of alternatives are to beincluded in the decision-making framework coupled with otherfactors the organization deems appropriate for their goals, suchas the produ
20、ct type, the range of usage, and other product-specific characteristics.7.1.1.1 An environment-centric risk assessment using eco-logical toxicology data should be used for each life-cycle phaseconsidering the appropriate modes of entry into the environ-ment.NOTE 3There are many tools and methods ava
21、ilable for doing suchassessments. For comparability, the same method should be used for eachalternative being considered or rationale being supplied for circumstanceswhere methods differ.7.1.2 Ecological considerations include compliance with allapplicable laws related to environmental protection.7.
22、1.3 A list of ecological factors should be created for eachlife-cycle stage based upon the system boundaries and eachalternative compared. Using impact categories commonly con-sidered in life cycle assessments may provide a basis forconsideration.7.1.4 While all life-cycle phases/stages have ecologi
23、calconsiderations, the phase(s)/stage(s) of most importance willdiffer from product to product or even one product of the samekind to another but should, at minimum, include the evaluationof net energy consumption, net water consumption, andemissions/discharges to the environment.7.2 Ecological Cons
24、iderations at the Raw Material Acqui-sition Stage:7.2.1 The overall effects on the local environment are ofconsideration in raw material acquisition. Effects include, butare not limited to, severity, longevity, and extent of impact.7.2.2 Ecological impacts deriving from the intrinsic charac-teristic
25、s of a raw material as well as the method by which it isattained should be considered. Many raw materials haveseveral means of attainment, some of which may have fewer orless significant impact than others.7.2.2.1 The various raw materials being considered shouldbe compared by all viable routes of r
26、aw material acquisition toensure completeness.7.2.3 Specific ecological factors may differ greatly depend-ing upon the type of resource.7.3 Ecological Considerations at the Material TransportStage:7.3.1 The means of transport coupled with distance can havesignificant ecological impacts.7.3.2 The nat
27、ure of the material will impact factors such asmaterial handling during transport, packaging choices, distri-bution options, delivery to customer, and other related factors.Goods especially harmful to the environment may requirespecial handling and possibly be restricted in transport method.This cou
28、ld generate an ecological cost of the product life-cyclethat may offset any benefit.7.3.3 Additional considerations may involve net productionof carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases associated withtransport as an organization considers means of transport.E3027 18a57.4 Ecological Considerations
29、of the Manufacturing Stage:7.4.1 Existing equipment capabilities may need to be con-sidered. The need for additional environmental controls, can bean ecological factor in determining what to produce and withwhat materials. Special handling equipment may add to theseneeds.7.4.2 While there can be var
30、iation, companies may oftenfind they are using many of the same sustainability factors asused for raw material acquisition considerations and thetransport part of this stage from the manufacturing plant to thepoint of purchase.7.4.3 For products that transform significantly during manu-facturing thr
31、ough reactions or other transformation processes,considerations shall be made for the intermediate and finalproduct as well.7.4.4 Disposal and impact of by-products or wastes fromone product-chemical pair versus another should be consideredalong with the quantity as relative ecological harm may diff
32、ergreatly.7.4.5 Additional impacts such as energy use in themanufacturing, thermal pollution, water use and waste water,should be considered as appropriate.7.5 Ecological Considerations of the Use Stage:7.5.1 During the use phase, a variety of factors should beidentified and evaluated including how
33、the selection of aparticular alternative affects the amount of product used (for aconsumable product) or product useful life (for a durableproduct), how an alternative may affect other ecological issuesassociated with the product use (for example, energyconsumption), the need for additional products
34、 to use with theproduct in question, and other secondary ecological impacts.7.5.2 Companies may find the analysis of the use phase tobe the area in which user input through marketing exercisessuch as use habit observation, voice of the customer, or othermethods found in marketing texts may support d
35、ecision mak-ing.7.5.3 The user input may influence the other factors acrossall life-cycle stages and all three attributes of sustainability.7.6 Ecological Considerations of End of Life:7.6.1 As products differ greatly, so will end-of-life consid-erations.7.6.2 Disposal management is likely a major f
36、actor toconsider. For example, one should consider if a product or itscomponents is considered hazardous by regulation, or needsspecial handling, such as incineration or traditional landfilling,if they are not recyclable, reusable, or compostable.7.6.3 The release of emissions or substances upon dec
37、om-position or reclamation should be considered. Some product-chemical pairs may create or release emissions or substancesthat pose the potential for ecological impact. Similarly, if amaterial is not easily recycled, reclaimed, biodegraded,composted, taken-back or otherwise meets end-of-life in what
38、may be considered a more ecologically preferable manner inmany geographic areas, then that needs to be considered in theanalysis.8. ReportsDecision, Analysis, and Retrospective8.1 Decision Report:8.1.1 The decision regarding the selection of an alternativeshould start with a concise statement, a bas
39、eline of data, and anarray of factors used in the decision-making process. Theseelements are an executive summary of the analysis report andgenerally would be free of confidential business information.8.1.2 The decision statement should include the criteria forselecting an alternative that best sati
40、sfies the desired factorsidentified.8.2 Analysis Report:8.2.1 The analysis report should be considered a full,detailed report that can be used for internal projectdocumentation, submitted for regulatory reporting or used forcertification per a voluntary sustainability performance stan-dard.8.2.2 Pro
41、vide detailed outlines, calculations, and rationalefor all analyses. The calculations should be based upon thesame system boundary definition; include baseline data of theoriginal product-chemical pair for comparison, a list of thefactors for comparison, and the criteria for making decisionswithin t
42、he decision-making process.8.2.3 Depending upon the audience, it may be acceptable touse generic identifiers for specific items such as raw materialnames, Chemical Abstracts Services Registry Number (CAS#), or other identifiers specific to the ingredients or finishedproducts being analyzed to protec
43、t confidential business infor-mation.8.2.3.1 In such cases, general information should still beprovided. For example, if a material is a cyclic ketone beingconsidered for a new application, the name and CAS # could bewithheld, but the material could be identified as a “cyclicketone” or by its functi
44、onal role. The description should besufficient such that a knowledgeable reader can retrace thesteps in the assessment and validate the basis for its conclusion.8.2.4 All alternative assessments and the related ecologicaland human toxicological analyses shall be provided, againallowing for the abili
45、ty to protect confidential business infor-mation such as specific names if warranted.8.2.5 All analyses should cover the five life-cycle phasesacross the three attributes of sustainability.8.2.6 The analysis should address apparent data gaps in thealternatives decision-making framework, not only in
46、the alter-natives assessment or risk assessment, but also in other parts ofthe decision-making process, including economic analysis.Rationalization and assumptions made in addressing the miss-ing data should be explained. The implications of the data gapsto the decision-making process should be pres
47、ented.8.3 Retrospective:8.3.1 Aretrospective is key in continual improvement of thesustainability of a product.8.3.2 The retrospective may include areas of improvementthat may inform the development or use of future generationsof products or technologies derived from products.8.3.3 The retrospective
48、 should also include a review of whatadditional information would result in modifying the overallfindings of the decision-making process. Is it efforts to gatherspecific data gaps? Is it a better understanding of the marketand factors that influence market changes and consumerbehavior? Is it a regul
49、atory change?E3027 18a68.3.4 A retrospective should also include an objective re-view of the analysis process and how it may be improved forperforming future evaluations.9. Keywords9.1 alternatives assessment; chemical selection; greenchemistry; green engineering; life-cycle; sustainability attri-butesASTM International takes no position respecting the validity of any patent rights asserted in connection with any item mentionedin this standard. Users of this standard are expressly advised that determination of the validity of any such patent rights, and the riskof infringement
