Sustainability Systems: Analyzing the Environmental Impact of White Board Markers

This paper discusses the sustainability systems followed by AusPen and Complete Office Supplies in order to achieve sustainability of their white board markers. It explores the environmental impact of the life cycle process of the markers and identifies the best alternative with minimum impact.

Running head: SUSTAINABILITY SYSTEM
SUSTAINABILITY SYSTEM
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The life cycle assessment is a process that explains about the environmental impact of the life
cycle process of the product by carrying out assessment. There are different stages in the life
cycle assessment as- scope and goals identification, inventory life cycle, the impact assessment
of the life cycle process and interpretation of the same. It helps in managing the inventory
properly in order to have minimum impact on the environment and also comprises of identifying
and evaluating the process and interpretation of the same. The company chosen for the purpose is
the AusPen white board markers and the Complete Office Supplies dealing in white board
markers. The main aim of the paper is to highlight the sustainability system followed by these
two brands in order to achieve sustainability of its products. The paper has discussed about the
problem being faced by the customers and the two alternatives that are trying to solve the same,
the paper also assigns weight to the different components of the white board marker. The paper
also discussed about the functional unit for the white board markers, a discussion on the material
flow diagram, an impact analysis of the two alternatives. The paper has identified the process
that gives the most environmental impact, identifies the process of the life cycle that has the
maximum impact on the environment and the remedial measures for the same and selection of
the best alternatives based on all these factors.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Discussion........................................................................................................................................2
Problem definition and description of the LCA procedure.........................................................2
Functional unit.............................................................................................................................6
Balanced material flow diagram for each alternative..................................................................7
Impact analysis for each alternative............................................................................................8
Identification of impacts of life cycle processes..........................................................................8
Remedial measures for reducing the impact of the life cycle processes and feasibility of
improved option...........................................................................................................................8
Selection of the best alternative...................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Life cycle assessment is the process of analyzing the environmental impact of the chosen
products life cycle on the environment starting from the stage of raw material to its processing,
to its distribution, to its use and other stages (Chau, Leung and Ng 2015). Life cycle assessment
can help in reducing the environmental impact of the products life cycle by properly managing
the resources and environmental impact through release of various emission, the results will be
reviewed in order to take other decisions. The main purpose of the LCA is to reduce the
environmental impact by properly assessing quantifying the inputs and the outputs.it helps I
atki8ng various decisions that are informed ones (Gong, Darling and You 2015). There are two
main LCA is the attribution LCA and consequential LCA. The attribution LCA looks after the
burden of the production and related to the use of the product. The consequential LCA looks
after consequences of the LCA on the environment. In the present world, it has become
important for the organizations to carry put its operations with the reducing the negative impacts
on the environment. The brands chosen for the purpose of this study are the AusPen and the
complete office solutions. These brands provide the same service of white board marker. The
main aim of the paper is to discuss about the two brands delivering the same services, the
problems faced by these brands related to environmental issues, analysis of both the brands and
based on that selection of the best brand that has the minimum impact on the environment.

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Discussion
Problem definition and description of the LCA procedure
The white board markers of great importance in the academic field because it help’s the
teachers and acts as a tool for then to carry out their activities properly (Hauschild and Huijbregts
2015). White board markers are not just required for the academic field but also in the corporate
world for various reasons such as presenting some charts or flow charts on the white board which
makes the discussion interesting for both the person who is speaking and the listeners. The
combination of the white board with the marker gives a sense of modern learning as against the
traditional techniques of learning which were followed in schools earlier. The white board
marker is available in different colors that helps in showing the creativity of the people. Through
white board markers the visibility has increased because whatever is written is clearly visible to
the eyes of the students or others. However, presently the white board markers are aiming at
becoming environment friendly because of the continuous awareness of the customers about
environment friendly products and services. Therefore the main services wanted is that of white
board marker services that are sustainable and the same can be fulfilled through two different
brands of Australia. AusPen is a company that provides refillable white board markers because
the company identified the fact that about 40,00,000 markers approx.. were discarded by the
various schools and college’s of Australia every years and as a result too much of impact on the
environment was done by these white board marker companies (Notarnicola et al. 2017). It was
then that the company decided to manufacture environment friendly refill-ability, reusability
markers and made of special nib design in order tom reduce environmental impacts. The
company is aimed at providing the white board markers that are environmentally friendly.
Another brand that provides white board markers is that of Complete office supplies proves

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white board markers that comes in four different colors and that can be used to grab the
attentions of the audience. The nib of the markers provide by the COS is durable and there is
rubber grip for the same purpose and the ink is toxin free and is therefore free from Xylene.
Figure 1: Life cycle assessment
Source: (Harvey et al. 2016)
The above diagram shows the procedure for the life cycle assessment as recommended by
the ISO or the international organization for standards. According to the ISO there are four main
stages in the life cycle assessment process- the stage of the goals and scope definition, the
inventory analysis, the impact assessment and interpretation. The first stage discusses about the
main goals and scope of the activities. The ISO requires proper definition of the goals and scope
of the activities. It discusses about the functional unit, the boundaries of the systems and others.
The inventory analysis deals with analyzing the flow of goods from the nature and the release of
the company to the environment (Astrup et al. 2015). A flow model is used for the same purpose.
The impact assessment is done to understand the impact of the flow of goods to and from nature
on the environment. The interpretation stage identifies, quantifies, checks and evaluates flow
from the inventory life cycle.

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Estimated weight and service life of components of the white board marker
Components Weight Life time
Ink Xylene free 15mil 30-60days
Durable nib 0.7mm 30days
Body made of reusable plastic 50gm 45days
Cap plastic 20gm 50days
Figure 2: white board marker components of the AusPen
Source: (created by author)
Figure 3: refilling the markers of AusPen company
Source: (AusPen Australia 2019)
Components Weight Service life
Cap plastic 20gm 45days

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Nib 1.1-4.1mm 30days
Xylene free ink 15ml 15-20days
Body 50gm 35days
Figure 4: white board marker components of the complete office solution
Source: (created by author)
Functional unit
The functional unit defines the quantified description of the services required to be
performed by the chosen product. It basically discusses bout the services that the company aims
at providing. It helps in analyzing the environmental impact of the delivered services for
different product systems (Kneese, Ayres and d'Arge 2015). A functional unit that is
appropriately defined includes service quantity that is consumed by the users, a measurable unit
with numeric value which is the unit of product if durability of product is important. It discusses
about the components that goes in making of the product and the impact of the same ion the
environment. It also depends upon the expected service of that product (van der Werf and Salou
2015). For instance: the functional unit of disposable cups is the expectation that it will deliver
8ounces of beverage. The functional unit for the whitepaper markers is that it is expected to
provide service to 30 days of existence through continuous usage and then in case of Auspen
Company it can be refilled instead of throwing the same away. However, in case of the Complete
office solutions it can exist for a period of 30daysa and it needs to be disposed after that because
there is no option if reuse. The refill as provided by the Auspen can be recharged or refilled.

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Balanced material flow diagram for each alternative
Figure 5: material flow diagram
Source: (Kneese, Ayres and d'Arge 2015 )
The above material flow model has been introduced by Ayres-Kneese and according to
the author, the input must always be equal to the output for mass quantity process. Similarly all
the material that flow in from the nature must ultimately be sent to the environment and this
happens in form of pollutants and others. Therefore from the above explanation it can be said
that the market failures associated with the consumption and production activities are pervasive
and it will occur and grow as long as the economy is growing. Recycle materials can be helpful
but it is dependent upon the usage of energy and therefore it cannot compensate for the losses.
This model is aimed at providing the alternatives methods for using resources and treatment of
residuals of the waste management. The material flow for the AusPen company will include the
recycling activities, the consumption, the production activities and other activities that are carried
out by the company to treat its residuals. The Auspen carries out sustainability activities to
reduce its environmental impact by reusing the plastic material and other activities (AusPen

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Australia 2019). The COS aims at reducing its environmental impact by having durable nibs that
can exist for longer period of time and using Xylene free ink for its markers and reducing the
impact on the society and environment.
Impact analysis for each alternative
The impact assessment of the product life cycle is the process of identifying the impacts
of the Life cycle on the environment based on life cycle impact analysis. It comprises of the
following elements such as selection of the categories that will have an impact, indicators of such
categories and models of characterization, the inventory parameter are then sorted and assigned
categories of impact and the final element is the measurement of the impacts. In case of the white
board markers of the AusPen Company, the product life cycle that will have an impact is that of
the processing stage in which the commodity is made. This so because the AusPen uses plastic
material for production of its marker caps and therefore it might have an impact when they are
being disposed of because all the elements are not reused and some are discarded without proper
treatment. The impact of the COS company life cycle process is in the stage of disposal because
the company still does it without having any re-use material or refill and the plastic materials in
form of the body and caps will have serious impact on the environment.

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Identification of impacts of life cycle processes
Figure 6: Life cycle assessment
Source: (Gong, Darling and You 2015)
Impacts of the life cycle process involves identification of those process of the life cycle
which has an impact on the environment. It involves the identification of the impact throughout
the process front the starting phase of raw material acquisition, to processing to disposal and
others. In case of the Auspen company the impact is identified in the phase of processing
because the company uses plastics for manufacturing the product body and caps (AusPen
Australia 2019). On the other hand, in case of the Complete Office supplies company, the impact
is identified in the stage of disposal because the products are disposed without treatment in form
of reuse or others.

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Remedial measures for reducing the impact of the life cycle processes and feasibility
of improved option
The remedial; actions foe the auspen company is to use alternative material for its
products instead of plastics and carry out various innovative material for the same purpose. The
remedial process in case of the complete office solutions is that of using some waste
management technique for appropriate disposal of the white board markers of the company such
as reuse and others.
Selection of the best alternative
The best alternative in case of selection of white board markers is the one provided by the
AusPen company because it helps in not only meeting the needs of the customers but also helps
in reducing the environmental impact by having techniques of re-usability of the materials of its
products and refilling of the markers.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that life cycle assessment is important for
organization as well as individuals to understand the environmental impact of the various stages
of products in its product life cycle and this will help in reducing the environmental impacts.
Organizations can help in reducing its environmental impact in order two become sustainable
and this will also help the organization in attracting the environment conscious customers. The
customers can use the same method in order to understand the environmental impact of the
product of the organization. The paper will discuss about the problem of selecting a service and
the various brands meeting the needs of the same. The paper discusses about weights of the
components of the products. An analysis if each of the alternatives will be done in order to

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understand the best alternative that has the minimum environmental impact. For this, the
processes that have the most negative environmental impact will be understood and measures
will be taken to reduce the same. The paper will discuss about the well-defined functional units
and a balance material flow diagram has been prepared for the same purpose.

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References
Astrup, T.F., Tonini, D., Turconi, R. and Boldrin, A., 2015. Life cycle assessment of thermal
waste-to-energy technologies: review and recommendations. Waste management, 37, pp.104-
115.
AusPen Australia (2019). Refillable Whiteboard & Dry Erase Markers - AusPen Australia.
[online] AusPen Australia. Available at: https://www.auspen.com/ [Accessed 11 Jun. 2019].
Chau, C.K., Leung, T.M. and Ng, W.Y., 2015. A review on life cycle assessment, life cycle
energy assessment and life cycle carbon emissions assessment on buildings. Applied energy, 143,
pp.395-413.
Gong, J., Darling, S.B. and You, F., 2015. Perovskite photovoltaics: life-cycle assessment of
energy and environmental impacts. Energy & Environmental Science, 8(7), pp.1953-1968.
Harvey, J., Meijer, J., Ozer, H., Al-Qadi, I.L., Saboori, A. and Kendall, A., 2016. Pavement life
cycle assessment framework(No. FHWA-HIF-16-014). United States. Federal Highway
Administration.
Hauschild, M.Z. and Huijbregts, M.A., 2015. Introducing life cycle impact assessment. In Life
cycle impact assessment(pp. 1-16). Springer, Dordrecht.
Kneese, A.V., Ayres, R.U. and d'Arge, R.C., 2015. Economics and the environment: a materials
balance approach. Routledge.

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Notarnicola, B., Sala, S., Anton, A., McLaren, S.J., Saouter, E. and Sonesson, U., 2017. The role
of life cycle assessment in supporting sustainable agri-food systems: A review of the
challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, pp.399-409.
van der Werf, H.M. and Salou, T., 2015. Economic value as a functional unit for environmental
labelling of food and other consumer products. Journal of Cleaner Production, 94, pp.394-397.