Life Cycle Assessment of Complex Forestry Enterprise: A Case Study of a Forest–Fiberboard Integrated Enterprise

Xuyao Zhang, Weimin Zhang and Dayu Xu
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Xuyao Zhang: School of Economics & Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Weimin Zhang: School of Economics & Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Dayu Xu: College of Information Engineering, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: The complex forestry enterprises incorporate the production activities of different links in the value chain of forest products and should be the mainstay for the sustainable forestry production of China in the foreseeable future. This case study was carried out and main data were collected in a forest–board integrated enterprise of South China. A life cycle model using the impact 2002+ method was applied to identify the resource consumption and environmental impacts of different production stages along the industrial chain. This study incorporates the calculation of carbon sequestration per unit output into the standard LCA to evaluate the effect of the forest cultivation stage. The objective of this study is two-fold. The first objective is to gain a better understanding of the environmental impacts of the complex forestry enterprises. The second objective is to put forward environmental management suggestions for the identified hotspots along the forest value chain. Factors affecting the environment include carbon sequestration and seedlings, electric power, and the use of wood fuel. Improvement suggestions are put forward from three perspectives: Changing the type and application method of fertilizer, reducing electric power consumption, and reducing wood fuel consumption.

Keywords: environmental management; hotspot analysis; complex forestry enterprise; forest–fiberboard integrated; life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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