JP2012252679A - Environmental load evaluation device and environmental load evaluation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve reduction in manhours relating to investigation of an environmental load inventory.SOLUTION: A conversion table storage part DB3 stores a conversion table showing values of other items to a value of a reference item in an environmental load inventory for an evaluated object. An input part 11 receives input of the value of the reference item for other evaluation objects. An environmental load conversion part 13 uses the conversion table to calculate the values of other items for other evaluation objects from the input value of the reference item. Therefore, with respect to other evaluated objects, the environmental load inventory with estimated values of other items is created only by investing the reference item, and manhours relating to the investigation of the environmental load inventory is reduced.

Description

  The present invention relates to an environmental load evaluation device and an environmental load evaluation method.

  Conventionally, in order to evaluate the environmental impact of products or services, detailed investigation has been conducted on numerical data that is the basis for calculating environmental impact in the life cycle from resource extraction (planning and design), development, manufacturing, operation, and disposal (maintenance). The data was collected.

Examples of numerical data used as a basis for calculating an environmental load such as carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) include man-hours for manufacturing and power consumption of a PC (personal computer) to be used.
Moreover, in recent years, it has been pointed out that it is not sufficient to use only carbon dioxide as an environmental load to be evaluated. It is also required to consider the effects of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur oxide (SOx), water pollution indicators BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand).

For this reason, a method for evaluating the impact for more environmental loads (a damage calculation type environmental impact assessment method (for example, LIFE (Life-cycle Impact assessment Method based on Endpoint modeling))) has been proposed. This method can evaluate not only CO ₂ but also many environmental loads, and can also be integrated with a single index.

JP 2003-099521 A JP 2003-157341 A JP 2003-190930 A JP 2010-86440 A JP 2004-185308 A JP 2006-209502 A

However, in the conventional environmental load evaluation method, it is required to examine many items in the inventory (inventory) of environmental loads in advance.
For this reason, many items of inventory such as NOx, SOx, BOD, COD as well as CO ₂ are investigated for each evaluation object such as a plurality of products and services, which requires a lot of man-hours. was there.

  According to one aspect of the invention, a conversion table storage unit that stores a conversion table of values of other items with respect to values of reference items in the environmental load inventory to be evaluated, and input of values of the reference items in other evaluation targets Environmental load evaluation comprising: an input unit that accepts; and an environmental load conversion unit that calculates the value of the other item in the other evaluation target from the input value of the reference item based on the conversion table An apparatus is provided.

  According to the disclosed environmental load evaluation apparatus and environmental load evaluation method, the number of steps involved in the investigation of the environmental load inventory can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows an example of the environmental load evaluation apparatus of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the evaluation object stored in the evaluation object storage part. It is a figure which shows an example of each item of the inventory stored in an environmental load information storage part, and its value. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table stored in the conversion table storage part. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an example of a conversion table preparation process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an example of the environmental load evaluation method by an environmental load evaluation apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the determination process of whether the evaluation object is registered. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of inventory. It is a figure which shows the example of a storage of an evaluation object storage part in case an evaluation object is a software product or a solution product. It is a figure which shows an example of each item of the inventory stored in an environmental load information storage part, and its value. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table stored in the conversion table storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of storage of the conversion table for every step of a life cycle. It is a figure which shows the example which stored the conversion table for every classification of business activity in the conversion table storage part. It is a figure which shows the example of the inventory containing the consumption energy for every stage of a life cycle in a certain hardware product. It is a figure which shows the example of the inventory containing the energy consumption for every stage of a life cycle in a certain software product or solution product. It is a figure which shows the example of the inventory for every product group. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table which used energy consumption as the reference item. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table which changed the reference | standard item for every product group. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table when the value of the inventory of a stage with the life cycle of a hardware product is made into the value of a reference item. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table when the value of the inventory of a stage with a life cycle of a software product or a solution product is made into the value of a reference item. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table when the value of one item of the inventory of the stage of a hardware product life cycle is made into the value of a reference | standard item. It is a figure which shows an example of the conversion table when the value of one item of the inventory of the stage of the life cycle of a software product or a solution product is made into the value of a reference | standard item. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware of the computer used for this Embodiment.

Embodiments of an environmental load evaluation apparatus and an environmental load evaluation method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an environmental load evaluation apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The environmental load evaluation apparatus 10 includes an input unit 11, an evaluation target determination unit 12, an environmental load conversion unit 13, an output unit 14, a display unit 15, a conversion table calculation unit 16, an evaluation target storage unit DB1, an environmental load information storage unit DB2, It has a conversion table storage unit DB3.

The evaluation target storage unit DB1 stores evaluation target information, for example, information such as product groups and product names.
The environmental load information storage unit DB2 stores the value of each item in the inventory for each evaluation target. The environmental load information storage unit DB2 stores an environmental load conversion coefficient corresponding to each item in the inventory. For example, in lime, “characterize”, “damage assessment”, and “integration” are performed on the inventory, and the environmental load is integrated as a single index (unit: yen). When lime is used, the environmental load information storage unit DB2 stores an environmental load conversion coefficient used in each step of “characterizing”, “damage evaluation”, and “integration”.

Conversion table storage DB3, in some evaluation of inventory, reference items (e.g., CO _2, etc.) for the values of other fields (e.g., NOx, etc. and SOx) stores conversion table of values. The conversion table is represented by the relative ratio (conversion coefficient) of the value of the other item to the value of the reference item.

The input unit 11 receives input of evaluation target information and reference item values in the evaluation target.
The evaluation object determination unit 12 determines whether the input evaluation object has a function, property, or size similar to that of the evaluation object stored in advance in the evaluation object storage unit DB1. Specifically, the evaluation target determination unit 12 determines whether or not both belong to the same group (for example, the same product group, the same product type, or the same service type). In addition, when the input evaluation target is the same group as the evaluation target stored in advance in the evaluation target storage unit DB1, the evaluation target determination unit 12 converts the conversion table in the registered evaluation target into the conversion table storage unit. Extract from DB3.

  The environmental load conversion unit 13 calculates values of other items of the inventory to be evaluated by multiplying each conversion coefficient of the extracted conversion table by the value of the reference item in the input evaluation target. In addition, the environmental load conversion unit 13 multiplies the value of each item in the inventory by the calculated environmental load conversion coefficient corresponding to each item in the inventory, thereby “characterizing”, “damage evaluation”, and “integrating”. I do.

The output unit 14 outputs the value of each item of the calculated inventory, for example, to the display unit 15.
The conversion table calculation unit 16 converts the value of each item of the inventory to be evaluated stored in the environmental load information storage unit DB2 into a relative ratio when the value of the reference item is 1, thereby converting the conversion table. Is calculated.

Hereinafter, an example of data stored in the evaluation target storage unit DB1, the environmental load information storage unit DB2, and the conversion table storage unit DB3 is shown.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an evaluation object stored in the evaluation object storage unit.

Product groups such as PCs, servers, and mobile phones are listed as evaluation targets. Each product group is further divided into product names, and the product names are divided into model names.
For example, in the product group “PC”, product names A1, A2, and A3 are stored in the evaluation object storage unit DB1, and the model names a11, a12, a13, a21, a22, a23, a31, a32, a33 are stored. In the product group “server”, product names B1, B2, and B3 are stored, and model names b11, b12, b13, b21, b22, b23, b31, b32, and b33 are stored for each product name B1, B2, and B3. Stored. In the product group “mobile phone”, product names C1 and C2 are stored, and model names c11, c12, c13, c21, c22, and c23 are stored for the product names C1 and C2.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of each item and its value stored in the environmental load information storage unit.
Items in the inventory include coal, crude oil (used as fuel), natural gas as an energy resource, crude oil (used as a raw material) as a mineral resource, iron ore (Fe), copper ore (Cu), and the like. In addition, there are CO ₂ , SOx, NOx and the like as environmental discharge loads for the atmosphere, BOD and COD and the like as environmental discharge loads for water areas, and unspecified solid waste, slag and the like as environmental discharge loads for soil.

The value of each inventory item is stored, for example, for each stage of the life cycle from production of a material in a product to production, distribution, use, and disposal of the product. In the numerical values described in FIG. 3, for example, 1.19E-01 indicates 1.19 × 10 ⁻¹ and 8.27E-03 indicates 8.27 × 10 ⁻³ . The unit is Kg.

Such an inventory is stored, for example, in the environmental load information storage unit DB2 for each product group or product name shown in FIG.
The environmental load information storage unit DB2 further has an environmental load conversion coefficient corresponding to each item in the inventory, but is not shown.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table stored in the conversion table storage unit.
As a reference item, an example is shown in which a conversion table in the case of employing CO ₂ , which is a representative environmental emission load, is stored for each product name of the evaluation target product group shown in FIG.

The value of the conversion table, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the values of each item of inventory is given as a relative ratio when the value of the CO ₂ on the basis item was 1.
In the example of FIG. 4, for the sake of simplicity, one conversion table is shown for each product name. However, the conversion table storage unit DB3 stores, for example, a conversion table for each stage of the life cycle shown in FIG. Is done.

In the example of FIG. 4, the conversion table is stored for each product name, but may be for each product group.
Hereinafter, the operation of the environmental load evaluation apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the conversion table creation process.
First, the input unit 11 acquires an inventory analysis result to be evaluated (step S1). As shown in FIG. 4, when calculating the conversion table for each product name, the input unit 11 acquires, for example, the result of inventory analysis performed for the representative model of the product name, and the environmental load information storage unit DB2 To store.

In the inventory analysis here, for example, not only the CO ₂ that is the standard item of inventory, but also the items other than the standard item, such as SOx, NOx, BOD, and COD, are analyzed.

  The conversion table calculation unit 16 sets, for example, the value of the reference item designated by the user in the input unit 11 among the items of the inventory stored in the environmental load information storage unit DB2 to 1 for the value of the reference item. Find the relative proportion of inventory item values. Thereby, the conversion table calculation part 16 calculates a conversion table as shown in FIG. 4, and stores it in conversion table storage part DB3 (step S2).

The environmental load evaluation device 10 may acquire a conversion table calculated externally and store it in the conversion table storage unit DB3.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of an example of an environmental load evaluation method by the environmental load evaluation apparatus.

The input unit 11 receives input of evaluation target information and reference item values in the evaluation target (step S10).
For example, when a new model with a certain product name is input as an evaluation target, if the value of CO ₂ as a reference item is known among the inventory items as shown in FIG. The value is input to part 11. The input unit 11 accepts input of information such as the composition and weight of the product to be evaluated, and sends the information to the environmental load conversion unit 13.

Note that the input of the reference item value may be performed after the process of the next step S11 or after the process of step S12.
When the evaluation target information is input to the input unit 11, the evaluation target determination unit 12 refers to the evaluation target storage unit DB1 and performs a determination process as to whether or not the evaluation target is registered (step S11).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for determining whether or not an evaluation target is registered.
An example of the determination process in the case of a product with an evaluation target is shown. For example, first, the evaluation object determination unit 12 searches the evaluation object storage unit DB1 as shown in FIG. 2 from the input product group information, and determines whether or not the evaluation object is found (step S20). ). When the evaluation target is found from the product group information, the conversion table extraction process in step S12 shown in FIG. 6 is performed.

  If the evaluation target cannot be determined from the product group information, the evaluation target determination unit 12 inputs the product name or model name of the evaluation target product from the input unit 11 (step S21), and searches the evaluation target storage unit DB1. Then, it is determined whether or not the evaluation target is found (step S22). When the evaluation target is found from the product name or the model name, the conversion table extraction process in step S12 shown in FIG. 6 is performed.

  When the evaluation target is not found, the evaluation target determination unit 12 determines that the input evaluation target is not registered in the evaluation target storage unit DB1, and adds information on the evaluation target to the evaluation target storage unit DB1. (Step S23).

  If there is no conversion table available in the unregistered evaluation target in the conversion table storage unit DB3, after the conversion table that can be used for the evaluation target (for example, a product with the same product name) is registered. The conversion table can be extracted.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 6, the evaluation object determination unit 12 extracts an inventory conversion table for the specified evaluation object from the conversion table storage unit DB3 (step S12). For example, when the product name of the product to be evaluated is specified, an inventory conversion table corresponding to the specified product name as shown in FIG. 4 is extracted.

The conversion table may be extracted not based on the evaluation target determination unit 12 but on the information (for example, product name) on the evaluation target input by the environmental load conversion unit 13.
Next, the environmental load conversion unit 13 calculates the value of the unknown inventory item in the evaluation target from the input value of the reference item using the extracted conversion table (step S13). For example, the environmental load conversion unit 13 multiplies the conversion coefficient corresponding to each inventory item of the extracted conversion table by the value of the input reference item to obtain an inventory other than the input reference item of the evaluation target. Calculate the value of the item.

  Evaluation objects having similar functions, properties, or sizes have almost the same parts, and have similar materials and weights. Therefore, the value of each item in the inventory can be estimated by using this conversion table for other evaluation objects having substantially the same function, property, or size as the evaluation object for which the conversion table is calculated. The environmental load evaluation device 10 of the present embodiment uses the same conversion table for evaluation objects belonging to the same group (for example, the same product name, the same product group, etc.) having substantially the same function, property, or size. Use to estimate the value of each item in the inventory.

  Thereafter, the environmental load conversion unit 13 extracts an environmental load conversion coefficient corresponding to each item of the inventory from the environmental load information storage unit DB2, and assigns (multiplies) the calculated value to the value of each item of the inventory ( Step S14). For example, in lime, “characterize”, “damage assessment”, and “integration” are performed on the inventory, and the environmental load is calculated as a single index (unit: yen). At that time, the environmental load conversion unit 13 extracts the environmental load conversion coefficient used in each step of “characterize”, “damage evaluation”, and “integration” from the environmental load information storage unit DB2, and inputs the evaluation target The environmental load is calculated based on the product composition and weight information.

  The output unit 14 outputs, for example, the value of each item in the inventory calculated in the process of step S13 and displays the value on the display unit 15 (step S15). When the environmental load evaluation device 10 applies lime, for example, the display unit 15 graphs output results in each step of “characterize”, “damage evaluation”, and “integration” in addition to inventory data. It may be displayed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of inventory display.
Each item in the inventory is classified and displayed as consumption load, depleted resource, energy resource, mineral resource, renewable resource, environmental discharge load to the atmosphere, environmental discharge load to water, and environmental discharge load to soil . In addition, the value of each inventory item is displayed for each stage of the life cycle from the production of a material in a certain product to the production, distribution, use, and disposal of the product. The unit of the value of the inventory item other than the energy consumption (the unit is MJ or Mcal) is expressed in Kg.

  The inventory as shown in FIG. 8 is applied to, for example, a Product Environmental Information Data Sheet (PEIDS) used when the Eco Leaf Environmental Label of the Industrial Environment Management Association is authorized. When creating a PEIDS, for example, a survey of 30 to 40 inventory items is required. According to the environmental load evaluation device 10 of the present embodiment, if the value of the reference item is known in the new evaluation target, the value of the other inventory item can be calculated in the conversion table. The man-hour concerning can be reduced to at least 30 to 40 times.

  Further, in the past, unknown inventory items were excluded from the evaluation target, but according to the environmental load evaluation device 10 of the present embodiment, an estimated value based on the conversion table can be obtained. Increased reliability. In addition, products and services that have been abandoned due to lack of inventory items can be newly added as evaluation targets.

  The inventory on the evaluation target obtained by the environmental load evaluation apparatus 10 and the information on the environmental load are fed back in the design of products and services of the same product type as the evaluation target, for example, thereby further reducing the environmental load.

  In the above description, it has been described that the value of the reference item to be evaluated is input to the input unit 11. However, when the values of items other than the reference item (for example, NOx, SOx, BOD, COD, etc.) are known. The input unit 11 may input these values. And environmental load information storage part DB2 may update the value of the stored inventory, or may correct | amend according to the input value. Further, the conversion table calculation unit 16 may update the conversion table as the inventory value is changed.

  In the above description, the evaluation target is a hardware product such as a PC, a server, or a mobile phone. However, the evaluation target is a software product, a product including both the software product and the hardware product (hereinafter referred to as a solution product). May be used).

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a storage example of the evaluation object storage unit when the evaluation object is a software product or a solution product.
The evaluation target includes a product group such as an Internet-related software product or solution product, a database-related software product or solution product, and an operation management software product or solution product. Each product group is further divided into product names, and the product names are divided into model names.

  For example, in the product group “Internet”, product names D1 and D2 are stored in the evaluation object storage unit DB1, and model names d11, d12, d21, and d22 are stored for each product name D1 and D2. In the product group “database”, product names E1, E2 are stored, and further, model names e11, e12, e21, e22 are stored for each product name E1, E2. In the product group “operation management”, product names F1 and F2 are stored, and model names f11, f12, f21, and f22 are stored for the product names F1 and F2.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of each item and its value stored in the environmental load information storage unit.
A software product or a solution product is evaluated according to a life cycle different from a hardware product, that is, planning, design, development, manufacture, operation, and maintenance.

In the inventory items, as in the case of hardware products, energy resources include coal, crude oil (used as fuel), natural gas, mineral resources used as crude oil (used as raw material), iron ore (Fe), copper There is ore (Cu). In addition, there are CO ₂ , SOx, NOx and the like as environmental discharge loads for the atmosphere, BOD and COD and the like as environmental discharge loads for water areas, and unspecified solid waste, slag and the like as environmental discharge loads for soil.

The value of each inventory item is stored for each stage of the life cycle from planning and design, development manufacturing, operation and maintenance in a certain software product or solution product. In the numerical values shown in FIG. 11, for example, 2.38E-02 indicates 2.38 × 10 ⁻² and 3.12E-01 indicates 3.12 × 10 ⁻¹ . The unit is Kg.

Such an inventory is stored in the environmental load information storage unit DB2 for each product group or product name of the software product or solution product shown in FIG. 9, for example.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table stored in the conversion table storage unit.

As a reference item, CO ₂ , which is a typical environmental emission load, is converted into a conversion table with product names “Internet”, “database”, and “operation management” product names D1, D2, and D2 shown in FIG. An example of storing for each of E1, E2, F1, and F2 is shown. FIG. 11 shows an example of a conversion table at a certain life cycle stage (for example, planning and designing) in the software product or the solution product.

The values in the conversion table are given as relative ratios when the value of CO ₂ as the reference item is set to 1, for the value of each item in the inventory as shown in FIG.
In the example of FIG. 11, one conversion table is shown for each product name, but the conversion table storage unit DB3 stores, for example, a conversion table for each stage of the life cycle shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a storage example of the conversion table for each stage of the life cycle.
A storage example of a conversion table for each stage of the life cycle of plan design-development manufacturing-operation-maintenance is shown for product names "D1" and "E1" in the product group "Internet" and the product group "database".

11 and 12 show the case where the conversion table is stored for each product name, but one conversion table may be stored for each product group.
The conversion tables as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are created by the process as shown in FIG. 5 as in the case of hardware products.

  When evaluating the environmental load on a new evaluation target software product or solution product, the same processing as that shown in FIG. 6 is performed. By using the conversion table as described above, if the value of the standard item at each stage of the life cycle of the new software product or solution product to be evaluated is known, the values of other inventory items can be calculated. Therefore, the number of man-hours related to the survey for the new evaluation object can be reduced.

The evaluation target is not limited to a hardware product, a software product, or a solution product, but may be a service or a business activity.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a conversion table for each type of business activity is stored in the conversion table storage unit.

An example of a conversion table for each business activity of G, H, and I (for example, electronic device business, software business, etc.) is shown. For example, the conversion table storage unit DB3 stores a conversion table calculated from a value of each item of inventory in a business activity in a predetermined period (for example, one year or six months) as a reference item. In the example of FIG. 13, the reference item is CO ₂ .

  Based on such a conversion table, the environmental load conversion unit 13 determines the value of the reference item in the same business activity performed in the same period (for example, one year or six months) after the predetermined period used for calculation of the conversion table. To calculate the values of other items in the inventory.

  By using the conversion table as described above, it is possible to estimate the value of each item in the inventory simply by examining the value of the reference item in the business activity during the same period. Thereby, for example, an inventory every year in a certain business activity can be easily created, and the secular change of the environmental load can be easily obtained.

  In addition, for items with the same business form as the business activity that created the conversion table, if the value of the standard item is known, the value of other inventory items can be changed by using the same conversion table. Can be estimated.

By the way, in the above description, the case where the evaluation target is CO ₂ generated at each stage of the life cycle (a predetermined period when the evaluation target is a business) is used as the inventory reference item. It is not limited.

Although not shown in the above inventory example, the energy consumption consumed by the evaluation target may be used as the inventory reference item.
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an inventory including energy consumption for each stage of a life cycle in a hardware product.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an inventory including energy consumption at each stage of a life cycle in a certain software product or solution product.
In the example shown in FIG. 14, each item of inventory including energy consumption (unit: MJ) generated at each stage of the life cycle from manufacture of a material to manufacture, distribution, use, and disposal of a hardware product. A value is stored.

  Further, in the example shown in FIG. 15, the values of each item of inventory including energy consumption generated at each stage of the life cycle of planning design, development manufacturing, operation, and maintenance in a software product or solution product are stored. Yes.

For the same product name, product group, or business activity, the value of each item in the inventory when the energy consumption is equal shows the same value.
The amount of energy consumed tends to largely depend on the amount of power consumption. Electricity is generated by consuming energy resources such as coal, crude oil, and natural gas. If they are equal, the values of these energy resources are similar.

Therefore, it is also preferable to use energy consumption instead of CO ₂ as the inventory reference item.
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an inventory for each product group.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table using energy consumption as a reference item.
FIG. 16 shows an example of an inventory for each product group in a certain life cycle stage. The item of inventory of each product group A, B, C includes energy consumption. In FIG. 17, a conversion table when such energy consumption is adopted as a reference item is shown for each product group to be evaluated.

  The values in the conversion table are given, for example, as relative ratios with respect to the value of each item in the inventory as shown in FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 17, one conversion table is illustrated for each product group for simplification. However, the conversion table storage unit DB3 includes, for example, each stage of the life cycle illustrated in FIG. 14 or FIG. 15. The conversion table of is stored.

  In the example of FIG. 17, an example in which a conversion table is obtained for each product group is shown. However, a conversion table using energy consumption as a reference item may be calculated for each product name. Moreover, you may make it calculate the conversion table for every business activity.

  Such a conversion table is calculated, for example, according to the same flow as the processing of FIG. 5 described above. That is, the input unit 11 of the environmental load evaluation device 10 acquires, for example, the result of inventory analysis performed on the representative models of the product groups A, B, and C (step S1) and stores it in the environmental load information storage unit DB2. To do. In this inventory analysis, for example, not only energy consumption which is a standard item of inventory, but also analysis of each item other than the standard item such as coal, crude oil (fuel), natural gas, and the like.

  Thereafter, the conversion table calculation unit 16 sets, for example, the value of energy consumption to 1 among the items of the inventory stored in the environmental load information storage unit DB2, and the value of the item of the other inventory with respect to the value of the reference item Find the relative ratio. Thereby, the conversion table calculation part 16 calculates a conversion table as shown in FIG. 17, and stores it in conversion table storage part DB3 (step S2).

The environmental load evaluation method using the stored conversion table is performed, for example, according to the above-described process of FIG.
That is, the input unit 11 accepts input of information on an evaluation target and a value of energy consumption that is a reference item in the evaluation target (step S10).

  For example, when a new model of a certain product group is input as an evaluation target, among the items of the inventory as shown in FIG. The value is input to the input unit 11. For example, the energy consumption at the time of manufacture of the product to be evaluated can be obtained by calculating the amount of power per unit from the number of manufactured units per year and the total amount of power, and converting it to energy.

The input unit 11 accepts input of information such as the composition and weight of the product to be evaluated, and sends the information to the environmental load conversion unit 13.
When the evaluation target information is input to the input unit 11, the evaluation target determination unit 12 refers to the evaluation target storage unit DB1 and performs a determination process as to whether or not the evaluation target is registered (step S11). The determination process is performed, for example, according to the flow shown in FIG.

  When the evaluation target is registered, the evaluation target determination unit 12 extracts an inventory conversion table for the specified evaluation target from the conversion table storage unit DB3 (step S12). For example, when a product group to be evaluated is specified, an inventory conversion table corresponding to the specified product group as shown in FIG. 17 is extracted.

  Next, the environmental load conversion unit 13 uses the extracted conversion table to calculate the value of the unknown inventory item in the evaluation target from the value of the input energy consumption (step S13). For example, the environmental load conversion unit 13 multiplies the conversion coefficient corresponding to each item in the extracted conversion table by the input consumption energy value, thereby obtaining an inventory other than the input consumption energy to be evaluated. Calculate the value of the item.

Thereafter, the processes of steps S14 and S15 described above are performed, and the evaluation result of the environmental load is displayed on the display unit 15.
As described above, the same effect can be obtained by calculating the conversion table using not only CO ₂ but also energy consumption as a reference item and evaluating the environmental load using the conversion table.

The reference item may be changed according to the type of the evaluation target.
FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table in which reference items are changed for each product group.
FIG. 18 shows an example of a conversion table in the product group of automobiles and ships. For example, in an automobile, NOx of an air pollutant is treated as an inventory reference item, and a relative ratio of the value of another inventory item to the value of the reference item is obtained as a conversion table. Further, in ships, COD of water pollutants is handled as a reference item of inventory, and a relative ratio of the values of other inventory items to the value of the reference item is obtained as a conversion table.

  If such a conversion table is obtained, in inventory surveys, for example, NOx for automobiles and COD for ships can be estimated for other inventory items. Can be reduced. In addition, by changing the standard items according to the type of evaluation target, the items that have a high environmental impact or the items that should be studied in a priority manner are adopted as the standard items when designing or manufacturing the evaluation target. be able to. This allows for a more environmentally friendly design.

  Further, the conversion table storage unit DB3 may store different conversion tables adopting different reference items for each stage of the life cycle from production of a material to manufacture, distribution, use, and disposal of a product. Good.

  By the way, the conversion table in the above description is a conversion table of the values of other items with respect to the value of the reference item for each inventory at each stage of the life cycle to be evaluated. That is, the reference item is set for each stage of the life cycle, and the conversion coefficient is obtained by the ratio of the value of the reference item and the value of the other item.

  However, among evaluation objects having similar functions, properties, or sizes, not only inventory values at a stage in the life cycle but also values at other stages in the life cycle have the same tendency. For example, between the evaluation targets of the same product group, the same product name, and the same model name, the ratio between the inventory value at one stage of the life cycle and the inventory value at the other stage is the same.

  Therefore, the conversion table calculation unit 16 uses the inventory value at a stage in the life cycle of the evaluation target as the reference item value, and converts the value of each item in the inventory at the other stage of the life cycle with respect to the value of the reference item. A table may be obtained. Then, the conversion table storage unit DB3 stores the conversion table, and the environmental load conversion unit 13 applies the stored conversion table to an evaluation object having a similar function, property, or size. Good.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table when the inventory value at a stage in the life cycle of the hardware product is used as the reference item value.
In the example of the conversion table in FIG. 19, in the inventory shown in FIG. 14, when the value of each item in the inventory in “material production”, which is one stage in the life cycle of a certain hardware product, is the value of the reference item An example of a conversion table is shown. That is, the value of each item of inventory in “material production” is 1 (1.00E + 00). The value of each item in the inventory at the other stage of the life cycle is given as a conversion coefficient indicating a relative ratio when the value of each item of “material production” is 1.

It should be noted that inventory values at other stages of the hardware product life cycle (for example, physical distribution and specifications) may be used as reference item values.
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table when an inventory value at a stage in the life cycle of a software product or a solution product is used as a reference item value.

  In the example of the conversion table of FIG. 20, in the inventory shown in FIG. 15, the value of each item in the inventory in “planning design”, which is one stage of the life cycle of a certain software product or solution product, is set as the value of the reference item. An example of a conversion table is shown. That is, the value of each item in the inventory in “plan design” is 1 (1.00E + 00). The value of each item in the inventory at the other stage of the life cycle is given as a conversion coefficient indicating a relative ratio when the value of each item of “planning design” is 1.

Note that the value of the inventory in another stage (for example, development, manufacturing, operation, etc.) of the software product or solution product life cycle may be used as the reference item value.
By using this conversion table, when investigating the inventory items to be evaluated that have similar functions, properties, or sizes, if the values of the inventory items at a stage in the life cycle are known, The value of each item in the inventory at this stage can be estimated.

  For example, when the conversion table as shown in FIG. 19 is used, if the value of each item of the “material production” inventory is known, the other stages of the hardware product life cycle (product production, logistics, use and The value of each item in the (Disposal) inventory can be estimated.

  In addition, when the conversion table as shown in FIG. 20 is used, if the value of each item of the “plan and design” inventory is known, other stages of the life cycle of the software product or solution product (development manufacturing, operation, maintenance) The value of each item in the inventory can be estimated.

Therefore, the process related to inventory survey can be greatly reduced.
In the examples of FIGS. 19 and 20, the value of each item in the inventory at a stage in the life cycle to be evaluated is the value of the reference item, but the value of one item in the inventory is the value of the reference item. You may do it.

  In that case, the conversion table calculation unit 16 compares the value of one reference item of the inventory at a stage in the life cycle with the other items of the inventory at the stage of the life cycle and the values of the items of the inventory at the other stage. Find the conversion table. Then, the conversion table storage unit DB3 stores the conversion table, and the environmental load conversion unit 13 applies the stored conversion table to an evaluation object having a similar function, property, or size.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conversion table when the value of one item of inventory at a stage in the life cycle of the hardware product is set as the value of the reference item.
In the example of the conversion table in FIG. 21, in the inventory shown in FIG. 14, the value of the energy consumption of the inventory in “material production”, which is one stage of the life cycle of a certain hardware product, is the reference item value. An example of a conversion table is shown. That is, the value of the energy consumption of the inventory in “material production” is 1 (1.00E + 00). The values of the other items in the inventory of “material production” and the inventory items in other stages of the life cycle are the relative ratios when the energy consumption value of “material production” is 1. It is given as a conversion factor.

The item set as the reference item is not limited to energy consumption, but may be, for example, CO ₂ , or the value of an arbitrary item in the inventory at another stage of the hardware product life cycle (for example, logistics or specifications). May be the value of the reference item.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a conversion table when the value of one item of inventory at a stage in the life cycle of the software product or solution product is set as the value of the reference item.

  In the example of the conversion table of FIG. 22, in the inventory shown in FIG. 15, the conversion table when the energy consumption value of the inventory in the “planning design” of the life cycle of a certain software product or solution product is the value of the reference item. An example of is shown. That is, the value of the energy consumption of the inventory in “plan design” is 1 (1.00E + 00). The values of the other items in the inventory in “Planning and Design” and the inventory items in other stages of the life cycle are converted to indicate the relative ratio when the value of energy consumption in “Planning and Design” is 1. Is given as a coefficient.

Note that the item set as the reference item is not limited to energy consumption, and may be, for example, CO ₂ , and the value of any item in the inventory of other stages in the life cycle of the software product or solution product is set as the reference item value. Also good.

  Using such a conversion table, when investigating each item in the inventory to be evaluated that has similar functions, properties, or sizes, if the value of one item in the inventory at a stage in the life cycle is known, The value of all items including the inventory of the stage can be estimated.

  For example, when the conversion table as shown in FIG. 21 is used, if the energy consumption value of the “material production” inventory is known, the values of other items of the “material production” inventory and other stages ( Product inventory, product distribution, use, and disposal) can be estimated.

  In addition, when the conversion table as shown in FIG. 22 is used, if the energy consumption value of the “planned design” inventory is known, the values of other items of the “planned design” inventory and other stages (development manufacturing) , Operation, maintenance) inventory values can be estimated.

Therefore, the process related to inventory survey can be further reduced.
Regarding the business activities described above, when a multi-stage inventory corresponding to each stage of the above life cycle is required, it is the same as when hardware products, software products or solution products are applied as evaluation targets. This method can be applied.

By the way, the environmental load evaluation apparatus 10 of this Embodiment and the processing content shown in FIGS. 5-7 are realizable with the following computers.
FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of computer hardware used in this embodiment.

  The computer 100 is entirely controlled by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101. The CPU 101 realizes functions of each unit of the environmental load evaluation apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 by controlling a RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 and a plurality of peripheral devices connected via the bus 108.

  The RAM 102 is used as a main storage device of the computer 100. The RAM 102 temporarily stores at least part of an OS (Operating System) program and application programs to be executed by the CPU 101. The RAM 102 stores various data used for processing by the CPU 101.

  Peripheral devices connected to the bus 108 include a hard disk drive (HDD) 103, a graphic processing device 104, an input interface 105, an optical drive device 106, and a communication interface 107.

  The HDD 103 magnetically writes and reads data to and from the built-in disk. The HDD 103 is used as a secondary storage device of the computer 100. The HDD 103 stores various data in addition to the OS program and application programs. Moreover, the evaluation object storage unit DB1, the environmental load information storage unit DB2, and the conversion table storage unit DB3 illustrated in FIG. 1 can be realized by a database created in the HDD 103, for example. Note that a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory can also be used as the secondary storage device.

  A monitor 104 a corresponding to the display unit 15 in FIG. 1 is connected to the graphic processing device 104. The graphic processing device 104 displays, for example, a graph such as inventory contents and environmental load calculation results on the screen of the monitor 104a in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 101. Examples of the monitor 104a include a display device using a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and a liquid crystal display device.

  A keyboard 105 a and a mouse 105 b are connected to the input interface 105. The input interface 105 transmits signals sent from the keyboard 105a and the mouse 105b to the CPU 101. Note that the mouse 105b is an example of a pointing device, and other pointing devices can also be used. Examples of other pointing devices include a touch panel, a tablet, a touch pad, and a trackball.

  The optical drive device 106 reads data recorded on the optical disc 106a using laser light or the like. The optical disk 106a is a portable recording medium on which data is recorded so that it can be read by reflection of light. The optical disk 106a includes a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a DVD-RAM, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a CD-R (Recordable) / RW (ReWritable), and the like.

  The communication interface 107 is connected to the network 107a. The communication interface 107 transmits / receives data to / from other computers or communication devices via the network 107a. Information stored in the evaluation object storage unit DB1, the environmental load information storage unit DB2, and the conversion table storage unit DB3 illustrated in FIG. 1 can be acquired from another computer via the network 107a.

The processing functions of the present embodiment can be realized by the hardware as described above.
Note that the environmental load evaluation apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be realized using a plurality of computers having the hardware illustrated in FIG. 23, for example.

  As mentioned above, although one viewpoint of the environmental load evaluation apparatus and the environmental load evaluation method of this invention has been demonstrated based on embodiment, these are only examples and are not limited to said description.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Environmental load evaluation apparatus 11 Input part 12 Evaluation object determination part 13 Environmental load conversion part 14 Output part 15 Display part 16 Conversion table calculation part DB1 Evaluation object storage part DB2 Environmental load information storage part DB3 Conversion table storage part

Claims (10)

A conversion table storage unit for storing a conversion table of values of other items with respect to values of reference items in the environmental load inventory to be evaluated;
An input unit that receives input of the value of the reference item in another evaluation target;
Based on the conversion table, from the value of the input reference item, an environmental load conversion unit that calculates the value of the other item in the other evaluation target,
An environmental load evaluation apparatus comprising:   The environmental load evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the environmental load conversion unit uses the conversion table for the other evaluation object having a function, property, or size similar to the evaluation object. . The value of the reference item is a value of one or more items of the environmental load inventory in one stage of the life cycle of the evaluation target,
The conversion table storage unit stores a conversion table including a conversion coefficient of a value of each item of the environmental load inventory at another stage of the life cycle with respect to the value of the reference item. 2. The environmental load evaluation apparatus according to 2.   The environmental load evaluation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reference item is different depending on a type of the evaluation target. The evaluation object is a hardware product, and the conversion table is calculated based on the environmental load inventory of the hardware product,
The environmental load conversion unit calculates a value of the other item from a value of the reference item in a product having the same product group or product name as the hardware product based on the conversion table. Item 5. The environmental load evaluation device according to any one of Items 1 to 4. The evaluation object is a software product or a product including both a hardware product and a software product, and the conversion table is based on the environmental load inventory of the software product or a product including both the hardware product and the software product. Calculated to
The environmental load conversion unit, based on the conversion table, from the value of the reference item in the software product or the product including both the hardware product and the software product and the product of the same product group or product name, The environmental load evaluation device according to claim 1, wherein the value of the item is calculated. The evaluation object is a business activity of a predetermined period, and the conversion table is calculated based on the environmental load inventory in the business activity of the predetermined period,
The environmental load conversion unit calculates the value of the other item from the value of the reference item in the business activity in the same period after the predetermined period based on the conversion table. The environmental load evaluation apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6. The environmental load evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference item is CO ₂ generated by the evaluation target.   The environmental load evaluation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the reference item is energy consumption consumed by the evaluation target. In a state where the conversion table storage unit stores a conversion table of the values of other items relative to the values of the reference items in the environmental load inventory to be evaluated, the input unit inputs the values of the reference items in the other evaluation targets. Accept
An environmental load conversion method, wherein the environmental load conversion unit calculates the value of the other item in the other evaluation object from the input value of the reference item based on the conversion table.

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