Evaluate the environmental impact of a product, and view guidance on how to reduce
it.
This is achieved by focusing on two well-understood environmental stressors, energy
usage and climate change impact (sometimes referred to as CO2 footprint),
and identifying which of the main life phases (material, manufacture, transport,
use, and end-of-life) is most demanding of both.
Create an Eco Audit project by entering data for each of your product's components
and life phases, then run a report to analyze the environmental impact of each life
phase.
Note: Further information about Eco Audit calculations, and strategies for reducing
environmental impact can be read about in the
Selector Reference.
This document is only available to customers with an
Ansys ID.
To create a new Eco Audit project:
-
Click Eco Audit on the main toolbar.
All stages and settings in the Product definition are optional, however, the
more information you add, the more accurate the final report will be.
-
Enter a Name for the final product.
-
Define each Component used to make the end product:
| Option | Description |
|---|
| Quantity |
The number of the component in the product |
| Component name |
The name of the component |
| Material |
What material the component is made from |
| Recycled content |
The amount of recycled content in the component:
- Virgin content (0% recycled)
- Typical (% dependent on material)
- Reused part (complete component is reused)
- A custom value
|
| Mass |
The total mass of the component |
| Primary process |
The primary process used to create the component Note: Choice of
processes is limited by the chosen material, and are not applicable when
using a reused part. |
| Secondary process |
Any Secondary process used to create the component |
| % removed |
The amount of the material (if any) that is removed by the secondary
process |
| End of life |
Select the option for material recovery at product end of life.
- Landfill
- Combust
- Downcycle
- Recycle
- Re-manufacture
- Reuse
- None
|
| % recovered |
The amount of the material (if any) that can be recovered when the
product reaches end of life |
Note: To add or delete rows, right-click the row header, and click
Insert/Delete.
-
Enter further information about Joining and finishing processes:
| Option | Description |
|---|
| Name |
Identify the process |
| Process |
The type of joining and finishing process that is applied |
| Amount |
The amount of the process that is required |
| Unit |
The units to apply to the amount |
-
Under Transport, enter information about transporting and
distributing the product:
| Option | Description |
|---|
| Name |
Identify the transport |
| Transport type |
The type of transport being used |
| Distance (units) |
The distance traveled |
-
Under Use, enter information about how the product is used
during its lifetime, such as country of use, and information regarding energy
use or further transportation during the product lifetime.
-
To create a report:
- Click Summary chart to display the life phase
chart for the product.
- Click Detailed report to view a
component-by-component breakdown of each life phase.
Summary charts update dynamically as the product definition changes and new
products are added for comparison.
-
Save your work as a product definition
(*.prd) file. Eco Audit projects are not saved as part of a
selection project file, and must be saved separately.
Note:
You can continue working on saved Eco Audit projects by clicking
Open in the
Product
Definition and selecting a saved file. Any custom materials
saved in the file will be added to the Browse tree under
My
Records. If any have the same record name and identifier as
an existing record, but different property values, the version from the
.prd file being opened will have a number appended
to its name.
There are example eco audit projects installed in '..\Granta Selector\Samples\eco_audit'.
