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Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

www.cleanerproduction.net

A life-cycle framework to analyse business risk in process industry


projects
P.N. Sharratt ∗, P.M. Choong 1

Environmental Technology Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, UMIST, Manchester, UK

Received 25 October 2000; accepted 20 December 2001

Abstract

The chemical and related process industries are particularly exposed to high environmentally related costs arising from normal
operation and accidents, not only of their own processes but also other processes in their supply chains. A methodology (Process
environmental risk assessment—PERA) is presented for the assessment of all such risks during the design of new processes. This
can be seen as a project-centred risk assessment that seeks potential problems along the whole supply chain. Each activity, resource
use or waste source along the supply chain represents a potential interaction between the supply chain and the environment. These
potential interactions are identified systematically using a life-cycle based assessment. To assess the risk to the project or process
supply chain arising from those interactions the relevant stakeholders must be identified. Their likely response can then be considered
and ranked according to the risk it poses. The methodology facilitates the management and communication of risk, and is illustrated
by application to some aspects of the manufacture of PVC. The method could equally be applied to the assessment of existing
processes.  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Risk; Process design; Life cycle; Stakeholder

1. Introduction managed. Indeed, the project team that is usually


assembled to design new plants and processes is
The scope of environmentally-related issues that uniquely placed in the skills it has (process engineering
impact on business performance is growing. In the and chemistry, health, safety and environmental assess-
chemical and petroleum process industries, it is not only ment, business oversight etc.) to address the problem in
proven environmental impact that is costly, the percep- a coordinated way.
tion of harm can also cause problems. This leads directly The chemical process industries are unusual in that
to the need for more holistic approaches to risk assess- they are particularly exposed to actions arising from
ment during the process design, when the decisions that accidents and incidents as well as pressures on the
affect environmental performance are taken. expected environmental impacts of their ongoing activi-
The decisions taken during process design include not ties. For example, safety legislation in major hazard
only decisions that affect on-site environmental perform- chemical sites has been driven by the incidents at Flix-
ance, but also, through the selection of feedstocks, sup- borough and Seveso [1]. Further, the health, safety and
pliers, energy sources and transport systems, the indirect environment risks associated with these industries often
environmental impacts are determined. Clearly, the con- attract a ‘dread’ response from lay people.
sideration of these broader issues needs to be carried out The potential impacts on business performance arise
in a timely manner—alongside the process design through the actions of a wide range of stakeholders—
activity—so that any business risks can be identified and customers, governments, pressure groups, regulators,
neighbours, shareholders and the financial services sec-
tor, to name some of the more important ones. The

Corresponding author. Fax: +44-161-200-4399. impacts can arise in a number of ways, for example
E-mail address: paul.sharratt@umist.ac.uk (P.N. Sharratt).
1
Now at Croda International, Goole, Humberside, UK 앫 Changes in ongoing operating costs arising from

0959-6526/02/$ - see front matter  2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 5 9 - 6 5 2 6 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 0 3 - 3
480 P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

Nomenclature
BD block diagram;
CFCs chlorofluorocarbons;
EDC ethylene dichloride;
FMEA failure mode and effect analysis;
FS flowsheet;
G environmental pressure groups;
HAZOP hazard and operability study;
IPPC integrated pollution prevention and control;
LCA life cycle assessment;
P the general public;
PID piping and instrumentation diagram;
PERA process environmental risk assessment;
PVC poly vinyl chloride;
R local residents;
VCM vinyl chloride monomer.

(environmentally-related) action from government can produce useful insights in the early data-lean stages
or regulators of design. As design progresses, more detailed infor-
앫 Loss of license to operate as a result of unacceptable mation can be used to refine and update the picture pro-
ongoing or accident-related harm vided by the method.
앫 Higher cost of borrowing
앫 Difficulties in waste disposal
앫 Loss of image and thus customer confidence as a 2. Environmental risk management
result of accident(s).
A Europe-wide survey of major European organis-
These impacts can affect not only the process being ations by Ernst & Young [2] revealed that although risk
designed but also other activities in the supply chain over management is on the agenda of most companies, its
which the designers have much less direct control. implementation is ‘patchy and unmonitored’. They
Nevertheless, the problems can propagate both down and report that, unlike in the past when risks were largely
up the supply chain, both in terms of tangible issues such financial, future difficulties lie in the management of
as cost, and intangible issues such as public perception. non-financial risks—of which environmental risk is one.
A methodology is proposed to identify and assess the However, cost awareness is an impelling reason to assess
risks in a project that arise from environmental issues. environmental risks. A case study in the chemicals sector
A life-cycle framework is used to identify (but not [3] showed that although risks might technically be
necessarily quantify in the initial stages) the mass and within acceptance levels, the financial and reputation
energy flows associated with the activity throughout its impacts of those risks could cause considerable damage
life cycle. For each activity in the life cycle the relevant to a firm. As environmental risk management is gaining
environmental problems are identified. These fall into importance in firms, lenders and insurers are increasingly
two categories—those that arise from planned emissions taking an interest in the matter [4]. Poor environmental
and resource use and those that could arise from acciden- performance and risk management can undermine a
tal events. firm’s financial position and reduce stakeholders’ confi-
The method recognises that the impact on a company dence in the firm. Like their clients, the financial sector
arises not directly as a result of an event or situation, strives to develop strategies to cope with environmental
but to the actions of the company’s stakeholders in risk. Examples of such strategies for lenders are dis-
response to that event. For each environmental problem, cussed by Dennison [5].
the relevant stakeholders are identified and their poten- The insurance sector’s initial exposure to environmen-
tial response(s) considered. By ranking the importance tal risk issues occurred in tandem with the lending com-
of the responses and their seriousness, it is possible to munity’s growing interests in environmental issues [6].
prioritise the identified risks in order of importance to The concerns of a process extend beyond the site’s
the company. boundaries. Recently, it has been shown that environ-
The methodology has been designed to work along- mental problems can arise away from the manufacturing
side a typical process design methodology insofar as it site and are linked to other parts of a product supply
P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493 481

chain or life-cycle. For instance, the liabilities that Shell The methodology recognises that it is essential that
incurred over the Brent Spar incident [7] prove that dis- stakeholder perspectives be incorporated into the
posal is an important issue that reflects the ‘eco- decision-making process for well-informed decisions.
efficiency’ of a process. Fluorinated materials, Their interests and perceptions are input into the meth-
developed as fire extinguishants to replace materials odology by using the stakeholders as prompts to ident-
banned under the Montreal Protocol, have been disco- ify risks.
vered to be contributors to environmental damage, not The methodology supports Schaltegger et al.’s [13]
only through use of the products themselves, but also definition of a stakeholder of a company as an individual
through several steps in the manufacturing process [8]. or a group who has an interest in the company because
The life-cycle concept is becoming more popular as he can affect, or is affected by the company’s activities.
governments and industry increasingly recognise its Of the stakeholders, the most ‘manageable’ ones are
value. The US and UK governments are encouraging the those having the most straightforward and predictable
evaluation of environmental impacts throughout the life- interests. These stakeholders have direct connections
cycle stages of a product [9]. The Body Shop [10] and with the company and, to a certain degree, their potential
Belfast City Council [11] have applied the life-cycle actions and reactions can be estimated. Their concerns
concept by imposing environmental selection criteria on lie within the company itself or in the immediate vicinity
their suppliers. of the process plant. Examples of such stakeholders are
Although the value of the life-cycle concept has been shareholders, regulators, managers, employees and
established, it is not widely used in the chemical process local residents.
industries to measure environmental performance [12]. Less manageable are those who are able to affect the
These observations indicate that the combination of company indirectly as well as directly. The firm is cap-
risk-based principles and life-cycle considerations are able of responding to stakeholders who have direct deal-
beneficial to environmental management, may it be at ings with it, but have less control over the indirect
the corporate level or a process project level. The review effects. For instance, customers and suppliers who
also shows that environmental issues are the interest of encounter environmental liabilities in their businesses
a range of stakeholders associated with a company. can influence the firm directly or indirectly.
The stakeholders that are least manageable are those
3. Elements of the methodology who have diverse interests that span the industry. For
instance, the media, environmental pressure groups, the
The PERA methodology is built on three ‘building national government and the general public tend to view
blocks’—risk concepts, stakeholders and life-cycle industry as a whole and have little reason to discern
assessment (LCA). It is intended for decision support between different processes. The firm is most exposed
rather than pointing to a single definitive answer—ulti- to these stakeholders as it has little direct contact with
mately the decisions taken during design will be based them. It is usually not perceived as an individual com-
on judgement as to the balance of risk and against the pany, but collectively, with other companies, as an
context of company strategy. PERA aims to help collec- industry. This is potentially risky. For instance, consider
tion, processing and communication of the data required corporate image; the firm’s image is often displaced by
to have an appropriate appreciation of the environmental the image of the industry.
context of a decision. Decisions are continually being The PERA methodology uses the stakeholder concept
made from the conception of a project through to its ter- systematically to identify the environmental issues to
mination. which a firm is exposed. These issues can be connected
Decisions pertaining to environmental issues are just to relevant stakeholders and prioritised according to the
one of many that have to be considered. Since environ- degree of stakeholder importance.
mental issues are many and varied, the environmental The response of a company to its stakeholders’ inter-
perspective has to be evaluated in relation to other fac- ests depends on the relative importance of a particular
tors such as the health, safety and economic aspects of stakeholder to the company’s overall strategy. The prior-
a project. The ideal is to achieve a desired balance of all itisation of stakeholders would allow management to
the issues surrounding a project and to make decisions decide which environmental problem to resolve and
according to this balance of priorities. when. This will lead to a more effective management of
The needs of a process project evolve with time. the firm’s risks and a better utilisation of the firm’s
Hence, process data that are used to make decisions also resources.
change in terms of quality and quantity. This implies Stakeholders’ interests are not the only factor that
that decision-makers utilising decision tools would either needs to be considered in risk assessment and manage-
need a combination of tools that have different levels ment. Another factor is the perception of stakeholders
of data requirement, or a single tool that accommodates concerning the risks involved in environmental issues.
changing data levels. Apostolakis and Bell [14] report that stakeholder
482 P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

involvement is the “first and most important step in into the methodology with the intention of allowing
effective risk assessment and management”. According PERA to support a project throughout its life-cycle.
to Kolluru and Brooks [15], decisions that are needed
to manage risks appropriately should be based on the
assessment of risks as well as on the way people think 5. The project life-cycle
about risks.
A practical, holistic and useful environmental risk A chemical process project’s life-cycle begins at con-
assessment for the process industry should not exclude ception and ends at the decommissioning of the plant
any of the human, environmental and economic compo- [16]. This work concentrates on the initial stages of the
nents surrounding the process. Having a scope that is not life-cycle, that is, the consideration of the project as a
solely focussed on natural ecosystems, PERA then has capital investment proposal and the design and develop-
a broader scope than environmental risk assessment. ment activities of the process.
Nevertheless, the term ‘environmental risk assessment’ The design and development activities have been div-
is retained. ided into three stages (Fig. 2): the Block Diagram stage
PERA has been developed primarily with the needs (BD), the Flowsheet Stage (FS), and the Piping and
of the process industries in mind, and in particular the Instrumentation Diagram (PID) stage. The stages were
assessment of new investments. However, it could equ- categorised by the outputs of the design and develop-
ally be used to review existing processes for their ment activity, rather than on the type of activity. The
exposure to risks arising from environmental issues PERA methodology could be worked through at any of
(both real and perceived). The method could also be these stages—indeed, for projects carrying serious con-
adapted to assessment of other complex systems—for cerns, the methodology would be applied at each of the
example agricultural production—that are exposed to stages—each time using the more refined data available
risks throughout a complex supply chain. to produce a clearer picture of the project environmental
LCA, in a variety of forms, is a widely used and fam- risk. Depending on the possibility of end-of-life environ-
iliar tool. However, the use of the LCA in association mental liabilities, the method could also be applied to
with a risk assessment has not been established in indus- activities envisaged at the decommissioning phase.
try.
5.1. Stage 1: Definition of objectives and planning

4. Overall structure of methodology The main purpose of this stage is to focus the risk
assessment on the intended outcome of the methodology.
The PERA methodology consists of four stages, as As well as understanding this in the context of the full
illustrated in Fig. 1. set of decisions (economic, safety, commercial) that sur-
The bold arrows indicate progression between the round the planned investment, objectives specific to cur-
stages. The iterative loops between Stages 2–4 allow for rent stage of the project’s life-cycle should be identified
the return to a previous stage in the event of a refinement (eg selection of feedstock).
to the assessment. The dotted arrow between Stage 4 and
Stage 1 shows the completion of an assessment at one
design stage and the beginning of the next assessment
at the following design stage. This feature was integrated

Fig. 1. Overall structure of the methodology. Fig. 2. The process project life-cycle.
P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493 483

With objectives defined it is possible to plan the This assessment phase is described in more detail
assessment activity. below.
The outcomes of Stage 1 are
5.4. Stage 4: Decision-making, management action
앫 The scope of the activity and appraisal
앫 Allocation of required resources—costs and time
The results of the risk assessment are used to aid the
앫 Involvement of personnel, including number and
decision-maker to fulfil the objectives stated in Stage 1
quality of the staff involved.
of the methodology. A review of the results should
assess the effectiveness of the methodology and look for
5.2. Stage 2: Data collection
any areas that need further refinement in the next cycle
of design.
The data that are eventually collected result from a
compromise between time, level of detail achieved and
data collection costs. At the start of the methodology, 6. Risk assessment procedures
not all the information needed for detailed risk esti-
mation and risk evaluation exist or can be procured. A first step in the risk assessment is the establishment
Thus, the data collection, risk estimation and risk evalu- of an Estimation Profile. The Estimation Profile summar-
ation stages are iterative until enough information is ises a company’s criteria for risk acceptance. The main
obtained for the assessment activities to be conducted objectives of generating the Profile are to categorise
effectively. issues by severity and to support prioritisation for further
action. Table 1 shows an example of a qualitative Esti-
5.3. Stage 3: Risk assessment Table 1
A typical estimation profile
The main activities of the risk assessment lie in Stage
3. Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of the procedures for this LIKELIHOOD
stage. Two types of risks are being assessed by this IMPACT Low Medium High
methodology—incident risks and steady-state risks. The
flowchart illustrates how the risk estimation activity con- Low Insignificant Accept Accept
Medium Tolerate Tolerate Tolerate
tinues into risk evaluation and eventually leads to the High Significant Significant Significant
point where risk management can occur.

Fig. 3. Risk assessment and management stages.


484 P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

mation Profile. The divisions show the acceptability cri- For the risk evaluation activity, the outputs are a Pri-
teria of the risks, which will then be used to suggest a ority List of Stakeholders and an Evaluation Profile. The
level of risk management effort. priority lists show the importance of the stakeholders to
the company and the degree of attention given to a
6.1. Procedures to assess incident risks consequence arising from a hazard.
The incident risk assessment procedure is summarised
Industry-standard hazard identification techniques in Table 5.
[1,16] such as checklists, HAZOP and FMEA (Failure
Mode and Effect Analysis) are already widely used in 6.2. Procedures to assess steady-state risks
the process industries identify and rank the risk of abnor-
mal operation and accidents (Table 2). Relevant results The steady-state risk assessment aims to evaluate the
from these would be used directly as an input to the exposure of the process to environmental issues,
methodology. Of course, if it was not planned at a parti- assuming that the process falls within regulatory con-
cular stage of design to carry out a study to obtain the straints for normal operations. Life-Cycle Assessment
relevant information, PERA would identify the need. (LCA) is a tool that is able to identify potential issues
The outputs of the risk estimation activity are then throughout a product’s life-cycle and provide
compared with the criteria on the Estimation Profile to qualitative/quantitative data to support the steady-state
generate a Priority List of Hazard/Consequences. Note risk assessment. The overall methodology is summarised
that this list does not yet fully assess the stakeholders’ in Table 6.
views on the possible incidents. Typically, only the regu- The outputs of the assessment are a Priority List of
latory authorities’ views would be considered, and then Stakeholder/Consequences and an Evaluation Profile.
only in the context of the process to be built on the oper-
ator’s site. Although it is not a complete assessment of 6.3. Evaluation profile
the risk, this is the stage at which most process industry
assessments end. The Evaluation Profiles for Incident and steady-state
PERA continues by identifying the relevant stake- risks summarise the importance of the consequence
holders. Note that one of the main stakeholders affected against the importance of the stakeholder to the organis-
by incident risks is the natural environment. Treating the ation.
natural environment/ecology as a stakeholder to the pro- The Evaluation Profile identifies
cess allows the assessment of toxicological effects on
ecology to be put into context of this risk assessment 앫 Who is affected by the hazard/consequence
methodology. 앫 The importance of the hazard
The identification of stakeholders and their reactions 앫 The value of the stakeholder to the company.
can be supported by the use of checklists. Example
checklists (modified from [17] and [18]) are presented 6.4. Information required
in Table 3 and Table 4. The list of stakeholders is prior-
itised by importance to the company under criteria relat- Overall, the risk assessment relies on three types of
ing to company policy. information,

Table 2
Selection of commonly used tools for process assessment during design

Impact type Function Category


Identification Option-Selection Assessment of Final Design

Incidents Checklist What-If Analysis Checklist


What-If Analysis Relative Ranking FMEA
HAZOP FTA & ETA
FMEA QRA
FTA & ETA
Steady-State Checklist What-If Analysis Checklist
Relative Ranking ELF
ELF ENVOP
ENVOP EB
BPEO BPEO
Impact Vector Impact Vector
EB Value Engineering
OD Emission Factors
P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493 485

Table 3
Checklist of stakeholders and their concerns

Stakeholder Possible Direct/Indirect Consequences to the Firm


Environment Harmful effects to possible environmental receptors

General Public, Geographical Damage to human health—acute and chronic effects to physical and mental health and well being (may
Neighbours, Employees include access to amenity benefits of the environment)
Loss of life—prompt and delayed fatality
Loss of employee morale and confidence—negative effects on work performance
Suppliers, Clients Commercial effects—loss of production, sales or market share
Loss of stakeholder confidence—damage to company image and credibility
Insurance Companies, Creditors, Loss of financial standing—incur costs of accidents/other damage, cost of capital increases, loss of
Shareholders stakeholder confidence
Damage to assets—damage to plant equipment and infrastructure
Management Loss of management time—diversion of management from key functions
Loss of management credibility
Regulators Incur fines, liabilities (environmentally—related areas or not), law suits...etc
Media, Environmental Pressure Attract adverse attention and pressure—damage to company image, allocation of resources for response
Groups actions
National Government, Voluntary Implementation of tighter environmental policies
Groups
Obedience to voluntary agreements and code of practices

Table 4
The environment as a stakeholder—checklist of possible effects

Receptors Aspects

Air and Atmosphere Air quality, composition of atmosphere, visibility, odour


Water Resources Freshwater (surface and underground), sea water, marine resources
Water Bodies Size and situation of water bodies, e.g. lakes, rivers, reservoirs
Soil Classification and/or quality, risk of erosion and landslides, water run-off, potential for contamination (waste
disposal..etc)
Geology Rock types, mineral resources
Landscape Characteristics and quality of rural and urban landscapes
Climate Temperature, windflow, rainfall...etc
Energy Changes in electro-magnetic radiation, light pollution, noise, vibration
The Cultural Heritage Urban and rural conservation areas, built heritage, historic and archaeological sites
Other Living Organisms Birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and invertebrates, aquatic and terrestrial vegetation

Table 5 Table 6
Incident risk assessment process Steady-state risk assessment

1. Identify hazards 1. Carry out LCA to appropriate level (ranging from


2. Identify potential consequences identification and approximate inventory construction at BD
3. Identify magnitude and frequency for each of the level, to complete at detailed design)
consequences 2. Identify stakeholders affected by the business activity (the
4. Prioritise the consequences using Estimation Profile process)
5. Identify affected stakeholders 3. Identify consequences to stakeholders (by use of what-if
6. Use what-if scenarios to generate consequences to scenarios, checklists etc)
stakeholders and their likely reactions 4. Estimate impact on the process/business and likelihood of
7. Estimate impact on project/business and likelihood of the the consequences
consequences 5. Prioritise the consequences based on the Estimation Profile
8. Use Priority List of Stakeholders and Priority List of 6. Use Priority List of Stakeholders and Priority List of
Hazard/Consequences to generate an Evaluation Profile Stakeholder/Consequences to generate an Evaluation Profile

앫 Information regarding the process itself (BD, FS or The method does not define the methods by which the
a PID) information should be collected or generated, but rather
앫 Information regarding the product’s life-cycle provides a means of identifying what is needed and coor-
앫 Information regarding the stakeholders of the process. dinating its analysis.
486 P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

7. Application to design centrates on the development of the process and plant


itself. The design of auxiliary systems focusses on
The design activity begins soon after a proposal for a details such as plant layout, on/off-site transportation
new process/product emerges. If the project is part of requirements and material inventory and storage. Auxili-
the investment-seeking activities of a company, it is ary systems should be constructed with equal attention
probable that the initial stages of the project’s life-cycle from the early stages of design, rather than as an after-
overlaps with the investment selection activities of the thought. Leiss [21] cites an instance when the inventory
company’s capital budgeting process. It is worth noting of an operational plant had to be redesigned after a risk
that a project’s life-cycle would begin even before the assessment was carried out at the site. This would have
proposal is fully approved. been avoided by early risk assessment.
Most environmental impacts of a process are the result
of decisions that are made during the initial stages of
design [19]. Decisions taken at the BD and FS stages of 8. Case study—PVC
a project’s life-cycle (Fig. 2) are strategic decisions that
are usually costly to modify at the PID and operating PVC is an inert, non-toxic material [22] that is com-
stages of the project. mercially manufactured by the polymerisation of vinyl
The focus of environmental considerations for process chloride monomer (VCM). PVC currently has wide-
design has widened to include issues involving both spread applications in the transport, packaging,
upstream and downstream processes and products. For electrical/electronic and health-care industries, among
example, energy usage along the product life-cycle others. Due to its versatile technical properties, PVC can
chain, impacts of raw material acquisition and disposal be used to manufacture a variety of different products.
methods of end-products are just a few issues that need For instance, its low permeability to gases makes it ideal
to be considered by the design team. This is increasingly for packaging, and its inertness is essential for contact
driven by legislation, for example the IPPC directive with food, water and medical products. Additionally,
[20] requires consideration of direct and indirect emis- PVC’s mechanical strength and chemical resistance
sions. The effect of these issues on the design of the makes it suitable for the construction industry. Further
plant’s operating systems may not be direct or apparent. examples of PVC applications and associated user-
However, they are issues that are related to the environ- industries are listed in Table 7.
mental performance of the process when considered as PVC has come under tremendous scrutiny by environ-
a part of the firm’s business portfolio, or as a member mental pressure groups, governments, trade bodies and
of the life-cycle chain that can affect or be affected by public interest groups which question the health and
industry. environmental effects of PVC. In continental Western
The changing criteria of ‘green’ designs could also be Europe, campaigns against PVC have been most intense
attributed to the growing involvement of stakeholders in in Scandinavia and German-speaking countries [23].
environmental issues. The consideration of stakeholders’ Among the environmental lobbying and campaign
interests during process design reduces the exposure to groups Greenpeace aggressively focuses on anti-PVC
stakeholder-related problems when the process is in and anti-chlorine issues [23,24].
operation. To integrate stakeholders’ concerns into As PVC has no known toxic effects, the issues of
design decisions, the need arises to understand what the
interests are and the appropriate timings to do so within Table 7
the design stages. For instance, shareholders and credi- Uses of PVC in Western Europe [46]
tors would be interested in the on-going operation of the
process (steady-state)—information on which is avail- Application % End-Use Industry %
able at approximately the FS level. The local residents
Pipes and fittings 27 Building and construction 50
and the natural environment are example of stakeholders Rigid profiles 14 Packaging 18
whose (environmental, health and safety) concerns need Film and sheet 11 Wire, cable, electrical 10
to be considered right from the beginning of design, that Cables and wires 9 Transport 4
is, at the BD level. Bottles 9 Leisure 3
The comparison of risks can be used to help make Flexible film and sheet 8 Furniture, office equipment 3
Flooring 6 Clothing and footwear 3
decisions regarding design options PERA could be used, Coatings 4 Other uses (none more than 9
for example, to characterise the environmental perform- 1%)
ance of a design option, allowing cost-benefit decisions Flexible tubes and 4
to be taken on risk control. profiles
The design and development phase can be considered Footwear 2
Records 1
under two categories: the mainstream design activity and Other uses 5
the design of auxiliary systems. Mainstream design con-
P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493 487

interest are usually related to its residual monomers or In this case study, PERA is illustrated as a tool to aid
other materials associated with its manufacture, use and decisions for a new process development. Note that this
disposal [22]. They usually fall under the categories of evaluation is for the purpose of illustration only, and its
concerns on PVC identified by Titow [25]—the environ- results and conclusions would not necessarily be repro-
mental and health effects of VCM and some constituents duced should a PVC manufacturer undertake a similar
of PVC compositions, the toxicity of PVC combustion study.
products and the problem of PVC waste. A Company X has decided to expand its operations
The debate concerning the use of certain phthalates by investing in a new process to manufacture PVC solid
possessing endocrine-disrupting properties as PVC plas- resins. Design is at the very early stages. The aim of
ticisers is still very much a topical issue. Another con- PERA is to produce an initial risk profile to assist in
cern is the content of heavy metals in PVC products, the decision-making activities in the early stages, and to
which are present as stabilisers and pigment additives. identify areas where communication with stakeholders
Although the current legislative and political positions is necessary. At these initial stages of project review, it
on such stabilisers are favourable, their use still provokes is assumed that the proposal would not be developed in
controversy. The presence of hydrogen chloride and detail and the quality of information available regarding
chlorinated hydrocarbons in combustion flue gases has the project would be, at best, at the block diagram level.
also fuelled the discussion surrounding PVC products Hence, PERA utilised block diagram data and infor-
and their methods of disposal. At present, incinerating mation available from the literature for the case study.
PVC remains a sensitive topic though experts, for The scope of PERA for this study has been limited to
example Titow [25], emphasise that the incineration of the evaluation of the risks that may adversely impact
waste PVC is not among the significant causes of atmos- upon the business and the image of Company X.
pheric pollution. Process-related concerns revolve Assuming that the process can be designed to regulatory
around the environmental performance of processes that standards, PERA assesses the vulnerability of the pro-
are associated with PVC production. Attention is placed cess to environmental issues arising from external
on emission levels of substances that have potential sources—concentrating on the assessment of steady state
environmental and health effects. For example, NCBE risks. The consideration of accident risks is omitted to
[26] summarised the key issues associated with the save space and because as it is more familiar to the
manufacturing processes of PVC blends, which are: industry.

앫 the formation and of ‘dioxins and furans’ and their 8.1. The scenario
potential release to air, water and in solid or heavy
residues The PVC plant is being designed to produce solid
앫 the release of ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride and PVC resin in batches for a wide range of applications,
other light chlorinated organic materials and is to be operated as a 24-hour plant. Although siting
앫 the release of ethylene and other hydrocarbons for the plant is usually not confirmed at this stage, there
앫 the production of liquid and solid chlorinated residues are a few reasonable assumptions that can be made:
앫 the release of mercury from chlorine manufacture
앫 the release of copper (from catalysts) to water 앫 local community exists within sight of the plant
앫 the release of PVC dust to air and water 앫 residents look to the plant as a source of employment
앫 releases associated with the manufacture and pro- 앫 Company X has a moderate public profile and is
cessing of organic and inorganic additives. established in industry
앫 there are no highly sensitive environmental receptors
The above indicates that the potential effects of such surrounding the plant, such as forest reserves and
environmental issues on the PVC industry are numerous wildlife parks
and diverse. Although a vast majority of the issues are 앫 there are no publicly known contamination issues
not about the PVC polymer itself, the resin manufactur- regarding the previous usage of the site.
ing process is indirectly affected by impacts on the
upstream and downstream stages of the PVC chain. 8.1.1. Data collection
Indeed, LCA has been known to show that most of a Based on studies of the PVC life-cycle by EVC [28]
manufacturing firm’s environmental impacts occur out- and Hydro [29], Fig. 4 was developed to model the life-
side the product manufacturing activities [27]. cycle of PVC. Feedstock recovery is only technically
For PVC, these issues have implications on the types demonstrated at the pilot scale at present, and is rep-
of risks and potential consequences that affect not only resented by dotted lines. PVC recycling is currently not
the design and operation of the polymer’s manufacturing widespread and is indicated by a dashed arrow. The life-
process, but its management as a business activity cycle was divided by activity (or stage) and each activity
involving other stakeholders. analysed for potential issues that might impact on the
488 P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

Fig. 4. Flowchart of PVC life-cycle.

solid resin production. Table 8 identifies the main 8.1.2. Stakeholders


material and energy input/output streams for the stages In this case study, the stakeholders identified were the
in the life-cycle. Short profiles were compiled regarding ones with interests in the early stages of capital invest-
a few stakeholders. A variety of methods such as ques- ment decisions.
tionnaires, focus groups and interviews could have been The stakeholders that have the most concerns with
used to compile the profiles. For this case study, the pro- capital investment decisions are identified to be:
files were developed using literature sources and Internet
websites. The profiles are general in nature and serve as 앫 employees and management
references to enable probable scenarios to be identified 앫 shareholders
for the steady-state risk assessment in PERA. 앫 lenders

Table 8
Main input/output streams of the PVC life-cycle

Process Unit Main Input Streams Main Output Streams

1 Ethylene Plant natural gas ethylene, propylene and other HC by-products


2 Chlorine Plant salt, electricity chlorine, sodium hydroxide by-product
3 EDC/VCM Plant ethylene, chlorine, hydrogen chloride from VCM, chloro-hydrocarbons to incinerator
incinerator
4 PVC Resin Production VCM, steam, gas, electricity PVC, solid waste, process emissions and effluents
5 Formulation Production PVC, additives, steam, electricity PVC formulations
6 PVC Product Manufacture PVC formulations plastic products
7 Product Lifetime plastic products solid waste
8 Incineration solid waste electricity to national grid, steam for local use,
residues to landfill
9 Feedstock Recovery solid waste residues to landfill
10 Landfill solid waste, residues from incineration and leaching of additives
feedstock recovery
P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493 489

앫 the national government and local authorities 8.1.2.3. Lenders Financiers are concerned with key
앫 the public. areas such as historical contamination, operations com-
pliance, spills and emergencies and third party liability—
The following paragraphs present example profiles of all of which can be assessed as a steady-state or incident
each stakeholder. risk. These risks can have direct or indirect impacts on
the financier. Direct impacts occur when the lender
becomes responsible for the environmental costs of a site
8.1.2.1. Employees and management Employees and belonging to a client. The lender is also affected
management have long been important considerations in indirectly when the borrower faces difficulties paying the
capital investment decisions. According to Pike and loan, due to its weakened financial position caused by
Neale [30], major projects create structural changes in environmentally-related issues. There is also a possi-
the workforce and ignored ‘people problems’ can con- bility of damage to the reputation of the bank due to its
tribute towards the failure of a project to meet original association with projects and borrowers who are thought
expectations. to be ‘environmentally unfriendly’.
The increasing recognition of the importance of cul- To protect themselves against such impacts, lenders
tural and behavioural aspects of safety management can are imposing more stringent conditions on their loan
be extended to issues concerning the environment. The selections. The rejections of loans that are feared to
risks that employees perceive as threats to their well- result in environmental liabilities are not uncommon. An
being depends less on predicted physical outcomes than increasing number of banks—the Cooperative Bank is a
on their values, attitudes, social influences and cultural notable example [36]—have adopted policies of refusing
identity [31]. According to social studies, feelings of loans to businesses/projects that are suspected to be
familiarity, dread and control, amongst others, are fac- ‘environmentally unfriendly’.
tors that can influence risk tolerance [31,32]. For The PVC life-cycle involves the oil and gas, chemical,
instance, workers tend to underestimate risks from tasks consumer manufacturing, utilities and transport indus-
that they perform regularly and overestimate the risks of tries, all of which have been categorised as high environ-
infamous, infrequent and unfamiliar operations. mental risk industries under the Chartered Bankers’ [37]
Risk perceptions are very much a part of ‘people fac- categories. Hence, it is probable that creditors could be
tors’ and are important in achieving a holistic assessment especially cautious in their evaluation of Company X’s
of a new project proposal. By understanding how their PVC process proposal. This implies that in the event of
workforce think and feel about risks, a firm is in a better dept finance and depending on the size of the loan, Com-
position to predict events that might arise and adversely pany X needs to be responsive towards the requirements
affect their employees as well as the process. and actions of its creditors in order to minimise the risk
to its cost of capital.
8.1.2.2. Shareholders The owners of a firm are prim-
arily interested in the status of assets and the perform- 8.1.2.4. The national government and local authorities
ance of the business. Shareholders, are exerting pressures The national government and local authorities are two
on companies to improve their environmental perform- stakeholders who have the ability to impose constraints
ance in relation to production processes, products and on a process through economic and regulatory instru-
logistics [33]. The choice of investment projects indi- ments. A company intending to invest in a long-term
cates a company’s future profitability and environmental project needs to take into account the current legislative
performance and thus, to an extent, is influenced by the environment and anticipate for future policies and stan-
preference and satisfaction of the shareholders. dards. Such foresight is needed to minimise the risk of
Shareholders can, and have, expressed their dissatis- exposure to ‘externalities’ that are beyond the control of
faction on company practices through formal enquiries, the company.
demands for environmental reporting, dialogues, pro- Economic instruments [38] can be used to adjust the
tests, and the withdrawal of funds when their expec- cost of a natural resource, receiving environmental
tations are not met. For instance, Shell, RTZ and Pruden- medium or a product to be environmentally beneficial.
tial have all faced shareholder protests regarding the Economic tools that can be used as cost adjusters are
companies’ environmental policies and practices [34]. environmental taxes/charges, tradeable quantity
Ethical and ‘green’ investment funds are also gaining restrictions/tradeable permits, subsidies and deposit-
popularity among ‘environmental investors’ who are tar- refund systems. Regulatory instruments take the form of
geting companies with effective environmental manage- quality and quantity standards for resource usage and
ment practices. These funds use financial and environ- releases to receiving environmental media.
mental criteria for portfolio selection and are now The potential impacts of such governmental inter-
establishing a growing presence in the overall market vention on the design and operation of a new process
[35]. are evaluated by PERA as steady-state risks. The costs of
490 P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

ignoring such risks are high, and ranges from unexpected following public outrage over the initial decision [42].
expenditures on pollution abatement technologies to the Nike and Ikea, two companies that rely on product image
replacement of an entire plant to meet legislation. as a feature to secure consumer preference, have been
reported to have stopped using PVC and their decisions
8.1.2.5. The public The public is a group of stake- have influenced B&Q to reassess their supply chain [43].
holders comprising environmental pressure groups, the From these few examples, it can be seen that the gen-
local community surrounding the site, the media, and the eral public is able to affect a PVC resin manufacture by
‘general public’. The latter are members of society who the impacts that progress through the PVC life-cycle
do not have a direct interest in the company but are, in chain. Though they may not be of equal importance as
one way or another, consumers of PVC goods. lenders or employees with regard to capital investment
Rapid communication and accessible resources have decisions, it is clear that in the context of environmental
led society to become more informed about the problems issues, well-informed decisions should not fail to con-
and hazards of industrial processes and their products sider the interests of the general public.
[39]. Using the media as a communication mechanism,
these groups of ‘the public’ are able to interchange infor- 8.1.2.8. Environmental pressure groups Organis-
mation. However, apart from the exchange of factual ations like Friends of the Earth (FoE) and Greenpeace
knowledge, there also exists the ability to misinterpret concentrate on lobbying and campaigning for environ-
or misrepresent information—unintentional or otherwise. mental causes that arise as a result of societal activities,
especially those of industry. Recent campaigns have had
8.1.2.6. Local residents The perceptions of local resi- a significant impact on changes such as the gradual
dents to the environmental risks (and health and safety) removal of lead from motor gasoline, the prohibited use
posed by a plant is very much linked to their image of of CFCs and the opposition to the use of PVC, which
the owners of the plant. By studying the concerns of is part of the anti-chlorine campaign.
a local community living close to hazardous industrial To assess the vulnerability of a project to the actions
estates, Irwin et al. [40] observed that information of such pressure groups, there exists a need to under-
received from the site/company is weighed in terms of stand the characteristics of the groups as well as their
previous experience with the company and cultural agendas. These organisations are effective managers of
evaluations. Any observed inconsistency between the information, utilising all resources provided by the
reassurances given by the company and subsequent or media to lobby their causes. Far from being irrational or
previous pollution issues will be used by the community trivial, their causes and campaign methods are based on
as a measure of untrustworthiness. It has been suggested scientific information and scientific authority. However,
that concern and care shown by the company results in as their aim is to influence public opinion and motivate
a greater increase of a community’s perceptions of trust support for their organisation (over other environmental
and credibility, over other factors such ‘knowledge and groups), target issues and campaign strategies need to
expertise’ or ‘openness and honesty’[41]. be newsworthy and popular [44]. The groups have also
been known to interpret scientific proof in an extremely
8.1.2.7. The general public The risk perceptions of precautionary manner. The scientific bases of their argu-
the general public could be considered as the most diffi- ments are thus used to serve the agenda of the campaign,
cult among the stakeholders to manage. Unless corporate resulting in ‘facts’ that appear to be selective, narrow
public relation programmes actively target these stake- and inevitably sensational, due to the media’s preoccu-
holders, they are generally passive receivers of infor- pation with matters that are able to attract public atten-
mation transferred via third parties like lobbyists, the tion [45].
media and the government. Though they are not directly Greenpeace’s anti-PVC and anti-chlorine campaign
linked to companies who produce intermediate products [24] emphasise the descriptions of health and environ-
like the PVC solid resin, they are potential shareholders mental effects of PVC, chlorine and related substances
and consumers of end products, and thus have the ability like phthalates, VCM and EDC. Hardly any emphasis is
to affect all the businesses throughout the product life- placed on the operational safety levels of those materials,
cycle. or on the control measures taken by industry during
The actions of the general public depend on its per- substance handling.
ceptions of the company, its image of the product, and The information provided by these environmental
all materials and processes associated with the product’s pressure groups tends to concentrate on the extremes of
life-cycle. In the PVC industry, emotive issues regarding effects and magnitude of exposures. The dimension of
PVC has influenced the sale and manufacture of products frequency/likelihood is not emphasised, resulting in an
that enter the public domain. The design team for the incomplete assessment of the actual risks of exposures
Millennium Dome changed their intention to use PVC to hazards. Furthermore, no attempt has been made to
fabric roof panels for Teflon-coated glass fibre fabric, put the assessments into perspective for their audiences
P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493 491

by comparing the risks concerning the chemicals with it is observed that the potential ‘hazards’ arising from
more familiar hazards, say a road accident. the interests of environmental pressure groups are more
The PVC production involves many large and com- damaging to the company than those of the residents.
plex businesses—a feature that increases its vulnerability The following conclusions on the three stakeholders
to single-issue pressure groups. The issues that are of can be drawn from the above observations.
interest to these groups can be found in many stages The general public poses the lowest risks to the com-
throughout the PVC life-cycle. Examples of topical con- pany. It is the least important to the firm and the effect
cerns are the use of unrenewable resources (fossil fuels), of the potential scenarios is comparatively the smallest
the generation of demand for chlorine and its energy of the three stakeholders.
intensive processes, the association with sensitive sub- Efforts to manage and control the risks originating
stances like dioxins, phthalates and heavy metals, the from the local residents only need to meet the objective
problems of recycling plastic waste and the disposal of of preserving and improving, if possible, the company’s
waste in landfills and through incineration. On the image. The majority of the efforts would be focussed on
whole, the ability of environmental pressure groups to monitoring and maintaining awareness of the risk situ-
affect a company’s business, directly or through other ation. The company’s attempts to reduce risk exposure
stakeholders, should not be underestimated. and to take into account the interests of local residents
will generally be more straightforward than similar
8.1.3. Results efforts towards the pressure groups.
To keep the illustration simple, only three stake- Environmental pressure groups have the capacity to
holders were evaluated in the risk assessment—the gen- cause more widespread harm to the firm than the other
eral public (P), environmental pressure groups (G) and stakeholders. They can directly harm the firm as well as
local residents (R). Using the PVC life-cycle and the use other stakeholders, like the general public, as
stakeholder profiles, what-if scenarios and their conse- mediums to exert pressure on the company. The risks
quences were tabulated. An excerpt (for brevity) from pertaining to this stakeholder group are hardest to dimin-
the tabulation is presented in Table 9. Also included are ish and it is almost impossible to reconcile their agendas
the likelihood of the consequences and the impacts on with the interests of the company. In this sense, they
Company X’s image and business. The prioritisation are the ‘riskiest’ stakeholders. Most of the company’s
process was supported by the use of the estimation pro-
management efforts will need to concentrate on
file of Table 1.
developing strategies to cope with the risks. An example
Table 10 prioritises the consequences and shows the
of a strategy might be to focus on the media by which
intended actions of the company. The risks were evalu-
these environmental groups exert pressure on the com-
ated against the degree of stakeholder importance to the
pany. The firm could, for instance, obtain verifications
company, which was taken to be R⬎G⬎P whereby R
from independent sources that are trusted by the general
and P are respectively the highest and lowest priority.
public. By targeting efforts towards the general public,
Evaluation of the results indicate that the highest priority
(one) consequences result from the environmental press- the firm reduces the resistance of the public towards the
ure groups and are likely to impact on the company’s product/process and this weakens the influence of the
business. pressure groups.
Overall, the methodology supports a holistic assess-
8.1.4. Discussion of results ment of the ‘environmental’ problems that are likely to
For the excerpt of results presented, comparison of the be faced that goes well beyond current industrial prac-
stakeholders shows that the general public is the least tice. This gives the opportunity for technologists to miti-
‘harmful’ stakeholder to the company. They are less gate risks by designing plants, and indeed the whole sup-
likely to expose the company to situations that are ply chain, to have a better environmental performance
beyond management’s control, and the adverse impacts and one that is more acceptable to its stakeholders.
of those situations upon the company are relatively low.
The risks of environmental issues arising from the
interests of local residents are higher. The consequences 8.1.5. Caveat
of those issues mainly impact directly on the company’s It is important to recognise that the methods described
image. It is reasonable to assume that the listed scenarios address the perspective of an industrial company and are
in Table 9 have only an indirect effect on the process not necessarily optimal from the perspectives of social or
as a business activity and hence, are not taken into public policy. A desire to meet the needs of stakeholders
account. If the business is eventually affected, it would should not be seen as a substitute for a search for cleaner
be as a result of a series of events, and not as a sole and inherently safer production methods. Priority for cle-
event, as described in the table. aner and safer processing is a logical outcome from the
Comparing the results between stakeholders G and R, analysis, but not a unique one.
492 P.N. Sharratt, P.M. Choong / Journal of Cleaner Production 10 (2002) 479–493

Table 9
Excerpt from table of consequences

SCENARIO/STAKEHOLDER CONSEQUENCE LIKELIHOOD IMPACT


Business Image

General Public (P)


Public demand for particular PVC products P1 There is a wide variety of PVC retail and Low Low Low
decrease industrial products, so the effect is selective.
As a raw material supplier, the impact will be
diffused.
PVC related companies labelled as ‘unethical P2 Deter potential investors and shareholders. Medium Low Medium
investments’
Environmental Pressure Groups (G)
Campaign for sustainable resource usage G1 Reduction of the availability of ethylene gas Medium High Low
(natural gas consumption) and the cost of raw materials increase, as PVC
production is heavily dependent on natural
gas. Selection of supplier will occur.
Campaign against the chlorine industry G2 As PVC resin production is very dependent Medium High Medium
upon the chlorine Industry, raw material costs
will be affected.
Campaign against PVC resin production G3 Company’s name displayed on website/in High Low Medium
pressure groups’ publications.
And other cases…
Residents (R)
Significant increase of traffic in locality due to R1 A temporary situation that is usually tolerated High Low
construction/decommissioning work by the community.
Increase of road accidents in locality R2 Community might blame presence of plant but High Low
they have no direct evidence.
Significant increase of traffic in and out of R3 Scrutiny of material inventory by residents. Medium Medium
plant (e.g. material transportation) Might perceive it as a health and safety risk,
resulting in individual approaches to the
company.
More roads built in locality R4 Impairment of landscape, resulting in passive High Low
disapproval.
And other cases…

Table 10
Excerpt from tabulation of results

Stakeholder/ Company Image Business


Stakeholder Consequence Likelihood Impact Action Priority Impact Action Priority

P P1 Low Low None 4 Low None 4


P2 Medium Medium Control 2 Low Monitor 3
G G1 Medium Low Monitor 3 High Improve 1
G2 Medium Medium Control 2 High Improve 1
G3 High Medium Control 2 Low Monitor 3
R R1 High Low Monitor 3 – – 4
R2 High Beneficial Monitor 3 – – 4
R3 Medium Medium Control 2 – – 4
R4 High Low Monitor 3 – – 4

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