Quantitative environmental evaluation of Japanese electrical home appliances using eco-efficiency potential assessment method

E2-PA (Eco-Efficiency Potential Assessment) quantitatively evaluates eco-efficiency by evaluating the environmental performance as the potential environmental impacts of the product. Proposed by Professor Katsuya Nagata of Waseda University. E2-PA was co-developed by Professor Nagata and Environmental Management for Sustainability, inc. (EMSI) at the Inverse Manufacturing Forum (sponsored by Manufacturing Science and Technology Center). E2-PA can be used to evaluate products, services and society. Material Intensity, Energy Intensity, Hazardous Material Intensity, Recovery Intensity, and Duration Intensity are the factors that are taken into account within the evaluation using E2-PA. In addition, computer software is currently under development, commissioned by Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation. In this research, E2-PA was used to quantitatively evaluate the environmental-consciousness of plastic bottles and electrical home appliances. The reduction of environmental load was compared between the appliances and then their environmental-consciousness improvements were evaluated.