Development of Environmental Responsibility Index for the Manufacturing Industry by Emergy Analysis

Emergy is a measure of the processes required to produce something expressed in units of the same energy form. Emergy based indices can provide insights into the thermodynamic efficiency of the process, the quality of its output, and the interaction between the process and its surrounding environment. However, in an industrial system, the inputs are mostly nonrenewable, renewable energy source is nearly zero, ultimate purpose is pursuit of profits in economic activity. In study, we present two indices based on emergy - EEE(Ecological Economic Efficiency) and ERI(Environmental Responsibility Index). The EEE is taken into account real value of product in market economy. The ERI is shown to be a function of the net yield of the economy, its ‘load’ on the environment and ecological economic efficiency. Manufacturing industry of Korea produced the 30% of total GDP in 2001. We applied these indices to manufacturing industry for environmental management and further sustainable industry. As a results, the highest ERI is 0.34 in recycling industries, the lowest ERI is 0.01 in coke, refined petroleum products which is dominated by ELR. The higher ERI, the more friendly to environment. The suggested indices help us understand relative contributions of various alternatives in company's production and consumption activity, and provide a tool of decision-making for the rearrangement of future industries. Furthermore, they contribute to environmental friendly operation and consumption.

Emergy 분석법에 의한 제조업의 환경친화성지수 개발