Title: Life cycle assessment of film and digital imaging product system scenarios

Authors: Bert Bras, Michael C. Muir, Jay Mathewson

Addresses: George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0405, USA. ' George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0405, USA. ' Product HSE, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY 14650, USA

Abstract: With the advent of digital imaging technology, the options available in consumer imaging have increased. However, the relative environmental impacts of these different options are not clear cut. Assessment of the impacts of these options can help to provide feedback to decision makers and give insight that will help reduce environmental impact through product system design. In this paper, we present the use of life cycle assessment to evaluate different product and service scenarios for both traditional film and digital imaging systems and the results obtained for ten different consumer imaging scenarios. Results and implications for systems design and performance improvement are discussed.

Keywords: life cycle assessment; LCA; life cycle analysis; photography; digital imaging; product system design; environmental impacts; film imaging; consumer imaging.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSM.2009.023975

International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing, 2009 Vol.1 No.3, pp.286 - 301

Published online: 22 Mar 2009 *

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