UNIROSS Study on the Environmental Impact of ... - Battery Logic

Printed on recycled paper
Results of the study 3
All rights reserved – 2007 – Uniross
Source: Uniross study carried out by Bio Intelligence Service
Equivalences
In terms of…
The impact of a rechargeable
battery is equal to :
Reference
units
Equivalence
in disposable batteries:
Consumption of nonrenewable
natural resources
1 k kg of petroleum extracted v 19
Climate change 16 k km driven by car v 457
Photochemical oxidation 73 k km driven by car v 2 320
Air acidification 2 122 k km driven by car v 19 812
Sedimentary ecotoxicity 227 k mg of mercury emitted into the water v 2 731
If all of the disposable batteries in Europe were replaced with rechargeable batteries, it would avoid:
In terms of…
Consumption of non-renewable
natural resources
II Methodology
1. Life cycle analysis
Avoiding an impact Avoiding an impact
corresponding to X Europeans / year corresponding to
106 000 210 900 tonnes of petroleum extracted
If we replace all disposable batteries If we replace all disposable batteries in Europe
in Europe with rechargeable ones, with rechargeable ones, we would avoid
we would avoid the impact that an impact on the consumption of non-renewable
106,000 Europeans have on the consumption natural resources that is comparable
of non-renewable natural resources. to extracting 210,900 tons of petroleum.
Climate change 62 110 5 billion km driven by car
Photochemical oxidation 136 820 25 620 billion km driven by car
Air acidification 109 000 201 700 billion km driven by car
Sedimentary ecotoxicity 90 410 29 tonnes of mercury emitted into the water
The <strong>UNIROSS</strong> study was based on the comparative Life Cycle Analysis method (LCA) for a
rechargeable battery and its equivalence in disposable batteries.
This in–depth analysis is used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product throughout its
life cycle:
Production of disposable batteries and rechargeable batteries (and the charger), including the
extraction of raw materials, production of the basic components and assembly of the product.
Sale in shops, to the end-user customer (transport, etc.). For disposable batteries, the study also
takes into account the repetition of this step in the analysis of the life cycle.
Use phase: this represents energy consumption when recharging rechargeable batteries.
End of life: this covers waste collection and treatment (recycling, incineration or burial).
The life cycle of a disposable battery is much shorter than that of a rechargeable battery; thus, to
obtain the same quantity of energy, i.e. 1 kWh (unit adopted for the study), the consumer must
repeat his purchase several times. The manufacturer must produce more batteries which would
generate more pollution and use more natural resources. Lastly, the life cycle also entails the
emission of greenhouse gases from the transport and distribution of the products.
On the basis of this life cycle analysis, a rechargeable battery eco-profile was created. The
eco-profile is the product’s “environmental identity card”.