Environmental Implications of Product Servicising: The Case of Outsourced Computing Utilities
Environmental Implications of Product Servicising: The Case of Outsourced Computing Utilities
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产品服务的环境影响：外包计算设施的案例
DOI：
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发表时间：
2008
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
A. Plepys
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
A. Plepys
电子产品的生命周期与重大的环境影响有关。与许多其他产品相比，电子产品，特别是半导体产品的生产是资源密集型的，在产品生命周期的制造和消费后阶段会产生许多剧毒废物流。电子制造业在减少每种产品对环境的影响、提高资源效率、防止污染和减少材料毒性方面取得了成功。然而，技术进步已经能够抵消消费增长和产品快速过时的影响，因此电子产品生命周期的绝对影响继续增长。本论文的前提是，技术改进不足以减少电子产品生命周期对环境的负面影响。降低消费水平和/或改变消费模式是一项必要的补充战略。在这方面，通过产品服务化实现非物质化被认为是一种有效的办法，因为它可以提供替代消费手段，而不损害生产者和消费者的利益。
本论文探讨了环境影响的服务电子产品的情况下，取代传统的计算系统的基础上拥有的个人电脑，外包计算服务通过集中的IT系统提供。本研究建立在对应用服务提供商（ASP）服务案例分析的基础上。通过对传统的分散式和集中式基于服务器的计算系统（其中服务器上的计算资源在多个用户之间共享）的比较分析，作者强调了影响基于服务的IT解决方案在商业和住宅部门中更广泛应用的因素以及相关环境效益的潜力。本文还讨论了电子产品和服务的环境评估方法的挑战，并提出了改进建议。
The life cycle of electronic products is associated with significant environmental impacts. Compared to many other products, the production of electronics and in particular semiconductors is resource intensive and generates a number of highly toxic waste streams in manufacturing and post-consumer stages of product life cycle. Electronics manufacturing industry has been successful in reducing environmental impacts on per product basis increasing resource efficiency, preventing pollution and reducing material toxicity. However, technological improvements have been able to negate the effects of growing consumption and rapid product obsolescence, so that the absolute impacts from the life cycle of electronics continue growing. This thesis builds on the premise that technological improvements are insufficient in reducing the negative environmental implications from the life cycle of electronics. Reducing the levels and/or changing the patterns of consumption is a necessary complementary strategy. Dematerialisation through product servicising is considered an effective approach in this respect, since it could provide alternative means of consumption without infringing the interests of producers and consumers.
This thesis explores the environmental implications of servicing electronic products by studying the case of substituting traditional computing systems based on owned PCs, with outsourced computing services delivered through centralised IT systems. The research builds on the analysis of the case of Application Service Provider (ASP) services. Through a comparative analysis of traditional decentralised and centralised server-based computing systems, where computing resources on a server are shared between several users, the author highlights factors influencing a wider application of service-based IT solutions in commercial and residential sectors and the potential for associated environmental benefit. The thesis also discusses methodological challenges in environmental assessments of electronic products and services and provides recommendations for improvements.