Aggregierte Sach-Ökobilanzen für Frischmilch- und Bierverpackungen. Tl. 1

Im Auftrag des Umweltbundesamtes (UBA) wurden unter Federführung des Fraunhofer-Instituts für Lebensmitteltechnologie und Verpackung, München, Sachökobilanzen für verschiedene Einweg- und Mehrwegverpackungssysteme zur Frischmilch- und Bierdistribution erstellt. Der Deutsche Verpackungsrat, Bonn, beauftragte anschließend das Institut, eine an Umweltauswirkungen bzw. Umweltlasten orientierte Aggregation der vorgestellten Pilot-Sachökobilanzen vorzunehmen. Zur Auswertung von Sachökobilanzen für Produkte wurde vorgeschlagen, die einzelnen Sachbilanzfakten in 11 Kenngrößen zusammenzufassen, die jeweils einzeln globale Umweltlastenpotentiale beschreiben. Im Ergebnis wird festgestellt, daß, insbesondere unter Einbeziehung weiterer Materialalternativen und Füllgutbereiche, die ökologische Vorteilhaftigkeit von Einweg oder Mehrweg systemspezifisch ist und nicht allgemeingültig entschieden werden kann.

In the period from 1990 to mid 1993, a consortium of three institutes were commissioned by the German Environment Office (Umweltbundesamt) to develop a comprehensive methodology for drawing up Life Cycle Inventories for products. This work was carried out under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute (FhILV) in Munich and resulted in considerable data generation. In the studies concerning the manufacture and processing of packaging materials, a group of companies belonging to the Industry Group for Food Technology and Packaging (Industrievereinigung für Lebensmitteltechnologie und Verpackung e.V.) lent their participation by making available industrial data on the manufacture and processing of packaging materials. For one pilot area, concerning different recyclable and refillable packaging systems for fresh milk and beer distribution, results from Life Cycle Inventories were presented to the German Environment Office in June 1993. The Environment Minister at the time (Töpfer) made the information public in September 1993. Life Cycle Inventories for products consist of a very large number of individual, environmentally relevant facts (150-200 facts per balance) and thus no conclusions can be immediately drawn from the information. Our workers were acutely aware of this and had made this point clear on several occasions. They had also indicated the need for an aggregation method for the relevant environmental burdens (an Impact Assessment). This was a task left to the German Environment Office. In July 1994 a study was presented by the Office which, via a complicated and multi-stepped Impact Assessment, finally led to ecological judgement of packaging systems. In a workshop in September 1994, a panel of experts commented on the working methodology and judgements mostly with scepticism. A key point of criticism here was the Office's endeavour to find exaggerated, one-dimensional judgements instead of the internationally respected multi-dimensional "Improvement" approach. Characteristic here was the German Office's "impulse" to look at representative, average situations concerning packaging system usage and not at the factors which largely influence Life Cycle Inventory results, factors, that may - under realistic circumstances - lead to conclusions much different from those drawn from looking at an average situation. In view of this working philosophy, the German Council for Packaging commissioned the Fraunhofer Institute in September 1993 to aggregate the environmental effects and burdens for a number of pilot Life Cycle Inventories. This work required inter-disciplinary teamwork and, at the initiative of the Fraunhofer Institute, a circle of experts was formed in Munich to lay down the conditions required for the aggregation methods.