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Research Article

A Pilot Study on the Comparability of MFCA (Material Flow Cost Accounting) and LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)

Yuk, Geunhyo

Busan University of Foreign Studies

Published: January 2013 · Vol. 42, No. 1 · pp. 269-291
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Abstract

Material Flow Cost Accounting(MFCA) is a method to evaluate the costs of two kinds of products, that is to say, positive products(good products) and negative products(emission, waste). Seen from the ecological perspective, MFCA systematically focuses cost cutting on attempts to reduce the quantities of materials and energy used, thus leading to positive ecological effects and to environmental benefits. MFCA is thus an important instrument in implementing an integrated environmental management system and in raising ecological efficiency. LCA(Life Cycle Assesment) is a structured, internationally standardized method and management tool for quantifying the emissions, resources consumed and environmental and health impacts that are associated with goods and services (products). An LCA study consists of four steps: (1) Defining the goal and scope of the study. (2) Making a model of the product life cycle with all the environmental inputs and outputs. This data collection effort is usually referred to as the life cycle inventory (LCI) stage. (3) Understanding the environmental relevance of all the inputs and outputs. This is referred to as the life cycle impact assesment (LCIA) phase. (4) The interpretation of the study. In this paper, we adopt the Japanese LCIA method LIME(life cycle impact assesment method based on endpoint modeling) that aims to develop a database and LCIA methodology that facilitates the application of LCA by industry. In LIME, all damages are expressed in the same monetary unit and societal costs (in Dollar) are used to combine the four safeguard subjects. However, in LIME, important cost factors like investment, R&D costs, overheads and marketing are usually not modelled or at least under-represented in the model. Also, the objective of reducing environmental impact in environmental management of MFCA from the viewpoint of enhancing resource productivity, has not yet been resolved. As decision-making has moved towards integrated thinking and assesment, the increasing complexity and interdisciplinary nature of LCA and MFCA problems has necessitated a new generation of integrated modeling framework. Thus we develop an Integrated Modeling Framework that allows us to predict and compare the state of economic efficiency(environmental management)and environmental load (environmental engineering). Using this Framework, this study empirically analyzed the data based on the sample company and compare a baseline assesment of two environment evaluation system between MFCA and LCA(LIME). The result of the study are as follows: First, there are not significant relative difference among the three process(injection, spray, assembly) of the two method, MFCA and LCA(LIME). Second, the most harmful process which comprise largest proportion of those loss(spoilage,emission, waste) was their spray process, followed by injection process, assembly process in both method. Third, the results of impact analysis for material cost and energy cost also show the same effects. Finally, the results of this study will provide valuable insights on MFCA-LCA integrated system to the companies implementing LCA and MFCA separately.
Keywords: 물질손실물질수지물질흐름원가회계전과정평가총비용평가환경경영