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19th European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production – Circular Europe for Sustainability: Design, Production and Consumption

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A Framework for Bridging the Resource Nexus in the Indian Textile Industry

The concept of resource nexus is an acknowledgement of the interconnections between the uses of natural resources. This research will further the work done on the resource nexus by examining the multiple effects of measures taken in the Indian textile industry to lower the costs incurred due to the implementation of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD). ZLD combines a variety of technologies to cease the discharge of untreated water from production processes to the surrounding area. The paper will, based on surveys answered by a textile supplier and four sub-suppliers of textile in India, present a multiple case study of possible multiple effects of projects undertaken to lower the increased cost of manufacturing with ZLD. The purpose of this study has been to construct a framework for managing the multiple effects for measures taken in factories as a response to the increased production costs due to ZLD implementation. Understanding the resource nexus and the multiple effects of changes in textile industries requires a relatively in-depth analysis of the factories at hand. For that reason, this research argues that a case study offers the most appropriate means of investigating effects. Seeing as all factories vary to some extent, and since different factories encounter various situations, five different factories have been chosen as multiple case study subjects in order to present a wider picture of possible effects and interdependencies of resources and processes. The aim of creating a multiple effect framework with wide applicability is further helped by analyzing a range of changes and subsequent effects. Although a multiple case study does not allow for wide generalizations to all textile industries, it provides an indication of possible effects, and presents what may be experienced in other factories. This research uses qualitative methods with quantitative elements. It uses descriptive statistics to add to the qualitative analysis. Building on the multiple case study and marrying it with the knowledge of the multiple benefits of energy efficiency improvements, the Value-Added Water (VAW) tool, and the rebound effect, this paper constructs and offers a Multiple Effects Framework (MEF) for measures taken in factories as a response to the increased cost of manufacturing with ZLD. The framework handles both quantifiable and non-quantifiable multiple effects of measures taken, such as changes in resource use (water, energy, chemicals, materials), productivity and work environment. The MEF aggregates a more comprehensive picture of the overall effects of measures taken to adapt to the increased costs associated with ZLD in the textile supply chain and can to a certain extent be applied to other factories facing a future mandate for ZLD. When changed accordingly, the framework can also be applied to other situations and industries as a decision-making and evaluation tool.

Maja Dahlgren
Swedish Energy Agency
Sweden

Thomas Zobel
Luleå University of Technology
Sweden

 


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