'Conditioned air': Evaluating an environmentally preferable service

Abstract

As industry moves toward a world of extended producer responsibility (EPR) in which ownership of products becomes less common and product leasing and service provisioning become more pervasive, it is increasingly important to develop frameworks for assessing the environmental impacts of the service industry. In this paper, we use streamlined life cycle assessment to compare the environmental impacts of a residential air conditioning unit with a proposed 'conditioned air' service. When the entire life cycle is considered, the assessments indicate that the service option is environmentally preferable. By making the producer ultimately responsible for product repair and 'take-back,' the service option creates incentives for the producer to design air conditioning units and their packaging for recovery, remanufacture, and recycling. This in turn minimizes the need for new raw materials and component parts. EPR also helps to ensure responsible unit maintenance and repair, which reduces chemical and oil dissipation into the environment. Public policy actions that provide incentives for EPR may therefore prove to be environmentally beneficial.