Environmental impact evaluation index calculation system and method for using environmental impact evaluation index calculation system

Abstract

To provide an environmental impact evaluation index calculation system and a method for using the environmental impact evaluation index calculation system that make it possible to provide investors and the like with a comprehensive index, which is determined by evaluating an environmental impact on the surroundings caused by CO2 emissions and economic activity and which takes into account an evaluation of an impact on soil CO2 storage capacity, which is caused by a change in the natural environment.SOLUTION: An environmental impact evaluation index calculation system for determining, as an index, an environmental impact of a company on a social environment determines a CO2 emission storage amount from total CO2 emissions emitted from within a company facility, a total soil carbon amount and carbon absorption capacity within the company facility estimated using a soil carbon cycle model, and carbon absorption capacity in a downstream region within the company facility estimated using a river simulator, and sets it as a first environmental impact index.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an environmental impact assessment index calculation system and a method for using the environmental impact assessment index calculation system. [Background technology]

[0002] In the current CO2 emission management for environmental protection, emissions trading calculates the amount of emissions and determines the trading amount by accumulating the basic unit of the entire supply chain from production to use. On the other hand, in recent years, there has been a demand for indicators of biodiversity, such as carbon storage in soil, as well as the impact of economic activities on the surrounding environment.

[0003] In relation to this point, Patent Document 1 proposes a carbon storage agriculture evaluation system that aims to visualize carbon storage agriculture and a method for providing carbon storage agriculture evaluation information, and proposes a carbon storage agriculture evaluation system comprising: "a data acquisition unit that reads from a storage device first data indicating characteristics of a soil improvement material containing biochar; second data including the amount of the soil improvement material containing biochar applied to the agricultural land, the type and area of ​​the agricultural land, and the type and amount of fertilizer applied; and third data including the variety and harvest yield of the crops grown in the agricultural land; and a data processing unit that calculates one or both of the carbon storage amount and greenhouse gas emission reduction amount of the agricultural land using the first to third data acquired by the data acquisition unit." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-153012 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Patent Document 1 estimates the amount of carbon using agricultural data, and is able to achieve its intended purpose. However, among products that have been evaluated as carbon neutral, it has been found that CO2 sources and sinks that were not evaluated in the manufacturing process have been pointed out again, making it an issue to evaluate CO2 emissions in terms of the overall environmental impact. In addition, in the surrounding environment, it is an issue to create indicators for the environmental load on water quality and soil.

[0006] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide an environmental impact assessment index calculation system and a method for using the environmental impact assessment index calculation system that can provide investors and others with a comprehensive index that evaluates the amount of CO2 emissions and the environmental impact of economic activities on the surrounding area, taking into account an assessment of the impact on the soil's CO2 storage capacity caused by changes in the natural environment, in various land use methods such as the installation of solar panels, biofuel production, resource mining, and building and residential construction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In view of the above, the present invention is an environmental impact assessment index calculation system that determines the environmental impact of a company on the social environment as an index, characterized in that the system determines the amount of CO2 emission storage as a first environmental impact index from the total amount of CO2 emitted from the company's facilities, the total carbon amount and carbon absorption capacity of the soil within the company's facilities estimated using a soil carbon cycle model, and the carbon absorption capacity in the downstream area of ​​the company's facilities estimated using a river simulator.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention provides "a method of using an environmental impact assessment index calculation system, wherein the environmental impact indexes are presented to investors, and a company provides the environmental impact assessment index calculation system with calculation basis data for the total amount of CO2 emissions emitted from within the company's facilities and soil data within the company's facilities." Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to evaluate the overall environmental impact by incorporating not only the amount of emissions but also the amount of absorption, and further by indexing the environmental impact on the surrounding area to encourage investment decisions. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an environmental impact assessment index calculation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] A diagram showing an example of the configuration of the soil carbon cycle model 12M. [Figure 3A] Diagram defining multiple states of subsurface organic matter. [Figure 3B] A diagram showing the relationship between time and CO2 emissions. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the river simulator 14M. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining, using numerical values, a specific processing example to which the present invention is applied. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic concept of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0012] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an environmental impact assessment index calculation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Before describing the configuration of the environmental impact assessment index calculation system, a business model that uses the environmental impact assessment index calculation system will be described below.

[0013] The participants in this business model are a company 2 that makes efforts to protect the environment, an investor 3 that supports the environmental protection activities of company 2 and invests in company 2, and an environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 that calculates and provides environmental impact assessment indexes that enable accurate evaluation of the results and current status of the environmental activities of company 2. Note that company 2 is not limited to one company.

[0014] In order to realize the environmental improvement cycle through the business model described above, first, the company 2 making an effort to protect the environment provides various data D to the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 at appropriate times. The various data D include CO2 emission data, raw material procurement data, and soil data at the manufacturing site, and it is desirable for a wide range of data to be provided, including data related to the direct greenhouse gas emissions by the business itself (fuel combustion, industrial processes), data related to indirect emissions associated with the use of electricity, heat, and steam supplied by other companies, and data related to indirect emissions other than those mentioned above (emissions by other companies related to the activities of the business).

[0015] These widely provided data D are roughly divided into two types: one is the basis data D1 for calculating the total amount of CO2 emissions from the activities of the company 2, and the other is the measurement-related data D2 when the company 2 implements soil improvement measures 2b for environmental improvement.

[0016] Specifically, the basis data D1 for calculating the total amount of CO2 emissions includes the environmental management and monitoring plan D11 of company 2, the amount of emissions during raw material procurement D12, the amount of emissions during manufacturing D13, and the amount of emissions during product transportation and use D14.

[0017] In addition, the measurement-related data D2 when soil improvement measures 2b etc. are carried out includes soil data D21 of raw material procurement and manufacturing sites as measurement data D2 within company 2, and also includes weather data D22a, environmental data D22b, and land use data D22c as regional data D22 in the area where the company activities are carried out.

[0018] In addition to the above data D1 and D2, elevation topographical data D31 and river data D32 are input as map data D3 in the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1. Since the impact on the environment is not limited to the company facility but extends to the surrounding area, the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 of the present invention is equipped with map information to evaluate the impact on the downstream area of ​​the river in particular.

[0019] Using the various data D1, D2, and D3 described above, the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 sequentially performs the following processes. Note that the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 is realized using a computer, and in FIG. 1, the main processing functions executed in the calculation unit of the computer are represented by blocks.

[0020] First, the total emission calculation processing unit 11 in the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 calculates the total CO2 emissions and their increase or decrease within the company facilities. For this calculation, the company 2's environmental management and monitoring plan D11, the amount of emissions during raw material procurement D12, the amount of emissions during manufacturing D13, and the amount of emissions during product transportation and use D14, which are the basis data D1 for calculating the total CO2 emissions, are used. Note that here, instead of directly measuring CO2 in the air using a meter or the like, it is better to calculate it by multiplying the "activity amount" used in economic statistics such as the amount of gasoline, electricity, gas, etc. used by the "emission coefficient". It can be calculated as CO2 emissions = activity amount (production amount, usage amount, incineration amount, etc.) x emission coefficient.

[0021] Next, the total soil carbon amount calculation unit 12 in the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 calculates the total soil carbon amount and its increase or decrease in the target area. Furthermore, the carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit 13 estimates the carbon absorption capacity of the target area. The target area here is assumed to be the site of company 2. Note that the processing by the total soil carbon amount calculation unit 12 and the carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit 13 uses the soil carbon cycle model 12M in Fig. 2. The soil carbon cycle model 12M is configured based on the Roth C model.

[0022] In the soil carbon cycle model 12M in FIG. 2, the total soil carbon amount D41 and the CO2 emission amount D42 are calculated for, for example, sampling area A1 in region A managed by a company. In this model 12M, the total soil carbon amount D41 and the CO2 emission amount D42 are estimated using meteorological data D22a, environmental data D22b, and land use data D22c as regional data D22 for the region. Here, modeling is performed for each area A1 divided into vegetation and soil characteristics. The meteorological data D22a corresponds to precipitation, temperature, and humidity, while the environmental data corresponds to soil characteristics, vegetation data, and the like. The land use data D22c includes data on organic matter such as plants for each area.

[0023] The soil carbon cycle model 12M, which is based on the RothC model, defines multiple states of organic matter in the decomposition and accumulation process of soil carbon and models the changes between these states over time.

[0024] Figure 3A defines multiple states of underground organic matter, according to which underground organic matter is divided into easily decomposable plant residues 51 (composed of the sum of microorganisms and humus) that decompose relatively quickly, less decomposable plant residues 52 (composed of the sum of microorganisms and humus) that decompose relatively slowly, and inactive fractions 53 that decompose very little. The proportion of underground organic matter in each of the divided areas A is determined from soil measurement data.

[0025] In Fig. 3b, the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents the amount of CO2 emissions, and this figure shows that the easily decomposable plant residues 51, which decompose quickly, are responsible for the initial CO2 emissions, followed by the less decomposable plant residues 52, which decompose slowly, and the inactive fractions 53 do not contribute to CO2 emissions. This means that the amount of CO2 emissions at an appropriate time in Fig. 3b can be obtained, and at the same time, this means that the carbon absorption capacity in this area can be obtained in a time series manner in the carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit 13 using the soil carbon cycle model 12M.

[0026] Next, the downstream environmental impact estimation processing unit 14 in the environmental impact assessment index calculation system 1 estimates the environmental impact on the downstream of the target area using a river simulator 14M. The river simulator 14M is configured based on the SWAT (Sail & Water assessment Tool) model, which is a material circulation model in the target river basin. The SWAT model is equipped with a GIS interface and reproduces and predicts the dynamic processes of water circulation, soil erosion, nutrients, pesticides, microorganisms, etc. in the catchment area.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the river simulator 14M. In the river simulator 14M, processing is executed in three stages. In the first stage 14M1 for preparation, a river area including the site of the company and the downstream area of ​​the surrounding river is specified as the analysis area. In addition, data required for analysis in the river simulator 14M is acquired. These data are meteorological data D22a, environmental data D22b, elevation topography data D31, and land use data D22b. Of these, the meteorological data D22a includes data on precipitation, temperature, and humidity, and the environmental data D22b corresponds to soil characteristics, vegetation data, and the like.

[0028] In the second stage 14M2, the elevation topography data D31, river data D32, and meteorological data D22a are used to model the river flow using the SWAT model, and the circulation of materials is estimated based on the river flow and reactions in the soil. An explanation of the processing contents of the SWAT model shown in the second stage 14M2 of Figure 4 is omitted, but in short, it estimates and calculates in a chronological order how the soil environment on the company's site will be affected by the surrounding rivers over time on the surrounding areas. In the third stage 14M3, the environmental impact is visualized and can be displayed on a map in chronological order.

[0029] Returning to Figure 1, the carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit 17 including the downstream area uses the carbon absorption capacity within the company site determined by the processing of the carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit 13 and the estimation processing results of the environmental impact on the downstream area determined by the environmental impact estimation processing unit 14 to estimate how the carbon absorption capacity in the target area (within the company site) and the downstream area has changed due to the influence of the carbon absorption capacity within the company site.

[0030] Through the above processing, the CO2 emission storage calculation unit 15 in Fig. 1 finds the amount of CO2 emission storage that has already been emitted as the sum of the output of the total emission calculation processing unit 11 and the output of the soil total carbon calculation unit 12. The former is the CO2 emission from business activities, and the latter is the CO2 emission from the soil on the premises. In contrast, the storage amount as a reserve emitter (for which emissions are scheduled to occur in the near future) is obtained from the output of the carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit 17, including downstream areas. Estimating carbon absorption capacity means how much CO2 is being stored without being emitted.

[0031] The environmental impact index creation unit 16 in Figure 1 acquires information such as the amount of CO2 emissions and their reserve (storage) from the CO2 emission storage calculation unit 15, and the degree of downstream impact from the downstream environmental impact estimation processing unit 14, and presents this data to the outside.

[0032] Investor 3 can then refer to the environmental impact index of each company 2 when considering where to invest. Meanwhile, company 2 will implement soil improvement measures 2a in areas where it will be most effective based on the estimated environmental impact index for each area. As a result, as the environmental impact index of company 2 increases due to soil improvement measures 2a, company 2 will receive profits from the creation of absorption credits and additional investment from investor 3 due to the improvement of CO2 emission storage, creating a circular cycle.

[0033] Next, a specific processing example to which the present invention is applied will be explained using numerical values ​​with reference to Fig. 5. First, this figure is divided into three stages, with the top stage representing the first year, the middle stage representing the next year, and the bottom stage representing the evaluation index for the next year. For data for each year, the processing results of the total emission amount calculation processing unit 11, the processing results of the total soil carbon amount calculation unit 12, and the estimation processing results of the environmental impact on downstream areas obtained by the estimation processing unit 14 are shown as specific numerical values.

[0034] In the example of Figure 5, the case of a bread factory is taken up. In this bread factory, the amount of CO2 emissions in the first year calculated as a result of processing by the total emission calculation processing unit 11 is 1 t, as shown in the upper part. Furthermore, the carbon content of soil sampled in the target area when raw materials were procured was measured and found to be 0.02 kg / m2. If the area of ​​the target area is 10,000 m2, the total carbon content calculated as a result of processing by the total soil carbon content calculation unit 12 is 0.2 t. As the soil improvement measure 2a, it is assumed that chemical fertilizer was changed to compost in order to increase the soil carbon content for the land at the time of raw materials procurement.

[0035] In contrast, in the same bread factory, the CO2 emissions for the next year calculated as a result of processing by the total emissions calculation processing unit 11 are 1.1 t, as shown in the middle section. Also, the carbon content of soil sampled from the land at the time of procurement of raw materials was measured and found to be 0.06 kg / m2. If the area of ​​the target area is 10,000 m2, the total carbon content will be 0.6 t.

[0036] In this case, the difference in the total carbon amount between the first and next years is calculated as 0.4t for the next year's assessment index in the lower section. Also, the difference in CO2 emissions between the first and next years is 1.1t-0.4t=0.7t, which is the CO2 emission storage amount in this environmental impact assessment index calculation system, including absorption.

[0037] Furthermore, due to the effect of changing from chemical fertilizer to compost to increase the soil carbon content in the target area when procuring raw materials, the environmental impact on the downstream area (nitrogen and phosphorus load) calculated by the downstream environmental impact estimation processing unit 14 decreased from 20 kg / ha to 10 kg / ha. Therefore, the rate of change from the first year to the next year is 0.5. Finally, the environmental impact index is 0.35 by multiplying the difference in CO2 emissions of 0.7 t by the rate of change in environmental impact of 0.5 from the first year to the next year.

[0038] Next, although not shown in the figure, we will look at the case of building a new bread factory, the same as in Figure 5. In this case, the carbon content of soil sample D21 at the planned construction site was measured by the combustion oxidation method, and the total carbon content D41 of the planned construction site was estimated from topography and vegetation data. The total carbon content D41 was 0.5t, and considering that the paved area of ​​the factory construction site was 80%, the carbon absorption loss D42 was 0.4t.

[0039] In addition, the factory uses gas and grid electricity for its energy, and the factory's emissions are 1 t based on the basic unit calculated as a result of the processing of the total emissions calculation processing unit 11, and the CO2 emissions storage amount calculated by the CO2 emissions storage unit 15, including the carbon absorption loss D42, is evaluated to be 1.4 t.

[0040] In contrast, the environmental impact (nitrogen and phosphorus load) on the downstream area before the construction of the factory, as calculated by the downstream environmental impact estimation processing unit 14, was 10 kg / ha, and the environmental impact (nitrogen and phosphorus load) on the downstream area after construction was 30 kg / ha. In this case, the change ratio of the environmental impact on the downstream area is 3.

[0041] In this case, the environmental impact index calculated by the environmental impact index calculation unit 16 is 1.4 (CO2 emission storage amount) x 3 (proportion of change in environmental impact on the downstream area) = 4.2, and the environmental impact index is evaluated as 4.2.

[0042] Furthermore, although not shown in the figure, we will consider the case of constructing a solar power plant at the same bread factory as in Figure 5. In this case, the carbon amount was measured from soil samples at the planned construction site using the combustion oxidation method, and the total carbon amount D41 of the planned construction site was estimated from the topography and vegetation data, resulting in a total carbon amount D41 of 0.2 t.

[0043] One year after the solar panels were installed and power generation started (carbon neutral), the soil sample was re-measured and the total carbon content was 0.18t, and two years after power generation started, the soil sample was re-measured and the total carbon content was 0.16t. At this time, the CO2 emission storage volume was re-evaluated as 0.02t one year later and 0.04t two years later.

[0044] In contrast, the environmental impact (nitrogen and phosphorus load) on the downstream area before the solar installation calculated by the downstream environmental impact estimation processing unit 14 is 10 kg / ha, the environmental impact (nitrogen and phosphorus load) on the downstream area one year after the solar installation is 14 kg / ha, and the environmental impact (nitrogen and phosphorus load) on the downstream area two years later is 20 kg / ha. In this case, the change rate of the environmental impact on the downstream area is 1.4 one year later and 2 two years later.

[0045] In this case, the environmental impact index calculated by the environmental impact index calculation unit 16 is evaluated to be 0.028 after one year and 0.08 after two years.

[0046] According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to evaluate the overall environmental impact by incorporating not only the amount of emissions but also the amount of absorption, and further by indexing the environmental impact on the surrounding area to encourage investment decisions. EXAMPLES

[0047] In the first embodiment, the present invention has been explained by focusing on the data to be handled and the processing functions, whereas in the second embodiment, the basic concept of the present invention is explained.

[0048] 6 is a diagram showing the basic concept of the present invention, in which a change in land use 61 occurs in a target area such as a company site, and soil is sampled 62 and measured 63. In addition, the change in land use 61 in the case of Example 1 is a soil improvement measure 2a, a change in fertilizer, construction of a new factory, and construction of a solar power plant.

[0049] In the present invention, this land use change 61 is estimated using two types of models (hereinafter, simulators are also referred to as models). The first model 64 estimates the amount of carbon emissions and storage. Conventionally, only the amount of carbon emissions and storage within the target area was estimated, but in the present invention, the amount of carbon emissions and storage in the area including the downstream basin of the river is estimated. In other words, the model application range is set to include the downstream basin of the target area such as the site of a company, which is a source of soil nutrients. According to the first model 64, it is possible to calculate the amount of SOC 65 including the downstream basin, and based on this result, the amount of CO2 reduction 66 is set as the index 1.

[0050] The second model in the present invention is the application of a river simulator 67, where calculations of soil nutrients including flow rate, nitrogen, and phosphorus are performed along the river. The estimated results are used as indicator 2 for the environmental impact 62 on the downstream area.

[0051] Finally, the overall indicator, which is the product of indicator 1 and indicator 2, is defined as the environmental impact indicator.

[0052] The basic concept of the second embodiment can be summarized as follows. First, the assessment area is not limited to the activity area, but also covers the downstream basin that the activity area affects. In this case, a river simulator is added to obtain an environmental assessment index by not only grasping the SOC amount in the activity area, but also observing the distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus in the downstream basin. The environmental assessment index is a comprehensive assessment index that comprehensively combines CO2 emissions and environmental impacts on downstream areas. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1: Environmental impact assessment index calculation system 2:Company 3: Investor 11: Total emission calculation processing unit 12: Total soil carbon calculation section 13: Carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit 14: Processing unit for estimating environmental impacts on downstream areas 15: CO2 Emission Storage Calculation Unit 16: Environmental Impact Index Creation Department 17: Carbon absorption capacity estimation processing unit

Claims

1. An environmental impact assessment index calculation system for determining an index of the environmental impact that a company has on the social environment, comprising: An environmental impact assessment index calculation system that calculates a CO2 emission storage amount as a first environmental impact index from the total amount of CO2 emitted from a corporate facility, the total carbon amount and carbon absorption capacity of the soil within the corporate facility estimated using a soil carbon cycle model, and the carbon absorption capacity in the downstream area of ​​the corporate facility estimated using a river simulator.

2. The environmental impact assessment index calculation system according to claim 1, The river simulator estimates, calculates and quantifies the impact that the soil environment within the corporate facility has on the surrounding area via the river, and uses this as a second environmental impact index.

3. The environmental impact assessment index calculation system according to claim 2, 1. A system for calculating an environmental impact assessment index, comprising: a first environmental impact index and a second environmental impact index;

4. The environmental impact assessment index calculation system according to claim 1, The environmental impact assessment index calculation system is characterized in that the total amount of CO2 emitted from the company's facilities is calculated from the company's environmental management and monitoring plan, the amount of CO2 emitted during raw material procurement, the amount of CO2 emitted during manufacturing, and the amount of CO2 emitted during product transportation and use.

5. The environmental impact assessment index calculation system according to claim 1, The soil carbon cycle model is an environmental impact assessment index calculation system that defines multiple states of organic matter for the decomposition and accumulation process of soil carbon and models the changes between states over time.

6. A method for using the environmental impact assessment index calculation system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: The environmental impact indicators are presented to investors; The method of using the environmental impact assessment index calculation system is characterized in that the company provides the environmental impact assessment index calculation system with calculation basis data for the total amount of CO2 emissions emitted from the company's facilities and soil data within the company's facilities.

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