Calculation system, program, and calculation method

Abstract

Provided is a calculation system that calculates resource income and outlay information, which is the balance of a production quantity of a product and a quantity of resources used to produce the product, said calculation system comprising a balance computation unit that computes the resource income and outlay information on the basis of the production quantity of the product and the quantity of resources used to produce the product. Further provided is a calculation method using the calculation system. Also further provided is a program that is executed by a computer and causes the computer to function as the calculation system.

Description

Calculation system, program, and calculation method

[0001] The present invention relates to a calculation system, a program, and a calculation method.

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a carbon dioxide emission calculation device comprising: an input unit for inputting a total usage quantity of the resource and a production quantity of each type of product in relation to the production of multiple types of products using a common resource; a unit consumption calculation unit for calculating the unit consumption of the resource for each type so as to satisfy a first condition that the total usage quantity matches the sum of the products of the unit consumption of the resource for each type and the production quantity of that type; and a second condition that the ratio of the unit consumption of the resource for each type matches a predetermined allocation ratio. An emission calculation unit for calculating the amount of carbon dioxide emission caused by the resource in order to obtain each type of product by multiplying the unit consumption of the resource for each type by a predetermined rate indicating the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the production and / or use of the resource (claim 1). [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-090112 A

[0003] [General Disclosure] A first aspect of the present invention provides a calculation system including a balance calculation unit, which may calculate resource balance information indicating a material balance between the production volume of a product and the amount of resources used in the production of the product, based on the production volume of the product and the amount of resources used in the production of the product.

[0004] In the above, the calculation system may further include an emission calculation unit, which may calculate an emission amount of an environmental pollutant associated with the production of the product based on the amount of resource balance information.

[0005] In the above, the resource balance information may be the amount of resource loss obtained by subtracting the amount of product production from the amount of resource. The emission calculation unit may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions based on the amount of resource loss and an emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss.

[0006] In the above, the emission calculation unit may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the amount of resource loss based on the amount of resource loss and an emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss. The emission calculation unit may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of the resource based on the amount of the resource and an emission coefficient for each resource.

[0007] In the above, resources may include raw materials used in the production of products and energy sources used in the production of products.

[0008] In the above, the amount of resource use loss may be the amount obtained by subtracting the production amount of the product from the total amount of raw materials used in the production of the product.

[0009] In the above, the emission calculation unit may divide the resource loss amount into disposal amounts for each resource disposal method. The emission calculation unit may calculate the environmental pollutant emission amount based on the disposal amounts for each resource disposal method and the emission coefficients for each resource disposal method.

[0010] In the above, the calculation system may include a unit conversion unit. The unit conversion unit may convert units of resource amounts to unify units of resource amounts among multiple resources. The balance calculation unit may calculate resource balance information based on the resource amounts converted by the unit conversion unit.

[0011] In the above, the balance calculation unit may calculate the resource balance information based on a bill of materials indicating the resources used in the production of the product.

[0012] In the above, the calculation system may further include a resource selection unit. The resource selection unit may select resources included in the bill of materials to be used in calculating the resource balance information. The balance calculation unit may calculate the resource balance information for the resources selected by the resource selection unit.

[0013] In the above, the resource selection unit may select a resource designated by the user as a resource to be used in calculating the resource balance information.

[0014] In the above, the resource selection unit may select resources having a common unit of quantity in the parts list as resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information.

[0015] In the above, the resource selection unit may select resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information depending on the product.

[0016] In the above, the calculation system may further include a display unit that displays the resources used in the production of the product and resource balance information.

[0017] In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to function as the above-described calculation system.

[0018] In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a calculation method for calculating resource balance information, which is a balance between the production volume of a product and the amount of resources used in producing the product, using a calculation system. The calculation method includes a balance calculation step. In the balance calculation step, the resource balance information is calculated based on the production volume of the product and the amount of resources used in producing the product.

[0019] In the above, the calculation method may further include an emission amount calculation step, in which an emission amount of an environmental pollutant associated with the production of the product may be calculated based on the resource balance information.

[0020] In the above, the resource balance information may be the amount of resource loss obtained by subtracting the amount of product production from the amount of resource. In the emission calculation step, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions may be calculated based on the amount of resource loss and the emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss.

[0021] In the above, in the emission calculation step, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the amount of resource loss may be calculated based on the amount of resource loss and the emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss. In the emission calculation step, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of the resource may be calculated based on the amount of the resource and the emission coefficient for each resource.

[0022] In the above, resources may include raw materials used in the production of products and energy sources used in the production of products.

[0023] In the above, the amount of resource use loss may be the amount obtained by subtracting the production amount of the product from the total amount of raw materials used in the production of the product.

[0024] In the above, in the emission calculation step, the resource loss amount may be divided into disposal amounts for each resource disposal method, and in the emission calculation step, the emission amount of the environmental pollutant may be calculated based on the disposal amount for each resource disposal method and the emission coefficient for each resource disposal method.

[0025] In the above, the calculation method may include a unit conversion step in which units of resource amounts are converted to unify units of resource amounts among a plurality of resources. In the balance calculation step, resource balance information may be calculated based on the resource amounts converted by the unit conversion unit.

[0026] In the above, in the balance calculation stage, resource balance information may be calculated based on a bill of materials indicating resources used in the production of a product.

[0027] In the above, the calculation method may further include a resource selection step. In the resource selection step, resources included in the bill of materials may be selected to be used in calculating the resource balance information. In the balance calculation step, resource balance information may be calculated for the resources selected by the resource selection unit.

[0028] In the above, in the resource selection step, resources designated by the user may be selected as those to be used in calculating the resource balance information.

[0029] In the above, in the resource selection step, resources having a common unit of quantity in the bill of materials may be selected as those to be used in calculating the resource balance information.

[0030] In the above, in the resource selection step, resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information may be selected depending on the product.

[0031] In the above, the calculation method may further include a display step of displaying the resources used in the production of the product and resource balance information.

[0032] A fourth aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus for supporting the production of a product and the adjustment of emissions of environmental pollutants associated with the production of the product. The apparatus includes a resource selection unit, a balance calculation unit, a target acquisition unit, a manufacturing plan correction unit, an emission calculation unit, and a control unit. The resource selection unit selects resources for which the material balance with the production volume of the product should be adjusted based on a bill of materials indicating the resources used in the production of the product. The balance calculation unit calculates the amount of resource loss by subtracting the amount of resources selected by the resource selection unit from the production volume of the product based on the bill of materials. The target acquisition unit acquires a target value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. The manufacturing plan correction unit calculates the amount of recycled resources to achieve the target value based on a recycled materials bill indicating one or more of the amount of resource loss, the target value, and resources derived from recycling. The emission calculation unit calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of the product based on the amount of resources used in the production of the product, the amount of resource loss, the amount of recycled resources, and the emission coefficient of the resources. The control unit executes the production of the product and the recycling of resources by applying the recycled amount.

[0033] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the features of the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also be inventions.

[0034] 1 shows the configuration of a calculation system 10 according to this embodiment. 2 shows the flow of a calculation method according to this embodiment. 3 shows an example of a bill of materials according to this embodiment. 4 shows an example of a method for calculating resource balance information according to this embodiment. 5 shows an example of a method for calculating environmental pollutant emissions according to this embodiment. 6 shows an example of an input / output screen according to this embodiment. 7 shows an example of a breakdown of a loss disposal method according to a first modified example of this embodiment. 8 shows an example of a method for calculating emissions in the first modified example. 9 shows another example of a bill of materials according to a second modified example of this embodiment. 10 shows an example of a resource selection table according to the second modified example. 11 shows the flow of a calculation method according to a third modified example of this embodiment. 12 shows an example of a bill of materials according to a third modified example of this embodiment. 13 shows an example of a unit conversion according to the third modified example of this embodiment. 14 shows the configuration of an information processing system 2500 according to a modified example of this embodiment. 15 shows the configuration of a blockchain network 2502 according to a modified example of this embodiment. 16 shows an example of a data structure of transaction information according to a modified example of this embodiment. 17 shows an example of a data structure of a blockchain according to a modified example of this embodiment. 18 shows an example of a computer 2200 in which multiple aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. 19 shows the configuration of a support system 22 according to a fourth modified example of this embodiment. 20 shows the flow of a support method according to the fourth modified example. 13 shows an example of a recycled parts list according to a fourth modified example.

[0035] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0036] Fig. 1 shows the configuration of a calculation system 10 according to this embodiment. The calculation system 10 calculates resource balance information that indicates the material balance between the production volume of a product and the amount of resources used in the production of the product. The calculation system 10 calculates the CO ２ The amount of emissions of environmental pollutants such as methane and / or chlorofluorocarbons is calculated using resource balance information.

[0037] The production entity 20 may be a production unit having the function of producing a product, and may be one or more manufacturing devices, factories, manufacturers, etc., but typically may be a factory. Resources such as materials 30 and fuel are consumed in the process of producing the product 40, and environmental pollutants are emitted in proportion to the resources consumed.

[0038] An environmental pollutant is a substance that has or may have a negative impact on the environment. For example, the negative impact on the environment may be, but is not limited to, global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, acidification of rivers and / or oceans, eutrophication of terrestrial systems, eutrophication of aquatic systems, toxicity to humans, toxicity to the ecosystems of aquatic systems, etc. By way of example, an environmental pollutant may be a greenhouse gas, such as carbon dioxide and / or methane, which contribute to global warming.

[0039] For example, a production entity 20 processes materials 30 to manufacture a product 40. The production and transportation of materials 30 involves the emission of environmental pollutants, and the processing of materials 30 into product 40 also involves the emission of environmental pollutants due to the consumption of fuel, etc. The calculation system 10 estimates the amount of emissions of environmental pollutants associated with the resource consumption during the production of such product 40.

[0040] Product 40 may be a final product, an intermediate product such as a part, tool, or material on the way to a final product, or a co-product (e.g., a by-product) produced along with the primary end product.

[0041] The calculation system 10 includes a resource selection unit 110, a unit conversion unit 120, a balance calculation unit 130, an emission amount calculation unit 140, and a display unit 150. The calculation system 10 may include modules having other functions as necessary.

[0042] The calculation system 10 may be a computer such as a PC (personal computer), a tablet computer, a smartphone, a workstation, a server computer, or a general-purpose computer, or may be a computer system in which multiple computers are connected.

[0043] Alternatively, the calculation system 10 may be a dedicated computer designed for calculating resource balance information and environmental pollutant emissions, or may be dedicated hardware implemented using dedicated circuits. The calculation system 10 may be implemented by a single device (computer), or by multiple devices with different roles. When implemented by a single device, the calculation system 10 may be a calculation device. For example, the calculation system 10 may be implemented as a function of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, or may be configured to operate in conjunction with the ERP system. Although not specifically described below, the calculation system 10 is equipped with memory / hard disks, etc., which store information necessary for processing as appropriate, and transmit information between each processing module, such as the balance calculation unit 130 and the emission calculation unit 140.

[0044] The resource selection unit 110 selects resources to be used for calculating resource balance information from among a plurality of resources used in the production of a product. The resource selection unit 110 may select resources based on a bill of materials. For example, the resource selection unit 110 may select resources to be used for calculating resource balance information from among resources included in a bill of materials indicating resources used in the production of a product.

[0045] The unit conversion unit 120 converts the unit of resource quantity for the resource selected by the resource selection unit 110. For example, the unit conversion unit 120 converts the unit of resource quantity to unify the units of resource quantity among multiple resources used in calculating resource balance information. The unit conversion unit 120 may convert the resource quantity into another unit based on a predetermined or input numerical value (e.g., density).

[0046] The balance calculation unit 130 calculates resource balance information based on the production volume of the product and the amount of resources used in the production of the product. The resource balance information is information that indicates the material balance between the amount of resources used in the production of the product and the production volume of the product, such as the difference between the two.

[0047] The balance calculation unit 130 may calculate resource balance information for the resources selected by the resource selection unit 110. For example, the balance calculation unit 130 may calculate the resource balance information based on a bill of materials. The balance calculation unit 130 may calculate the resource balance information based on the resource amounts converted by the unit conversion unit 120.

[0048] The emission calculation unit 140 calculates the emission amount of environmental pollutants based on the resource balance information calculated by the balance calculation unit 130. The emission amount of environmental pollutants is the amount of environmental pollutants emitted into the environment in conjunction with the production of products.

[0049] The display unit 150 displays information used in the processing of the calculation system 10, the processing results, etc. For example, the display unit 150 may display the resources used in the production of the product, resource balance information, and / or the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. For example, the display unit 150 may display the resource balance information together with a parts list.

[0050] In this way, the calculation system 10 of this embodiment calculates resource balance information, which is the balance between the production volume of a product and the amount of resources used in producing that product, and can calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions taking the resource balance information into consideration. In particular, when only the resources used are taken into consideration, it has been difficult to accurately calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions emitted during the manufacture of a product.

[0051] Until now, it has not always been easy to accurately determine the amount of resource loss, etc., from waste, etc. However, with the calculation system 10 of this embodiment, resource balance information can be easily calculated from the production volume of a product and the resources used. This makes it possible to save the calculation resources, storage resources, etc., required for accurate calculation of the amount of environmental pollutant emissions.

[0052] 2 shows the flow of the calculation method according to this embodiment. The calculation system 10 calculates resource balance information and environmental pollutant emissions by executing, for example, steps S100 to S500. The order of steps S100 to S500 may be changed, and some steps may be omitted.

[0053] First, in S100, the resource selection unit 110 acquires information about a product and resources used in producing the product. For example, the resource selection unit 110 may acquire the production volume of the product, the usage amount of each resource used in producing the product, and the emission coefficient of each resource used in producing the product. As an example, the resource selection unit 110 may acquire a bill of materials indicating the resources used in producing the product. In the processing described below, the resource selection unit 110 may use information that can obtain necessary information about resources in addition to or instead of the bill of materials.

[0054] Resources may be those necessary for producing a product (e.g., materials and parts that later become part of the product), energy sources used in producing the product (e.g., electricity, oil, coal, gas, hydrogen, alcohol, other fuels, oxygen, other oxidants, other chemical energy sources, potential energy sources, kinetic energy, and renewable energy sources such as solar, hydroelectric, and wind power), auxiliary materials that assist in the production of the product (e.g., catalysts, solvents, cooling media, cleaning media, steam, other media), and other resources related to the production of the product (e.g., cushioning materials and packaging materials). Resources may include not only those directly used in the production of the product, but also those indirectly used in production by being used for maintaining the facilities and equipment of the production entity 20.

[0055] FIG. 3 shows an example of a parts list according to this embodiment. The parts list shows the resources required to manufacture a predetermined amount of product. The item shows information identifying the target product (for example, name or model number, etc.). The resource shows information identifying the resource used in the production of the product listed in the item (for example, name or model number, etc.). The quantity shows the amount of resource used. The unit shows the unit of quantity. The emission coefficient shows the emission coefficient of the resource (details of which will be described later).

[0056] The bill of materials in Figure 3 relates to the production of product A. Figure 3 shows that raw materials 1 to 3, electricity, LNG (gas), water, and nitrogen are used as resources in the production of product A.

[0057] A bill of materials indicates the amount of resources required to produce a unit of a product. The amounts of resources may be expressed in common units or in different units. In the Units column of Figure 3, "KG" represents weight in kilograms (kg), "KW" represents power consumption in kilowatts (kW), and "M3" represents volume in cubic meters (m ３ ) and "Nm3" represents the normal lube of air volume.

[0058] For example, in FIG. 3, the resources required to produce 1000 kg of product A are 1000 kg of raw material 1, 500 kg of raw material 2, 400 kg of raw material 3, 3100 kW of electricity, and 123 m of LNG gas. ３ , 3013m of water ３ , and 200 normal lubes of nitrogen were required.

[0059] The bill of materials may include an emission coefficient for each resource. The emission coefficient is related to the amount of environmental pollutant emissions for each resource, and may be, for example, a coefficient that is multiplied by the amount of resource to calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions released into the environment as a result of the consumption of that resource. As an example, the emission coefficient may be the CO2 emission coefficient used in MiLCA (a life cycle assessment tool provided by the Japan Sustainable Management Organization). ２ or the CO2 emission factor published by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (https: / / ghg-santeikohyo.env.go.jp / calc) ２ , C.H. ４ , N ２ O, HFC, PFC, SF ６ , N.F. ３ The emission factor may be, for example,

[0060] For example, in Figure 3, it is shown that the emission factor of raw material 1 is 0.12, the emission factor of raw material 2 is 0.33, the emission factor of raw material 3 is 0.22, the emission factor of electricity is 0.4, the emission factor of LNG is 0.3, the emission factor of water is 0.12, and the emission factor of nitrogen is 0.02. Therefore, for example, when 1 kg of raw material 1 is consumed, 1 kg x 0.12 = 0.12 kg of an environmental pollutant (e.g., CO ２ ) is shown to be excreted.

[0061] The emission coefficient may be obtained in advance from a database or may be input by the user. Note that the above-mentioned emission coefficients are merely values ​​for the purpose of explanation, and the actual emission coefficients may differ from the above.

[0062] Next, in S200, the resource selection unit 110 selects resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information from the resources acquired in S100. For example, the resource selection unit 110 selects resources to be used in the production of a product, based on the bill of materials, for which the material balance with the production volume of the product should be adjusted. The resource selection unit 110 may select resources to be used in the calculation from the resources included in the bill of materials.

[0063] The resource selection unit 110 may select resources that will be at least partially included in the product. For example, the resource selection unit 110 may select raw materials that will ultimately be part of the product, but may not select energy sources and auxiliary materials that will not ultimately be part of the product. The resource selection unit 110 may identify resources that will be raw materials by referring to a bill of materials. In the example of FIG. 3 , the resource selection unit 110 selects raw materials 1 to 3 because they will ultimately be included in the product, but may not select electricity, LNG, water, and nitrogen because they will not ultimately be included in the product.

[0064] The resource selection unit 110 may select resources based on the unit of resource quantity. For example, the resource selection unit 110 selects resources that share a common unit of quantity in the bill of materials as resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information. For example, the resource selection unit 110 may collectively select multiple resources that share a common unit of resource, such as "kg." As an example, the resource selection unit 110 may select resources (e.g., raw materials 1 to 3 in FIG. 3 , each of which has a unit of quantity equal to "kg") that are the same as the unit of product quantity in the bill of materials (e.g., "kg" as the unit of product A in FIG. 3 ).

[0065] Here, "having a common unit of quantity" may mean that the units are completely identical (e.g., "kg" and "kg"). Alternatively, "having a common unit of quantity" may include units that express substantially the same amount of an object, in addition to being completely identical.

[0066] For example, the resource selection unit 110 may treat mg, g, kg, and T (ton) as having a common unit of quantity (weight). ３ and m ３ These quantities in a plurality of substantially common units may be converted into quantities in a common unit by the unit converter 120, as will be described later, and used in subsequent processing.

[0067] The calculation system 10 may accept a selection of resources from a user. For example, the resource selection unit 110 may select the resources specified by the user as resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information.

[0068] For example, the display unit 150 may display the parts list shown in FIG. 3 together with check boxes 300. A check box 300 may be provided for each resource. The resource selection unit 110 may receive input from the user of checking the check boxes 300. The resource selection unit 110 may select the checked resources. For example, in FIG. 3, raw material 1, raw material 2, and raw material 3 are selected by checking them.

[0069] The bill of materials may include the net amount of resources input. For example, Figure 3 may show that 500 kg of raw material 1 was input. If some of the resources are recovered and then input again, the input amount and the recovered amount of resources may be shown separately.

[0070] For example, a bill of materials may include a row in which 650 (kg) is entered as the quantity of raw material 1, and a row in which -150 (kg) is entered as the quantity of raw material 1. In this case, 650 kg of raw material 1 was input, but 150 kg of that may have been recovered and reused (i.e., the amount newly input is 650 kg - 150 kg = 500 kg).

[0071] Next, in S400, the balance calculation unit 130 calculates resource balance information for the resources selected by the resource selection unit 110 in S200. The balance calculation unit 130 calculates the resource balance information by comparing the amount of the product with the total amount of the selected resources.

[0072] The balance calculation unit 130 may calculate, as the resource balance information, the amount of resource use loss obtained by subtracting the amount of product production from the amount of resource. For example, the balance calculation unit 130 may calculate, as the resource balance information, the amount of resource loss obtained by subtracting the amount of product production from the amount of resource selected in S200.

[0073] Figure 4 shows an example of a method for calculating resource balance information according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the amount of raw material 1 is 500 kg, the amount of raw material 2 is 400 kg, and the amount of raw material 3 is 150 kg. The total amount of raw materials 1 to 3 is 500 kg + 400 kg + 150 kg = 1,050 kg. On the other hand, the amount of product A produced is 1,000 kg.

[0074] The balance calculation unit 130 calculates 1050 kg - 1000 kg = 50 kg, and calculates this as the resource balance information (and resource loss amount). The resource loss amount may be interpreted as resource loss and / or product loss. For example, in the example of Figure 4, the resource loss amount may be interpreted as the amount of input raw materials 1 to 3 that was not used in the production of product A and was lost for some reason, and / or the amount of produced product A that was damaged, deteriorated, or became unrecoverable for some reason.

[0075] The balance calculation unit 130 may calculate the amount of resource acquisition instead of the amount of resource loss. For example, in a plant factory, not only raw materials supplied by humans but also raw materials obtained from nature (for example, water and CO ２ ), the amount of product may be greater than the total amount of raw materials supplied by humans. In such a case, the balance calculation unit 130 may calculate the amount of resource acquisition by subtracting the total amount of raw materials from the amount of product.

[0076] Next, in S500, the emission calculation unit 140 calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions released into the environment during the production of the product. The emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions derived from each resource based on the amount of each resource used in the production of the product, and may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions derived from resource loss based on the resource balance information calculated in S400.

[0077] For example, the emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of resources based on the amount of resource and the emission coefficient for each resource. For example, the emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the amount of resource loss based on the amount of resource loss and the emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss.

[0078] For example, the emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the use of a resource by multiplying the amount of the resource by the emission coefficient of the resource. The emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the resource loss by multiplying the amount of resource loss by the emission coefficient of the amount of resource loss.

[0079] The emission amount calculation unit 140 may calculate the total amount of environmental pollutant emissions emitted in the manufacture of a product based on the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with resource use and the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with resource loss. For example, the emission amount calculation unit 140 may calculate the total amount of environmental pollutant emissions by adding up both amounts.

[0080] Figure 5 shows an example of a method for calculating the amount of environmental pollutant emissions according to this embodiment. The quantities and emission coefficients of raw materials 1 to 3 are the same as those in the bill of materials in Figure 3. The resource loss amount (50 kg) shown as "Loss" is the same as that explained in Figure 4. In addition to the resources, an emission coefficient is also set for the resource loss amount. In Figure 5, an emission coefficient of 0.4 is set for "Loss".

[0081] Here, the emission coefficient of the resource loss amount may be a coefficient that is multiplied by the resource loss amount to calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions released into the environment due to the disposal of resource losses and / or product losses (e.g., incineration, disposal, landfilling, separation, extraction, recycling, disposal and / or cleaning, etc.). For example, the emission coefficient of the resource loss amount related to product A may be a coefficient for calculating the amount of environmental pollutants released into the environment when disposing of raw materials 1 to 3 (e.g., those that remained in the manufacturing equipment, volatilized, or spilled) that were not used (or could not be used) in the production of product A, and / or the amount of environmental pollutants released into the environment when disposing of product A that was produced but cannot be recovered.

[0082] The emission coefficient of the resource loss amount may be a predetermined value or a value input by the user. Alternatively, the emission coefficient of the resource loss amount may be a weighted sum of emission coefficients associated with the loss of each resource, weighted by the ratio of the amounts of each resource.

[0083] The emission calculation unit 140 multiplies the amount of raw material 1 (500 kg) by the emission coefficient of raw material 1 (0.12) to calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of raw material 1 to be 60 kg. The emission calculation unit 140 multiplies the amount of raw material 2 (400 kg) by the emission coefficient of raw material 2 (0.33) to calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of raw material 2 to be 132 kg. The emission calculation unit 140 multiplies the amount of raw material 3 (150 kg) by the emission coefficient of raw material 3 (0.22) to calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of raw material 3 to be 33 kg. The emission calculation unit 140 multiplies the amount of resource loss (50 kg) by the emission coefficient of resource loss (0.40) to calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from resource loss to be 20 kg.

[0084] The emission calculation unit 140 may add up the emissions of environmental pollutants derived from raw materials 1 to 3 and the emissions of environmental pollutants derived from resource loss, and calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions released into the environment due to the production of product A as 60 kg + 132 kg + 33 kg + 20 kg = 245 kg.

[0085] The emission calculation unit 140 may add up the amount of environmental pollutant emission originating from raw materials 1 to 3 and resource loss, as well as the amount of environmental pollutant emission originating from materials other than raw materials 1 to 3. In this way, resources other than raw materials may also be taken into consideration when calculating the amount of environmental pollutant emission released into the environment due to the production of product A. The emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the emission coefficient associated with the production of product A by dividing the calculated amount of environmental pollutant emission associated with the production of product A by the production volume of product A.

[0086] The display unit 150 may display the input information, the progress of the processing, and the results of the processing. For example, the display unit 150 may display the resources acquired in S100 and the resources selected in S200. The display unit 150 may display the resource balance information calculated in S400. The display unit 150 may display the amount of environmental pollutant emissions calculated by the emission amount calculation unit 140. The display unit 150 may display this information together with a parts list.

[0087] 6 shows an example of an input / output screen according to this embodiment. The display unit 150 may display the input / output screen shown in FIG. 6 during the processing of S100 to S500. The display unit 150 may display a parts list 610 acquired in S100 and a balanced parts list 620 including the resource balance information calculated in S400 (shown as "Loss" in the figure).

[0088] The display unit 150 may display candidate items to be displayed in the BOM 610 together with check boxes in the item selection window 630. The display unit 150 may display items (e.g., "item," "resource," "quantity," "unit," and "emission coefficient") selected by the user by checking the check boxes in the BOM 610 and the balanced BOM 620.

[0089] The display unit 150 may display candidate units of resources to be added together with check boxes in the unit selection window 640. The display unit 150 may display candidate units related to the resources selected in the item selection window 630 in the unit selection window 640. For example, if the user inputs a selection of "KG", the balance calculation unit 130 selects resources with a unit of "KG" from among the resources already selected in the item selection window 630.

[0090] Furthermore, the display unit 150 may display candidates for targets to be added together with check boxes in the target selection window 650. The display unit 150 may display items related to the resource selected in the item selection window 630 as candidates in the target selection window 650.

[0091] The balance calculation unit 130 may calculate resource balance information in accordance with the selections made in the check boxes of the unit selection window 640 and the target selection window 650. For example, the balance calculation unit 130 may add up the "quantity" of resources whose unit is "KG" selected in the unit selection window 640. Display of the target selection window 650 may be omitted.

[0092] The balance calculation unit 130 calculates resource balance information (e.g., resource loss amount) by comparing the added-up value (total amount of resources) with the quantity of product A. The balance calculation unit 130 may display a balanced parts list 620 including the calculated resource balance information (resource "loss" in the figure).

[0093] The display unit 150 may display the parts bill 610 and the balanced parts bill 620 together, and may also display an update of the parts bill 610 to the balanced parts bill 620. The display unit 150 may display the calculated resource balance information (e.g., the amount of resource loss) in the total emission amount display portion 660.

[0094] According to this embodiment, the calculation system 10 calculates resource balance information, thereby enabling a more accurate calculation of environmental pollutant emissions in a simple manner. The calculation system 10 can save on the computational resources and storage resources required for accurate calculation of environmental pollutant emissions.

[0095] In the examples described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, the case where there is one piece of resource balance information has been described, but the calculation system 10 may divide the resource balance information into a plurality of pieces by type.

[0096] 7 shows an example of the breakdown of loss disposal methods according to a first modification of this embodiment. In this example, resource balance information ("loss" in the bill of materials) is divided by resource disposal method into three types: loss (incineration), loss (disposal), and loss (recycle). Of the 50 kg of loss that includes raw materials 1 to 3 and / or product A, 10 kg is incinerated and disposed of in a landfill, 10 kg is disposed of as is, and 30 kg is recycled.

[0097] The balance calculation unit 130 may divide the calculated resource balance information (e.g., the “resource loss amount”) into multiple parts according to a predetermined method. For example, the balance calculation unit 130 may divide the resource balance information according to a set division ratio or a division ratio input by the user.

[0098] The emission calculation unit 140 may divide the amount of resource loss into disposal amounts for each resource disposal method and calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emission corresponding to each divided disposal amount. For example, the emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emission based on the disposal amount for each resource disposal method and the emission coefficient for each resource disposal method. As an example, the emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emission for each resource disposal method by multiplying the disposal amount for each resource disposal method by the emission coefficient for each resource disposal method.

[0099] 8 shows an example of a method for calculating emissions in the first modified example. Loss related to incineration is defined as loss A, loss related to disposal as loss B, and loss related to recycling as loss C. The emission coefficients for loss A, B, and C are preset to 0.10, 0.7, and 0.4, respectively.

[0100] The emission amount calculation unit 140 multiplies the quantity of the disposal amount of loss A (10 kg) by the emission coefficient of loss A, 0.10, to calculate the amount of resource loss due to loss A as 10 kg x 0.10 = 1 kg. The emission amount calculation unit 140 multiplies the quantity of the disposal amount of loss B (10 kg) by the emission coefficient of loss B, 0.70, to calculate the amount of resource loss due to loss B as 10 kg x 0.70 = 7 kg. The emission amount calculation unit 140 multiplies the quantity of the disposal amount of loss C (30 kg) by the emission coefficient of loss C, 0.40, to calculate the amount of resource loss due to loss C as 30 kg x 0.40 = 12 kg.

[0101] The emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the total amount of environmental pollutant emissions emitted in the manufacture of the product based on the amount of environmental pollutant emissions derived from each resource and the amount of environmental pollutant emissions derived from each divided resource loss. For example, the emission calculation unit 140 may add up the emissions derived from raw materials 1 to 3 (60 kg, 132 kg, and 33 kg) and the emissions derived from losses A to C (1 kg, 7 kg, and 12 kg) to calculate a total amount of environmental pollutant emissions of 245 kg.

[0102] According to this modification, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions for each resource disposal method can be calculated with higher accuracy for the amount of resource loss, which reduces the required computational and storage resources compared to when other methods are used to calculate accurate amounts of environmental pollutant emissions.

[0103] In a second modification of this embodiment, the resource selection unit 110 may automatically perform at least part of the process of S200. For example, the resource selection unit 110 may select resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information depending on the product.

[0104] Fig. 9 shows another example of a parts list according to the second modified example of this embodiment. The parts list in Fig. 9 shows a list of resources for producing product B. The parts list includes information on product categories and resource categories. The "resource category" may indicate information on the category (i.e., type) to which the resource belongs.

[0105] For example, the row for product B itself (the row where "resource" is "product B") indicates that product B belongs to the "textile products" category.

[0106] For example, raw materials 4 and 5 belong to the resource category of "raw materials." The resource category of raw materials may refer to resources that ultimately constitute a major part of a product. For example, raw material 6 belongs to the resource category of "additive." The resource category of additives may refer to resources that do not ultimately constitute a major part of a product, but are added together with raw materials.

[0107] Electricity and LNG belong to the "energy" resource category. The energy resource category may refer to an energy source for product production, not a resource that ultimately constitutes the product. The packaging resource category may refer to a resource for packaging the product, not a resource that constitutes the product itself. Other points may be the same as the bill of materials described in FIG. 3.

[0108] 10 shows an example of a resource selection table in the second modified example. The resource selection table shows product categories. For example, products such as product A and product B are classified into categories such as textile products, resin products, membrane products, film products, electronic material products, etc.

[0109] In the resource selection table of FIG. 10, resources to be selected for each product category are displayed with an "X." For example, for textile products, "raw materials," "additives," "water," and "steam" are selected. For example, for resin products, "raw materials," "additives," and "water" are selected. For example, for membrane products, "raw materials," "additives," "water," and "steam" are selected. For example, for film products, "raw materials" and "packaging materials" are selected. For example, for electronic material products, "raw materials" and "packaging materials" are selected.

[0110] As an example, the resource selection unit 110 may select resources from the resource categories of "raw materials," "additives," "water," and "steam" marked with an "X" in "textile products" in Figure 10 (i.e., raw materials 4 to 6, water, and steam) in accordance with the fact that the product category of product B is "textile products."

[0111] Thereafter, in S400, etc., the balance calculation unit 130 may select resource balance information for the selected resource. According to this modification, it is possible to accurately and easily identify resources to be selected according to product and resource categories.

[0112] The flow of a calculation method according to a third modification of this embodiment is shown below. In this modification, in S300, the unit conversion unit 120 may convert the units of the quantities of the resources selected in S200. For example, if the units of the quantities of the resources selected in S200 are not unified, the unit conversion unit 120 may unify the units of all the selected resources by converting the units of the quantities of some of the resources.

[0113] The unit converter 120 may convert units of qualitatively common quantities. For example, the unit converter 120 may convert the amount of a resource (i.e., the amount of weight) expressed in mg, g, kg, and T (tons) into any of these units (e.g., kg).

[0114] The unit converter 120 may convert units of qualitatively different quantities. For example, the unit converter 120 may convert m ３ The amount of resource expressed as a quantity (i.e., volume) may be converted into a unit of weight (e.g., kg) based on density information that has been set or input in advance. Thereafter, in S400, the balance calculation unit 130 may calculate resource balance information using the amount in the common unit.

[0115] 11 shows the flow of a calculation method according to a third modification of this embodiment. In this modification, the unit converter 120 performs the process of S300 after S200 and before S400. S100 to S200 and S400 to S500 may be the same as the processes described above.

[0116] In S300, the unit conversion unit 120 converts the unit of resource quantity for the resource selected by the resource selection unit 110 in S200. For example, the unit conversion unit 120 may convert the unit of resource quantity to unify the unit of resource quantity among multiple resources used in calculating resource balance information.

[0117] 12 shows an example of a parts list according to the third modification of this embodiment. In FIG. 12, the units (KG) of the selected raw materials 1 and 3 are different from the unit (M3) of raw material 2. In this case, the unit conversion unit 120 converts the quantity of raw material 2 to 350 m. ３ This may be multiplied by the density of raw material 2 to convert it into weight, which is a unit of raw material 1, etc.

[0118] 13 shows an example of unit conversion according to the third modification of this embodiment. For example, when the density of raw material 2 is 1.2 kg / m ３ When the setting is made as follows, the unit conversion unit 120 converts the volume of raw material 2 to 350 m ３ ×1.2 kg / m ３ The weight of raw material 2 is calculated as 420 kg.

[0119] According to this modification, even if the resource amounts are expressed in a plurality of different units in the parts list, it is possible to calculate the resource balance information, the emission amount, and the like.

[0120] In the above description, the amount of a product and the amount of a resource (or the quantity of a resource) are described as the amounts (weight, volume, etc.) of the product and the resource themselves, but this is not limited to this. For example, the amount of a product and the amount of a resource may be the amounts of specific ingredients, parts, or derivatives derived therefrom contained in the product and the resource. As an example, the amount of a product and the amount of a resource may be the amounts (weight, volume, etc.) of carbon contained in the product and carbon contained in the resource.

[0121] The amount of environmental pollutant emissions and / or their increase or decrease may be transferred between multiple parties. For example, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions and / or their increase or decrease may be transferred from a product producer to a purchaser in connection with the sale of the product. Here, the transfer of the amount of environmental pollutant emissions, etc. may be authenticated using blockchain.

[0122] 19 shows the configuration of a support system 22 according to a fourth modification of this embodiment. The support system 22 supports the production of products and the adjustment of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of products. The support system 22 may be realized by one or more computers, and when realized by a single computer, may be a support device. The support system 22 may further include a target acquisition unit 133, a manufacturing plan correction unit 136, and a control unit 145 in addition to the calculation system 10 or a part of the calculation system 10.

[0123] The target acquisition unit 133 acquires a target value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. The target acquisition unit 133 may acquire the target value from the user, or alternatively, may acquire a predetermined target value.

[0124] The manufacturing plan correction unit 136 corrects the manufacturing plan used to manufacture the product. The manufacturing plan may specify the amount of product to be manufactured, the amount of energy source to be used, the type of energy source to be used, whether or not to use recycled resources, which are resources derived from recycling (e.g., resources manufactured and / or obtained through recycling), and / or the amount of recycled resources to be used. For example, the manufacturing plan correction unit 136 calculates the amount of recycled resources (e.g., the amount of recycled resources to be used) to achieve a target value based on a recycled materials bill of materials indicating one or more recycled materials, and sets or corrects the amount of recycled resources based on the calculation result. Details of the recycled materials bill of materials, etc. will be described later.

[0125] The control unit 145 carries out the production of products and the recycling of resources so as to realize the recycling amount calculated by the manufacturing plan correction unit 136 .

[0126] 20 shows the flow of the support method according to the fourth modification. In this modification, after S500, the processes of S600 to S800 are performed. S100 to S500 may be the same as those described above.

[0127] In S600, the target acquisition unit 133 acquires a target value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. For example, the target acquisition unit 133 acquires the target value from the user. The target acquisition unit 133 may acquire a numerical value from the user that is smaller than the amount of environmental pollutant emissions calculated in S500 as the target value.

[0128] Alternatively, the target acquisition unit 133 may calculate a target value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. For example, the target acquisition unit 133 may set the target value to a numerical value obtained by multiplying the amount of environmental pollutant emissions calculated in S500 by a predetermined coefficient (e.g., 0.8), or to a numerical value obtained by subtracting a predetermined reduction amount from the amount of environmental pollutant emissions calculated in S500.

[0129] Next, in S700, the manufacturing plan correction unit 136 calculates the amount of recycled resources to achieve the target value calculated in S600. The manufacturing plan correction unit 136 calculates the amount of recycled resources based on the recycled parts bill of materials.

[0130] Fig. 21 shows an example of a recycled parts bill of materials according to the fourth modified example. The recycled parts bill shows emission coefficients and the like related to resources derived from recycling. Fig. 21 shows emission coefficients and the like for recycled raw material 1. Recycled raw material 1 is a resource that is the same as or equivalent to raw material 1 shown in the parts bill of materials in Fig. 3, etc., but, unlike raw material 1, is a resource that has been manufactured and / or obtained based on recycling.

[0131] 3, the emission coefficient of raw material 1 is 0.12, while the emission coefficient of recycled raw material 1 is 0.07, which indicates that recycled raw material 1 has less environmental impact than raw material 1. In other words, by using 1 kg of recycled raw material 1 instead of raw material 1, the amount of environmentally harmful substances emitted can be reduced by (0.12 - 0.07) x 1 kg = 0.5 kg.

[0132] The manufacturing plan correction unit 136 may calculate the amount of recycled resources used by dividing the difference between the product's emission coefficient and the target value by the difference between the resource's emission coefficient and the emission coefficient of a recycled resource that is the same or equivalent to the resource and manufactured and / or obtained through recycling. For example, if the emission coefficient of product A calculated in S500 is 1.2 and the target value obtained in S600 is 1.1, the manufacturing plan correction unit 136 calculates the recycled amount as (1.2 - 1.1) / (0.12 - 0.05) = 20 kg. In other words, the target value can be achieved by using 20 kg of recycled raw material 1 instead of 20 kg of raw material 1. For example, the parts list in FIG. 3 calls for the use of 500 kg of raw material 1, but the target can be achieved by replacing at least 20 kg of this amount with recycled raw material 1.

[0133] The manufacturing plan correction unit 136 may calculate the amount of recycled resources by taking into account resources other than raw materials used in the recycling. The manufacturing plan correction unit 136 may calculate the amount of resources other than raw materials used in the recycling by multiplying the manufacturing amount of the product by the amount of resources other than raw materials used in the recycling per unit manufacturing amount of the product. The manufacturing plan correction unit 136 may limit the amount of recycled resources so that the amount of the resources does not exceed a predetermined amount.

[0134] For example, the bill of materials in FIG. 21 indicates that 100 kW of electricity is required to produce and / or obtain 1 kg of recycled material 1. That is, if 20 kg of recycled material 1 is used, an additional 2,000 kW of electricity is required (100 kW / kg x 20 kg = 2,000 kW). If 1,000 kg of product A is produced, the additional amount of electricity required is 2,000 kW x 1,000 = 2,000 MW. Here, if the surplus electricity available for production of product A in the factory is 1,000 MW, the production plan correction unit 136 can keep the additional amount of electricity within the surplus electricity by setting the recycled amount (amount of recycled material 1 used) per 1 kg of product A to 10 kg.

[0135] Next, in S800, the control unit 145 executes the production of products and the recycling of resources so as to realize the recycling amount calculated in S700. For example, the control unit 145 controls the manufacturing equipment of the recycled material 1 to manufacture the amount of recycled material 1 calculated in S700 (e.g., 20 kg).

[0136] As described above, according to this modification, the amount of emissions of environmental pollutants can be reduced to a target value. Furthermore, according to this modification, the recycling necessary to reduce the amount of emissions of environmental pollutants to a target value can be performed. Note that, although this modification shows an example in which recycling is performed to reduce the amount of emissions of environmental pollutants to a target value, in addition to or instead of this, the target value may also be achieved by means such as adjusting the production volume of the product itself (for example, reducing the production volume from the original plan).

[0137] FIG. 14 shows the configuration of an information processing system 2500 according to a modified example of this embodiment. The information processing system 2500 is a system for supporting resource recycling. The information processing system 2500 stores and manages information regarding, for example, increases and decreases in emissions of environmental pollutants and their transfers, and determines whether to certify that the transfer of increases and decreases in emissions of heat-generating effect substances associated with product orders (e.g., the transfer of emission credits) has been properly performed. The information processing system 2500 includes terminal devices 2510a, 2510b, and 2510c and a blockchain network 2502. The terminal devices 2510a, 2510b, and 2510c and the blockchain network 2502 can communicate with each other via a network N. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the information processing system 2500 includes three terminal devices; however, the number of terminal devices can be set arbitrarily and may be two or less, four or more. Terminal devices 2510a, 2510b, and 2510c may have similar or different configurations, and in one embodiment, when terminal devices 2510a, 2510b, and 2510c are referred to interchangeably, they are collectively referred to as terminal devices 2510.

[0138] The terminal device 2510 is an information processing device used by a user who uses the services provided by the information processing system 2500. The terminal device 2510 may be, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a dedicated information processing device. At least one of the multiple terminal devices 2510 may be a communication terminal used by the production entity 20, the product seller, and / or the product purchaser.

[0139] The blockchain network 2502 is a platform for utilizing blockchain technology. The blockchain network 2502 has a distributed system processed by multiple computers (hereinafter referred to as "node devices") present on the network. Communication between node devices is typically performed via P2P (Peer to Peer). By adopting P2P, even if a malfunction occurs in one of the node devices, the entire system is unlikely to go down, and system continuity is maintained. In a blockchain, transaction information between participants is compiled as transactions in blocks. Each block is connected in a chain and stored and managed in chronological order by each node device. Approval of a new block is achieved through a consensus process in the distributed network. Each block in the blockchain stores the hash value of the previous block. If a block is tampered with, the hash value also changes, requiring the hash values ​​of subsequent blocks to also be changed. Therefore, by adopting blockchain technology, it is possible to build a highly secure system that is difficult to tamper with.

[0140] The blockchain network 2502 is configured to include node devices 2520a, 2520b, 2520c, and 2520d. In the example shown in FIG. 14, four node devices are shown as node devices included in the blockchain network 2502, but the number of node devices can be set arbitrarily and may be three or less or five or more. The node devices 2520a, 2520b, 2520c, and 2520d each have the same configuration. In one embodiment, when the node devices 2520a, 2520b, 2520c, and 2520d are referred to without distinction from one another, they are collectively referred to as node devices 2520.

[0141] The node device 2520 may be, for example, one or more calculation systems 10 and / or other computers. In this case, the node device 2520 communicates with some of the communication terminals used by the calculation system 10, product sellers, and / or product purchasers, respectively, to perform distributed processing of management of the increase or decrease in the amount of environmental pollutant emissions (e.g., emission credits).

[0142] As a modified example, the blockchain network 2502 may be replaced with another configuration for storing and processing data, such as a server device, cloud computing, or edge computing. Furthermore, instead of using the blockchain network 2502 alone, a combination of any two or more of the blockchain network 2502, the server device, cloud computing, and edge computing may be employed.

[0143] The network N is composed of a wireless network and a wired network. Examples of the network include the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a mobile phone network, a wireless LAN, 5G (5th Generation), 4G (4th Generation), LTE (Long Term Evolution), WiMax (registered trademark), infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), a wired LAN, a telephone line, a power line network, and a network conforming to IEEE 1394 or the like.

[0144] Fig. 15 shows the configuration of a blockchain network 2502 according to a modified example of this embodiment. In the example shown in Fig. 15, each node device 2520 in the blockchain network 2502 includes, as its main functional components, a transaction information acquisition unit 2600, an authentication unit 2608, a consensus building processing unit 2610, and a storage unit 2612. These functions are realized, for example, by a control unit (processor) included in each node device 2520 reading and executing a computer program stored in a storage device.

[0145] Fig. 16 shows an example of the data structure of transaction information according to a modification of this embodiment, stored in the storage unit 2612. Note that the data structure shown in Fig. 16 is an example, and the transaction information can have any data structure.

[0146] The transaction information according to this modification includes identification information as event information. The transaction information according to this modification may be recorded as a block including event information corresponding to a transfer event of an increase or decrease in the amount of environmental pollutant emissions.

[0147] In this modification, the node device 2520 manages the transfer and assignment of increases and decreases in the amount of environmental pollutant emissions as "transaction information." In the example shown in the figure, the transfer date and time, transferee, transferor, and quantity information are specified as transaction information. The information on the transferee and transferor is information that enables the association of the increase or decrease in the amount of environmental pollutant emissions transferred this time when it is used in another transfer.

[0148] The information on the transferee and transferor may specify the hash value of the public key of the trading partner. The hash value of the public key specified as the trading partner information may be the destination (address) of the increase or decrease in the amount of environmental pollutant emissions specified in the leak.

[0149] The transaction information may include one or more pieces of event information. As will be described in detail later, the transaction information is verified by a consensus process, and once approved, it is stored as a structure called a block in the blockchain. The structure of the transaction information is not limited to the example in FIG. 16 and may be any structure.

[0150] The transaction information acquisition unit 2600 acquires information to be recorded in the blockchain from the event information for one or more events. The transaction information acquisition unit 2600 compiles the acquired event information for one or more events into a set of transaction information.

[0151] The transaction information acquisition unit 2600 may collect event information for as many events as can be recorded in a predetermined storage space per block into one set of transaction information. Furthermore, the transaction information acquisition unit 2600 may collect, for each predetermined cycle, one or more pieces of event information acquired within that cycle into one set of transaction information. Alternatively, the transaction information acquisition unit 2600 may include event information for one event in the transaction information, and allocate one block per event.

[0152] In the example of FIG. 16, the transaction information T01 includes an event (identification information “emission allowance generation 000”) that occurred in response to the generation of an emission allowance of 100 kg (quantity information) by the reduction generator “XXX”, and the information on the emission allowance (CO ２The event includes an event (identification information "emission allowance transfer 001") that occurred in response to the transfer of 100 kg of emission allowance from "XXX" to "YYY".

[0153] Transaction information T02 is "YYY" is the emission reduction limit (CO ２ The event (identification information "emission allowance transfer 002") that occurred in response to the transfer of the emission reduction allowance (CO 100 kg) from "XXX" and the ２ The event information includes an event (identification information "emission allowance transfer 011") that occurs in response to the further transfer of 100 kg of emission allowance from "YYY" to "XYZ".

[0154] The certification unit 2608 certifies the creation and transfer of such emission allowances. The certification unit 2608 certifies when it is confirmed that the emissions of environmental pollutants have actually been reduced (for example, when alternative resources have been used properly).

[0155] Fig. 17 shows an example of the data structure of a block chain according to a modification of this embodiment, stored in the storage unit 2612. Fig. 17 shows the structure of the (N+1)th block among blocks arranged in chronological order.

[0156] The "header" of a block may store, for example, the digest, timestamp, target, and nonce of the Nth block.

[0157] The "digest of the Nth block" stores, for example, identification information that allows each node device 2520 and terminal device 2510 on the blockchain network to uniquely identify the Nth block. The digest of the Nth block can be, for example, the hash value of the block.

[0158] "Timestamp" stores information about the timestamp or block number that is added when a block is created.

[0159] The "target" and "nonce" are values ​​used when consensus building processing is performed using an algorithm such as PBFT (Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance) or Endorsement-Ordering-Validation. The "target" is a value related to the difficulty of the consensus building processing. The "nonce" is an arbitrary value created by the consensus building processing when creating a block.

[0160] The consensus formation processing executed by the consensus formation processing unit 2610 will be described in detail. In the consensus formation processing, the consensus formation processing unit 2610 finds a nonce based on the digest (hash value) of the (N+1)th block, and when an appropriate nonce is found, it stores the found nonce and creates the (N+1)th block. The consensus formation processing unit 2610 of each blockchain node (node ​​device 2520) that performs the consensus formation processing repeatedly calculates the digest of the block header while changing the nonce value, with the aim of finding this appropriate nonce.

[0161] Furthermore, if the blockchain is a private or consortium type, it may be configured so that consensus building processing is not performed.

[0162] In the example shown in the figure, multiple transaction records are stored in the "body" of the block. However, this is not limited to this, and a single transaction record may be stored in the "body." Transaction records stored in a block have the same timestamp data.

[0163] The block structure is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 17, and may be any structure.

[0164] According to this modification, the calculation system 10 can store event information in the blockchain network 2502. This allows the calculation system 10 to safely store the event information and prevent tampering. Furthermore, the calculation system 10 can use the event information safely stored in the form of transaction information to certify the process by which reduction quotas for environmental pollutants are generated, the process by which they are traded, and so on.

[0165] Various embodiments of the present invention may be described with reference to flowcharts and block diagrams, where the blocks may represent (1) stages of a process in which operations are performed or (2) sections of apparatus responsible for performing the operations. Particular stages and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, and / or a processor provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. Dedicated circuitry may include digital and / or analog hardware circuitry, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuitry including logical AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logic operations, flip-flops, registers, memory elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and the like.

[0166] A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by an appropriate device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture containing instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of computer-readable media may include electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, and semiconductor storage media. More specific examples of computer-readable media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs or flash memories), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs, memory sticks, integrated circuit cards, and the like.

[0167] The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, JAVA®, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

[0168] The computer-readable instructions may be provided to a processor or programmable circuitry of a programmable data processing apparatus, such as a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other computer, either locally or over a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, etc., which executes the computer-readable instructions to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

[0169] 18 illustrates an example of a computer 2200 in which aspects of the present invention may be embodied, in whole or in part. Programs installed on the computer 2200 may cause the computer 2200 to function as or perform operations associated with an apparatus or one or more sections of the apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention, and / or to perform a process or steps of a process according to embodiments of the present invention. Such programs may be executed by the CPU 2212 to cause the computer 2200 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0170] A computer 2200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2212, a RAM 2214, a graphics controller 2216, and a display device 2218, which are interconnected by a host controller 2210. The computer 2200 also includes input / output units such as a communication interface 2222, a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM drive 2226, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 2210 via an input / output controller 2220. The computer also includes legacy input / output units such as a ROM 2230 and a keyboard 2242, which are connected to the input / output controller 2220 via an input / output chip 2240.

[0171] The CPU 2212 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 2230 and RAM 2214, thereby controlling each unit. The graphics controller 2216 acquires image data generated by the CPU 2212 into a frame buffer or the like provided in the RAM 2214 or into the graphics controller 2216 itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on the display device 2218.

[0172] The communication interface 2222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The hard disk drive 2224 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2212 in the computer 2200. The DVD-ROM drive 2226 reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 2201 and provides the programs or data to the hard disk drive 2224 via the RAM 2214. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and / or writes programs and data to an IC card.

[0173] ROM 2230 stores therein a boot program or the like that is executed by computer 2200 upon activation, and / or programs that depend on the hardware of computer 2200. I / O chip 2240 may also connect various I / O units to I / O controller 2220 via parallel ports, serial ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, etc.

[0174] The programs are provided by a computer-readable medium such as a DVD-ROM 2201 or an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable medium, installed in the hard disk drive 2224, RAM 2214, or ROM 2230, which are also examples of computer-readable media, and executed by the CPU 2212. Information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 2200, and brings about cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured by implementing information manipulation or processing in accordance with the use of the computer 2200.

[0175] For example, when communication is performed between computer 2200 and an external device, CPU 2212 may execute a communication program loaded in RAM 2214 and instruct communication interface 2222 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of CPU 2212, communication interface 2222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer processing area provided in RAM 2214, hard disk drive 2224, DVD-ROM 2201, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes received data received from the network to a reception buffer processing area or the like provided on the recording medium.

[0176] The CPU 2212 may cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored on an external recording medium such as the hard disk drive 2224, the DVD-ROM drive 2226 (DVD-ROM 2201), an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 2214, and may perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 then writes back the processed data to the external recording medium.

[0177] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on the recording medium and may undergo information processing. The CPU 2212 may perform various types of processing on data read from the RAM 2214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search / replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequences of the programs, and write the results back to the RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. on the recording medium. For example, if multiple entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored on the recording medium, the CPU 2212 may search for an entry that matches a condition specified by the attribute value of the first attribute from among the multiple entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

[0178] The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable medium on or near the computer 2200. A recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can also be used as a computer-readable medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 2200 via the network.

[0179] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements can also be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0180] It should be noted that the execution order of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and can be implemented in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a subsequent process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that the process must be implemented in this order. The expression "A and / or B" may mean "A, B, or A and C." The expression "A, B, and / or C" may mean "any one of A, B, and C, or any combination of two or more of these."

[0181] 10 Calculation system 20 Production entity 22 Support system 30 Material 40 Product 110 Resource selection section 120 Unit conversion section 130 Balance calculation section 133 Target acquisition section 136 Manufacturing plan correction section 140 Emission calculation section 145 Control section 150 Display section 300 Check box 610 Parts list 620 Balanced parts list 630 Item selection window 640 Unit selection window 650 Target selection window 660 Emission total display section 2200 Computer 2201 DVD-ROM 2210 Host controller 2212 CPU 2214 RAM 2216 Graphics controller 2218 Display device 2220 Input / output controller 2222 Communication interface 2224 Hard disk drive 2226 DVD-ROM drive 2230 ROM 2240 Input / output chip 2242 Keyboard 2500 Information processing system 2502 Blockchain network 2510a-c Terminal devices 2520a-d Node devices 2600 Transaction information acquisition unit 2608 Authentication unit 2610 Consensus formation processing unit 2612 Storage unit

Claims

1. A calculation system comprising: a balance calculation unit that calculates resource balance information that indicates the material balance between the production volume of a product and the amount of resources used in the production of the product, based on the production volume of the product and the amount of resources used in the production of the product.

2. The calculation system according to claim 1, further comprising an emission calculation unit that calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of the product based on the resource balance information.

3. The calculation system described in claim 2, wherein the resource balance information is the amount of resource loss obtained by subtracting the production amount of the product from the amount of the resource, and the emission calculation unit calculates the amount of environmentally harmful substance emissions based on the amount of resource loss and the emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss.

4. The calculation system according to claim 3, wherein the emission calculation unit calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the amount of resource loss based on the amount of resource loss and the emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss, and calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of the resource based on the amount of resource and the emission coefficient for each resource.

5. The calculation system according to claim 4, wherein the resources include raw materials used in the production of the product and energy sources used in the production of the product.

6. The calculation system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the amount of resource loss is the amount obtained by subtracting the production amount of the product from the total amount of raw materials used in the production of the product.

7. The calculation system according to claim 3, wherein the emission calculation unit divides the amount of resource loss into disposal amounts for each resource disposal method, and calculates the amount of environmentally harmful substance emissions based on the disposal amounts for each resource disposal method and the emission coefficients for each resource disposal method.

8. A calculation system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising: a unit conversion unit that converts the units of the resource quantities to unify the units of resource quantities among multiple resources; and the balance calculation unit calculates resource balance information based on the resource quantities converted by the unit conversion unit.

9. The calculation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the balance calculation unit calculates the resource balance information based on a bill of materials indicating resources used in the production of a product.

10. The calculation system according to claim 9, further comprising a resource selection unit that selects resources included in the bill of materials to be used in calculating the resource balance information, and the balance calculation unit calculates the resource balance information for the resources selected by the resource selection unit.

11. The calculation system according to claim 10, wherein the resource selection unit selects resources designated by a user as resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information.

12. The calculation system according to claim 10, wherein the resource selection unit selects resources that have a common unit of quantity in the parts list as resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information.

13. The calculation system according to claim 10, wherein the resource selection unit selects resources to be used in calculating the resource balance information depending on the product.

14. The calculation system according to claim 9, further comprising a display unit that displays the resources used in the production of the product and the resource balance information.

15. A program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to function as the calculation system according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A calculation method for calculating resource balance information, which is the balance between the production volume of a product and the amount of resources used in producing that product, using a calculation system, comprising: a balance calculation step for calculating resource balance information based on the production volume of the product and the amount of resources used in producing the product.

17. The calculation method according to claim 16, further comprising an emission calculation step of calculating the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of the product based on the resource balance information.

18. The calculation method according to claim 17, wherein the resource balance information is the amount of resource loss obtained by subtracting the production amount of the product from the amount of the resource, and in the emission calculation step, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions is calculated based on the amount of resource loss and an emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss.

19. The calculation method according to claim 18, wherein in the emission calculation step, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the amount of resource loss is calculated based on the amount of resource loss and the emission coefficient of the resource related to the amount of resource loss, and the amount of environmental pollutant emissions resulting from the use of the resources is calculated based on the amount of resource and the emission coefficient for each resource.

20. The calculation method according to claim 19, wherein the resources include raw materials used in the production of the product and energy sources used in the production of the product.

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