Discharge amount estimation system, program, and discharge amount estimation method

Abstract

Provided is a discharge amount estimation system for estimating an environmental impact substance discharge amount associated with production of a product, the discharge amount estimation system comprising: a discharge scale specification unit for specifying an environmental impact substance discharge scale for each resource used in a first process, and an environmental impact substance discharge scale for each resource used in a second process which is a post-process of the first process; an intermediate product specification unit for specifying an intermediate product corresponding to a product generated in the first process among the resources used in the second process; and an association unit for associating the environmental impact substance discharge scale of the resources used in association with the generation of the intermediate product with the environmental impact substance discharge scale of the resources used in the second process. Further provided is a program executed by a computer and causing the computer to function as the discharge amount estimation system.

Description

Emission amount estimation system, program, and emission amount estimation method

[0001] The present invention relates to an emission amount estimation system, a program, and an emission amount estimation 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] A first aspect of the present invention provides an emission estimation system for estimating the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of a product, comprising an emission measure identification unit, an intermediate product identification unit, and an associating unit. The emission measure identification unit identifies an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a first process and an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a second process that is a subsequent process of the first process. The intermediate product identification unit identifies an intermediate product, among the resources used in the second process, that corresponds to the product of the first process. The associating unit associates the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource used in producing the intermediate product with the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource of the second process.

[0004] In the above, the environmental pollutant emission measure may be an emission coefficient of the environmental pollutant.

[0005] In the above, the system may further comprise a common specification unit that specifies a common resource that is a common resource between the resource of the first process and the resource of the second process.

[0006] The above may further comprise an input unit for inputting the designation of the shared resource.

[0007] In the above, the common resources may include energy sources and water.

[0008] In the above, the association unit may add up the environmental pollutant emission measures for each common resource.

[0009] In the above, the emission measure specifying unit may specify an environmental pollutant emission measure for each acquisition method for a resource that can be acquired in multiple ways.

[0010] In the above, the emission scale identification unit may identify the emission scale of environmental pollutants when a resource is obtained from renewable energy and when it is obtained from sources other than renewable energy, for resources that can be obtained from both renewable energy and sources other than renewable energy.

[0011] In the above, the emission scale specifying unit may specify an emission scale of an environmental pollutant for each emission mode for a resource having multiple emission modes of an environmental pollutant.

[0012] The above may further comprise a total amount calculation unit that calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions for each resource based on the environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource and the amount of use for each resource.

[0013] In the above, the intermediate product specifying unit may specify the intermediate product based on a bill of materials indicating resources used in the production of the product.

[0014] In the above, the intermediate product identification unit may include a candidate extraction unit and a candidate identification unit. The candidate extraction unit may extract intermediate product candidates that are candidates for the intermediate product based on one of the bill of materials for the first process and the bill of materials for the second process. The candidate identification unit may identify the intermediate product based on the intermediate product candidates and the other of the bill of materials for the first process and the bill of materials for the second process.

[0015] The above may further comprise a display unit that displays the resources used in the production of the product and the results of the association by the association unit together with the parts list.

[0016] In the above, the display unit may duplicate and display the item of the resource corresponding to the intermediate product in a plurality of items in the bill of materials.

[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 emission amount estimation system.

[0018] In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an emission estimation method for estimating an amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of a product using an emission estimation system, the method comprising an emission measure identification step, an intermediate product identification step, and an association step. In the emission measure identification step, an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a first process and an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a second process that is a subsequent process of the first process may be identified. In the intermediate product identification step, an intermediate product that corresponds to a product of the first process may be identified from among the resources used in the second process. In the association step, the environmental pollutant emission measure associated with the first process may be associated with the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource of the second process.

[0019] 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.

[0020] 2 shows the configuration of an emission estimation system 10 according to the present embodiment. An example of a production process for a product including multiple processes is shown. An example of a breakdown of resources used in the production process of FIG. 2 is shown. A flow of an emission estimation method according to the present embodiment is shown. An example of a parts bill for process 3 of FIG. 2 is shown. An example of a parts bill for process 2 of FIG. 2 is shown. An example of a parts bill for process 1 of FIG. 2 is shown. An example of a subflow of S200 is shown. An example of recording of intermediate products for the parts bill of FIG. 5 is shown. An example of recording of intermediate products for the parts bill of FIG. 6 is shown. An example of a parts bill after replacement with the parts bill of raw material 1 is shown. An example of a parts bill after replacement with the parts bill of raw material 1 is shown. An example of a parts bill after rearrangement is shown. An example of a parts bill after summation of common resources is shown. An example of a parts bill after replacement with the parts bill of raw material 1-1 is shown. An example of a parts bill after further summation of common resources is shown. An example of a parts bill according to a first modified example of this embodiment is shown. An example of a parts bill according to a second modified example of this embodiment is shown. The configuration of an information processing system 2500 according to a modified example of this embodiment is shown. The configuration of a blockchain network 2502 according to a modified example of this embodiment is shown. 26 shows an example of a data structure of transaction information according to a modified example of this embodiment. 27 shows an example of a data structure of a blockchain according to a modified example of this embodiment. 28 shows an example of a computer 2200 in which multiple aspects of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. 29 shows an example of a subflow of S200 according to a third modified example of this embodiment. 30 shows an example of Input / Output recording for the parts bill of FIG. 7. 31 shows an example of Input / Output recording for the parts bill of FIG. 72. 32 shows an example of Input / Output recording for the parts bill of FIG. 73. 33 shows an example of Input / Output recording for the parts bill of FIG. 74. 34 shows an example of a method of assigning a reference order. 35 shows the parts bill of FIG. 25 after transcription. 36 shows the parts bill of FIG. 26 after transcription. 37 shows the configuration of an emission amount estimation system 10 according to a fourth modified example of this embodiment. 38 shows a flow of an emission amount estimation method according to the fourth modified example. 39 shows an example of a recycled parts bill of FIG. 40.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 1 shows the configuration of an emission amount estimation system 10 according to this embodiment. The emission amount estimation system 10 estimates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions that accompany the production of a product. The emission amount estimation system 10 estimates the amount of CO ２ The amount of emissions of environmental pollutants such as methane and / or chlorofluorocarbons is calculated using a resource-specific environmental pollutant emission scale.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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 or other organisms, toxicity to the ecology of aquatic systems, etc. By way of example, an environmental pollutant may be a greenhouse gas, such as carbon dioxide and / or methane, which contributes to global warming.

[0025] 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 emission amount estimation system 10 estimates the amount of emissions of environmental pollutants associated with the resource consumption during the production of such product 40.

[0026] 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.

[0027] The emission amount estimation system 10 includes an emission scale identification unit 110, an intermediate product identification unit 120, a common identification unit 130, an input unit 140, an association unit 150, a total amount calculation unit 160, and a display unit 170. The emission amount estimation system 10 may include modules having other functions as necessary.

[0028] The emission amount estimation 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.

[0029] Alternatively, the emission amount estimation system 10 may be a dedicated computer designed for emission estimation processing to estimate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with product production, or may be dedicated hardware realized by a dedicated circuit. The emission amount estimation system 10 may be implemented by a single device (computer), or may be realized by multiple devices with different roles. Although not specifically described below, the emission amount estimation system 10 is equipped with a memory / hard disk, etc., in which information necessary for processing is appropriately stored, and information is transmitted between each processing module, such as the emission scale identification unit 110 and the intermediate product identification unit 120.

[0030] The emission scale identification unit 110 identifies an environmental pollutant emission scale for each resource used in the production of a product. The environmental pollutant emission scale is a scale that represents the amount of an environmental pollutant emitted in association with the use of a resource. For example, the environmental pollutant emission scale may be an emission coefficient of the environmental pollutant or an emission amount of the environmental pollutant.

[0031] When a product is produced through multiple processes, the emission scale specification unit 110 specifies the emission scale of environmental pollutants for the resources to be used in each process. For example, the emission scale specification unit 110 specifies the emission scale of environmental pollutants for each resource used in a first process, and the emission scale of environmental pollutants for each resource used in a second process that is a subsequent process to the first process.

[0032] The intermediate product identification unit 120 identifies intermediate products generated during the production of a product. When a product is produced through multiple processes, intermediate products are produced in the intermediate processes and used as resources in the subsequent processes. For example, the intermediate product identification unit 120 identifies intermediate products that correspond to the products of the first process among the resources used in the second process.

[0033] The intermediate product identification unit 120 may include a candidate extraction unit 122 and a candidate identification unit 124. The candidate extraction unit 122 may extract intermediate product candidates, which are candidates for intermediate products. The candidate identification unit 124 may identify an intermediate product based on the intermediate product candidates. Details of the operations of the candidate extraction unit 122 and the candidate identification unit 124 will be described later.

[0034] The common identification unit 130 identifies a common resource that is a common resource (i.e., a resource used in common by a plurality of processes) among resources used in a plurality of processes. For example, the common identification unit 130 identifies a common resource that is a common resource among resources of the first process and resources of the second process.

[0035] The input unit 140 receives various inputs from a user of the emission amount estimation system 10. For example, the input unit 140 inputs a designation of a shared resource. In this case, instead of the common identification unit 130 identifying the shared resource, the common resource may be identified in response to the input from the input unit 140.

[0036] The associating unit 150 associates the environmental impact substance emission measure of the resource used in producing the intermediate product identified by the intermediate product identification unit 120 with the environmental impact substance emission measure of the subsequent process that uses the intermediate product as a resource. For example, the associating unit 150 associates the environmental impact substance emission measure of the resource used in producing the intermediate product that is the product of the first process with the environmental impact substance emission measure of the resource of the second process. For example, the associating unit 150 may add up the amount of environmental impact substance emission for each common resource by associating the emission coefficient of the environmental impact substance for each common resource.

[0037] The total amount calculation unit 160 calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of the product. For example, the total amount calculation unit 160 calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions for each resource based on the environmental pollutant emission scale for each resource and the usage amount of each resource. The total amount calculation unit 160 may calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of the product using the amount of environmental pollutant emissions totaled for each common resource by the association unit 150.

[0038] The display unit 170 displays information and / or processing results related to the processing of the emission amount estimation system 10. For example, the display unit 170 displays the resources used in the production of the product and the results of the association performed by the association unit together with a parts list.

[0039] In this way, the emission estimation system 10 associates the environmental pollutant emission measures of resources commonly used in the production process of an intermediate product with those used in subsequent processes, thereby enabling more accurate analysis of the impact of each resource on the emission of environmental pollutants in the manufacture of a product that involves multiple processes.

[0040] 2 shows an example of a production process for a product that includes multiple steps. For example, assume that a production entity 20 produces 1,000 kg of product A through steps 1 to 3. To produce 1,000 kg of product A, 500 kg of raw material 1, 400 kg of raw material 2, and 100 kg of raw material 3 are used as resources in step 3. In addition, 300 kW of electricity is consumed to execute step 3, and 120 m of fuel gas (e.g., LPG) is used. ３ be consumed.

[0041] The raw material 1 (500 kg) used in the process 3 is produced in the process 2. In the process 2, 250 kg of raw material 1-1, 200 kg of raw material 1-2, 50 kg of raw material 1-3, 60 kW of electricity, and 20 m of LPG are used. ３ The raw material 1-1 (250 kg) used in step 2 is produced in step 1. In step 1, 250 kg of raw material 1-1-1 and 125 kW of electricity are consumed.

[0042] In this way, a product produced in one process may be used as a resource in another process. In this case, the product used as a resource is treated as an intermediate product, not as a final product (e.g., product A).

[0043] Figure 3 shows an example of the breakdown of resources used in the production process of Figure 2. As shown in the figure, in the production of raw material 1, in addition to raw materials 1 to 3, electricity 302 and gas 304 are consumed as resources. Here, in the production of raw material 1 (300), which is an intermediate product, electricity 322 and gas 324 are consumed in addition to raw materials 1-1 (320) and 1-2. In the production of raw material 1-1 (320), which is an intermediate product, electricity 332 is consumed in addition to raw material 1-1-1 (330).

[0044] In assessing the amount of environmental pollutant emissions in the production of Product A, if we focus only on Process 3, the final process, the electricity consumption is considered to be only Electricity 302 and the gas consumption is considered to be only Gas 304. However, in reality, electricity 322, electricity 332 and gas 324 are consumed in the production of Raw Material 1 (Process 2) and Raw Material 1-1 (Process 1), which are intermediate products.

[0045] Therefore, in order to evaluate the emissions of environmental pollutants resulting from the use of a specific resource (for example, electricity) in product A, it is necessary to specify the amounts of electricity 322 and electricity 332 used, in addition to electricity 302. In this way, if one focuses only on a portion of the processes (for example, the final process), it may not be possible to grasp the accurate consumption of resources, and it may not be possible to specify which resource actually caused the emissions of environmental pollutants during product production.

[0046] Here, according to the emission amount estimation system 10, by associating the environmental pollutant emission measures of resources used in multiple processes, it is possible to more accurately identify from which resource the environmental pollutant emissions actually originate.

[0047] 4 shows a flow of the emission amount estimation method according to this embodiment. The emission amount estimation system 10 estimates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of a product by, for example, executing the processes of S100 to S500. The order of the processes of S100 to S500 may be changed, and some processes may be omitted.

[0048] First, in S100, the emission scale identification unit 110 identifies an emission scale of an environmental pollutant for each resource. For example, the emission scale identification unit 110 may acquire an emission coefficient of the environmental pollutant as the emission scale of the environmental pollutant. Alternatively, the emission scale identification unit 110 may acquire an emission amount of the environmental pollutant (also referred to as "emission amount of the environmental pollutant") as the emission scale of the environmental pollutant. The emission amount of the environmental pollutant for a resource is determined by the emission coefficient of the resource and the usage amount of the resource.

[0049] For example, the emission scale identification unit 110 may acquire a bill of materials indicating the resources used in the production of a product, and acquire the emission coefficients of the environmental pollutants of the resources listed in the bill of materials as the emission scales of the environmental pollutants. Alternatively, the emission scale identification unit 110 may calculate the amount of emission of the environmental pollutant from the emission coefficients and usage amounts of the environmental pollutant for each resource, and acquire this as the emission scales of the environmental pollutant. In the processing described below, the emission scale identification unit 110 may use something that can obtain necessary information about resources in addition to or instead of the bill of materials.

[0050] Resources may include raw materials required to produce a product (e.g., materials and parts that later become part of the product), energy sources used to produce the product (e.g., electricity, oil, coal, gas, hydrogen, alcohol, other fuels, oxygen, other oxidizing agents, other chemical energy sources, potential energy sources, and kinetic energy), 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.

[0051] 5 to 7 show examples of parts tables according to this embodiment. Fig. 5 shows an example of the parts table for process 3 in Fig. 2, Fig. 6 shows an example of the parts table for process 2 in Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 shows an example of the parts table for process 1.

[0052] A bill of materials indicates the resources required to manufacture a specified amount of product. Figures 5 to 7 show examples of bills of materials for manufacturing different production quantities of each product. However, for example, the production quantities of all bills of materials may be standardized to, for example, "1000 kg." "Item" indicates information (e.g., name or model number) that identifies the product produced in that process. "Resource" indicates information (e.g., name or model number) that identifies the resource used to produce the product listed in the item. "Quantity" indicates the amount of resource used. "Unit" indicates the unit of quantity. "Emission coefficient" indicates the emission coefficient of the resource (details will be described later). Note that the names of the items in these bills of materials are for convenience only, and items with the same function may be given different names.

[0053] Figure 5 shows that raw materials 1 to 3, electricity, and LPG (fuel gas) are used as resources in the production of product A. Figure 6 shows that raw materials 1-1 to 1-1-3, electricity, and LPG (fuel gas) are used as resources in the production of raw material 1. Figure 7 shows that raw material 1-1-1 and electricity are used as resources in the production of raw material 1-1.

[0054] 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 5, "KG" represents weight in kilograms (kg), "KW" represents power consumption in kilowatts (kW), and "M3" represents volume in cubic meters (m ３ ) represents

[0055] 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 a coefficient that is multiplied by the amount of resource used to calculate the amount of environmental pollutant emissions that occur with 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, a general incorporated association). 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,

[0056] For example, in Figure 5, it is shown that the emission factor of raw material 1 is 0.5, 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, and the emission factor of LNG is 0.3. Therefore, for example, when the amount of raw material 1 used is 1 kg, 1 kg x 0.5 = 0.5 kg of an environmental pollutant (e.g., CO ２ The emission scale identification unit 110 may obtain the amount of environmental pollutant emissions directly from the bill of materials, or alternatively, may obtain the amount of environmental pollutant emissions by calculating the product of the emission coefficient in the bill of materials and the amount used.

[0057] 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.

[0058] Next, in S200, the intermediate product specifying unit 120 specifies intermediate products generated during the production of the product. The intermediate product specifying unit 120 may specify intermediate products based on a bill of materials.

[0059] 8 shows an example of a subflow of S200. The intermediate product identification unit 120 may perform the process of S200 by executing all or part of S220 to S240 in FIG.

[0060] In S220, the candidate extraction unit 122 extracts intermediate product candidates that are candidates for the intermediate product based on one of the parts bill of the first process and the parts bill of the second process. The candidate extraction unit 122 may extract intermediate product candidates by searching for items that are treated as products in one parts bill and as resources in another parts bill.

[0061] For example, first, the candidate extraction unit 122 selects one BOM (e.g., the BOM in FIG. 6 ) from the multiple BOMs acquired by the emission scale identification unit 110, and sets it as the BOM for the first process. The candidate extraction unit 122 extracts a product (e.g., "Raw material 1" listed in "Item") in the BOM for the first process (e.g., the BOM in FIG. 6 ) as an "intermediate product candidate."

[0062] Next, the candidate identification unit 124 searches for a name identical to the "intermediate product candidate" among the resources in the parts lists other than the parts list for the first process. The candidate identification unit 124 identifies, as the parts list for the second process, a parts list in which the same thing as the "intermediate product candidate" is used as a "resource." The candidate identification unit 124 identifies, as the intermediate product, a resource used in the second process that corresponds to the product of the first process. For example, the candidate identification unit 124 identifies the parts list in FIG. 5 as the parts list for the second process, and identifies, from the parts list in FIG. 5, "raw material 1" that is identical to the intermediate product candidate "raw material 1," as the intermediate product.

[0063] In the above example, the candidate extraction unit 122 identified a product of a certain process as an "intermediate product candidate" and searched for the same product in the "resources" of other processes. Alternatively, the candidate extraction unit 122 may identify a resource of a certain process as an "intermediate product candidate" and search for the same product in the "products" of other processes.

[0064] 8 , the candidate extraction unit 122 extracts intermediate product candidates, which are candidates for the intermediate product, based on one of the parts list for the first process and the parts list for the second process. The candidate identification unit 124 identifies the intermediate product based on the intermediate product candidates and the other of the parts list for the first process and the parts list for the second process.

[0065] The candidate identifier 124 may record the identified intermediate products in a bill of materials.

[0066] Fig. 9 shows an example of recording an intermediate product in the bill of materials of Fig. 5. For example, the candidate identification unit 124 may record (marked with a circle in the figure) in the column of "intermediate product" for the resource (raw material 1) identified as an intermediate product in the bill of materials of Fig. 9.

[0067] Fig. 10 shows an example of recording an intermediate product in the BOM of Fig. 6. For example, the candidate identification unit 124 may record (marked with a circle in the figure) in the "intermediate product" column for the resource (raw material 1-1) identified as an intermediate product in the BOM of Fig. 10.

[0068] Next, in S300, the common identification unit 130 identifies common resources used in common among a plurality of processes. The common resources may be resources that are generally used, and may include, for example, energy sources (e.g., electricity, fuel gas such as LPG, etc.) and water. For example, the common identification unit 130 identifies the resource "electricity" that is commonly used among the processes shown in the parts tables of FIGS. 5 to 7, and identifies the resource "LPG" that is commonly used among the processes shown in the parts tables of FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0069] For example, the common identification unit 130 may determine that a resource in the bill of materials has a matching string for "resource" as a common resource. The common identification unit 130 may determine that a resource in the bill of materials has a matching string for "resource" and / or a matching string for the item "unit" as a common resource.

[0070] In addition to the condition of matching the "resource" and / or "unit," the common identification unit 130 may also set a condition for determining whether a resource is shared, namely, matching the emission coefficient. As will be described later, even the same resource may have different emission coefficients. In such cases, it is possible to distinguish resources by their emission coefficients.

[0071] The common identification unit 130 may record the identified common resources in the parts list. For example, as shown in the parts lists of FIGS. 9 and 10, the common identification unit 130 may record (marked with a circle in the drawings) the resources identified as common resources ("electricity" and "LPG") in the "common resource" column.

[0072] The common identification unit 130 may link the identified common resources together. For example, the common identification unit 130 may list another BOM in which the same resource is found in the column of "common resource" in the BOM.

[0073] Next, in S400, the associating unit 150 associates the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource used in producing the intermediate product with the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource in the process using the intermediate product as a resource.

[0074] For example, if the environmental pollutant emission measure is an emission coefficient, the associating unit 150 associates the emission coefficient of the environmental pollutant of the common resource. The associating unit 150 may associate the emission coefficient by merging resources that are common resources in the bill of materials and adding up the emissions.

[0075] Furthermore, for example, when the environmental pollutant emission measure is an emission amount, the associating unit 150 may perform the association by adding up the environmental pollutant emission measure for each common resource. As an example, the associating unit 150 may add up the environmental pollutant emission amount of the common resource used to produce the intermediate product with the environmental pollutant emission amount of the common resource used in the process that uses the intermediate product as a resource. In either case, the method by which the associating unit 150 adds up the emissions is the same.

[0076] The associating unit 150 may first replace information about the resource that is an intermediate product in a bill of materials that includes a certain intermediate product as a resource with information about the bill of materials that includes the intermediate product as a product, thereby more accurately representing the usage status of the resource in the bill of materials that includes the intermediate product as a resource.

[0077] 11A shows an example of a parts list after replacement with the parts list of raw material 1. For example, the associating unit 150 references the parts list shown in FIG. 10 in which the resource "raw material 1" for which "o" is recorded in the "intermediate product" field in the parts list shown in FIG. 9 is the product, and generates a parts list in which the items related to "raw material 1" are replaced with the parts list shown in FIG. 10.

[0078] 11B shows an example of a parts list after replacement with the parts list of raw material 1. For example, the associating unit 150 refers to the parts list shown in FIG. 10 in which the resource "raw material 1" for which "intermediate product" is marked with a circle in the parts list shown in FIG. 9 is the product, and adds up the parts of the items related to "raw material 1" that do not correspond to common resources, thereby generating a parts list replaced with the parts list shown in FIG. 10.

[0079] The display unit 170 may display a bill of materials currently being processed (for example, the bill of materials in FIG. 11A ). This allows the display unit 170 to duplicate and display an item for a resource (for example, raw material 1) corresponding to an intermediate product in the bill of materials, as multiple items (items for raw material 1-1-1 to raw material 1-3).

[0080] Next, the associating unit 150 sorts and rearranges the resources in the parts list after replacement according to a predetermined rule (for example, by name). Sorting may be omitted.

[0081] FIG. 12 shows an example of the parts list after rearrangement.

[0082] Next, the associating unit 150 sums up the emissions of environmental pollutants related to the common resources in the rearranged partial tables. The associating unit 150 may identify common resources that can be summed and then sum up the summable resources. For example, the associating unit 150 may sum up common resources that have the same unit.

[0083] 13 shows an example of a bill of materials after the summation of common resources. For example, the associating unit 150 may sum up 24 and 120, which are the amounts of environmental pollutant emissions for the common resource "electricity" in the bill of materials shown in FIG. 12, to arrive at 144. Similarly, the associating unit 150 may sum up 20 and 120, which are the amounts of environmental pollutant emissions for the common resource "LPG," to arrive at 140.

[0084] Next, the associating unit 150 may further aggregate resources in the aggregated bill of materials. For example, the associating unit 150 may replace information about resources that are intermediate products in the bill of materials for the aggregated word with information about a bill of materials that has the intermediate product as a product.

[0085] 14 shows an example of a parts list after replacement with the parts list of raw material 1-1. For example, the associating unit 150 references the parts list shown in FIG. 7, which has the resource "raw material 1-1" recorded as a product in the parts list shown in FIG. 13 with a circle recorded in the "intermediate product" column, and generates a parts list in which the entries related to "raw material 1-1" are replaced with the parts list shown in FIG. 7. It is assumed that the intermediate products and common resources have already been recorded in FIG. 7.

[0086] Next, the associating unit 150 may perform sorting and summing in the same manner. The associating unit 150 may identify common resources in the parts list that can be summed, and then sum the common resources that can be summed.

[0087] 15 shows an example of a bill of materials after further summing up the common resources. For example, the associating unit 150 may sum up the emissions of environmental pollutants of the common resource "electricity" in the bill of materials shown in FIG. 14 (144 and 50) to arrive at 194.

[0088] The associating unit 150 may continue adding up resources until no further resources can be added up. For example, in the bill of materials in FIG. 15 , there are no resources for which "intermediate product" is recorded (i.e., resources marked with "◯"). In this case, no further addition can be made in the bill of materials in FIG. 15 . The associating unit 150 may continue processing until there are no more resources for which "intermediate product" is recorded in all or a predetermined number of bills of materials.

[0089] Next, in S500, the total amount calculation unit 160 calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions (also referred to as "total emissions") associated with the production of the product. For example, the total amount calculation unit 160 calculates the total emissions by adding up the amounts of environmental pollutant emissions of each resource used in the production of the product.

[0090] As an example, in the case of the bill of materials in FIG. 15 , the total amount calculation unit 160 may obtain the total emission amount by adding up the emission amount from raw material 1-1 of 50, the emission amount from raw material 1-2 of 100 (kg), the emission amount from raw material 1-3 of 20 (kg), the emission amount from raw material 2 of 132 (kg), the emission amount from raw material 3 of 33 (kg), the emission amount from electricity of 194 (kg), the emission amount from LPG of 42 (kg), and so on.

[0091] The total amount calculation unit 160 may add up the amount of environmental pollutant emissions derived from raw materials 1 to 3, as well as the amount of environmental pollutant emissions derived from materials other than raw materials 1 to 3. In this way, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions released into the environment due to the production of product A may be calculated taking into account resources other than the raw materials. The emission calculation unit 140 may calculate the emission coefficient associated with the production of product A by dividing the calculated total emission associated with the production of product A by the production volume of product A.

[0092] The display unit 170 may display the bill of materials during and / or after the processing of S100 to S500. For example, the display unit 170 may display the resources used in the production of the product, the amount of environmental pollutant emissions for each resource, the total amount of emissions, etc. The total amount of emissions may be the sum of the amount of environmental pollutant emissions for each resource emitted in the production of a product (e.g., product A). The display unit 170 may display this information along with the bill of materials. For example, the display unit 170 may display the bill of materials according to FIG. 15 together with the total amount of emissions (e.g., 1000 kg in the figure).

[0093] As described above, according to this embodiment, by associating multiple resources, it is possible to estimate the actual amount of environmental pollutant emissions from common resources used throughout all processes. This allows for a more accurate analysis of the impact of each resource on the emission of environmental pollutants in the manufacture of a product. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the number of resources to be managed can be reduced by associating them, thereby reducing the amount of calculation and storage required when calculating the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. This allows for saving computer resources and storage resources.

[0094] In the above example, the same resource (e.g., "electricity" and "LPG") is associated as a common resource. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the associating unit 150 may associate different resources. For example, the common identification unit 130 may identify resources as common resources based on a predetermined rule (e.g., the same type of material or the same manufacturer), and the associating unit 150 may associate these resources.

[0095] As an example, the associating unit 150 may collectively treat the resource “epoxy resin” and the resource “acrylic resin” as the resource “resin material.” In this case, the associating unit 150 may calculate an emission coefficient for the resource “resin material” by, for example, a weighted average based on the quantities of the resource “epoxy resin” and the resource “acrylic resin,” and may calculate the emission amount of the resource “resin material” by multiplying the emission coefficient by the combined quantity of the resource “epoxy resin” and the resource “acrylic resin.”

[0096] 16 shows an example of a parts list according to a first modification of this embodiment. The emission scale identification unit 110 may identify the environmental pollutant emission scale for each acquisition method for a resource that can be acquired in multiple ways. For example, consider a case where the resource "electricity" can be acquired in multiple ways, including electricity generated by renewable energy sources such as solar, hydroelectric, or wind power, and electricity generated by sources other than renewable energy.

[0097] In this case, the emission scale identification unit 110 may identify electricity generated by renewable energy ("renewable energy" in the figure) and electricity generated by other sources ("other" in the figure) as separate resources in the bill of materials. Here, for resources that can be obtained from both renewable energy and sources other than renewable energy, the emission scale identification unit 110 identifies the emission scales of environmental pollutants when obtained from renewable energy and when obtained from sources other than renewable energy.

[0098] This allows the associating unit 150 to associate the same resource with each acquisition method. The emission amount estimation system 10 can identify the emission amount of environmental pollutants for resources subdivided by acquisition method.

[0099] FIG. 17 shows an example of a bill of materials according to a second modified example of this embodiment. The emission scale identification unit 110 may identify the emission scale of an environmental pollutant for each type of resource for which multiple types of environmental pollutant emissions exist. For example, the type of environmental pollutant emission may include the emission method and / or the emission route of the environmental pollutant. As an example, the type of environmental pollutant emission may refer to whether the environmental pollutant is emitted directly or indirectly. Indirect emission of an environmental pollutant may mean, for example, that another resource, such as electricity, is used when processing a resource (e.g., decomposition or incineration), and the environmental pollutant is emitted through the use of that other resource (e.g., electricity).

[0100] Although an example in which one resource is classified according to the acquisition route and discharge mode has been described in FIGS. 16 and 17, one resource may be classified into a plurality of resources for other reasons.

[0101] 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.

[0102] Here, a third modified example of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the case where the emission coefficient and emission amount of each raw material are known has been described, but in this modified example, an example where the emission coefficient and emission amount of some raw materials are unknown will be described. In this modified example, in the association in S400, the association unit 150 executes the subflow shown in FIG. 23. The association unit 150 may perform the process of S400 by executing all or part of S420 to S440 in FIG. 23.

[0103] In S420, the associating unit 150 identifies the input / output raw materials of the resource in the parts table. If the resource generated in the parts table is a raw material in another process, the associating unit 150 identifies it as "Output." If the resource of a raw material in the parts table is a product of another process, the associating unit 150 identifies it as "Input."

[0104] 24 shows an example of input / output recording for the parts table of FIG. 7. For example, the candidate identification unit 124 records (circle in the figure) in the "intermediate product" column for the resource (raw material 1-1) identified as an intermediate product in the parts table of FIG. 24 (this may have been previously added in S240). The association unit 150 records "Output" in the intermediate type column in response to determining that the resource (raw material 1-1) will be used as a raw material in another process (for example, a process for producing raw material 1 shown in FIG. 10, etc.).

[0105] 25 shows an example of recording Input / Output for the BOM of FIG. 10. For example, the associating unit 150 records "Input" in the intermediate type column of raw material 1-1 in response to determining that the resource (raw material 1-1) identified as an intermediate product in the BOM of FIG. 25 is a product of another process (for example, a process for producing raw material 1-1 shown in FIG. 7, etc.). Furthermore, the associating unit 150 records "Output" in the intermediate type column of raw material 1-1 in response to determining that the resource (raw material 1) identified as an intermediate product in the BOM of FIG. 25 is a raw material of another process (for example, a process for producing product A shown in FIG. 9, etc.).

[0106] Fig. 26 shows an example of recording Input / Output for the parts table of Fig. 9. For example, the associating unit 150 records "Input" in the intermediate type column of raw material 1 in response to determining that the resource (raw material 1) identified as an intermediate product in the parts table of Fig. 26 is a product of another process (for example, the process for producing raw material 1 shown in Fig. 25, etc.).

[0107] Next, in S430, the associating unit 150 identifies the reference order of the parts table. First, the associating unit 150 identifies a parts table that does not include resources whose intermediate type is Input and includes resources whose intermediate type is Output as the most upstream process. This is because a process associated with a parts table that does not have Input does not use products from other processes as raw materials. For example, the associating unit assigns 1 as the reference order of the parts table for the most upstream process.

[0108] Next, the associating unit 150 identifies a BOM that includes a resource whose intermediate type is Output (also referred to as an "Output resource") as an Input in a BOM with a reference order of 1, and assigns the reference order of the identified BOM 2. Similarly, the associating unit 150 assigns the next number to the reference order of a BOM that includes a resource whose intermediate type is Input (also referred to as an "Input resource") after the reference order of a BOM that includes the Input resource as an Output resource. In other words, the associating unit 150 assigns reference orders to consecutive processes in order.

[0109] 27 shows an example of a method for assigning a reference order. When one BOM contains multiple input resources, the reference order may be assigned according to the system of the input resources. In the example of FIG. 27, the product of the process in BOM 270 becomes the raw material for the process in BOM 271, the products of the process in BOM 271 and the products of the process in BOM 273 each become the raw material for the process in BOM 272, and the products of the process in BOM 272 and the products of the process in BOM 274 each become the raw material for the process in BOM 276.

[0110] In this case, the parts table 270, the parts table 273, and the parts table 274 do not include resources whose intermediate type is Input, but include resources whose intermediate type is Output, so the reference order for each is 1. The associating unit 150 may distinguish the system of the reference numbers of the parts table 270, the parts table 273, and the parts table 274.

[0111] For example, the associating unit 150 assigns A-1 (first in system A) to the reference order of the parts table 270, assigns B-1 (first in system B) to the reference order of the parts table 273, and assigns C-1 (first in system C) to the reference order of the parts table 274. As a result, the parts table of the process subsequent to the parts table 270 is assigned a reference order including A, the parts table of the process subsequent to the parts table 273 is assigned a reference order including B, and the parts table of the process subsequent to the parts table 274 is assigned a reference order including C.

[0112] The associating unit 150 assigns the reference order A-2 to the BOM 271 in response to determining that the BOM 271 follows the BOM 270 (reference order A-1). The associating unit 150 assigns the reference order A-3 to the BOM 272 in response to determining that the BOM 272 follows the BOM 271 (reference order A-2). The associating unit 150 assigns the reference order B-2 to the BOM 272 in response to determining that the BOM 272 follows the BOM 273 (reference order B-1). As a result, the BOM 272 has both the reference order A-3 and the reference order B-2.

[0113] Similarly, the association unit 150 assigns reference orders A-4, B-3, and C-2 to the parts table 276 in response to determining that the parts table 276 follows the parts table 272 (reference orders A-3, B-2) and the parts table 274 (reference order C-1).

[0114] Next, in S440, the associating unit 150 calculates the emission coefficient of each resource. First, the associating unit 150 acquires the output resource and its emission coefficient in the bill of materials with the smallest reference order (also called the "minimum bill of materials"). For example, the associating unit 150 acquires the emission coefficient (0.40) of raw material 1-1, which is the output resource in the bill of materials in FIG. 24, which is the minimum bill of materials.

[0115] The associating unit 150 transfers the acquired output resource and its emission coefficient to the bill of materials one level after the minimum bill of materials. For example, the associating unit 150 transfers the acquired emission coefficient (0.40) of raw material 1-1 to the emission coefficient of raw material 1-1 in FIG. 25. The associating unit 150 then calculates the emission amount of the resource based on the emission coefficient after transfer and the quantity of the resource in the bill of materials to which the resource has been transferred. The associating unit 150 may further calculate the emission amount and emission coefficient of the product in the bill of materials to which the resource has been transferred.

[0116] Figure 28 shows the bill of materials in Figure 25 after transcription. For example, the associating unit 150 transcribes the emission coefficient of resource 1-1, 0.4, to the bill of materials for raw material 1. Furthermore, the associating unit 150 multiplies the emission coefficient of resource 1-1, 0.4, by the quantity of resource 1-1, 250, to calculate the emission amount of resource 1-1 as 100. The associating unit 150 adds up the calculated emission amount of raw material 1-1 and the emission amounts of the other resources to calculate the emission amount of raw material 1 as 250. The associating unit 150 divides the emission amount of raw material 1, 250, by the production amount of raw material 1, 500 (kg), to calculate the emission coefficient of raw material 1 as 0.50.

[0117] Similarly, the associating unit 150 may transfer the emission coefficients of the output resources of the previous part table to the input resources of the subsequent part table, and sequentially calculate the emission amounts and emission coefficients of the products of the subsequent part table.

[0118] 29 shows the bill of materials in FIG. 26 after transcription. The associating unit 150 transcribes the emission coefficient of resource 1, 0.50, into the bill of materials for product A. Furthermore, the associating unit 150 multiplies the emission coefficient of resource 1, 0.5, by the quantity of resource 1, 500, to calculate the emission amount of resource 1 as 250. The associating unit 150 may similarly calculate the emission amount and emission coefficient for product A.

[0119] As described above, this modification makes it possible to calculate the emission coefficient for the entire process from the upstream side, even when the emissions and emission coefficients for some resources are unknown. In particular, the emission estimation system of this modification can significantly reduce calculation resources by specifying the reference order for the bill of materials. Specifically, specifying the reference order for the bill of materials clarifies the relationship between the products and raw materials in each process, enabling efficient calculations. If an attempt is made to calculate an emission coefficient without using the method of this modification and without knowing the order of N bills of materials, it may be necessary to perform up to N calculations for each of the N bills of materials until the correct calculation result is obtained. As a result, it may be necessary to perform N squared calculations. This modification minimizes the number of calculations, enabling fast and accurate emission estimation.

[0120] 30 shows the configuration of an emission amount estimation system 12 according to a fourth modification of this embodiment. The emission amount estimation system 12 supports the production of products and the adjustment of the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of the products. The emission amount estimation system 12 may be realized by one or more computers, and when realized by a single computer, may be a support device. The emission amount estimation system 12 may further include a target acquisition unit 162, a manufacturing plan correction unit 164, and a control unit 166 in addition to the emission amount estimation system 10 or a part of the emission amount estimation system 10.

[0121] The target acquisition unit 162 acquires a target value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. The target acquisition unit 162 may acquire the target value from the user, or alternatively, may acquire a predetermined target value.

[0122] The manufacturing plan correction unit 164 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 164 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.

[0123] The control unit 166 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 164 .

[0124] 31 shows the flow of the emission amount estimation 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.

[0125] In S600, the target acquisition unit 162 acquires a target value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. For example, the target acquisition unit 162 acquires the target value from the user. The target acquisition unit 162 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. The target acquisition unit 162 may acquire a reduced value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions or the emission coefficient as the target value.

[0126] Alternatively, the target acquisition unit 162 may calculate a target value for the amount of environmental pollutant emissions. For example, the target acquisition unit 162 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.

[0127] Next, in S700, the manufacturing plan correction unit 164 corrects the manufacturing plan to achieve the target value calculated in S600. For example, in this modification, the manufacturing plan correction unit 164 calculates the recycled amount of resources. The manufacturing plan correction unit 164 calculates the recycled amount based on the recycled parts bill of materials.

[0128] Fig. 32 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. 32 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. 5, etc., but, unlike raw material 1, is a resource that has been manufactured and / or obtained based on recycling.

[0129] 5, the emission coefficient of raw material 1 is 0.5, while the emission coefficient of recycled raw material 1 is 0.3, 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 (0.50 - 0.30) x 1 kg = 0.20 kg.

[0130] In addition to / instead of changing the material of Raw Material 1, the environmental impact can also be reduced by replacing regular electricity with electricity derived from renewable energy as shown in Figure 16. For example, by using 1 kW of electricity (renewable energy) instead of electricity (other), it is possible to reduce the amount of environmentally harmful substances emitted by (0.90 - 0.09) x 1 kW = 0.81 kg.

[0131] The manufacturing plan correction unit 164 may calculate the amount of recycled resources / renewable energy 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 resource that is the same or equivalent to the resource and is manufactured and / or obtained through recycling / renewable energy, etc.

[0132] For example, if the goal acquired in S600 is to reduce the product's emission coefficient by 0.1, the manufacturing plan correction unit 164 calculates the recycled amount of raw material 1 as (1000 kg x 0.1) ÷ (0.50 - 0.30) = 500 kg. In other words, the target value can be achieved by using 500 kg of recycled raw material 1 instead of using 500 kg of raw material 1. For example, the parts list in FIG. 5 calls for the use of 500 kg of raw material 1, but the target can be achieved by replacing all of this with recycled raw material 1.

[0133] When renewable energy resources (electricity) are used instead of recycled raw material 1, the production plan correction unit 164 calculates the amount of electricity (renewable energy) to be used as (1000 kg × 0.1) ÷ (0.90 − 0.09) = 0.12 kW. In other words, the target value can be achieved by using 123 kW of electricity (renewable energy) instead of 123 kW of electricity (normal).

[0134] The manufacturing plan correction unit 164 may calculate the amount of recycled resources by taking into account resources other than raw materials used in the recycling process. The manufacturing plan correction unit 164 may calculate the amount of resources other than raw materials used in the recycling process by multiplying the manufacturing amount of the product by the amount of resources other than raw materials used in the recycling process per unit manufacturing amount of the product. The manufacturing plan correction unit 164 may limit the amount of recycled resources so that the amount of the resources does not exceed a predetermined amount.

[0135] For example, the parts list in FIG. 32 indicates that 0.5 kW of electricity is required to produce and / or obtain 1 kg of recycled material 1. That is, if 500 kg of recycled material 1 is used, an additional 250 kW of electricity is required (0.5 kW / kg x 500 kg = 250 kW). If 1,000 kg of product A is produced, the additional amount of electricity required is 250 kW. Here, if the surplus power available for producing product A in the factory is 100 kW, the manufacturing plan correction unit 164 can keep the additional amount of electricity within the surplus power by setting the recycled amount (amount of recycled material 1 used) per 1 kg of product A to 200 kg.

[0136] Next, in S800, the control unit 166 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 166 controls the manufacturing equipment of the recycled material 1 to manufacture the amount of recycled material 1 calculated in S700 (e.g., 200 kg).

[0137] 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 required to reduce the amount of emissions of environmental pollutants to the target value can be executed. Note that, although this modification shows an example in which recycling is executed to reduce the amount of emissions of environmental pollutants to the target value, in addition to or instead of this, the manufacturing plan correction unit 164 may achieve the target value by means such as adjusting the production volume of the product itself (for example, reducing the production volume from the initial plan).

[0138] FIG. 18 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 environmental pollutants 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. 18, 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.

[0139] 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.

[0140] 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.

[0141] The blockchain network 2502 is configured to include node devices 2520a, 2520b, 2520c, and 2520d. In the example shown in FIG. 18, 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.

[0142] The node device 2520 may be, for example, one or more emission amount estimation systems 10 and / or other computers. In this case, the node device 2520 communicates with some of the communication terminals used by the emission amount estimation 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).

[0143] 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.

[0144] 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.

[0145] 19 shows the configuration of a blockchain network 2502 according to a modified example of this embodiment. In the example shown in Fig. 19, 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.

[0146] Fig. 20 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. 20 is an example, and the transaction information can have any data structure.

[0147] 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.

[0148] 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.

[0149] 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.

[0150] 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. 20 and may be any structure.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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.

[0153] In the example of FIG. 20, 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 amount of the emission allowance (CO ２ The 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".

[0154] 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 allowance (CO 100 kg) from "XXX" and the amount of the emission allowance (CO 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".

[0155] 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).

[0156] Fig. 21 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. 21 shows the structure of the (N+1)th block among blocks arranged in chronological order.

[0157] The "header" of a block may store, for example, the digest, timestamp, target, and nonce of the Nth block.

[0158] 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.

[0159] "Timestamp" stores information about the timestamp or block number that is added when a block is created.

[0160] 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.

[0161] 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.

[0162] Furthermore, if the blockchain is a private or consortium type, it may be configured so that consensus building processing is not performed.

[0163] 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.

[0164] The block structure is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 21, and may be any structure.

[0165] According to this modification, the emission amount estimation system 10 can store event information in the blockchain network 2502. This allows the emission amount estimation system 10 to safely store the event information and prevent tampering. Furthermore, the emission amount estimation system 10 can use the event information safely stored in the form of transaction information to prove the process by which reduction quotas for environmental pollutants are generated, the process by which they are traded, and so on.

[0166] 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.

[0167] 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.

[0168] 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.

[0169] 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.

[0170] 22 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 of the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

[0171] 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.

[0172] 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.

[0173] 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.

[0174] 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.

[0175] 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.

[0176] 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.

[0177] 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.

[0178] 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.

[0179] 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.

[0180] 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.

[0181] 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 that any order may be used 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 performed 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."

[0182] 10 Emission amount estimation system 12 Emission amount estimation system 20 Production entity 30 Material 40 Product 110 Emission scale identification unit 120 Intermediate product identification unit 122 Candidate extraction unit 124 Candidate identification unit 130 Common identification unit 140 Input unit 150 Association unit 160 Total amount calculation unit 162 Target acquisition unit 164 Manufacturing plan correction unit 166 Control unit 170 Display unit 270 Bill of materials 271 Bill of materials 272 Bill of materials 273 Bill of materials 274 Bill of materials 276 Bill of materials 300 Raw material 1 302 Electricity 304 Gas 320 Raw material 1-1 322 Electricity 324 Gas 330 Raw material 1-1-1 332 Electricity 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. An emission estimation system for estimating the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of a product, comprising: an emission measure identification unit that identifies an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a first process and an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a second process that is a process subsequent to the first process; an intermediate product identification unit that identifies an intermediate product that corresponds to the product of the first process from among the resources used in the second process; and an association unit that associates the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource used in producing the intermediate product with the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource of the second process.

2. The emission amount estimation system according to claim 1, wherein the environmental pollutant emission measure is an emission coefficient of the environmental pollutant.

3. The emission amount estimation system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a common identification unit that identifies a common resource that is a common resource among the resources of the first process and the resources of the second process.

4. The emission amount estimation system according to claim 3, further comprising an input unit for inputting the designation of the common resource.

5. The emission estimation system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the common resources include an energy source and water.

6. The emission amount estimation system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the association unit sums up the environmental pollutant emission measures for each of the common resources.

7. The emission estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the emission measure specification unit specifies an environmental pollutant emission measure for each acquisition method for a resource that has multiple acquisition methods.

8. The emission estimation system described in claim 7, wherein the emission scale identification unit identifies the emission scale of environmental pollutants when obtained from renewable energy sources and when obtained from sources other than renewable energy sources for resources that are available from both renewable energy sources and sources other than renewable energy sources.

9. The emission estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the emission scale specification unit specifies an emission scale for each environmental pollutant emission type for a resource that has multiple types of environmental pollutant emissions.

10. An emission amount estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a total amount calculation unit that calculates the amount of environmental pollutant emissions for each resource based on the environmental pollutant emission scale for each resource and the usage amount for each resource.

11. The emission estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the intermediate product identification unit identifies the intermediate product based on a bill of materials indicating resources used in the production of the product.

12. The emission estimation system described in claim 11, wherein the intermediate product identification unit comprises: a candidate extraction unit that extracts intermediate product candidates that are candidates for the intermediate product based on one of the parts list for the first process and the parts list for the second process; and a candidate identification unit that identifies the intermediate product based on the intermediate product candidates and the other of the parts list for the first process and the parts list for the second process.

13. The emission amount estimation system according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising a display unit that displays the resources used in producing the product and the results of the association performed by the association unit together with a parts list.

14. The emission amount estimation system according to claim 13, wherein the display unit duplicates and displays the item of the resource corresponding to the intermediate product in the bill of materials as multiple items.

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

16. An emission estimation method for estimating the amount of environmental pollutant emissions associated with the production of a product using an emission estimation system, comprising: an emission scale identification step for identifying an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a first process and an environmental pollutant emission measure for each resource used in a second process that is a subsequent process of the first process; an intermediate product identification step for identifying an intermediate product that corresponds to the product of the first process among the resources used in the second process; and an association step for associating the environmental pollutant emission measure associated with the first process with the environmental pollutant emission measure of the resource of the second process.

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