Environmental Challenges (Dec 2023)
Environmental burdens analysis of current music player devices through Life-Cycle Assessment methodology and optimum lifespan of these apparatus
Abstract
Listening to music has unavoidable environmental impacts due to the technology used to reproduce it. The primary goal of this research is to calculate the impacts of streaming music data on the latest technological appliances, namely a smart TV (STV) and a smartphone (SPH). Furthermore, we have virtually modelled potential new sustainable scenarios, assessing their entire cradle-to-grave life cycle, through Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, in order to understand within how many years of its lifespan an old appliance ought to be replaced with a new one for the purpose of reducing the Global Warming Potential (GWP) affections.According to the results, the selected 6.5-inch-screen smartphone emits 49.28 kg CO2-eq during its lifespan (9.00 g CO2-eq per hour), while the smart TV emits 406.40 kg CO2-eq throughout its average lifetime (32.56 g CO2-eq per hour). More specifically, the impacts associated with their use as music players are 2.58 g CO2-eq per listened hour in the case of the smartphone and 8.18 in that of the smart TV, taking music as occupying 25 % of the use phase of the SPH and 29 % of the use phase of the STV, as global averages. In the sustainable scenarios modelled, when the old appliances are replaced with new more efficient ones (Scenarios 1 and 2), GWP could be reduced by up to 8.82 % and 3.15 % for the SPH and the STV respectively. However, if old appliances are instead run on renewable energy and an efficient use of them is made (Scenarios 3 and 4), GWP could be reduced by up to 9.77 % and 60.75 %, respectively. Meanwhile, the optimum substitution lifespan for the SPH increases from 27.78 to 175.76 years, and that of the STV increases from 4.64 to 29.33 when this renewable energy and efficient use scenario is simulated.Thus, this research serves to confirm that the replacement of appliances is not justifiable as an attempt to reduce their environmental impact, unless renewable energy is used in our music reproduction appliances. Therefore, from an environmental point of view, the environmental effectiveness of substituting old appliances with new ones when listening to music is not supported by the data presented in this research. Rather, this research supports the view that the public funds should prioritise the goal of running appliances on renewable energy, rather than classic “renovation plans” or scrappage schemes of old music player appliances. The research shows how different policy-making strategies could bring numerous GWP reductions on account of the whole life cycle of these appliances, and underlines the significance of LCA calculations in determining public policy.
