A comprehensive framework for enhancing environmental sustainability in the chemical industry
Alfarsi, Alaa ; Sherif, Ziyad ; Jagtap, Sandeep LU
and Salonitis, Konstantinos
(2026)
In Cleaner Manufacturing
1(1).
- Abstract
- The chemical industry, essential to economic growth and innovation, faces critical environmental sustainability challenges, notably pollution, emissions, and intensive resource use. Motivated by the need for practical tools to address these issues, this research develops a structured, comprehensive framework to assess and enhance environmental sustainability within the chemical sector. The framework employs clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to emissions, resource consumption, and pollutants, providing systematic methods for their identification, measurement, benchmarking, and improvement. It was developed through a structured literature review and sectoral data analysis, followed by the formulation of benchmark... (More)
- The chemical industry, essential to economic growth and innovation, faces critical environmental sustainability challenges, notably pollution, emissions, and intensive resource use. Motivated by the need for practical tools to address these issues, this research develops a structured, comprehensive framework to assess and enhance environmental sustainability within the chemical sector. The framework employs clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to emissions, resource consumption, and pollutants, providing systematic methods for their identification, measurement, benchmarking, and improvement. It was developed through a structured literature review and sectoral data analysis, followed by the formulation of benchmark construction and a tiered rating approach to assess relative performance. Benchmark values are established using competitive market data, enabling accurate performance comparisons. The framework's effectiveness and practicality are demonstrated through two illustrative case studies, a detailed process-level analysis (steam cracking) and an indicator-level analysis (NOx emissions), which highlight clear opportunities for improvement. This study contributes a scalable, actionable approach that enables chemical companies to achieve measurable sustainability improvements, align with regulatory requirements, and strategically advance their environmental performance. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/a0f6b765-8cc4-4f23-a98b-bd2b94dceb80
- author
- Alfarsi, Alaa
; Sherif, Ziyad
; Jagtap, Sandeep
LU
and Salonitis, Konstantinos
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-02-09
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Cleaner Manufacturing
- volume
- 1
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 100001
- pages
- 14 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 3050-998X
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.clman.2026.100001
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a0f6b765-8cc4-4f23-a98b-bd2b94dceb80
- date added to LUP
- 2026-02-10 15:38:28
- date last changed
- 2026-03-09 10:10:39
@article{a0f6b765-8cc4-4f23-a98b-bd2b94dceb80,
abstract = {{The chemical industry, essential to economic growth and innovation, faces critical environmental sustainability challenges, notably pollution, emissions, and intensive resource use. Motivated by the need for practical tools to address these issues, this research develops a structured, comprehensive framework to assess and enhance environmental sustainability within the chemical sector. The framework employs clearly defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to emissions, resource consumption, and pollutants, providing systematic methods for their identification, measurement, benchmarking, and improvement. It was developed through a structured literature review and sectoral data analysis, followed by the formulation of benchmark construction and a tiered rating approach to assess relative performance. Benchmark values are established using competitive market data, enabling accurate performance comparisons. The framework's effectiveness and practicality are demonstrated through two illustrative case studies, a detailed process-level analysis (steam cracking) and an indicator-level analysis (NOx emissions), which highlight clear opportunities for improvement. This study contributes a scalable, actionable approach that enables chemical companies to achieve measurable sustainability improvements, align with regulatory requirements, and strategically advance their environmental performance.}},
author = {{Alfarsi, Alaa and Sherif, Ziyad and Jagtap, Sandeep and Salonitis, Konstantinos}},
issn = {{3050-998X}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{02}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Cleaner Manufacturing}},
title = {{A comprehensive framework for enhancing environmental sustainability in the chemical industry}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/243357090/1-s2.0-S3050998X26000016-main.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.clman.2026.100001}},
volume = {{1}},
year = {{2026}},
}