Bethesda, Maryland -- Three definitions related to sustainability submitted by the US Adhesive and Sealant Council (AS) have been approved by the full ASTM D14 Adhesives Committee at a recent meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.
The approved definitions of sustainability, renewable resource, and life-cycle assessment will be added to the ASTM document D907 (Standard Terminology for Adhesives) by July. The definitions are as follows:
Sustainability -- the maintenance of ecosystem components and functions for future generations.
Renewable resource -- a resource that is grown, naturally replenished or replaced a rate that exceeds depletion of the useable supply of that resource.
Life-cycle assessment, LCA -- a method for evaluating a product by reviewing the ecological impact over the life of the product.
"The cooperative effort between ASC and ASTM which resulted in having three terms related to sustainability approved for the D907 document in a matter of six months is extremely gratifying, and supportive of industry need for clear definitions in this emerging area," said Mark Collatz, ASC's director of government relations, in the ASC announcement.
ASC and the D14 Committee will continue to cooperate' on developing a definition for the term 'carbon footprint' which is expected to be re-balloted by the members of the full ASTM committee later this year.
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