Tehseen Ahmad 1, Majid Hussain 2,*, Mudassar Iqbal 3, Ashfaq Ali 4, Wajiha Manzoor 5, Hamida Bibi 6,Shamsher Ali 7, Fariha Rehman 5, Ahmad Rashedi 8, Muhammad Amin 9, Anila Tabassum 10, Ghulam Raza 11and Dilawar Farhan Shams
The marble industry is growing in Pakistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is the
largest producer of marble tiles in Pakistan. Marble production consumes a considerable amount of
water during its life cycle stages and impacts various environmental compartments, such as air, water,
and soil; therefore, this study aimed to quantify the environmental impacts, water footprint, and
cumulative energy demand of one-tonne marble tile manufactured in a small industrial estate Mardan
(SIEM), Pakistan, and provide recommendations to improve its environmental impact profile. The
study covers water consumption, energy use, and associated environmental impacts of raw materials
and processes through different stages of the marble life-cycle during 2017–2018. The cradle-to-gate
(extraction to factory gate or store house) life cycle assessment approach was followed in this study.
The functional unit for the current study was one tonne of finished marble tile produced. Primary data
from the field surveys and secondary data were modeled using the water scarcity index (WSI), CML
2000 v.2.05 methodology, and the cumulative energy demand indicator present by default in SimaPro
v.8.3 software. The total water footprint required for one tonne of finished marble tile was 3.62 cubic
meters per tonne (m3/t), with electricity consumed at processing units contributing to environmental
burdens the most. Similarly, electricity consumed (at processing units and during polishing) and
transportation of finished marble tile to the local market were responsible for global warming
potential (388 kg CO2 eq/tonne tile), human toxicity (84.34 kg 1,4-DB-eq/tonne), freshwater aquatic
ecotoxicity (94.97kg 1,4-DB eq/tonne) and abiotic depletion (7.1 × 10−5 kg Sb eq/tonne). The results
of our study follow other marble tile LCA studies conducted globally (such as in Turkey and Italy),
which also reported a high contribution to GWP, AP, EP, and HT due to electricity and fossil fuels
consumption. The total cumulative energy demand (CED) was calculated as 5863.40 MJ (Mega Joule),