VOC Emission Estimations and Cost-Benefit Analysis of VOC Emission from the Canadian Printing and Inks Industry

In order to assist Environment and Climate Change Canada in investigating possible initiatives to undertake and to achieve VOC emission reductions from the Canadian printing and graphic art industry, the Contractor must carry out all the tasks listed below and provide the results to the Project Authority in the form of a report.

All the economic information must be provided in 2017 Canadian dollars. When monetary estimates are not available in Canadian dollars, foreign currency estimates must be converted and presented in Canadian dollars accompanied by an explanation of the exchange rates used.

Use of Canadian data should be prioritized over those from foreign sources (e.g., United States and European Union). When only foreign data is available, the Contractor should extrapolate the data for the Canadian market and support the extrapolation with valid assumptions (e.g., based on GDP, market share and demand in North America).

Task 1 – Data gathering on the Canadian printing, packaging and graphic art industry

The Contractor must gather information on the Canadian printing, packaging and graphic art industry including the following information:

• The companies (e.g., number of employees, operation hours, location);
• The type of printing platforms used by the facility (e.g., sheetfed lithography, heatset web lithography, flexography, gravure, screen and digital printing, etc.);
• Type of printing substrate (e.g., corrugated cartons, paper, metal cans, plastics, etc.);
• The type and quantity of printing material and their VOC content (e.g. inks, coatings, fountain solutions, solvents and cleaning products);
• Pollution prevention and pollution control technologies and practices in use and their efficiency (e.g., material or feedstock substitution, product design or reformulation, capture device efficiency, control device destruction efficiency);
• Date of printing platforms installation and VOC reduction and control technologies.
• Identify the future trends in technology and how it may impact VOC emissions.

The Contractor must keep a record of discussion following any communication with industry. These records must contain the industry contact information, the subject of discussion, the questions posed or raised during the discussions, and any feedback received on the subject.

Task 2 – VOC emission estimations

Based on the data gathered in Task 1, the Contractor must provide an estimate of the total uncontrolled and controlled VOC emissions from the Canadian printing and graphic art industry breakdown by: geographical distribution, type of printing platform, substrates, printing material, and facility size.

In order to complete this task, using data gathered in Task 1, the Contractor must:

1. Determine a statistically significant sample size and establish a sample list of printing facilities in Canada that have considered:
   1. The geographical distribution per province and major city;
   2. The various printing platforms (i.e. Offset Lithography, Flexography, Screen, Gravure and Digital;
   3. The type of printing substrate; and
   4. The facility size (number of employees).

1. Develop a survey approach using the Facility Survey Method outlined by the Emission Inventory Improvement Program’s Volume III: Chapter 7 Graphic Arts Final Report (Section 3.2 and 3.3): https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/iii07.pdf and must also develop a survey questionnaire.

1. Support small and mediums enterprises in filling out the survey questionnaire.

1. Analyze, interpret, and provide meaningful commentary from the results of the survey that must include, but are not limited to, the identification of any data gaps, margin of error, assumptions and response bias.

1. Provide projections of VOC emission based on future trends, anticipated growth and market knowledge and intelligence (e.g. upcoming regulatory and non-regulatory measures, and technological advancements).

The Contractor must keep a record of discussion following any communication with industry. These records must contain the industry contact information, the subject of discussion, the questions posed or raised during the discussions, and any feedback received on the subject. Environment and Climate Change Canada may use the record of discussion to judge whether the required effort has been put to achieve the desired survey response rate and the margin of error the Contractor committed to achieve in his or her proposal.

Task 3 – Cost-Benefit Analysis

The Contractor must identify key VOC reduction options and provide a cost-benefit analysis of VOC reductions for each printing process (e.g., lithography, flexography, gravure, screen and digital printing). In order to complete this task the Contract must:

1. Make a comprehensive list of VOC emission reduction options for each printing process (e.g., switch to new type of ink, incorporate capture technology, and implement best management practices);

1. Provide an estimate of the total VOC reduction achievable for each VOC reduction option for each printing process.

1. Determine the costs (e.g., direct/indirect and short-term/long-term) and benefits (i.e. quantity of VOC reduced) for each of the reduction options;

1. Determine the average annualized cost to reduce VOC emissions over a 10 year forecast (cost per tonne);

1. Determine the elasticity of the market by facility size; and

1. Identify the best reduction options for each printing process based on the cost-benefit analysis, facility size, and market and technology trends.

The Contractor must keep a record of discussion following any communication with industry. These records must contain the industry contact information, the subject of discussion, the questions posed or raised during the discussions, and any feedback received on the subject. Environment and Climate Change Canada may use the record of discussion to judge whether the required effort has been put to achieve the desired response rate and margin of error if the Contractor does not achieve the above-referenced response rate.