To address increasing environmental sustainability concerns among consumers, many companies have developed approaches to provide functions, rather than products through product-service systems (PSS). This study evaluates a use-oriented tool rental service from Husqvarna, called ‘Tools for you,’ with the aim to identify critical processes to improve the sustainability of the offering. The environmental implications of the system are assessed using life cycle assessment for the annual service of one electric chainsaw and compared with a conventional sales alternative. The results suggest that rental service is influenced extensively by the location of the rental depot. Furthermore, while the impacts of the product and accessories, infrastructure, waste management, and use are reduced compared to the sales alternative, their contribution is only minor compared to environmental impacts from transportation. The results are also sensitive to the methodological choices, where the lifetime of the products, data choices, transportation assumptions, maintenance intervals, and other user-related variables for the use of the products have a significant influence on the results. The conclusions confirm and extend previous assertions on the challenges of applying LCA to PSS and add to the emerging literature on sustainable business models through empirical evidence from a case study. The findings also point to the holistic insights required to optimize the potential environmental sustainability of the services for Husqvarna and other retailers interested in adopting use-oriented business models. Future research could focus on the geographical differences of the rental lockers worldwide, models for optimizing their location, in addition to further input on user behavior, and the role of refurbishment and remanufacturing for more robust analyses of the sustainability of PSS offerings.

中文翻译：

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电动工具租赁产品服务系统环境评价


为了解决消费者日益关注的环境可持续性问题，许多公司开发了提供功能的方法，而不是通过产品服务系统（PSS）提供产品。本研究评估了 Husqvarna 名为“Tools for you”的以使用为导向的工具租赁服务，旨在确定提高该产品可持续性的关键流程。该系统的环境影响是通过对一台电链锯的年度服务进行生命周期评估来评估的，并与传统的销售替代方案进行比较。结果表明，租赁服务很大程度上受到租赁站位置的影响。此外，虽然与销售替代方案相比，产品和配件、基础设施、废物管理和使用的影响有所减少，但与运输对环境的影响相比，它们的贡献很小。结果还对方法选择敏感，其中产品的寿命、数据选择、运输假设、维护间隔以及其他与产品使用相关的用户相关变量对结果有显着影响。结论证实并扩展了之前关于将 LCA 应用于 PSS 的挑战的断言，并通过案例研究的经验证据补充了关于可持续商业模式的新兴文献。研究结果还指出，为 Husqvarna 和其他有兴趣采用以使用为导向的商业模式的零售商优化服务的潜在环境可持续性所需的整体见解。 未来的研究可以集中于全球租赁储物柜的地理差异、优化其位置的模型、对用户行为的进一步输入，以及翻新和再制造的作用，以便对 PSS 产品的可持续性进行更强有力的分析。