ISO 14040 and LCA Terms and Definitions

Three Components of LCA

Compilation of inventory of inputs and outputs evaluation of the inventory regarding their environmental impacts interpreting the results

ISO 14000 Series

Envisions as a second set of managerial standards that will lead to improving environmental performance of business

LCA framework and stages

Goal and scope definition Inventory analysis Impact assessment Interpretation Direct applications -development -improvement -planning -policy making -marketing -other

Product

Goods or service Co-product- any of two or more products coming from the same unit process or product system

ISO 140140-14046

Includes lifecycle assessment principles, framework, goal, scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment, interpretation, and water footprint

ISO

International Organization for Standardization Established in 1947 to facilitate the international coordination and unification of industrial standards A non government federation of national standards bodies from around 150 countries The US member body is American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

ISO 14040

LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product LCA is not the only environmental management technique (risk assessment, EIA)

Use LCA in identifying

Opportunities to improve environmental aspects of products Strategic planning, priority setting, products or process design Environmental claim, eco-labeling scheme, or environmental declaration

Unit Process

Smallest portion of a product system for which data are collected when performing a life-cycle assessment A product's life cycle = series of unit processes Inputs of energy and mass (from nature or technosphere) undergoes unit process and leads to outputs like emissions, solid waste, products and co products that go to nature or technosphere

LCA limitations

Subjective choices to be made Limitations due to data availability and quality Spatially and temporarily generic

Product system

collection of unit processes with elementary and product flows, performing one or more defined functions, and which models the life cycle of a product

Functional Unit

quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit

System Boundary

set of criteria specifying which unit processes are part of a product system

What should LCA studies address?

the environmental aspects of product systems from raw material acquisition to final disposal

ISO 9000 Series

Widely adopted by industry community as a sound management practice to improve quality of products