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4 Steps to LCIA

1. Classification 2. Characterization 3. Normalisation 4. Weighting

Life-cycle Assessment

A method to assess the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service Manufacturers, policy makers, consumers Provides a healthy degree of skepticism of environmental arguments and claims

Life-Cycle Management (LCM)

According to the UNEP and SETAC, LCM is A business management approach to improve and organization's sustainability performance. A method to ensure more sustainable value chain management: to target, organize, analyze and manage product-related information and activities towards continuous improvement along the product life cycle; to reduce footprints and minimizing environmental and socio-economic burdens while maximizing economic and social values.

LCA Report for ISO Compliance

Administrative information: date of report, name of the address of LCA practitioner, other contact information or released information Definition of Goal and Scope Life-Cycle Inventory Analysis (data collection and calculation procedures) Life Cycle Impact Assessment (methodology and results of the impact assessment that was performed) Life Cycle Interpretation: results, assumptions and limitations, data quality assessment Critical Review (internal and external): name and affiliate of reviewers, critical review reports, responses to recommendations

Examples of parameters considered in a sensitivity analysis on dairy LCA

Allocation between meat and milk Choice of functional unit Feed consumption Refrigeration times Consumer transport distances Product losses Container recycling methods Packaging composition and size

Allocation Step 1

Always try to avoid allocation Option 1: divide the unit process to be allocated into two or more sub-processes and compile data in these sub-processes Option 2: expanding the product system to include the production process of co-product

Classification

Assignment of emissions to impact categories according to their potential effects

Weighting

Assignment of weights to the different impact potentials inherently subjective

Process-based LCI challenges

Availability Completeness Representativeness: temporal, spatial, technical Hidden assumptions

Levels of Reporting

Basic reporting: focuses on compliance of check lists; minimum to establish legitimacy Strategic reporting: Focuses on performance agains specific targets concerning material CR issues; establish clear business cases for CR Integrated reporting: offers financial and sustainability information, giving a holistic view of company performance

Primary data

Collected directly from the processes that are studies

LCM Opportunities

Competitive advantage in emerging or green markets: final consumes, business clients, public administrations Better image: consumers and clients, financial stakeholders, NGOs and civil society, legislators Influence regulations and pre-normative processes

Step 2: Evaluate completeness, sensitivity, and consistency

Completeness: examine the completeness of the study, ensure all relevant information and data are available and complete Sensitivity: investigate the sensitivity and magnitude of data on influencing the results Consistency: system boundary, data mining, assumptions, allocation methods

Strengths of LCA

Comprehensive assessment Highlights potential environmental tradeoffs Provides structure to an investigation Challenges conventional wisdom Advances the knowledge base Fosters communication and discourse

Process-based LCI

Constructed and organized by linking individual unit process data sets to form a complete product system Flexible: expandable, adjustable Aggregated: to protect confidentiality

Drivers: Why communicating LCM?

Consumer demands Information request from business clients External pressure from stakeholders or customers Increasing attention from financial stakeholders Green Public Procurement programs of public administrations Requirements from policy-makers

Process-based LCA

Cut-off criteria are always criticized

Limiting factors shaping the system boundary

Data availability Cut-off rules Allocation requirements

Secondary data

Data reported by some other sources

Product Category Rules

Defines all rules of LCA study and EPD format for the specific product category Open stakeholder consultation process

Corporate Responsibility Reports

Detail a company's response to 4-key questions Why is it important? How does it impact the business? How does it compare to their competitors? How relevant is it to consider stakeholders

Substitution

Determine 'avoided' processes

System and data inventory

Determine inclusion/exclusion of processes and data

Perturbation

Determine sensitivity: What is the effect of the results when one parameter is perturbed? Identify importance of parameters that has significant effects on results Identify key parameters that can govern the overall uncertainty of the result Determine marginal change in input parameter propagates in the system

Converted energy

Does not exist naturally. Generated by converting Primary Energy into more convenient (or useful) forms of energy

Water Use Impact: comprehensive indicator

Eco damage indicator Net primary production Precipitation WFC together with water consumption --> 'compensated area'

Characterization methods

Eco-indicator 99 TRACI

LCI data categories

Energy inputs, raw material inputs, ancillary inputs, and other physical inputs; Products; Emissions to air, water and land, and other environmental aspects

Reporting: Goal

Ensure the study is transparent Specify the purpose of your study: Potential application? Who can be benefited by your study? Describe the production system Brief how the LCA can be carried out: Include methods and assumptions, list limitations define objective (major audience) determine data quality

Endpoint vs Midpoint LCIA

Environmental interventions --> environmental mechanism --> damage occurs to areas we want to protect (end point) Endpoint impact provides tangible aspect BUT, mechanism is less understood at the end points, more commonly available 'mid-point' methods were proposed

ISO 14001

Environmental management system. 'a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective environmental management system'

Normalisation

Expression of the impact potentials relative to a reference situation

Target groups of communication

External stakeholders: final consumers, business clients, financial stakeholders, public administrators and policy makers, civil society and society stakeholders, suppliers Internal stakeholders: shareholders, employees and management

Primary energy

Fuels or forms of energy found in nature

Reporting: scope

Functional unit and reference flow system boundary: can be revised later to echo with study goal or data requirement, must be able to support study goal Data categories input and output inclusion/exclusion allocation method Method for LCA modeling data quality: rarely performed Assumptions and limitations Others (critical review, etc.)

LCI Environmental Impacts that are considered

Global warming Ozone layer depletion Acidification Homan toxic impact Ecosystem toxic impacts (terrestrial, freshwater aquatic, marine aquatic, sediment, etc.) Eutrophication Land use Abiotic resources depletion

Step 1: Identifying significant issues

How? Contribution analysis-- which life cycle stage or processes? Why relevant? Dominance analysis: employ statistical tools or other quantitative methods to identify contributions Anomaly assessment: observation and examination of unusual deviations General foci: inventory of energy, emissions, and waste impact category indicators Essential contributions from a particular stage or groups of processes

ISO type II environmental claims

ISO 14021: 'self-declared environmental claims made by manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, or anyone else likely to benefit from such a claim without independent third-party certification' several forms of communication: statements, symbols, or graphics on product or package labels, or in product literature, technical bulletins, advertising, publicity, telemarketing, internet Main features/characteristics: voluntary instrument, generally single criteria, first-party self-declaration Relationship with precut life-cycle and LCM is implicit, generally weak

ISO- type III environmental declarations

ISO 14025: Quantified environmental data for a product, with pre-determined parameters, based on the ISO 14040 series of standards, which may be supplemented by other qualitative and quantitative information Environmental Product Declarations

ISO Standard

ISO 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: member bodies, correspondent members, subscriber members

Observed trends

ISO-type 1 labels are still the most widely used communication tool to final consumers However important limitations of eco-labels: other communication tools are increasing awareness and fostering better use of product Simplification of complex life-cycle information into ISO type II claims, however some credibility issues ISO type III declarations for B2B-- increasing by still limited diffusion Combination of tools and reporting for various stakeholders

LCA-Based Application: Industry-- Product level

Identify environmental 'hotspots' in the organization or its supply chain set environmental priorities marketing and branding

Allocation principles

Identifying the processes where allocation is relevant Assign environmental burden among products and co-products Allocation should be done in such a way that allocated portions are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive Sensitivity analysis for multiple options

Allocation Step 2

If allocation is inevitable--> partition the inputs and outputs of the system between its products (physical allocation)

Achieving

Impact down Functionality up

I=PAT

Impacts= Population x affluence x technology

Back to IPAT

Improve eco-efficiency (T) Necessity of services (A) LCA: a tool to find eco-efficient way to deliver a service among all alternatives, but not to answer which one is more important

What LCA can't answer

Improve working environment and worker wellbeing can lead to the increase of productivity GMO products should be banned due to the uncertainty of their effects on human health Biofuel is not economically viable unless gas price is constantly higher than $4/gal Norway is moving to ban gas-based cars by 2025, which will led to the increase of electricity demand and the dependency on public transit, hence boost energy market investment

ISO-type 1 Ecolabels

Indicate overal environmental preferability of a product within a particular product category Qualitative, concise information: allows consumers to take quick purchasing decisions Main features/characteristics: voluntary instrument, multiple criteria, life-cycle approach, third-party independent verifications LCT- life-cycle thinking (but not necessarily LCA) explicitly used to set the criteria

Exploratory data analysis (EDA)

John Turkey (1976) First step in data analysis: leads to the application of formal quantitative methods to determine degree of significance of trends and patterns-- accept difference in perspectives and observed patterns, avoid reporting results blindly, require analysts engagement. Flow accounting: organize inventory flows based on conditional statements applied to the data

Quantify uncertainty

Lack of understanding on sources of uncertainty Currently no consensus on how to quantify the implementation of uncertainty

Ancillary Material Guideline

Less that 1% of the total mass of the processed materials or product Do not contribute significantly to a toxic emission Do not have a signifiant associated energy consumption

IO-based LCA

Less time-consuming and comprehensive Indirect and feedback relationships among processes System boundary: whole economy Resolution of a product is limited by data statistics Fewer LCIA impact categories

Main directions Realm of Industrial Ecology

Life-cycle analysis Eco-industrial parks of sustainability Dematerilization-decarbonization Urban metabolism Material input and output Environmental design Life-cycle design

Step 3: conclusions and recommendations

Make conclusions and the recommendations based on the facts What if the result is unclear?

Reporting--Contents and LCM

Many different approaches several guidelines Difficult classification, because: voluntary instruments, different and heterogeneous industry sectors LCT and LCM not always taken into account/reported

Ancillary Materials

Material input that is used by the unit process producing the product but does not constitute a part of the product Determine if it's okay to be excluded

Allocation step 1-2 disadvantage

Need additional information that is not interested in the study Confuse the audiences Need clarification: system expansion vs. substitution

Allocation

Partion and assign fractions of inventory flows in multifunctional processes Allocation of flows AND releases/emissions Lets processes produce multiple outputs Selected allocation method can significantly affect LCI and LCA results--> sensitivity analysis

Allocation Step 2&3 Partitioning

Physical allocation: mass, volume, energy content... Additional consideration: internal cost accounting, sales, market value Least preferred: 50/50 basis

ISO 14040

Principles and framework of the entire 14040 series An introduction to the 14040 series Basic yet essential form of LCA A distillation of a wide variety of considerations of hundreds of LCA scholars world-wide Highlights: LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product Three components: 1. compilation of inventory of input and outputs 2. evaluation of the inventory regarding their environmental impacts 3. interpreting the results Use of LCA in identifying opportunities to improve environmental aspects of products strategic planning, priority setting, products of processing design Environmental claim, eco-labelling, scheme, or environmental declaration

Services provided by the earth

Provider: mass (natural resources), energy Sink: wastes and pollutants

Impact category indicator

Quantifiable representation of an impact category= 'category indicator'

Characterization

Quantification of contributions to the different impact categories

Data quality

Refer to the characteristic of data inventory Determine the degree of confidence you have in the LCA result

Data requirement

Refer to the types of flow data needed in all unit processes Must be able to support study goal and scope Category: from/to technosphere or biosphere, product, resources, or elementary Correspond to impacts interest the study

Key LCIA Assumption

Relationship between production and impacts is linear (attributional LCA)

Uses of LCA

Research Support business strategy Product design/process design education eco-labelling/environmental declaration Others

Codes of Conduct and Supplier Screening

Set of requirements on: ethical, social, health and safety, environmental aspects To be fulfilled internally in the company Often extended to suppliers Good tool to interact with SMEs Link with LCM intrinsic in: Corporate social responsibility, extended producer responsibility, involvement of suppliers

System expansion

Split a multifunctional process

LCA databases

Swiss Ecoinvent CEDA BEES USDA NREL AGRIBALYSE

interpretation

Systematically identify, quantify, check and evaluate information from the results of LCI and the LCIA and communicate them effectively (EPA) Identification of significant issues Evaluation of the results in terms of completeness, sensitivity, consistency Conclusions, recommendations, and reporting Compare alternatives Provide better understanding of the impacts associated with each alternatives Apply LCA results in conjunctions with technical performance, cost, or political and social acceptance

Dimensions that need to be addressed ISO

Temporal coverage Geographical coverage Technological coverage (ex. various types of trucks with various performance and environmental profiles) Precision and completeness Representativeness Consistency and reproducibility Sources of data, and uncertainty of the information

Carrying capacity

The rates at which these two services can be supplied are limited Beyond a certain limit, these services cannot be supplied anymore

Industrial Ecology

There is no official definition Understand energy and material flows in industries Define industrial society as an ecosystem An operational approach to sustainability The concept existed before 1970s, first taught in 1980s

Expanding LCA

Traditional LCA doesn't convey financial and social impacts life-cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) Scheme of LCSA=LCA=LCC=SLCA Pitfall: assuming suitability can be balanced between an environmental, social and economic dimension, how relevant is LCC for sustainability assessment? Cost applies to the poor vs. to the rich?

Uncertainty

Types of uncertainty: parameter uncertainty Models uncertainty Uncertainty due to unavoidable methodological choices in LCA Spatial and temporal variability Variability between sources in LCI Bias Consciously created Unintentionally occur

Environmental Product Declarations-- Main Features/Characteristics

Voluntary instrument multiple environmental impact indicators no threshold criteria/minimum levels to be met Allows comparability of products Third-party verified Relationship with product life cycle is explicit, strictly based on underlying LCA study

Allocation Step 3

Where physical relationships alone is not feasible, the inputs should be allocated to reflect other relationships between them

Impact category

a class representing environmental issues of concern to which LCI results may be assigned. In endpoint method also refers to damage category or area of protection

Characterization factor

a factor derived from a characterization model which is applied to convert the assigned LCI results to the common unit of the category indicator

life-cycle thinking

a holistic view over a product system essential for thinking differently as an environmentalist Alway question: contribution of an environmental action or event, consequences, impacts

Energy flows

change converted energy (energy carriers) back to primary energy Change energy forms: facilitate fair comparison Always compare LCA energy consumption of different products based on primary energy Therefore, resource mix in local grid system matters

Challenges of SME

cost of LCA Need for change in workplace routines Complexity of LCA methods and shortages of personnel to perform LCA General barrier for taking sustainable measures

Reporting: impact assessment and interpretation

determine impact assessment method select proper indicator: revise data inventory, revise goal and scope summarize results interpret: reflect goal and scope, reflect purposes of study Deliver conclusions and suggestions

Communication toolbox: product-related

eco-labels environmental claims environmental product declaration product environmental performance indicators product profiles eco-efficiency analysis product information schemes GPP guidelines

Communication toolbox: Firm and Organization level

environmental reports EHS reports Social reports Sustainability reports CSR- corporate social responsibility Company codes Manuals of Conduct Audits Supplier evaluation systems

ISO 14000 series

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

Elementary flows

from/to biosphere (air, water, or land/soil)

Sources of cut-off

identified: flows are identified in process-based system but no LCI available Non-identified: intangible for simple overlooked. The effect of omitting this type of flows can be more significant if social and economic indicators are considered

Methodological Characteristics

improve communication by bridging science and policy: support dialogue among stakeholders, support policy making and development Provide quantitative information to elaborate the key environmental context of a production systemL inform and improve product design Can be attributional or consequential Global, rather than local Steady state, not dynamic Not pass/fail criteria

General barriers for taking sustainable measures

lack of awareness of sustainability issues absence of perceived benefits lack of knowledge and expertise lack of human and financial resources insufficient external drivers and incentives unsuitability of formal management tools complexity tools

LCA-Based Application: Industry-- Corporate level

mostly done by adopting a few selecting impact categories, or footprint accounting future application: setting strategic objectives, LCA as a tool to aid EMS

Consequential LCA

nonlinear models integration with IO-based linear model can be challenging more relevant for supporting decision-making

Cut-off

normal assumption: cut-off flows are insignificant, but study found that the omission can lead to over 30% of deviation in certain impact categories

Socio-economic indicators

population water use reap GDP primary energy use Transportation Telecommunications International tourism

Corporate responsibility reports

provide information on non-financial risks and opportunities enable companies to manage environmental, social and political factors Track company's sustainability in terms of profits and environment Communities-- understand how companies can impact them Employees-- understand how their work contributes to additional non-monetary values

Environmental Product Information Schemes

seal-of-approval programs single-attribute programs hazard warning programs information disclosure programs environmental self-declaration by individual firms or test reporting

Intermediate flows

to/from technosphere

Water Use Impact: direct indicator

water footprint L of water consumed/kWh power generated L of water consumed/ L biofuel generated