DraftLifeCycleAssessment

Aproduct-orientedmethod

forsustainabilityanalysis

UNEPLCATrainingKit

Moduleb–OverviewofLCAWhatisLCA?WhyLCA?TheISO14040frameworkGoalandscopedefinitionInventoryanalysisImpactassessmentInterpretationContentsDraft2WhatisLCA?(1)Officially:

LifeCycleAssessmentHereconfinedto:

quantitativeenvironmentalLifeCycleAssessmentofproductsenvironmentalLifeCycleAssessmentquantitative

products3WhatisLCA?(2)Atleastthreedifferentmeanings:LCAasafieldofstudyLCAasatechniqueLCAasaspecificstudy4WhatisLCA?(3)Basically:toolfordecision-supportcomputationalaspectswhichdatawhichmodelswhichformulasproceduralaspectswhotoinvolvehowtoreporthowtouse5WhatisLCA?(4)ISO-standardisedprocedure(ISO14040,createdin1997-2000;revisedin2006)Structuredframework:fourphasesRules,requirementsandconsiderationsspecifiedSpecificdataandcalculationstepsnotspecifiedMuchattentionfortransparencyinreporting6ISO14040framework(1)Source:ISO14040Draft7ISO14040framework(2)ISO:Compilationandevaluationoftheinputs,outputsandthepotentialenvironmentalimpactsofaproductsystemthroughoutitslifecycleInternationalStandardISO14040complementaryInternationalStandardsISO14041,14042,14043noTechnicalReportto14040,butTechnicalReportsto14041and1404214044mergestherevised14040-14043(2006)8WhyLCA?(1)Whyaproduct-orientedinformationtool?IncreasedattentionforproductpolicyseveralnationalpolicyplansEU’sIntegratedProductPolicyUNEP’sInternationalDeclarationonCleanerProductionetc.Influenceconsumptionandproductionpatternsclean(er)productionecolabelproductstewardshipetc.9WhyLCA?(2)Whyanintegratedinformationtool?Preventproblemshiftingtootherlifecyclestagestoothersubstancestootherenvironmentalproblemstoothercountriestothefuture10WhyLCA?(3)Whyamethod?TostructurethelargeamountofcomplexdataTofacilitatecomparisonsacrossproductalternativesToenablebenchmarking11WhyLCA?(4)Whycomplexdata?ProductpropertyIncandescentlampFluorescentlamppowerconsumption60W18Wlifespan1000hr5000hrmass30g540gmercurycontent0mg2mgetc……Draft12ISO14040framework(3)Source:ISO14040Draft13Phase1:Goalandscopedefinition(1)Phaseoflifecycleassessmentinwhichtheaimofthestudy,andinrelationtothat,thebreadthanddepthofthestudyisestablishedgoaldefinitionscopedefinition14Phase1:Goalandscopedefinition(2)Goaldefinition:intendedapplicationproductdevelopmentandimprovementstrategicplanningpublicdecisionmakingmarketingotherreasonsforcarryingoutthestudyintendedaudience15Phase1:Goalandscopedefinition(3)Scopedefinition:function,functionalunitandreferenceflowinitialchoicessystemboundariesdataquality…criticalreviewandotherproceduralaspects16Phase1:Goalandscopedefinition(4)Functionalunit:comparisononthebasisofanequivalentfunctionexample:1000litersofmilkpackedinglassbottlesorpackedincarton,insteadof1glassbottleversus1carton17Phase1:Goalandscopedefinition(5)Criticalreviewandotherproceduralaspectscriticalreviewtoensuretheconsistency,scientificvalidity,transparencyofthereport,ernalreview,externalreview,reviewbyinterestedpartiesproceduralembeddingofLCA:LCAasa(participatory)process18Phase2:Inventoryanalysis(1)Phaseoflifecycleassessmentinvolvingthecompilationandquantificationofinputsandoutputs,foragivenproductsystemthroughoutitslifecycleSteps:preparingfordatacollectiondatacollectioncalculationproceduresallocationandrecycling19Phase2:Inventoryanalysis(2)CentralpositionforunitprocesssmallestportionofaproductsystemforwhichdataarecollectedTypicalexamples:electricityproductionbycoalcombustionPVCproductionuseofapassengercarrecyclingofaluminumscrap20Phase2:Inventoryanalysis(3)Datacollectionforunitprocesses:flowsofintermediateproductsorwastefortreatmentelementaryflowsfromortotheenvironmentelectricityproductionelectricitycoalgeneratorflyashDraft21Phase2:Inventoryanalysis(4)CombinationofunitprocessesintoaproductsystemGraphicalrepresentationinaflowdiagramelectricityproductionelectricitycoalgeneratorflyashcoalminingequipmentgeneratorproductionsteelflyashtreatmentgypsumsystemboundaryreferenceflowproductsystemDraft22Phase2:Inventoryanalysis(5)Draft23Phase2:Inventoryanalysis(6)electricityproductionwithcogenerationofheat(CHP)electricitycoalgeneratorflyashheatDraftCalculationproceduresrelateprocessdatatothefunctionalunit(matrixalgebra)allocationofmultipleprocesses(multipleoutputs,multipleinputs,re-useandrecycling)aggregationoverallunitprocessesintheinventorytable24Phase2:Inventoryanalysis(7)InventorytableElementaryflowIncandescentlampFluorescentlampCO2toair800000kg50000kgSO2toair1000kg80kgCoppertowater3g20gCrudeoilfromearth37000kg22000kgetc……25Phase3:Impactassessment(1)AssessmentoftheimportanceofthepotentialenvironmentaleffectswiththeaidoftheresultsoftheinventoryanalysisSteps:selectionanddefinitionofimpactcategories,indicatorsandmodelsclassificationcharacterisationnormalisationaggregationand/orweighing2642Phase3:Impactassessment(2)Draft27Phase3:Impactassessment(3)ExampleofacategoryindicatorGlobalWarming:GlobalWarmingPotential(GWP):measureforGlobalWarmingintermsofradiativeforcingofamass-unitExamplecalculation:5kgCO2(GWP=1)+3kgCH4(GWP=21)=1x5+21x3kgCO2-equivalents(=68kgCO2–equivalents)28Phase3:Impactassessment(4)Characterisation:SimpleconversionandaggregationofGHGs:CO2,CH4climatechangeGWP(1and21)5and3kg68kgCO2-eqinfraredradiativeforcingIPCCclimatemodel29Phase3:Impactassessment(5)Impactcategories,characterisationmethodsandcharacterisationmodels:somebaselineexamples30Phase3:Impactassessment(8)ImpactcategoryIncandescentlampFluorescentlampClimatechange120000kgCO2-eq40000kgCO2-eqEcotoxicity320kgDCB-eq440kgDCB-eqAcidification45kgSO2-eq21kgSO2-eqDepletionofresources0.8kgantinomy-eq0.3kgantinomy-eqetc……31Phase3:Impactassessment(7)Impactcategoryresultsstilldifficulttounderstand:differenceinunitsdifferenceinscaleNormalisationsteptorelatetheresultstoareferencevaluee.g.,totalworldimpactsin2002resultoftenreferredtoasthenormalisedenvironmentalprofile32Phase3:Impactassessment(8)ImpactcategoryIncandescentlampFluorescentlampClimatechange1.210-11yr410-12yrEcotoxicity1.610-10yr2.210-10yrAcidification910-11yr4.210-11yrDepletionofresources2410-12yr910-13yretc……33Phase3:Impactassessment(9)Evenafternormalisationnoclearansweraggregationof(normalized)impactc