Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

1. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

2. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) • As corporations seek to improve their environmental performance they require new methods and tools. LCA is one such tool that can help companies to understand the environmental impacts associated with their products, processes and activities. • LCA is controversial and still evolving as a methodology but the principles behind it are being adopted rapidly by organisations as a way of opening new perspectives and expanding the debate over environmentally sound products and processes. • The goal of LCA is not to arrive at “the answer” but rather to provide important inputs to a broader strategic planning process

3. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) • Life Cycle Assessment is an environmental management tool. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) defines LCA as • A compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of a product throughout its lifecycle

4. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) • LCA considers the following stages in the life cycle of an activity • Extraction and processing of raw materials • Manufacturing • Transportation and distribution • Use, reuse and maintenance • Recycling • Final disposal

5. Primary Resources Extraction & Processing Reuse/Recycle Production Use Disposal Emissions & Waste Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

6. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) • The LCA methodology is standardised by a series of ISO standards and includes the following phases • 1. Goal and scope definition (ISO 14041) • 2. Inventory Analysis (ISO 14041) • 3. Impact Assessment (ISO 14042) • 4. Interpretation (ISO 14043)

7. Goal & Scope Definition Inventory Analysis Interpretation Impact Analysis Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

8. Goal and Scope Definition • The first phase of LCA includes definition of • The purpose of the study and its intended use • The system and system boundaries • The functional unit • Data quality, the assumptions and limitations of the study

9. Goal and Scope Definition • In full LCA studies, the system boundary is drawn to encompass all stages in the life cycle from extraction of raw materials to the final disposal. However, in some cases, the scope of the study will demand a different approach, where it is not appropriate to include all stages in the life cycle. This is usually the case with commodities, for instance, which can have a number of different uses so that it is not possible to follow their numerous life cycles after the production phase. The scope of such studies is from “cradle to gate”.

10. Goal and Scope Definition • One of the most important elements of an LCA study is a functional unit. The functional unit represents a quantitative measure of the output of products or services which the system delivers. In comparative LCA studies, it is crucial that the systems are compared on the basis of equivalent function, that is functional unit • Eg comparison of different beverage packaging should be based on their equivalent function which is to contain a certain amount of beverage. The functional unit is then defined as “the quantity of packaging necessary to contain the specified volume of beverage”.

11. Inventory Analysis • The purpose of the “Inventory Analysis” is to identify and quantify the environmental burdens in the life cycle of the activity under study. The burdens are defined by material and energy used in the system and emissions to air, liquid effluents and solid wastes discharged into the environment. • Inventory Analysis includes the following steps • Detailed definition of the system under study • Data collection • Allocation of environmental burdens in multiple-function systems • Quantification of the burdens

12. Materials Acquisition Outputs Inputs Principal Products Formulation, processing and Manufacturing Materials Coproducts Product Distribution Energy Water effluents Water Product use Airborne emissions Air Recycle, products, components, materials Solid Waste Other Environmental interactions Waste Management Life Cycle Inventory Analysis

13. Life Cycle Inventory Analysis Environment System Functional Outputs Inputs Emissions/Wastes Subsystems

14. Life Cycle Inventory Analysis • Environmental burdens are then quantified for each subsystem according to the formula • Where bcj,i is burden j from activity i and xi is a mass or energy flow associated with that activity

15. x2 x3 x1 x4 Extraction Production Use Disposal FU CO2 = 0.2 kg/t CH4 = 0.1 kg/t x1 = 2t/tFU CO2 = 0.1kg/t CH4 = 0.1kg/t x3 = 1t/tFU CO2 = 0.3 kg/t CH4 = 0.1 kg/t x2 = 1.5t/tFU CO2 = 0.1kg/t CH4 = 0.3kg/t x4 = 0.5 t/tFU Calculating Environmental Burdens & Impacts in LCA - Example • The system in this example has one functional output and each activity i from extraction of raw materials to final disposal generates a certain amount of CO2 and CH2.

16. Calculating Environmental Burdens & Impacts in LCA - Example • Using the Environmental Burdens equation the total environmental burdens per functional unit related to the emissions of CO2 and HC4 are therefore BCO2 = ∑bcCO2 . xi = (0.2)2+(0.3)1.5+(0.1)1+(0.1)0.5 →BCO2 = 1.0 kg/tFU BCH4 = ∑bcCH4 . xi = (0.1)2+(0.1)1.5+(0.1)1+(0.3)0.5 →BCH4 = 0.6 kg/tFU

17. Classification Factors for Selected Burdens

18. Calculating Environmental Burdens & Impacts in LCA - Example EGWP = (ecCO2)BCO2 + (ecCH4)BCH2 = 1(1) + 21(0.6) → EGWP = 13.6 kg CO2 equiv / tFU

19. Impact Assessment • The environmental burdens quantified in “Inventory Analysis” are translated into the related environmental impacts. This is carried out within the following steps • Classification • Characterisation • Normalisation • Valuation

20. Impact Assessment • Classification • Involves the aggregation of environmental burdens into a smaller number of environmental impact categories to indicate their potential impacts on human and ecological health and the extent of resource depletion. The aggregation is done on the basis of the potential impacts of the burdens so that one burden can be associated with a number of impacts; eg Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) contribute to both global warming and ozone depletion. The approach used most widely for classification of the impacts is known as ‘problem oriented’, whereby the burdens are aggregated according to their relative contributions to the environmental effects they may have

21. Impact Assessment • The impacts most commonly considered in LCA are • Non-renewable resource depletion • Global warming • Ozone depletion • Acidification • Eutrophication • Photochemical oxidant formation • Human toxicity • Aquatic toxicity

22. Impact Assessment • Characterisation • Involves the quantification of the impact of interest relative to a reference substance. In the example we examined we look at the Global Warming Potential of the Products life cycle relative to CO2 emissions. Takes place using the formula eck,j represents the relative contribution of burden Bj to impact Ek

23. Impact Assessment • Normalisation • The impacts can be normalised with respect to the total emissions or extractions in a certain area over a given period of time. This can help to asses the extent to which an activity contributes to the regional or global environmental impacts. Should be interpreted with care due to lack of reliable data.

24. Impact Assessment • Valuation • Each impact is assigned a weight which indicates its relative importance. As a result the environmental impacts are aggregated into a single environmental impact function EI Where wk is the relative importance of impact Ek

25. Impact Assessment • Valuation • A number of problems at philosophical and practical level in the realisation of this and there is no consensus on the best way to aggregate the environmental impacts into a single EI figure. • Some people argue that valuation should not be carried out at all as it obscures information and that considering the impact in a disaggregated form enhances the transparency of the decision making based on LCA results

26. Interpretation • This phase is aimed at system improvements and innovation and it includes the following steps • Identification of major burdens and impacts • Identification of ‘hot spots’ in the life cycle • Sensitivity analysis • Evaluation of findings and recommendations

27. Interpretation • Sensitivity Analysis • Indicates the level of reliability of the LCA • Data availability and reliability • Uncertainties • Data gaps