Environmental Assessment Course

1. Environmental Assessment Course Life Cycle Assessment

2. Contents • What is LCA? • Impact assessment • LCA in different countries • LCA stages • LCA methods • Motivations • Strengths and weaknesses • LCA actors • Marketing aspects • ISO standards • Case study in Switcherland

3. LCA Life-cycle analysis (LCA) is a sophisticated way of examining the total environmental impact of a product through every step of its life -- from obtaining raw materials all the way through making it in a factory, selling it in a store, using it in the home, and disposing of it. Disposal options include incineration, burial in a landfill, or recycling.

4. What is LCA? Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique for assessing the potential environmental aspects associated with a product (or service), by: • compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs, • evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs, • interpreting the results of the inventory and impact phases in relation to the objectives of the study. (from the ISO Committee Draft 14040.3 draft on LCA, October 1995)

5. Life Cycle Assessment • The life-cycle stages. This is the physical sequence of unit processes across the life-cycle. • Analysis of multiple environmental and resource issues (i.e.: inputs and outputs). LCA is not just a single-issue tool; it spreads consideration to tradeoffs across many environmental concerns. • Assessment. LCA extends beyond quantitative analysis to a point where an evaluation or judgement is made. At its simplest, this may be a statement of what's better or what's worse.

6. What is Life Cycle Assessment? from ISO 14040.2 Draft: Life Cycle Assessment - Principles and Guidelines Life Cycle Assessment: • A systematic set of procedures for compiling and examining the inputs and outputs of materials and energy and the associated environmental impacts directly attributable to the functioning of a product or service system throughout its life cycle.

7. What is Life Cycle Life Cycle: • Consecutive and inter-linked stages of a product or service system, from the extraction of natural resources to the final disposal. from ISO 14040.2 Draft: Life Cycle Assessment - Principles and Guidelines

8. SETAC Definition of LCA “Life-cycle assessment is an objective process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process, or activity by identifying and quantifying energy and material usage and environmental releases, to assess the impacts of those energy and material uses and releases to the environment, and to evaluate and implement opportunities to effect environmental improvements. The assessment includes the entire life-cycle of the product, process or activity, encompassing extracting and processing raw materials; manufacturing, transportation, and distribution; use/re-use/maintenance; recycling; and final disposal." The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

9. ISO14040 LCA Definition LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product by: • compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs of a system; • evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs; • interpreting the results of the inventory and impact phases in relation to the objectives of the study.

10. Which way will it fall? Environmental benefits from water saving Life cycle environmental impacts

11. Environmental benefits from water saving Life cycle environmental impacts

12. Environmental benefits from water saving Life cycle environmental impacts

13. Types of environmental interventions in LCA • Extraction of abiotic resources • Extraction of biotic resources • Land use • Climate change • Stratospheric ozone depletion • Photo-oxidant creation • Human toxicity • Eco-toxicity • Acidification • Nutrification

14. Impact assessment Use of non-renewable resources Global warming Ozone depletion Human toxicity Ecosystem toxicity Acidification Eutrophication COD, BOD in water Smog Noise... etc. The inventory is usually translated into a set of environmental effects: Fuels & energy Raw materials (Land) (Water) Solid waste Air: CO2, NOX, SOX, etc. Water: Acid, nitrates, phosphates, etc. Waste heat

15. Rebound effects ‘Sustainability concepts that rest on the idea of resource or energy improvements due to technological progress tend to overestimate the actual saving effects because they ignore the behavioural responses evoked by technological improvements that lead to rebound effects’ (Binswanger, 2001)

16. Different types of rebound effect • Direct rebound effect – e.g. spending longer in a shower with a low-flow fitting. • Indirect rebound effect – money saved on water bill is spent on further consumption (e.g. holiday in Greece) • General equilibrium effects – involving producers and consumers and representing the result of myriad adjustments of supply and demand in all sectors.

17. LCA and the Regulatory Process • LCA is mandatory in some European countries • used as the basis of packaging recovery and recycling targets • LCA is voluntary in the U.S. At present • its use is limited, but expanding

18. LCA in Germany • Only big companies • Mainly retrospective • Training tool • Decision making tools

19. LCA in Italy • Initiative of private sector • Problems with SME-s

20. LCA in Sweden • Most advanced • High environmental awareness • Proactive behaviour of companies • Collaboration between business and research • Collaboration between business and government • Weak intervention of the state • Rising trend continues

21. LCA in Switcherland • Very successful • Proactive companies • Saturation reached

22. Life Cycle Assessment Stages Inputs Life-Cycle Stages Outputs Atmospheric emissions Raw Materials Acquisition Waterborne wastes Manufacturing Solid wastes Raw materials Use/Reuse/Maintenance Coproducts Energy Recycle/Waste Management Other releases

23. Side streams

24. 3 Steps of LCA • Life-cycle inventories • involve quantifying energy and raw materials use and the emissions associated with a product, process or activity; • Life-cycle impact analysis • assess the impacts of the environmental loadings identified in the life-cycle inventory;

25. 3 Steps of LCA (cont.) • Life-cycle improvement analysis • used to identify opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts identified in the impact analysis through modification of the inventory.

26. Components of LCA

27. Steps in the LCA of a Product

28. Inventory Analysis • define purpose • define system boundaries • geographic scope • types of data used • data collection and synthesis procedures • data quality measures • computational model construction • presentation of results

29. Eco-costs • The costs to prevent polluting emissions (to the air, water and ground), during the life cycle, at a sustainable level of earth’s carrying capacity • The eco-costs of materials, taking into account the ratio of recycling • The cost of energy at the price level of sustainable energy • The eco-costs related to the costs of labour • The depreciation of the eco-costs of production facilities

30. Eco-costs/Value ratio retail distribution marketing assembly components

31. Conceptual Framework forLCA Impact Analysis

32. LCA Characterization Methods • loading • equivalency • inherent chemical properties • generic exposure and effects • site-specific exposure and effects

33. Streamlining LCA Methods • Limiting or eliminating life-cycle stages (usually upstream or downstream stages from the main manufacturing stage) • Focusing on specific environmental impacts or issues • Eliminating specific inventory parameters • Limiting or eliminating impact assessment • Using qualitative as well as quantitative data • Using surrogate process data • Establishing criteria to be used as “show stoppers” or “knockouts” • Limiting the constituents studied to those meeting a threshold quantity (for example, ignore raw materials comprising less than 20% by weight of the LCI total mass)

34. Motivations for Implementing LCA

35. When Should LCA be Done?

36. Benefits Of LCA • companies can claim one product is better than another on the basis of LCA • LCA inventory process helps to narrow in on the area where the biggest reductions in environmental emissions can be made • can be used to reduce production costs

37. Strengths of LCA • Comprehensive with respect to environmental impact connected to a function • Avoids problem shifting • Explicit distinction between science based information and value choices • International standardisation by ISO • Best practice identification envisaged in SETAC-UNEP programme

38. Weaknesses of LCA • Too complex • Too data intensive • Does not directly consider future changes in technology and demand • Does not consider societal effects • Only known and quantifyable environmental effects are considered • Requires expert knowledge

39. Drawbacks of LCA • Using LCA to compare products is like comparing apples to oranges. • For example, which is worse: a product that pollutes the air by consuming energy from coal-fired power plants or one that disrupts ecosystems by consuming energy from massive hydroelectric dam projects? Both types of pollution should be minimized if possible.

40. Drawbacks (cont.) • Comparison between heavy energy demand and heavy water use: which imposes greater environmental burden? • How can the use of non-renewable mineral resources like oil or gas (the ingredients of plastics) be compared with the production of softwoods for paper? • How should the combined impacts of the landfilling of wastes (air and groundwater pollution, transport impacts etc) be compared with those produced by the burning of wastes for energy production (predominantly emissions to air)?

41. Drawbacks (cont.) • LCAs may give different and sometimes contradictory conclusions about similar products. • Recycling adds more complexity to LCA.

42. Who Does LCA? • Conducted by an industry sector to enable it to identify areas where improvements can be made, in environmental terms. • LCA may be intended to provide environmental data for the public or for government. • Companies use LCA for marketing and advertising, to support claims that their products are 'environmentally friendly' or even 'environmentally superior' to those of their rivals.

43. Eco-Labeling • widely used in Europe to help consumers distinguish “environmentally friendly” products from others • Germany - Blue Angel • Netherlands - Dutch Ecolabel • EU developing unified European program • also addressed in ISO 14000 • only recently being used in the U.S. • Green Seal • can be very misleading if not done properly

44. ISO standards • ISO 14040 • Environmental management - Life Cycle Assessment - Principles and Framework • ISO 14041 • Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis • ISO 14042 • Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Life cycle impact assessment • ISO 14043 • Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Life cycle interpretation

45. ISO standards cont.. • ISO TR 14047 (not yet published) • Environmental management -- Life cycle assessment -- Examples of application of ISO 14042 • ISO 14048 • Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment - Life Cycle assessment data documentation format • ISO TR 14049 • Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment - Examples of Application of ISO 14041 to Goal and Scope Definition and Inventory Analysis

46. The case study of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Internet infrastructure

47. Step 1: Inventory of the necessary equipment for the Internet infrastructure at the EPFL The functional unit = Internet infrastructure during one year

48. Corresponding annual costs (necessary to perform the IO LCA)

49. Results: the non-renewable primary embodied energy (use phase and production) cpu = control unit

50. Remarks • 1. PCs are dominating (control unit (cpu) + screen) • 2. Contribution of the switches and servers are significant • 3. IO LCA value is two times the PLCA result