Life Cycle Assessment A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis

UNEP LCA Training Kit Module b Overview of LCA

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Contents

What is LCA? Why LCA? The ISO 14040 framework

Goal and scope definition Inventory analysis Impact assessment Interpretation

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What is LCA? (1)

Officially: Life Cycle Assessment Here confined to: quantitative environmental Life Cycle Assessment of products
environmental Life Cycle Assessment quantitative products

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What is LCA? (2)

At least three different meanings:

LCA as a field of study LCA as a technique LCA as a specific study

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What is LCA? (3)

Basically: tool for decision-support

computational aspects
which data which models which formulas

procedural aspects
who to involve how to report how to use

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What is LCA? (4)

ISO-standardised procedure (ISO 14040, created in 1997-2000; revised in 2006)

Structured framework: four phases Rules, requirements and considerations specified Specific data and calculation steps not specified Much attention for transparency in reporting

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ISO 14040 framework (1)

Life cycle assessment framework

Goal and scope definition Direct applications: Product development and improvement Strategic planning Public policy making Marketing Other

Inventory analysis Interpretation -

Impact assessment

Source: ISO 14040

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ISO 14040 framework (2)

ISO: Compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle
International Standard ISO 14040 complementary International Standards ISO 14041, 14042, 14043 no Technical Report to 14040, but Technical Reports to 14041 and 14042 14044 merges the revised 14040-14043 (2006)

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Why LCA? (1)

Why a product-oriented information tool?

Increased attention for product policy
several national policy plans EUs Integrated Product Policy UNEPs International Declaration on Cleaner Production etc. clean(er) production ecolabel product stewardship etc.

Influence consumption and production patterns

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Why LCA? (2)

Why an integrated information tool?

Prevent problem shifting
to other life cycle stages to other substances to other environmental problems to other countries to the future

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Why LCA? (3)

Why a method?
To structure the large amount of complex data To facilitate comparisons across product alternatives To enable benchmarking

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Why LCA? (4)

Why complex data?

Product property power consumption life span mass mercury content etc Incandescent lamp 60 W 1000 hr 30 g 0 mg Fluorescent lamp 18 W 5000 hr 540 g 2 mg
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ISO 14040 framework (3)

Life cycle assessment framework

Goal and scope definition Direct applications: Product development and improvement Strategic planning Public policy making Marketing Other

Inventory analysis Interpretation -

Impact assessment

Source: ISO 14040

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Phase 1: Goal and scope definition (1)

Phase of life cycle assessment in which the aim of the study, and in relation to that, the breadth and depth of the study is established
goal definition scope definition

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Phase 1: Goal and scope definition (2)

Goal definition:
intended application
product development and improvement strategic planning public decision making marketing other

reasons for carrying out the study intended audience

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Phase 1: Goal and scope definition (3)

Scope definition:
function, functional unit and reference flow initial choices
system boundaries data quality

critical review and other procedural aspects

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Phase 1: Goal and scope definition (4)

Functional unit:
comparison on the basis of an equivalent function example: 1000 liters of milk packed in glass bottles or packed in carton, instead of 1 glass bottle versus 1 carton

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Phase 1: Goal and scope definition (5)

Critical review and other procedural aspects

critical review to ensure the consistency, scientific validity, transparency of the report, etc. internal review, external review, review by interested parties procedural embedding of LCA: LCA as a (participatory) process

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Phase 2: Inventory analysis (1)

Phase of life cycle assessment involving the compilation and quantification of inputs and outputs, for a given product system throughout its life cycle Steps:
preparing for data collection data collection calculation procedures allocation and recycling

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Phase 2: Inventory analysis (2)

Central position for unit process

smallest portion of a product system for which data are collected

Typical examples:
electricity production by coal combustion PVC production use of a passenger car recycling of aluminum scrap

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Phase 2: Inventory analysis (3)

Data collection for unit processes:

flows of intermediate products or waste for treatment elementary flows from or to the environment

coal electricity production generator

electricity

fly ash

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Phase 2: Inventory analysis (4)

equipment

steel

Combination of unit processes into a product system Graphical representation in a flow diagram
product system system boundary

coal mining

generator production

coal

generator

electricity production fly ash electricity

fly ash treatment gypsum

reference flow
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Phase 2: Inventory analysis (5)

Source: http://www.fibersource.com/f-tutor/LCA-Page.htm

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Phase 2: Inventory analysis (6)

Calculation procedures
relate process data to the functional unit (matrix algebra) allocation of multiple processes (multiple outputs, multiple inputs, re-use and recycling)
coal electricity production with cogeneration of heat (CHP) electricity heat fly ash

generator

aggregation over all unit processes in the inventory table

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Phase 2: Inventory analysis (7)

Inventory table
Elementary flow CO2 to air SO2 to air Copper to water Crude oil from earth etc Incandescent lamp 800000 kg 1000 kg 3g 37000 kg Fluorescent lamp 50000 kg 80 kg 20 g 22000 kg
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Phase 3: Impact assessment (1)

Assessment of the importance of the potential environmental effects with the aid of the results of the inventory analysis Steps:
selection and definition of impact categories, indicators and models classification characterisation normalisation aggregation and/or weighing

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (2)

Example

Life cycle inventory results

Cd, CO2, NOx, SO2, etc. (kg/functional unit)

Impact category LCI results assigned to impact category

Acidification Acidifying emissions (NOx, SO2, etc. assigned to acidification)

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Characterisation model

Category indicator Environmental relevance

Proton release (H+ aq)

Category endpoint(s)

- forest - vegetation - etc.

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (3)

Example of a category indicator

Global Warming: Global Warming Potential (GWP): measure for Global Warming in terms of radiative forcing of a mass-unit Example calculation: 5 kg CO2 (GWP = 1) + 3 kg CH4 (GWP = 21) = 1 x 5 + 21 x 3 kg CO2 - equivalents (= 68 kg CO2 equivalents)

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (4)

Characterisation: Simple conversion and aggregation of GHGs:

IndicatorResult cat

CharFact cat ,subs InventoryResult subs

subs GWP (1 and 21) 5 and 3 kg

CO2, CH4 68 kg CO2-eq climate change

IPCC climate model

infrared radiative forcing

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (5)

Impact categories, characterisation methods and characterisation models: some baseline examples
impact category category indicator characterisation model characterisation factor abiotic depletion ultimate reserve irt Guinee & Heijungs 95 ADP annual use climate change infrared radiative IPCC model GWP forcing stratospheric strat. ozone WMO model ODP ozone depletion breakdown human toxicity PDI/ADI Multimedia model, e.g. HTP EUSES, CalTox PEC/PNEC Multimedia model, e.g. AETP, TETP, etc. ecotoxicity (aquatic, EUSES, CalTox terrestrial etc.) photo-oxidant trop. ozone UNECE Trajectory model POCP formation formation acidification deposition/ac.critical RAINS AP load ... ... ... ... equivalency unit kg Sb kg CO2 kg CFC-11 kg 14-DCB kg 14-DCB

kg C2H4 kg SO2
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Phase 3: Impact assessment (8)

Impact category Climate change Ecotoxicity Acidification Depletion of resources etc

Incandescent lamp 120000 kg CO2-eq 320 kg DCB-eq 45 kg SO2-eq 0.8 kg antinomy-eq

Fluorescent lamp 40000 kg CO2-eq 440 kg DCB-eq 21 kg SO2-eq 0.3 kg antinomy-eq

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (7)

Impact category results still difficult to understand:

difference in units difference in scale

Normalisation step to relate the results to a reference value

e.g., total world impacts in 2002 result often referred to as the normalised environmental profile

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (8)

Impact category Climate change Ecotoxicity Acidification Depletion of resources etc

Incandescent lamp 1.210-11 yr 1.610-10 yr 910-11 yr 2410-12 yr

Fluorescent lamp 410-12 yr 2.210-10 yr 4.210-11 yr 910-13 yr

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (9)

Even after normalisation no clear answer

aggregation of (normalized) impact category results into a single index subjective weighting factors needed

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Phase 3: Impact assessment (10)

Example of a weighted environmental index

Weighed index Weighted index Incandescent lamp 8.510-10 yr Fluorescent lamp 1.410-10 yr

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Phase 4: Interpretation (1)

Conclusions, recommendations, analysis, all related to goal and scope of the research
among others based on data quality and sensitivity analysis also: critical review by independent experts

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Phase 4: Interpretation (2)

Example of a contribution analysis

Process Electricity production Copper production Waste disposal Other Total climate change Incandescent lamp 88% 5% 2% 5% 120000 kg CO2-eq Fluorescent lamp 60% 15% 10% 15% 40000 kg CO2-eq
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Phase 4: Interpretation (3)

Example of an uncertainty analysis

climate change 160000 140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Incandescent lamp Fluorescent lamp
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