2023TECH L1 1 Sust

Sustainable Energy and Resources – Technologies and Systems
SUSTAINABILITY
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Müller-Kirchenbauer
Sustainability: More Than Just a Buzz Word
Sustainability | Prof. Dr.-Ing. Joachim Müller-Kirchenbauer | Sustainable Energy and Resources – Technologies and Systems
Page 2 Image source: Sustainable Saratoga (n. d.).
Structure
Historical Background
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Definitions and Dimensions of Sustainability
Analytic Tools to Evaluate Sustainability
References
Page 3
Structure
References
Page 4
Historical Background – Overview
1713: H. C. v. Carlowitz /
Immanuel Kant
1968: Club of Rome
1972: UN Conference on
Environment and Development
1987: Brundtlandt
Report
1992: Rio de Janeiro
2012: Rio+20
2015: SDGs
Page 5
18th Century: Enlightenment
Hans Carl von Carlowitz Immanuel Kant

(1645 – 1714) (1724 – 1804)
▪ German tax accountant and mining ▪ German philosopher

administrator ▪ Sape aude! – Dare to make use of your
▪ Sustainability in the context of forestry own reason! (1784)
(1713) ▪ Take responsibility for your own actions
▪ “Sylvicultura oeconomica“ (1813) ▪ Categorical imperative: “Act only
according to that maxim whereby you
▪ Do not chop down more trees than can can, at the same time, will that it should
become a universal law.“
re-grow in a reasonable time frame
Page 6 Image sources: Allgemeine Forstzeitschrift (1952); ASF (2017).
1972: Club of Rome – The Limits to Growth
▪ Club of Rome: The human ecological

footprint cannot continue to grow at the
current rate, otherwise the carrying
capacities of the system will be reached
and the system collapses.
▪ The publication of this report of well-
known scientists was an important driver
towards a strong sustainability discourse Carrying capacity of the System degradation
in society. system; limits to growth
System breakdown
Exponential growth;
resource depletion
Time (t)
Page 7 Source: Meadows et al. (1972).
1972: UN Conference on the Human Environment
▪ 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment also

known as Stockholm Conference
▪ It was the UN's first major conference on international
environmental issues and marked a turning point in the
development of international environmental politics.
▪ Main outcomes:
– The creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
– The Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment,
containing 26 principles concerning the environment and
development,
– The Action Plan for the Human Environment with 109
recommendations,
– and a resolution.
Page 8 Source and image source: UN (1972).
1979: Hans Jonas – The Imperative of Responsibility
▪ German-born American philosopher

▪ The Imperative of Responsibility (1979)
▪ “Act so that the effects of your action are
compatible with the permanence of
genuine human life.”
▪ His “ethic of responsibility“ significantly
influenced the environmental thinking
and policy-making
▪ It found entrance into the Brundtlandt
Report 1987, influencing its definition of Hans Jonas
sustainable development (1903 – 1993)
Page 9 Source: Jonas (1979); Image source: Hans Jonas Institut (n. d.).
1983/87: The WCED and the Brundtland Report
▪ The UN World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) or

Brundtland Commission (named after its Chair, Gro Harlem Brundtland) was convened
in 1983.
▪ It was created to address growing concerns about the deterioration of the human
environment and the natural resources.
▪ Its work resulted in the publishing of the “Brundtland Report” in 1987.
”Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
▪ The report contained two main concepts:

1. The concept of “needs”, in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to
which overriding priority should be given.
2. The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization
on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.
Page 10 Source: UN (1983).
1992: UN Conference on Environment and Development
▪ Also known as “Earth Summit” / UN Conference on Environment

and Development (UNCED)
▪ It established the General Assembly that established the
Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), as the United
Nations high level political body
– to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, to monitor and report on
implementation of the agreements at the local, national, regional and
international levels,
– entrusted with the monitoring and promotion of the implementation of the
Rio outcomes, including Agenda 21.
▪ Conclusion of "Agenda 21" as a comprehensive development and
environmental action program
– with sustainability as a guiding theme
– to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the UN
System, governments, and major groups in every area in which human
impact the environment.
▪ Mission Statement: “Think globally, act locally, work out Local
Agendas 21“
2002: World Summit on Sustainable Development
▪ The Johannesburg Summit 2002 advanced the

mainstreaming of the three dimensions of sustainable
development in development policies at all levels.
▪ It was intended to focus the world's attention and direct
action towards meeting difficult challenges, including
improving people's lives and conserving our natural
resources in a world that is growing in population, with
ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter,
sanitation, energy, health services and economic security.
▪ It resulted in the adoption of the Johannesburg
Declaration on Sustainable Development and the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI).
2012: Rio+20 Conference
▪ The United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development (Rio+20) was an action-oriented conference,
where all stakeholders and member states were invited to
make commitments focusing on delivering concrete results
for sustainable development on a voluntary basis.
▪ A high-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
was established to subsequently replace the Commission
on Sustainable Development.
▪ At the Rio+20 Conference, member states decided to
launch a process to develop a set of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), building upon the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and converge with the post
2015 development agenda.
2015: 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development
▪ Transforming our world: The 2030-Agenda for

Sustainable Development
▪ Adoption at the UN Sustainability Summit on
September 25, 2015
▪ Agreement on fixed catalogue of Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs):
– 17 Sustainable Development Goals
– 169 associated targets
▪ “The aim of the transformative 2030 Agenda is to shape
global development according to dimensions of
sustainable development - environment, economics and
society. It represents the first ever universally valid set of
objectives which address development as well as
environmental aspects.”
Structure
References
Page 15
SDG 7
SDG 11
SDG 13
Lessons Learnt: Historical Background & SDGs
▪ Enlightenment as first starting point for theoretical and philosophical thinking about
sustainability (H. C. v. Carlowitz / I. Kant).
▪ 1970s as starting point of public discussions on possible limits to development and
consumption:
– Publication of “Limits to Growth“ by the Club of Rome,
– First ever international conference on environmental issues, in 1972.
▪ The 1980s were characterized by the work of the UN WCED:

– Addressing environmental and human development issues alike,
– This culminated in the publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987 and the well-known definition.
”Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
▪ The international conferences that followed (1992 – 2002 – 2012) further advanced the
international political thinking on sustainability issues.
▪ Definition of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.
Page 20
Structure
References
Page 21
Definition and Dimensions of
Sustainability / Sustainable Development (1/2)
▪ From Latin “sustenere“ → To sustain, meaning
“maintain, support, uphold, endure“
▪ “Sustain” and “Ability” social
▪ Three pillars of sustainability as already pointed out

in the Agenda 21
▪ “Sustainable development encompasses social, environmental economic
economic and environmental dimensions.“
▪ The Triple Bottom Line:
– People, the social equity bottom line
– Planet, the environmental bottom line
– Profit, the economic bottom line
▪ Strong sustainability vs. Weak sustainability
Page 22 Sources: Holzbauer (2020); UN (1992).
Definition and Dimensions of
Sustainability / Sustainable Development (2/2)
▪ “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. […]
In essence, sustainable development is a process of change in which the
exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of techno
logical development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both
current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.”
(Brundtland Report 1987)
▪ “Sustainable development entails treating environmental aspects on an equal
footing with social and economic aspects. Future-oriented management means
that we have to leave future generations a globally intact ecological, social and
economic system. The one cannot be achieved without the others.”
(German Council for Sustainable Development)
Page 23
Planetary Boundaries:
A Safe Operating Space for Humanity
▪ The Planetary
Boundaries (PBs), as
suggested by Steffen
et al., delineate a safe
operating space within
which the earth
system is likely to
maintain its functions
as life support system
for humanity.
Page 24 Sources: Steffen et al. (2009); Steffen et al. (2015).
Structure
References
Page 25
Different tools exist to evaluate the sustainability of a certain product, service or system:
(1) Cumulative Energy Demand (CED)
(2) Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI) / Harvesting Factor
(3) Grey Energy / Embodied Energy (EE)
(4) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
▪ The tools are intended to evaluate parts of / all environmental impacts of a

product/service/system over a certain period of its life/its whole lifespan.
▪ The focus is on the energy use and its implications as an indicator for sustainability.
▪ The economic or social dimension of sustainability is not explicitly investigated here.
Page 26
Analytic Tools to Evaluate Sustainability:
Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) CED =
▪ Sometimes also called It is the total primary energy demand required for
– “Cumulative Energy Requirement” or the extraction (ex), production (P), during use (U)
and the disposal (D) of a product/service/system .
– “Primary Energy Consumption”
▪ Based on VDI Guideline 4600 CEDex (total primary energy
demand required for the extraction)
▪ It is the sum of the primary energy
demand associated with the whole life
+ CEDP (the production)
cycle of a product.
▪ It covers extraction, production, usage
and disposal + CEDU (during use)
▪ Unit: MJ per unit
+ CEDD (the disposal)
CED = CEDex + CEDP+ CEDU + CEDD
Page 27 Sources: VDI 4600; Zweifel et al. (2017).
1. System boundaries
First, the system boundaries of the product/system need to be defined.
▪ System: A quantity of matter or a region in space chosen for study.
▪ Surroundings: The mass or region outside the system.
▪ Boundary: The real or imaginary surface that separates the system from
its surroundings.
2. Energy balance
In a second step, the energy and material flows within those boundaries need to be
identified.
3. Analysis
Possible analytic approaches for taking balance of all energy and material flows are the
Input-Output-Analysis or a process chain analysis.
▪ Process: The activity of using resources to enable the transformation of
inputs into outputs.
▪ Process chain: A process chain illustrates the processes, as part of a
system, and the relations between them.
Page 28 Sources: Cengel & Boles (2015); EN ISO 9000:2005; FfE (1999).
(1) CED – Process Chain Analysis
Mechanical
engineering
Structural Plant
engineering engineering Functional
unit
Electrical
engineering
Diverse
Extraction Use
processes
Diverse
Extraction Disposal
processes
The total primary energy demand of each process chain step is identified and summed up for
one functional unit.
A functional unit is a quantified description of the function of a product. It serves as

reference basis for all calculations regarding the impact assessment.
Page 29
(1) CED – Process Chain Analysis
Mechanical
engineering Examples for functional units:
Structural Plant
engineering engineering
1 l of red wine
Electrical
engineering
Diverse
Extraction Use 1 kWh
processes
Diverse
Extraction Disposal
processes 6000 h of
lightening with
1000 lumen
Page 30
(1) CED – Example of a Solar Thermal Collector
Raw Raw Raw Raw

material Primary
material material material energy
Aluminium Steel upstream Copper Plastics

upstream chain chain upstream chain upstream chain
Aluminium Steel Copper Plastics

production production production production
Installation and Electricity upstream

maintenance Electricity
chain
Primary
energy
Cold Water
Hot Water
Page 31 Source: UBA (1999); Image source: VolksSolaranlage (n. d.).
(2) Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)
Energy Return on Energy Invested EROEI =
▪ The CED can be used to calculate the

Output
EROEI / Harvesting Factor (the energy = Input
payback ratio) of a power plant. Energy delivered
= Energy required to deliver that energy
▪ Harvesting Factor = Energy Return On
Energy Invested (EROEI)
▪ It indicates how often a plant recovers the

cumulated energy demand (CED) during its
lifetime.
▪ A high ratio of the Harvesting Factor

indicates a good energetic performance,
which does not necessarily correlate with
the environmental performance.
Page 32
(3) Grey Energy / Embodied Energy (EE)
Grey Energy / Embodied Energy (EE) EE =

Includes all energy that is needed for a
▪ A concept that simplifies the assessment product/service/system’s raw material extraction,
transport, processing/manufacturing, assembly
of the environmental impact for materials and installation.
and products used.
CEDex (total primary energy demand
▪ Mainly used in the context of buildings. required for the extraction and
transport)
▪ It excludes the operational energy, i.e.
the energy demand during usage, as
+ CEDP (the production, assembly and
well as the disposal of materials. installation)
▪ Unit: MJ or kWh per unit weight (kg or

tons) or per area (m²)
EE = CEDex + CEDP
Page 33 Source: Zweifel et al. (2017).
Lessons Learnt CED, EROEI, EE
▪ The CED (Cumulative Energy Demand) is an indicator based on VDI-Guideline 4600.
▪ It is the sum of all primary energy demands which arise during extraction, transport,
production, use and disposal of an economic good (product or service) or which can be
attributed to it.
▪ It is thus the basis for the evaluation of the energetic resource usage within the
context of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). As most environmentally relevant
emissions are caused by the usage of energy in industrial processes, the CED can be
seen as a LCA in short.
▪ Furthermore, it can be used to calculate the energetic payback time, the Energy Return
on Energy Invested (EROEI).
▪ Unlike the CED, the concept of “Grey Energy“ or “Embodied Energy“ considers the
energy for extraction and production only, neglecting the operational energy.
Page 34
(4) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
▪ The objective of LCA is to quantitatively compiling and evaluating the environmental

impacts of a product/service/system over its whole lifespan.
▪ It is one of the leading quantitative methodologies for assessing the sustainability of

human activities.
▪ It is set out in the ISO 14040 to ISO 14043 standards.
▪ LCA studies can be performed for various scopes:

– Cradle to gate (raw materials until factory gate; focusing on extraction and transport)
– Gate to gate (only focusing on the manufacturing process)
– Cradle to cradle (closed loop)
– Cradle to grave (raw material extraction, transport, manufacturing, consumption/usage until

disposal/recycling)
– Well to Wheel (for transport fuels and vehicles)
Page 35 Sources: ISO 14040; ISO 14041; ISO 14042; ISO 14043.
(4) LCA – Direct Applications and Results
▪ Product development & improvement : To improve the environmental

performance of products within different steps of their life cycle
▪ Strategic planning: To support decisions on relevant indicators including

measuring procedures
▪ Public policy making: To inform decision makers on the environmental

performance of different products/systems
▪ Marketing
▪ Research
▪ Others
Page 36
(4) LCA – General Methodological Framework
1. Goal and scope

definition
2. Inventory analysis 4. Interpretation
3. Impact assessment
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework
Page 37 Sources: Heijungs & Guinée (2017); ISO 14040.
(4) LCA – Goal and Scope Definition (Step 1)
▪ A Life Cycle Assessment models a product, service or system‘s life cycle.
Model: A simplification of reality.
▪ The first step in a Life Cycle Assessment is the definition of goals and scope: What is
the focus of this particular analysis? → Making intentions and assumptions transparent
▪ Goal definition:
– The intended application
– The reason for carrying out the study
– The intended audience
▪ Scope definition:
– The system boundaries
– The impact categories
– The treatment of uncertainties
Page 38 Sources: Heijungs & Guinée (2017); ISO 14040; Kaufman (2012).
(4) LCA – Inventory Analysis (Step 2)
▪ A Life Cycle Assessment is primarily a quantitative model, thus the data input is of
crucial importance.
▪ The compilation of adequate data is taking place in the second phase of a LCA, the so-
called “Inventory Analysis”.
▪ ISO defines inventory analysis as the “phase of life cycle assessment involving the
compilation and quantification of inputs and outputs for a product throughout its life
cycle”.
▪ Life cycle inventory data basis are being used to compile the relevant data.
▪ Standardization processes are taking place on different levels:

– Globally: UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative
– On EU Level: EU JRC
– National databases
Page 39 Sources: ISO 14040; UNEP (2012).
(4) LCA – Data Sources for Inventory Analysis (Step 2)
International level: Sector specific:
▪ Global LCA Data Access Network: run by ▪ ÖKOBAUDAT (DE): LCA datasets for
the UN; free of charge building purposes; free of charge
▪ SimaPro (NL): a LCA database with
European level: datasets from industries of plastics,
▪ EPLCA – European Platform on Life Cycle surfactants, detergents and steel
Assessment: provides an infrastructure for ▪ GREET (US): Life cycle model, taking into
the publication of quality assured LCA account the full system life cycle of vehicles
datasets from different institutions and fuels
▪ Agri Balyse (FR): a public LCA database
National level: of French agricultural raw products
▪ Ecoinvent (CH): contains more than 2.000
datasets covering most industries
▪ GaBi (DE): contains over 12.700 datasets
covering most industries
▪ Gemis (DE): a public domain life cycle and
material flow analysis model and database;
free of charge
▪ ProBas (DE): a tool provided by the Federal
Environment Agency; free of charge
Page 40
(4) LCA – Impact Assessment (Step 3)
▪ Impact assessment is the “phase of life cycle assessment aimed at understanding and
evaluating the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts for a
product system throughout the life cycle of the product”.
▪ It involves the conversion of inventory analysis results to common units and the
aggregation of the converted results within the same impact category.
An impact category is a “class representing environmental issues of concern to

which life cycle inventory analysis results may be assigned”.
▪ While the functional unit is the central element of the inventory analysis, the central
element in impact assessment is the impact category.
Commonly used impact categories:
▪ Greenhouse gas emissions / global warming ▪ Land use impacts

▪ Stratospheric ozone depletion ▪ Water use impacts
▪ Acidification ▪ Resource depletion
▪ Eutrophication ▪ Depletion of energy carriers
▪ Photochemical ozone formation ▪ Human- and eco-toxicity
Page 41 Source: ISO 14040.
(4) LCA – Interpretation (Step 4)
▪ This is the final stage where findings and analysis are reported.
▪ ISO defines the interpretation as the “phase of life cycle assessment in which the
findings of either the inventory analysis or the impact assessment, or both, are
evaluated in relation to the defined goal and scope in order to reach conclusions and
recommendations”.
▪ The communication should be transparent as well as clear about limitations,

uncertainties and assumptions relied on in the assessment or parameter data used.
Page 42 Sources: ISO 14040; Mahamadu (2016).
(4) LCA – Example of a Process Chain Analysis
Mechanical
engineering
Structural Plant
engineering engineering
Functional
Electrical unit
engineering
Diverse
Extraction processes Use 1 kWh
Diverse
Extraction processes Disposal
Greenhouse gas emissions
Water use impacts
Land use impacts
Page 43
Lessons Learnt LCA
▪ The objective of LCA is to quantitatively compiling and evaluating the environmental

impacts of a product/service/system over its whole lifespan.
▪ It is one of the leading quantitative methodologies for assessing the sustainability of

human activities.
▪ It is set out in the ISO 14040 to ISO 14043 standards.
▪ Main steps :
– Goal & Scope Definition
– Inventory Analysis
– Impact Assessment
– Interpretation
Page 44
Structure
References
Page 45
References – Literature (1/2)
▪ Cengel & Boles (2015): Thermodynamics. An engineering approach. 8th edition with SI units.
McGraw-Hill Education. New York.
▪ EN ISO 9000:2005: Quality management systems. Fundamentals and vocabulary.
▪ FfE (1999): Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft. Ökobilanzierung mit Hilfe der KEA-Datenbank.
https://www.ffe.de/download/langberichte/3_Oekobilanzierung%20mittels%20KEA%20Datenbank.p
df
▪ Heijungs & Guinée (2017): Chapter 2 – Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment. In: Buchery, Y. et al
(eds.): Sustainable Supply Chains. Springer Series in Supply Chain Management 4.
▪ Holzbauer (2020): Nachhaltige Entwicklung – Der Weg in eine lebenswerte Zukunft. Springer
Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH.
▪ ISO 14040: Environmental management. LCA. Principles and framework (1996/2006).
▪ ISO 14041: Environmental management. LCA. Goal definition and inventory analysis (1998).
▪ ISO 14042: Environmental management. LCA. Life-cycle impact assessment (2000).
▪ ISO 14043: Environmental management. LCA. Life-cycle interpretation (2000).
▪ Jonas (1979): Das Prinzip Verantwortung. Versuch einer Ethik für die technologische Zivilisation.
Insel, Frankfurt am Main.
▪ Kaufman (2012): Quantifying sustainability: industrial ecology, material flow and life cycle analysis.
Woodhead Publishing Ltd.
▪ Mahamadu (2016): Principles of sustainability and life-cycle analysis. In: Sustainability of
Construction Materials, Elsevier.
▪ Meadows et al. (1972): The limits to growth. A report for The Club of Rome’s Project on the
Predicament of Mankind. Potomac Associates. https://clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-
growth/
Page 46
References – Literature (2/2)
▪ Steffen et al. (2009): A safe operating space for humanity. In: Nature 46, p. 472-475.
▪ Steffen et al. (2015): Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet.
In: Sciences 347, issues 6223.
▪ UBA (1999): Umweltbundesamt. KEA: Mehr als eine Zahl. Basisdaten und Methoden zum
Kumulierten Energieaufwand. Berlin.
▪ UN (1972): United Nations. Stockholm 1972.
https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/stockholm1972
▪ UN (1983): United Nations. WCED. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/milestones/wced
▪ UN (1992): United Nations. UNCED. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/milestones/unced
▪ UN (2002): United Nations. WSSD. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/milesstones/wssd
▪ UN (2012): United Nations. UNCSD. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/rio20
▪ UN (2015): United Nations. United Nations Sustainable Development Summit.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/summit
▪ UNEP (2012): United Nations Environment Programme. Greening the Economy through Life Cycle
Thinking. Ten Years of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/03/2012_LCI_10_years_28.3.13.pdf
▪ VDI 4600: Verein Deutscher Ingenieure. Kumulierter Energieaufwand (KEA) - Begriffe,
Berechnungsmethoden.
▪ Zweifel et al. (2017): Energy Economics. Theory and Applications. Springer Texts in Business and
Economics. Springer International Publishing AG.
Page 47
References – Image Sources
▪ Allgemeine Forstzeitschrift (1952): München. 7. Jahrgang. Nr. 39 vom 24.09.1952. S. 401.

▪ ASF (2017): Alamy Stock Foto. https://www.alamy.de/stockfoto-immanuel-kant-deutscher-philosoph-
136166463.html
▪ Hans Jonas Institut (n. d.): https://hansjonasinstitut.de/hans-jonas/
▪ Sustainable Saratoga (n. d.): https://sustainablesaratoga.org/news-events/
▪ VolksSolaranlage (n. d.): https://volkssolaranlage.com/
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Sustainable Energy and Resources – Technologies and Systems

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Definitions and Dimensions of Sustainability

Analytic Tools to Evaluate Sustainability

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Definitions and Dimensions of Sustainability

Analytic Tools to Evaluate Sustainability

1968: Club of Rome

1992: Rio de Janeiro

Hans Carl von Carlowitz Immanuel Kant

▪ German tax accountant and mining ▪ German philosopher

▪ Club of Rome: The human ecological

▪ 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment also

▪ German-born American philosopher

▪ The UN World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) or

”Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

▪ The report contained two main concepts:

▪ Also known as “Earth Summit” / UN Conference on Environment

▪ The Johannesburg Summit 2002 advanced the

▪ The United Nations Conference on Sustainable

▪ Transforming our world: The 2030-Agenda for

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Definitions and Dimensions of Sustainability

Analytic Tools to Evaluate Sustainability

▪ The 1980s were characterized by the work of the UN WCED:

”Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Definitions and Dimensions of Sustainability

Analytic Tools to Evaluate Sustainability

▪ Three pillars of sustainability as already pointed out

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Definitions and Dimensions of Sustainability

Analytic Tools to Evaluate Sustainability

(1) Cumulative Energy Demand (CED)

(2) Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI) / Harvesting Factor

(3) Grey Energy / Embodied Energy (EE)

(4) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

▪ The tools are intended to evaluate parts of / all environmental impacts of a

Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) CED =

+ CEDD (the disposal)

CED = CEDex + CEDP+ CEDU + CEDD

A functional unit is a quantified description of the function of a product. It serves as

Raw Raw Raw Raw

Aluminium Steel upstream Copper Plastics

Aluminium Steel Copper Plastics

Installation and Electricity upstream

Energy Return on Energy Invested EROEI =

▪ The CED can be used to calculate the

▪ It indicates how often a plant recovers the

▪ A high ratio of the Harvesting Factor

Grey Energy / Embodied Energy (EE) EE =

▪ Unit: MJ or kWh per unit weight (kg or

▪ The CED (Cumulative Energy Demand) is an indicator based on VDI-Guideline 4600.

▪ The objective of LCA is to quantitatively compiling and evaluating the environmental

▪ It is one of the leading quantitative methodologies for assessing the sustainability of

▪ It is set out in the ISO 14040 to ISO 14043 standards.

▪ LCA studies can be performed for various scopes:

– Gate to gate (only focusing on the manufacturing process)

– Cradle to cradle (closed loop)

– Cradle to grave (raw material extraction, transport, manufacturing, consumption/usage until

– Well to Wheel (for transport fuels and vehicles)

▪ Product development & improvement : To improve the environmental

▪ Strategic planning: To support decisions on relevant indicators including