Life cycle assessment fausto freire demfctuc university of coimbra methodology, lifecycle thinking and illustrative examples 2 outline of lecture life cycle assessment historical view framework and theoretical background examples, exercises phases of the methodology lca thinking, approaches and lca, purposes and. The future of building life cycle assessment in practice summary as the architectural and construction industries increasingly emphasize sustainability, more comprehensive methods are being developed to evaluate and reduce environmental impacts by buildings. However, the principles behind lca thinking are being. Goals and scoping3 the scoping step determines which processes will be included, which environmental concerns will be included, what economic or social good is provided by the goods or services in question, resolves any technical issues and. Principles, practice, and prospects, page 37, in this context, bottled wine is a premium product and not generally drunk in the same way or for the same reasons as cask wine used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning. This stage, during which data is collected, is usually referred to as life cycle inventory lci. This document is an update and merger of two previous epa documents on lca life cycle assessment. Life cycle analysis in preliminary design stages archive ouverte hal. Aia guide to building life cycle assessment in practice. This document describes the three components of a lifecycle assessment inventory analysis, impact analysis, and improvement analysis as well as scoping activities, presents a brief over view of the development of the lifecycle assessment process, and develops guidelines and prin ciples for implementation of a product lifecycle assessment. Measuring the environmental performance of products. Identification of hotspots in the life cycle is often the first objective when dealing with a product service not yet. Principles, practice and prospects by horner, grantt, verghesek. Methods and case studies is an extensive update and sequel to the 2006 title renewablesbased technology.
In 1990, for example, a life cycle assessment was completed for the council for solid waste solutions, which compared the energy and environmental impacts of paper to that of plastic grocery bags. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading life cycle assessment lca. Life cycle assessment department of environmental affairs. Life cycle assessmentit does not consider economic issues, neither social 11. The purpose is to inform and educate wrap and our stakeholders about. Principles for allocation of scarce medical interventions. Life cycle assessment methodology report world steel association rue colonel bourg 120 b1140 brussels belgium t. An introduction to life cycle assessment lca nick santero, ph. Focuses on the important practice of lca in australia, and provides critical insight into. Life cycle assessment lca, a methodology to assess the environmental impact of products, services, and industrial processes is an increasingly important tool in corporate sustainability management.
Choice of system boundaries in life cycle assessment annemarie tillman, tomas ekvall, henrikke baumann and tomas rydbergl technical environmental planning, chalmers university of technology, s. The life cycle initiative is pleased to provide the life cycle community worldwide with a series of training materials which focus on life cycle management and some specific tools such as environmental life cycle assessment. Interest in lca has accelerated alongside growing demand to assess and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across different manufacturing and service sectors. Life cycle assessment it is a technique that tries to identify, measure and characterize di erent potential environmental impacts associated to each one of the stages of the life cycle of a product 10. In this context, the design of modern products must consider these issues when creating ecofriendly and socially acceptable solutions, seeing sustainability as a matter of optimization in the use of available resources along the entire product lifecycle. Inventory guidelines and principles, epa600r92245, and lca101 from the lcaccess, website. General guide for life cycle assessment detailed guidance first edition. This course teaches both the theoretical framework as well as stepbystep practical guidelines of conducting lcas in companies and organizations.
Principles, practice and prospects ralph horne, tim grant, karli verghese life cycle assessment lca has developed in australia over the past 16 years in a fragmented way with many different people and organizations contributing to the area at different times, and largely through informal or unpublished work. 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. Life cycle assessment lca predicts the impact of a product service in a cumulative manner overall life cycle stages or a defined subset of life cycles stages of a product. Conducting a life cycle assessment lca there are four main phases of the lca process. Lifecycle assessment or life cycle assessment lca, also known as lifecycle analysis is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the lifecycle of a commercial product, process, or service. For instance, in the case of a manufactured product, environmental impacts are assessed from raw material extraction and processing cradle, through the product. Phase of interpretation life cycle interpretation is a systematic technique to identify, quantify, check, and evaluate information from the results of the life cycle inventory andor the life cycle impact assessment. Ilcd handbook general guide on lca detailed guidance.
Life cycle impact assessment lcia is a field of active development. Life cycle assessment focuses on the reflective practice of lca, and provides. International is0 standard 14040 stanford university. Lifecycle assessment presents a brief overview of the development of the lifecycle assessment process and develops guidelines and principles for implementation of a product lifecycle inventory analysis. Export a ris file for endnote, procite, reference manager, zotero, mendeley. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Principles, practice and prospects perhaps most topically, what are the implications for climate change of different energy scenar ios, and how can we identify optimal. Publisher csiro publishing place of publication melbourne, australia. The book describes inventory analysis, impact analysis, and. Life cycle assessment principles, practice and prospects.
Life cycle assessment lca has developed in australia over the past 16 years in a fragmented way with many different people and organizations contributing to the area at different times, and. The intent of this practice guide is to help building professionals understand why and how to use lca in their work. A practice guide aot page 4 about this practice guide introduces the use of life cycle assessment lca to analyze the environmental impacts of buildings. Environmental management life cycle assessment principles and framework iso 14044. Global guidance principles for life cycle assessment databases a basis for greener processes and products united nations environment programme p. Principles, practice and prospects, by ralph horne. Model preparation of the product life cycle including environmental inflows and outflows. Environmental life cycle assessment is a pivotal guide to identifying environmental problems and reducing related impacts for companies and organizations in need of life cycle assessment lca. The main procedure steps for a life cycle assessment are four. Life cycle assessment focuses on the reflective practice of lca, and provides critical insight into the technique and how it can be used as a problemsolving tool.
Identifying best existing practice for characterization. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Sustainability assessment of renewablesbased products. White p, schenck r eds 2015 environmental life cycle assessment. In recent years, sustainable development has acquired a relevant position in our society. Introduction to life cycle assessment 9 1 introduction to life cycle assessment this section of the handbook introduces the concept of life cycle assessment lca. Choice of system boundaries in life cycle assessment. No single principle is sufficient to incorporate all morally relevant. Principles and practice by scientific applications international corporation saic 11251 roger bacon drive reston, va 20190 contract no. A life cycle assessment covering the potential environmental impact of different example milk containers for pasteurised milk available on the uk market, distributed via a retail system. The results from the inventory analysis and impact assessment are summarized during the interpretation phase. Life cycle assessment, ralph e horne, tim grant, karli verghese. The last decade has seen prolific publication of new impact assessment methods covering many different impact categories and providing characterization factors that often deviate from each other for the same substance and impact.
Course objectives understand the key concepts in lca and be able to solve simple lca problems. This publication will legitimize and document lca research and methodology development to act as a record of what has happened and a basis for future. Life cycle assessment ralph e horne, tim grant, karli verghese. Environmental life cycle assessment crc press book. Focuses on the important practice of lca in australia, and provides critical insight into the technique and how it can be used as a problemsolving tool. Lca, a unique sustainability tool, provides a framework that addresses a growing demand for practical technological solutions. Principles, practice and prospects by horner, grantt, verghesek pp. Environmental protection p0355 agency, life cycle assessment. Life cycle assessment lca is the calculation and evaluation of the environmentally relevant inputs and outputs and the potential environmental impacts of the life cycle of a product, material or service sabs iso, 1998. Note on life cycle analysis university of michigan. Life cycle assessment lca has developed in australia over the last 20 years into a technique for systematically identifying the resource flows and environmental impacts associated with the provision of products and services. Three key elements of life cycle assessment tion goal definition and scope life cycle inventory assessment. We evaluate eight simple allocation principles that can be classified into four categories. Life cycle assessment an overview sciencedirect topics.
Therefore, it is important that the results of lca be interpreted and applied appropriately. The inventory process seems simple enough in principle, in practice however, it is subject to a number of practical issues. Life cycle assessment focuses on the reflective practice of lca, and provides critical insight into the technique and how it. This report of lifecycle inventory guidelines and principles is the result of that effort. Important principles in this context are pooling existing information and know how and facilitating. Lifecycle assessment lca, also known as lifecycle analysis, ecobalance, and cradletograve analysis is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a products life from cradle to grave i. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Textbook by the american center for life cycle assessment.
The following document provides an introductory overview of life cycle assessment lca and describes the general uses and major components of lca. Results procedural framework for life cycle inventory the inventory process begins with clearly defining the purpose for conduct ing the inventory analysis and identifying the boundaries which define the lifecycle system. In iso 14040 1997 life cycle improvement assessment is no longer regarded as a phase on its own, but rather as having an influence throughout the whole lca methodology. It discusses the impressive evolution and role renewables have taken in our modern society, highlighting the importance of sustainability principles in the. Videos 2, 3 and 4 of the gabi paper clip video tutorial series accompany it. Life cycle assessment lca is emerging as one of the most. Principles, practice and prospects horne, ralph, grant, tim, verghese, karli on. Allocation of very scarce medical interventions such as organs and vaccines is a persistent ethical challenge.
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