Exam Summary Toolbox 1: Environmental Assessment and Management Approaches

Toolbox 1: Environmental assessment and management
approaches
Content:

Part 1: LCA

1. Goal and Scope
2. Inventory Analysis
3. Impact Assessment

Part 2: Other Assessment Tools

1. Carbon footprinting
2. Life cycle costing
3. Social LCA
4. Environmental Impact Assessment
5. Uncertainties, Risks and Precautionary Principle

Part 3: Environmental Design and Management Tools

1. Cradle to Cradle
2. Circular Economy
3. Cleaner Production

Part 4: Fairphone case study used during the exam




Course aims:

1. Have insight in the most important research methods and tools to assess and manage the
environmental impact of products, production processes and services.
2. Know strong and weak points of each tool and understand the level of uncertainty in using them.
3. Can critically interpret studies
4. that are carried out using these tools and are able to carry out basic calculations themselves.

Exam:
• checking facts (e.g. definitions),
• making basic calculations
• discussing the strong & weak tools individually and comparative advantages and disadvantages

LCA Resources (web links):
- Better presentations about LCA than Rik's
- Vocabulary List

,Part 1: LCA




LCA Goal and Scope
Concepts
LCA: Compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a
product system throughout its life cycle (ISO definition).

A-LCA: System modelling approach in which inputs and outputs are attributed to the functional unit of a
product system by linking and/or partitioning the unit processes of the system according to a normative
rule.

C-LCA: System modelling approach in which activities in a product system are linked so that activities are
included in the product system to the extent that they are expected to change as a consequence of a
change in demand for the functional unit.

• Attributional LCA: describes the environmental flows during life cycle.
o Use average data
• Consequential LCA: describes how things might change in response to decision.
o Use marginal data

Function: describes only the purpose or the service provided (not: the technical solution)

Functional unit: is a quantified description of the performance of the product systems, for use as a
reference unit to make calculations.

Reference flow: is a quantified amount of product(s), including product parts, necessary for a specific
product system to deliver the performance described by the functional unit.

Product system: the combination of unit processes -> flow diagram

,Slides
GOAL
Following items shall be unambiguously stated, according to ISO 14044:

1. The intended application (WHAT) (no place or time)
o Comparison environmental impact of products
o Assessment of the impact of a single product to find improvement options
2. The reasons for carrying out the study (WHY)
o General exploration of option
o Innovation on company level
o Innovation in a sector
o Strategic planning
o Comparison
o ISO: “Comparative Assertion, disclosed to the Public”?
3. The intended audience (FOR WHO)

ILCD Added:

• The intended application
• Method, assumption, impact limitations
• The reasons for carrying out the study
• decision context (A, B or C)
• The intended audience
• Comparative assertions disclosed to the public?
• Commissioner & other influential actors

SCOPE
ISO consider and clearly describe:

• The product system(s) to be studied
• Functions of product system(s)
• Functional unit
• System boundary
• Allocation procedures
• Impact assessment methodology, types of impacts
• Interpretation to be used

Some scope aspects:

• Temporal scope:
o E.g. old data, minimum time of functional unit, reference/valid year, temporal scope for
impact (e.g. GWP-).
• Geographical scope:
o Geographical region for which data will be collected / results are valid
o Application dependent

,  Also differentiate between e.g. production and use phase.
• Technical scope:
o Should fit with temporal and geographical coverage:
o E.g. which technology mix:
 Weighted average?
 Best technology?
 Worst device?
• What impact? Impact categories -> do they fit the goal and scope of the study?
o In potential should include all relevant possible impacts that a product has on the
environment.

TYPE OF LCA
Depends largely on the goal of the LCA, for example, is it to guide policy changes, is it to define hotspots
in products, is it to research adjustments or changes?

• Attributional LCA: describes the environmental flows during life cycle.
o Use average data
• Consequential LCA: describes how things might change in response to decision.
o Use marginal data

ILCD Handbook Guidelines:




Situation B: consequential LCA (level 1, prospective) - Change-oriented (e.g: env. impact changing beer
brands?)

Situation A&C: attributional LCA (level 0, retrospective, descriptive) - Accounting (eg: env. impacts
cooking on gas?)

Trade-off: Completeness vs. Preciseness; WHY?