ESA terms

Question 1

Weighting

Answer 1

LCA

Used in the impact assessment part to express the relative importance of different parameters

Question 2

Substance

Answer 2

SFA

A single type of chemical compound, atoms or composition in flow and stocks of the system

Question 3

Net Pressure Value

Answer 3

CBA (cost benefit analysis)
to determine wether future costs outweigh present benefits, cost benefits do not necessarily occur at the same time so they must be re-calculated by discounting, and then compared with present values. If NPV is greater than zero - benefits outweigh the cost.

Question 4

Exposure assessment

Answer 4

RA (risk assessment)
Part of RA methodology, where PEC (predictable env concentration) is obtained and gives an estimation of the level of exposure for species in that env.

Question 5

Index

Answer 5

1. LCA
   - Aggregated data in single dimension to express information, eg GWP, GDP, footprint. Used in LCA to express the overall env impact of a product in a single number
2. (type of) Indicator
   - An index can be used to aggregate different types of data and usually aims to express a more complex situation in a simpler value that fits on a scale. Ex the HDI (human dev index) is a sustainability indicator that aims to attribute a value corresponding to the level of development of a country using various aggregated data.

Question 6

Characterization

Answer 6

LCA
Used in the Impact Assessment (LCIA) to calculate/evaluate the relevant contributes of the emissions and resources to each type of impact category

Question 7

Transfer coefficient

Answer 7

MFA & SFA
A value from procedure to investigate how much is going out from a system in relation to the total input in the system
TC=output/sum(input)

Question 8

Hazard

Answer 8

ERA

Hazards are chemical compounds that are toxic and can cause harm to human health and ecosystems

Question 9

Willingness-to-accept

Answer 9

CBA
From a valuation method called “contingent valuation” where WTA measures the acceptance to compensate for the benefits of the env.

Question 10

Classification

Answer 10

LCA

About grouping different substances into impact categories

Question 11

Goods

Answer 11

MFA

Substance or combination of substances that are examined

Question 12

Risk chategories

Answer 12

ERA
Final step of 4 in risk assessment. Integrates three steps: hazard identification, effect assessment and exposure assessment. It is the framework to determine the significance of the risk.

Question 13

Utility

Answer 13

CBA

The value of a good it provides for the consumer

Question 14

Hedonic pricing

Answer 14

CBA

The value of a product or service based on peoples preferences

Question 15

Attribute

Answer 15

MCDA
in the first step of MCDA, the generated alternatives of the problem are looked at and their attributes are specified to later see what actions should be done

Question 16

Ecological footprint

Answer 16

Indicators

It is an indicator that measures demand on nature, ie the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy

Question 17

Stocks

Answer 17

MFA/SFA

Refers to transformation, transportation or storage of materials within the system

Question 18

Risk management

Answer 18

ERA
Process triggered by concern about risk. Refers to the more political, subjective view of risks and aims to answer “what to do about this”

Question 19

Discount rate

Answer 19

CBA

A parameter used when discounting to calculate value of present cost compared to future cost