L5.1. LCA

Question 1

Sustainability at Product Level

Answer 1

Sustainable products are those products providing environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health, welfare, and environment over their full commercial cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to final disposition.

Question 2

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Answer 2

LCA is the compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle.
* Process split into life cycle stages (portions of the product life cycle) and LCA phases (portions of the LCA process)
* Data collected on inputs and outputs of the system
* Associated environmental and resource impacts of those inputs and outputs

Question 3

Process

Answer 3

Set of interrelated or interacting activities that transforms inputs into outputs.

Question 4

Elementary Flow

Answer 4

Material or energy entering the system being studied that has been drawn from the environment without previous human transformation, or material or energy leaving the system being studied that is released into the environment without subsequent human transformation.

Question 5

Product Flow

Answer 5

Products entering from or leaving to another product system.

Question 6

Intermediate Flow

Answer 6

Product, material or energy flow occurring between unit processes of the product system being studied.

Question 7

System Boundary

Answer 7

Set of criteria specifying which unit processes are part of a product system.

Question 8

Impact Category

Answer 8

Class representing environmental issues of concern to which life cycle inventory analysis results may be assigned.

Question 9

Characterization Factor

Answer 9

Factor derived from a characterization model which is applied to convert an assigned life cycle inventory analysis result to the common unit of the category indicator.

Question 10

Allocation

Answer 10

Partitioning the input or output flows of a process or a product system between the product system under study and one or more other product systems.

Question 11

Functional Unit

Answer 11

The functional unit is a utility, the role that the product plays for its consumers. It describes a quantified amount of function that is obtained from the product or process. It should include:
* Functionality
* Technical quality
* Additional services
* Aesthetics
* Image
* Costs
* Specific environmental and social properties

Question 12

Reference flow

Answer 12

The reference flows translate the abstract functional unit into specific product flows for each of the compared systems. It is the measure of the outputs from processes in a given product system required to fulfil the function expressed by the functional unit. The reference flows are the starting points for building the necessary models of the product systems.

Question 13

Phases of LCA

Answer 13

• Goal and Scope
• Inventory Analysis
• Impact Assessment
• Interpretation

Question 14

Stages of a Product Life Cycle

Answer 14

• Transport
• Manufacturing
• Usage
• Disposal/Recycling

Question 15

Reasons to perform LCA

Answer 15

• Identify opportunities to improve environmental performance
• Inform decision-makers
• Select relevant indicators of environmental performance
• Marketing e.g. ecolabel

Question 16

LCA does/is not…

Answer 16

• … measure product performance
• … address compliance with environmental laws
• … include analysis on support personnel needs
• … normally measure building space conditioning
• … include minor inputs
• … provide information about employee direct impacts
• … a risk assessment analysis
• … define specific course of action to take

Question 17

ISO 14040: LCA Principles and Framework

Answer 17

• Guiding document for basic Life Cycle Assessment procedures
• Goal and Scope, LCI, LCIA, Interpretation, Reporting and Critical Review, Limitations, Relationship between Phases, Conditions for use of value choices and optional elements

Question 18

Goal (LCA)

Answer 18

Goal statement is the first component of an LCA and guides much of the subsequent analysis. It must state its intended use, reasons for the study, the audience, whether its comparative or disclosed to public.

Question 19

Scope (LCA)

Answer 19

Scope provides background information, details methodological choices, and lays out report format. It includes:
* Product system
* Functions of systems
* Functional unit
* System boundary
* Allocation procedures
* Impact categories, assessment method and interpretation type
* Data requirements
* Assumptions
* Limitations
* Initial data quality requirements
* Type of critical review, if any
* Type and format of report

Question 20

Life Cycle Inventory (LCA)

Answer 20

Data collection - As much input and output data as possible is collected. All material flows entering and leaving the product system are compiled in an inventory. It can be presented in report or kept private, such as if confidentiality agreements warrant and is useful for other researchers that could use that data.

Question 21

Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCA)

Answer 21

Conversion of inventory data into environmental impact potentials. Impact categories, indication, and characterization models are chosen. Afterwards, data are grouped based on potential to cause certain environmental impacts (classification) and input and output quantities converted to potential impacts based on characterization factors (characterization). Optional steps: Normalization, grouping, weighting

Question 22

Classification (LCA)

Answer 22

The material flows compiled in the life cycle inventory are assigned to environmental impact categories.
* CO2 Emission → Global Warming
* Nitrate Emission → Eutrophication
* SO2 Emission → Acidification

Question 23

Characterization

Answer 23

Each material flow is multiplied by a characterization factor which expresses its individual contribution to the environmental impact.

Question 24

Interpretation (LCA)

Answer 24

Can be modelled as conclusions and recommendations to the decision maker. They should be consistent with and based on goal and scope of the study and should reflect the various uncertainties inherent in LCA.
* Significance Analysis
* Sensitivity Analysis
* Scenario Analysis

Question 25

Limitations of LCA

Answer 25

• Only environmental issues identified in the goal and scope are considered
• LCI can rarely, if ever, include every single process and capture every single input and output due to system boundaries, data gaps, cut-off criteria, etc.
• LCI data collected contains uncertainty
• Characterization models are far from perfect
• Sensitivity and other uncertainty analyses are not fully developed

Question 26

Critical Review

Answer 26

Necessary component for comparative studies disclosed to the public that verifies process and consistency with principles.
* Can improve credibility of study
* Critical review process defined in goal and scope!
* External independent chairperson and at least two other members