Life Cycle Assessment 生命週期評估 福島康裕 助理教授 國立成功大學環境工程學系 Thanks to Prof. Matsuno at The University of Tokyo

Goal and Scope Definition What does a practitioner do in “Goal and Scope Definition”?  Goal of an LCA study is determined  Scope of the modeling (life cycle) is specified Requirements on the modeling is specified Methodological choices are made Goal and Scope Definition Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (LCI) Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) Interpretation + communication

Who are involved in Goal and Scope Definition? Commissioner (Loonquawl, Phouchg) Practitioner (Deep thought) We want to do “LCA” of our product. We want to know environmental aspects of our product Hmm… we need to specify what exactly we want to know. Ok, let me ask questions !! Hmm… we need to specify what exactly we want to know. Ok, let me ask questions !! Is our business environmentally friendly?

Goal and Scope Definition is a communication activity among players Commissioner Practitioner (^^), ok! Please find out … (^^), ok! Please find out … Do you have any specific idea (process/material alternatives) that you want to analyze?  comparative Do you have any specific idea (process/material alternatives) that you want to analyze?  comparative So, are you asking us to find where and how we can improve?  Stand-alone  identify hot-spot  comparative So, are you asking us to find where and how we can improve?  Stand-alone  identify hot-spot  comparative Conversation continues until the goal is defined clearly, and the scope becomes clear (i.e. requirements in the model is clear, methodological choices are made)

Practitioner’s role To clarify below items, through conversation with commissioners  Objectives and appropriate types of LCA (stand-alone / comparative, accounting/change oriented)  Which options are considered?  Functional unit  System boundaries What is nature and what is human system? Geographical boundaries (Taiwan, Asia, World, …) Time horizon Cut-off criteria Allocation  Choice of impact categories

Types in LCA Stand alone ⇔ Comparative  Stand-alone Look at single product (or service) produced with single process Application: Hot spot identification Definition of functional unit is straightforward  Comparative Look at multiple products Important questions:  Is it really comparable?  What is the functional unit?  Comparison of single product with multiple processes has both aspects. Might have different infrastructure, emissions, inputs Same product

Types in LCA accounting ⇔ change-oriented  Accounting (retrospective) “How much environmental impact does that product (or service) account for?” Attribute a product with [Env. Impact / product]  Change-oriented (prospective) “What happens if we change …” Compares situations that does not exist  Forecasting the environmental consequences before it happens The life cycle model should include all options in its foreground systems

Vocabulary (73-82 line 8) 3  determine, phase, crucial, arbitrary, subsequent, iterative, evident, commissioner, practitioner, implications 3.1  ambiguous, intended audience, product developers, top management, authorities, customers, vague, relevant, contribute, environmental consequences, virgin material, preferable 3.2  laundry detergent, functional unit, reference flow, recreational area, qualitative differences, global warming, acidification, resource depletion, consensus, production capital, hydro power stations, sensitivity, prospective, retrospective

Discussions (3-3.1) How many times do we need to conduct Goal and Scope Definition in LCA, and why is that? What kind of practitioner is a good practitioner of LCA? Who are the possible intended audience of LCA? Formulate any question posed to LCA study related to plastic bags. Who are the intended audience of that study? Who would be the commissioner?

Discussions (-P82, line 8) Why is “land use” still an ambiguous impact category in LCA? Why location of processes are seldom handled in a detailed manner in LCA? For countries like Japan to achieve Kyoto requirements, moving production abroad could be a solution. What would be the consequence in the quantity of overall CO 2 emission? Consider the fact that Energy conversion efficiency is very high compared with other Asian neighbor countries. Draw initial flowchart for your plastic bag study. What is the functional unit for your study? What are the possible major impacts that are relevant to your study of plastic bag? Which type of LCA do you need to conduct? How would the results be communicated to the commissioner and the audience?