1. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

2. Now, we come to focus on LCA. First some general features.
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
product from cradle to grave (vertical integration)
total picture; avoidance of problem shifting
all types of impact (horizontal integration)
role of functional unit
for comparability of different product systems
integration over space and time
standardised in ISO (14040 series)
Now, we come to focus on LCA. First some general features.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

3. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
Here, we see the ISO framework for LCA. It comprises the LCA procedure itself, as well as its relation with the direct applications. The four main phases of LCA are concerned with different types of data, assumptions, procedures or calculations. The phases are mutually connected with arrows. These represent flows of information from one phase to another phase. The bidirectional flows stress that LCA is not a sequential process, starting with goal and scope definition and ending with interpretation. Rather, LCA is an iterative process, in which the goal and scope may be refined after inventory analysis, impact assessment or interpretation, and likewise the inventory analysis may be refined after impact assessment or interpretation. The direct applications are not formally part of the LCA, as LCA is a tool for decision-support. However, they are worth mentioning in relation to the LCA framework itself.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

4. Final result can be in terms of:
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
Final result can be in terms of:
LCI results (extractions and emissions)
LCIA results (for separate impact categories)
weighted results (one index)
Weighting (subjective!) possible on basis of:
distance to target (policy reference)
economic values (various possibilities, incl. collectively revealed preferences)
social preferences (panel process)
Without discussing the machinery inside the LCA tool, the type of its results it yields are important to know.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

5. Example of the results of a comparative LCA
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
Example of the results of a comparative LCA
Impact category
Incandescent lamp
Fluorescent lamp
Climate change
kg CO2-eq
40000 kg CO2-eq
Ecotoxicity
320 kg DCB-eq
440 kg DCB-eq
Acidification
45 kg SO2-eq
21 kg SO2-eq
Depletion of resources
0.8 kg antinomy-eq
0.3 kg antinomy-eq
etc …
An example of a table with category indicator results. Some people refer to this as the environmental profile (or ecoprofile), the characterisation table, or the impact table.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

6. Main applications LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT product comparisons
product improvement, design and development
strategy and policy development
LCA as a process
Product comparisons is the most obvious and striking application of LCA. However, product improvement, design and development are by far the most frequent applications.
Many of these LCAs are never made public: they are for internal use only.
Larger companies and authorities use LCA for strategy and policy development, e.g. on the design of logistics, waste policies, etc. LCA as a process, finally, means that doing an LCA implies learning:
learning about the product,
learning about the processes that are involved,
learning about the ideas of other stakeholders, etc.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

7. APLIKASI LCA Product comparisons Note: by industry, government, NGOs
also for ecolabeling (type I, type III)
Note:
need for authorized procedure and peer review
“comparative assertions disclosed to the public” (ISO)
Here are some uses of product comparisons. ISO stresses the importance of “comparative assertions disclosed to the public”, where qualiity requirements and procedures are extremely important.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

8. This gives an illustration of some ecolabeling criteria.
APLIKASI LCA
This gives an illustration of some ecolabeling criteria.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

9. The use of LCA for improvement, design and development.
APLIKASI LCA
Product improvement, design and development
by industry
also on the basis of adapted LCA-tools
Learning curve:
LCA suggests rules of thumb
rules of thumb further validated and improved by LCA
The use of LCA for improvement, design and development.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

10. APLIKASI LCA
This graph illustrates that different types of improvements are of interest in different decision situations. As an example, we see three innovations for cars:
the catalyser
the hybrid Toyota Prius
the full hydrogen-based GM HydroGen3
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

11. APLIKASI LCA
Here, we see an example of simple visual LCA-based rules of thumb that are used by product designers.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

12. The strategic use of LCA: some examples.
APLIKASI LCA
Policy and policy development
by government, sometimes together with industries or NGOs
examples:
waste management
packaging
EU's Integrated Product Policy (IPP)
energy policy
green building
The strategic use of LCA: some examples.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

13. APLIKASI LCA
D r a f t
This shows the classical waste treatment hierarchy. LCA can be used to validate it, or to add some nuances for particular materials or products.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

14. D r a f t
APLIKASI LCA
. This is an LCA application for total consumption patterns: which activities contribute to most to environmental problems? To the right, we see activities that contribute largely per euro of product. The width indicates how much a household spends on that activity. Thus the area indicates the total impact of that activity. Car driving is the activity with the highest impact. This study has been done for the Integrated Product Policy of the EU.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

15. LCA as a process APLIKASI LCA
LCA as a vehicle of discussion for various stakeholders
producer
supply chain
competitors
purchasers
government
NGOs
Finally, LCA as a process of learning and getting to understand the problems and one another.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

16. But now, we move to some of the problems in doing LCA.
KETERBATSAN LCA
LCA in practice obstructed by:
data requirements
methodological inconsistencies
technical characteristics
LCA sounds nice.
But now, we move to some of the problems in doing LCA.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

17. KETERBATSAN LCA Data requirements
only general, no specific data
obsolete data
only data from industrialized countries
different data formats
databases not connected
Role for ISO and UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative
Role for input-output analysis (and hybrids of IOA and LCA)
LCA is very data intensive. General purpose databases are emerging, but there is still much to do.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

18. KETERBATSAN LCA Methodological inconsistencies and debates:
main issues in LCI:
system boundaries
multiple processes/allocation
attribution versus change oriented
main issues in LCIA
midpoint versus damage level
heterogeneous mechanisms (e.g., toxicity)
regionalisation
Although the basic principles of LCA have been described in the ISO standards, many issues are still under debate, especially within academic circles.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

19. KARAKTERISTIK TEKNIS LCA
Some specific details:
global/regional, not local
steady state, not dynamic, no one-time transitions
quantitative, not pass/fail criteria
risk approach, not prevention approach
Some explanations:
LCA does not address the impact of a product for a specific user at a well-defined place. It focuses on the impacts of a product as it is available and used in a certain country, continent, or even the world.
LCA studies products in a well-established situation, not the transition to that situation
LCA is primarily a quantitative tool, it does not address issues as “contains hardwood” or “is recyclable”
LCA does not look at risks in the sense of pollutants exceeding threshold; it focuses on the load
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

20. KARAKTERISTIK TEKNIS LCA
Usual impact categories:
depletion of fossil fuels and minerals
climate change
ozone depletion
photo-oxidant formation
acidification
eutrophication
human toxicity and ecotoxicity
These are typical types of impact considered in LCA. We see that it covers inputs (resources) and outputs (pollutants).
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

21. KARAKTERISTIK TEKNIS LCA
Potential impact categories:
land occupation (area)
water use
salination
soil erosion
leakage of nutrients
noise
This is an additional list of impacts that are typically not included, but that are sometimes included, and that are certainly of interest in special cases.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

22. KARAKTERISTIK TEKNIS LCA
Not fitting impact categories:
land use quality (forest, coral reefs)
depletion of wildlife and fish stocks
desiccation; desertification
biodiversity
contained toxics
There are some environmental issues that may be of interest as such, but that are difficult to fit into the overall LCA perspectives in a satisfactory way.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support

23. KARAKTERISTIK TEKNIS LCA
Need to make LCA
broader (more impacts, also covering economic and social aspects)
deeper (more precise, more mechanisms)
How to make LCA broader and deeper
three major options:
extension of LCA
hybrid LCA
use of toolbox (with additional quantitative tools, or using pass-fail criteria)
LCA is not perfect. Important directions for improvement are indicated here, making it broader and deeper.
Three strategies to achieve this are listed as well. More on the last strategy in the next few slides.
Sumber: Life Cycle Assessment. A product-oriented method for sustainability analysis. UNEP LCA Training Kit. Module a –LCA and decision support