L2- LCA standards and basics

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Northeastern University**We aren't endorsed by this school

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CIVE 5275

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Information Systems

Date

Jan 11, 2025

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Uploaded by PresidentAlbatross4629

Lecture 2 – LCA Standards and ConceptsCIVE 5275 | Spring 2025__LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OFMATERIALS, PRODUCTS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE

2Outline for the ClassLCA History and StandardizationFunctional Units and Reference FlowsSystem Boundary Setting

3•Late 1960s, first Resource and Environmental Profile Analyses (REPAs) (e.g., in 1969 Coca Cola funds study on beverage containers)•Early 1970s, first LCAs (Sundström,1973 (Sweden), Boustead,1972 (UK), Basler&Hofmann,1974 (Switzerland), Hunt et al.,1974 (USA)•1980s, studies without common methodology with contradicting results •1990s, LCA focus shifts to Japan and Europe•1993, SETAC publishes Guidelines for Life-Cycle Assessment: A ‘Code of Practice’•1997-2000, ISO publishes Standards 14040-43, defining the LCA stages•1998-2001, ISO publishes Standards and Technical Reports 14047-49•2000, UNEP and SETAC create Life Cycle Initiative•2006, ISO publishes Standards 14040/4, which update and replace 14040-43•2010s, proliferation of 3rdparty certifiers: UL, SCS Global, LCA History and Standardizationadapted from R. Geyer

4Why Standardize?Want LCAs done consistently, with common rulesWant to set level playing field in a marketProtect consumers, add value through standards complianceAnalogous to ASTM and other “test standards”e.g., want concrete tested the same way, so you could specify it in a construction bid request: “we want ASTM C94 concrete”Standards generally voluntary, but might end H.S. Matthews

5ISO Standardization ProcessISO is a global standards organization based in Switzerland (neutrality is still an asset!)Principles:Responds to market needBased on global expert opinionDeveloped in multi-stakeholder processBased on consensusManaged by a technical committee (TC)Standard is drafted, commented on, edited, voted on until consensus (75% approval) is reached Source: http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards_development.htmH.S. Matthews

6ISO LCA StandardsPart of ISO 14000 Env. Mgmt. StandardsISO 14040: LCA principles and framework(general definitions and concepts)ISO 14041: Goal, Scope, Inventory AnalysisISO 14042: Impact AssessmentISO 14043: Life Cycle InterpretationISO 14044: Requirements and Guidelines(most important technical document, for practitioners)ISO 14047: Examples of Impact Assess.ISO 14048: Documentation FormatISO 14049: Examples of Inventory AnalysisSpecifies what mustbe included, what is optional, and what is not required

7Environmental impacts can occur at each stage of the life cycle and are often non-intuitiveNeed to consider all stages in order to inform design or policy decisionsNeed to consider multiple environmental impacts, to ensure that we are not simply shifting burdens from one Life Cycle StagesGATEGRAVECRADLE

8‘Hotspot’ Analysis: Life Cycle Energy UseWhere in its life cycle does this electric kettle use the most energy? During mfg? During use? During EoL?How does life cycle energy use compare with other options?

9Phasesof LCAISO 14040

10Goal and Scope PhaseStructured summary and methodology of the studyCan be cumbersome and formulaicOften done in an abridged mannerAbsolutely essentialfor the purpose of transparency and documentation

11Inventory PhaseIn general, this phase is accounting and engineeringRecall best practices of Chapter 2The main time-intensive part of study“Collect all the data, add it up”Need process data for all processes within boundaryHowever, data availability varies widelyMight need to adjust study scope if lackingConsider inputs, outputs of interestIn: energy, resources, etc. Out: product, H.S. Matthews

12Impact Assessment PhaseIn general, this phase is based in environmental science, epidemiology, and toxicologyInvolves estimating significanceof environmental impactse.g., not just GHG emissions, but global warming consequences of GHG emissionsNeed scientific, peer-reviewed models to “convert” emissions into final impactsLeast “mature” portion of LCAStill subject of ongoing science and research, H.S. Matthews

13Interpretation PhaseHow do results answer the questions of goal/scope?Assessment of data qualitySensitivity analysis on inputs/outputsConclusions and recommendations….. and hopefully ideas for product improvementExample: Are any parts of the inventory targets H.S. Matthews

14Phases of LCASugarChocolateOilsFlavoringPackagingMorleyCandiesReference flowWastewaterAir EmissionsOrganic WastePackaging WasteWaste HeatMagic?GWPHuman HealthEcosystem HeathBiodiversityGoal and Scope: System BoundaryInterpretation Stage: How robust are these modeling results, AND What does this mean for Morley Candies?Life Cycle InventoryLife CycleImpact AssessmentLife Cycle Inventory

15Phases of an LCA* - IterativeNot a once through process - all phases are iterative! Adjust as you go alongEx 1: trying to find data for a process, can’t find it, redo the scope/boundary!Ex 2: realize you can’t make a solid conclusion given results, need to refine scope or collect more data in inventory stageEx 3: unexpected result. May need to add an impact or categoryChanges via iteration happen in ~100% of H.S. Matthews

16Goal and Scope DefinitionThe Goalof the LCA states and justifies•the aim or objective of the study•the intended use of the results (application)•the initiator (and commissioner) of the study•the practitioner of the study•the stakeholders of the study (interested parties)•intended users of the study (target audience)•mention if the results will be used in comparative assertions and released publicly (if so, 3rdparty peer review is required)

17Example Goal DefinitionUniversity Procurement asks:How green is this chair?

18Example Goal DefinitionThe goal of the LCA is to evaluate the life cycle environmental impacts of the LEAP chair by Steelcase. The results of this LCA will be used to make purchasing decisions for classroom chairs at Northeastern University. The university wants to incorporate environmental criteria in its furniture purchases generally, and will use this study in order to evaluate the feasibility of this new policy. This LCA does not aim at a public comparative assertion.The study is conducted by Husky Associates, Inc., a small engineering consulting firm. The commissioner of the study is Carol Rosskam, the sustainability officer of Northeastern University. Interested parties are the university procurement office, students, staff, and faculty, as well as the chair manufacturer. A steering committee with representatives of the producer and academia will be formed. Finally, an expert review will be carried out at NILCAR, the National Institute for

20H.S. Matthews

21Xmas Tree LCA Text Excerpt"The goal of this LCA is to understand the environmental impacts of both the most common artificial Christmas tree and the most common natural Christmas tree, and to analyze how their environmental impacts compare.“"This comparative study is expected to be released to the public by the ACTA to refute myths and misconceptions about the relative difference in environmental impact by real and artificial trees.”"The findings of the study are intended to be used as a basis for educated external communication and marketing aimed at the American Christmas tree consumer."Source: “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of an Artificial ChristmasTree and a Natural Christmas Tree”, PE Americas, Sept 2010H.S. Matthews

22Goal and Scope DefinitionThe Scopeof an LCA study defines•the product system boundary•the functional unit•temporal coverage (specific or averaged data)•spatial coverage (specific or averaged data)•technology coverage (specific or averaged data)•inclusion/exclusion of economic processes or infrastructure•allocation procedure•mode of analysis (attributional vs consequential LCA)•impact assessment methods and types of impacts•data and data quality requirements•type of critical/ third party review, if any[to discuss in detail later]

23From ISO 14040:“The essential property of a product system is characterized by its function and cannot be defined solely in terms of the final products.”Functional Unit

24The functional unit describes the primary function(s) fulfilled by a (product) system, and indicates how much of this function is to be considered in the intended LCA study. It will be used as a basis for selecting one or more alternative (product) systems that can provide these function(s). The functional unit enables different systems to be treated as functionally equivalent.The amount of product which is necessary to fulfill the function is the reference flow.Functional Unit

25Making Comparisons

26Example Functional Units and Reference FlowsProduct SystemFunctional UnitReference FlowsGrocery bagsVolume (0.1m3)1 standard paper bagPaintCoverage area (100 m2)1 can of Benjamin Moore Prem.LightingIlluminance (10 lm/m2)2 60W incandescent bulb2 15W CFL or1 30W CFLFoodEnergy content (500 cal)1 large piece of chocolate cake1 small order of french friesFuelHeat of combustion 26.8 kg of biodiesel

27Class Discussion:Find Appropriate Functional Units & Reference FlowsReusable vs Disposable DiapersBandagesCarWastewater treatment plantPedestrian bridgePV panel arrayMovieUniversity Education

28Functional Unit ComplexitiesMost products have more than one functionPackaging, banking, carpeting…Focus on primary function, mention secondary functionsFunction can incorporate timeand performanceCommon functional unit mistakes include:Confusing with reference flow (error: “F.U. is one car”)Not including specifics (error: “F.U. is 1000 m2 of space”)Not including units (error: “F.U. is generating electricity”)

29System BoundaryWhat processes are In, and Out for the study?“Any decisions to omit life cycle stages, processes, inputs or outputs shall be clearly stated, and the reasons and implications for their omission shall be explained.”You can omit things if you explain why“The deletion of life cycle stages, processes, inputs or outputs is only permitted if it does not significantly change the overall conclusions of the study. “You obviously need to know what the results would be if you included everything to show it wouldn’t change conclusions!? So, you need to justify any H.S. Matthews

30System Boundaries and “Cut-Off” “Several cut-off criteria are used in LCA practice to decide which inputs are to be included in the assessment, such as mass, energy and environmental significance. Making the initial identification of inputs based on mass contribution alone may result in important inputs being omitted from the study. Accordingly, energy and environmental significance should also be used as cut-off criteria in this process.”Mass (cumulative threshold; x<10 g)Energy (cumulative threshold; y<10 J) Environmental Significance (individual threshold; LC50z>1 g/L)

31LEAP Chair: Scope ExerciseFunctional unit?Reference flow?Which economic and environmental flows?Extent of scope? What inputs do you think can be safely excluded?

32Coming up…Read Ch.4 of LCA Textbookand peruse ISO 14044 (posted on Canvas)Assignment 1 due Thurs 1/16Office hours Tuesdays 3:30-5:00Snell Engineering 425