No abstract

Purpose Due to the large environmental challenges posed by the transport sector, reliable and state-of-the art data for its life cycle assessment is essential for enabling a successful transition towards more sustainable systems. In this paper, the new electric passenger car transport and vehicle datasets, which have been developed for ecoinvent version 3, are presented. Methods The new datasets have been developed with a strong modular approach, defining a hierarchy of datasets corresponding to various technical components in the vehicle. A vehicle is therefore modelled by linking together the various component datasets. Also, parameters and mathematical formulas have been introduced in order to define the amount of exchanges in the datasets through common transport and vehicle characteristics. This supports users in the choice of the amount of exchanges and enhances the transparency of the dataset. ResultsThe new transport dataset describes the transport over 1 km with a battery electric passenger car taking into account the vehicle production and end of life, the energy consumption due to the use phase, non-exhaust emissions, maintenance and road infrastructure. The dataset has been developed and is suitable for a compact class vehicle. Conclusions A new electric passenger car transport dataset has been developed for version 3 of the ecoinvent database which exploits modularisation and parameters with the aim of facilitating users in adapting the data to their specific needs. Apart from the direct use of the transport dataset for background data, the various datasets for the different components can also be used as building blocks for virtual vehicles.

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a service that supports customers’ transportation needs by providing information and ticketing for a multitude of transport modes in one interface; thus, buy potentially fostering multimodality and public transport, it represents an important lever to reduce negative transportation impacts such as emissions and congestion. By means of an online survey conducted in Switzerland, we try to understand potential user needs as well as factors that would motivate the use of MaaS. Comparing the openness to use MaaS for specific trip purposes like commuting and leisure activities, we find the lowest level of openness for commuting and the highest for weekend leisure trips. Intention to reduce car usage was positively related to openness to MaaS in commuting. On the other hand, factors that positively influence openness to using MaaS for leisure activities include a higher education degree, experience with carsharing and the use of transport-related climate policy announcements directly affecting consumers. These findings suggest focusing specifically on either commuting or leisure activities when designing policy measures.

This study compares the environmental impacts of meatless and meat-containing meals in the United States according to consumption data in order to identify commercial opportunities to lower environmental impacts of meals. Average consumption of meal types (breakfast, lunch, dinner) were assessed using life cycle assessment. Retail and consumer wastes, and weight losses and gains through cooking, were used to adjust the consumption quantities to production quantities. On average, meatless meals had more than a 40% reduction in environmental impacts than meat-containing meals for any of the assessed indicators (carbon footprint, water use, resource consumption, health impacts of pollution, and ecosystem quality). At maximum and minimum for carbon footprint, meat-containing dinners were associated with 5 kgCO2e and meatless lunches 1 kg CO2e. Results indicate that, on average in the US, meatless meals lessen environmental impacts in comparison to meat-containing meals; however, animal products (i.e., dairy) in meatless meals also had a substantial impact. Findings suggest that industrial interventions focusing on low-impact meat substitutes for dinners and thereafter lunches, and low-impact dairy substitutes for breakfasts, offer large opportunities for improving the environmental performance of the average diet.