Case studies examining LCA streamlining techniques

Hunt, Robert G.; Boguski, Terrie K.; Weitz, Keith; Sharma, Aarti

doi:10.1007/bf02978450

Cited by 98 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Of course, the learning process, which is perhaps more important than applications in marketing, is more rewarding in a long and carefully conducted LCA study compared to a 'quick and dirty' one. On the other hand, during the design phase, the time limit makes simplified comparative methods more attractive (Hunt et al, 1998).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life-Cycle Based Sustainability Assessment of Products

Klöpffer

Renner²

2008

Environmental Management Accounting for Cleaner Production

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Sustainability was adopted by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Rio de Janiero as the main political goal for the future development of humankind. It should also be the ultimate aim of product development. According to the well-known interpretation of the original definition given in the Brundtland Report, sustainability comprises three components: environment, economy, and social aspects. These components or 'pillars' of sustainability have to be properly assessed and balanced if a new product is to be designed or an existing one be improved.Depending on the systems to be improved, in the sense of better sustainability, and to the audience(s), i.e. actors or stakeholders, different scientific and practical approaches are being developed. There are notably two directions which can be distinguished: one based on accounting (Environmental Accounting and Environmental Management Accounting-EMA) and another one based on the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) of products. In this article, the latter approach is described in the hope of improving the mutual understanding of the two communities and their assessment/accounting tools. The responsibility of the researchers involved in the assessment of sustainability is to provide appropriate, reliable, and up-to-date instruments. For the environmental part, there is already an internationally standardised tool: Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). Life-Cycle Costing (LCC) is the logical counterpart of LCA for the economic assessment. LCC surpasses the purely economic accounting and cost calculation by taking into account the use-and end-of-life phases and hidden costs. For this component, a guideline is being developed by The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). It is a very important point that different life-cycle based methods (including Social Life-Cycle Assessment 'SLCA') for sustainability assessment use consistent system boundaries.SLCA has been neglected in the past, mainly due to great methodological difficulties, but is now beginning to be developed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life-Cycle Based Sustainability Assessment of Products

Klöpffer

Renner²

2008

Environmental Management Accounting for Cleaner Production

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“…According to Hunt et al (1998) and Rebitzer et al (2004) it is preferable to simplify data collected from each process (vertical) as opposed to implementing horizontal cut-offs. The latter would involve data compromises in the various (horizontal) phases of a lifecycle such as cradle-to-grave, cradle-to-gate, gate-to-gate and gate-to-grave.…”

Section: Envfusion Methodology and Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling uncertainty in the sustainability of Intelligent Transport Systems for highways using probabilistic data fusion

Kolosz

Grant-Muller

Djemame

2013

Environmental Modelling & Software

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The implementation of ITS to increase the efficiency of saturated highways has become increasingly prevalent. It is a high level objective for many international governments and operators that highways should be managed in a way that is both sustainable i.e. environmental, social and economically sound and supportive of a Low-Carbon-Energy Future. Some clarity is therefore needed to understand how Intelligent Transport Systems perform within the constraints of that objective. The paper describes the development of performance criteria that reflect the contributions of Information Communication Technology (ICT) emissions, vehicle emissions and the embedded carbon within the physical transport infrastructure that typically comprises one type of Intelligent Transport System i.e. Active Traffic Managementa scheme that is used to reduce inter-urban congestion. The performance criteria form part of a new framework methodology 'EnvFUSION' (Environmental Fusion for ITS) outlined here. This is illustrated using a case study where environmental performance and pollution baselines (collected from independent experts, academic, governmental sources and suppliers) are processed using an attributional Lifecycle Assessment tool. The tool assesses the production and operational processes of the physical infrastructure of Active Traffic Management using inputs from the 'Ecoinvent' database. The ICT component (responsible for data links) is assessed using direct observation, whilst vehicle emissions are estimated using data from a National Atmospheric Emissions Laboratory. Analytical Hierarchy Process and Dempster-Shafer theory are used to create a prioritised performance hierarchy: the Intelligent Transport Sustainability Index, which includes weighted criteria based on stakeholder expertise. A synthesis of the individual criteria is then used to reflect the overall performance of the Active Traffic Management scheme in terms of sustainability (low-carbon-energy and socio-economic) objectives.

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“…The simplification of the LCA study might come at the cost of excluding important environmental factors, thereby leading to uncertainties as well as potentially wrong conclusions (Hunt et al, 1998). To avoid this, SLCA studies are constructed using detailed knowledge of the process.…”

Section: Acronymsmentioning

confidence: 99%