Potential for Integrating Diffusion of Innovation Principles into Life Cycle Assessment of Emerging Technologies

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) measures cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of a product. To assess impacts of an emerging technology, LCA should be coupled with additional methods that estimate how that technology might be deployed. The extent and manner that an emerging technology diffuses throughout a region shapes the magnitude and type of environmental impacts. Diffusion of innovation is an established field of research that analyzes the adoption of new innovations, and its principles can be used to construct scenario models that enhance LCA of emerging technologies. Integrating diffusion modeling techniques with an LCA of emerging technology can provide estimates for the extent of market penetration, the displacement of existing systems, and the rate of adoption. Two general perspectives of application are macro-level diffusion models that use a function of time to represent adoption, and microlevel diffusion models that simulate adoption through interactions of individuals. Incorporating diffusion of innovation concepts complement existing methods within LCA to inform proactive environmental management of emerging technologies.

Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: A review

“…They proposed that integration of results (not methods) from LCA and RA in the context of MCDA is more promising approach to provide better guidance to decision makers. Integration of diffusion of innovation modeling techniques with LCA is also proposed which can assist to estimate the extent of market penetration, displacement of existing technologies and rate of adoption and thus allow the LCA community to develop future scenarios (Sharp & Miller, ). Integration of additional tools with LCA should be explored further.…”

Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: Evaluation techniques at different stages of market and technical maturity

“…While most studies in the quadrant have historically excluded market consequences and focused on technology improvement, we argue that broader, system‐wide analysis that incorporates some market aspects can be helpful despite the uncertainty. Principles of diffusion of innovation are well‐established and were largely developed for technologies within this quadrant and they can be integrated into LCA (Cooper & Gutowski, ; Sharp & Miller, ). In practice, defining realistic deployment and technological diffusion parameters can be difficult.…”

“…Several recent studies have addressed the procedure of LCA for early stage technologies (Arvidsson et al., ; Cooper & Gutowski, ; Hetherington et al., ; Moni et al., ; Sharp & Miller, ; Villares et al., ). Villares et al.…”

“…() reflect on the usefulness of ex ante LCA through application to a case study of metal recovery from e‐waste and propose a set of procedures that consider the characteristics of the technology and market system in which the technology might penetrate. Both Cooper and Gutowski () and Sharp and Miller () propose connecting LCA techniques with diffusion of innovations methods such as Bass modeling and product cannibalization analysis to better represent realistic implementation conditions for the emerging technology. Another recent contribution, Arvidsson et al.…”

Liquid‐liquid Extraction Coupled to Batch Injection Analysis for Electroanalysis of Levofloxacin at Low Concentration Level

“…Progress in healthcare research has grown substantially over time, prompting the deliberate growth of the use of many drugs to treat various diseases . Currently, indiscriminate consumption combined with the inappropriate disposal of many antibiotics, even at very low concentrations, have generated concern about human health and environmental contamination . Another worry is related to the excretion of drugs in non‐metabolized form to aquatic environments, where their contamination power may be even more severe .…”