Valuing Biodiversity in Life Cycle Impact Assessment

Abstract

In this article, the authors propose an impact assessment method for life cycle assessment (LCA) that adheres to established LCA principles for land use-related impact assessment, bridges current research gaps and addresses the requirements of different stakeholders for a methodological framework. The conservation of biodiversity is a priority for humanity, as expressed in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Addressing biodiversity across value chains is a key challenge for enabling sustainable production pathways. Life cycle assessment is a standardised approach to assess and compare environmental impacts of products along their value chains. The impact assessment method presented in this article allows the quantification of the impact of land-using production processes on biodiversity for several broad land use classes. It provides a calculation framework with degrees of customisation (e.g., to take into account regional conservation priorities), but also offers a default valuation of biodiversity based on naturalness. The applicability of the method is demonstrated through an example of a consumer product. The main strength of the approach is that it yields highly aggregated information on the biodiversity impacts of products, enabling biodiversity-conscious decisions about raw materials, production routes and end user products.

A research perspective towards a more complete biodiversity footprint: a report from the World Biodiversity Forum

“…During the workshop, land management and land-use intensity were identified as essential elements needed to properly capture the biodiversity impacts of products and supply chains. These limitations have already been addressed in the literature (Lindner et al 2019). Recent developments in the LCA field include characterization factors for the quantification of biodiversity impacts, which consider three levels of land use intensity (minimal, light, and intense use) (Chaudhary and Brooks 2018).…”

Unveiling Intrinsic Value in Biodiversity Accounting: A Challenge for Accountants in Indonesia

“…The biodiversity assessment model is also used in several studies, for instance, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as in the research of (Lindner et al, 2019;Penman et al, 2010;Sizemore, 2015;Turner et al, 2019). LCA is a method used to assess environmental value chains and identify areas that are affected by the environment on a large scale.…”

“…Second, to identify the potential impacts that occur such as climate change, increase in CO2 gas (acidification) and land use. Third, to improve the performance of environmental products (Lindner et al, 2019). The LCA assessment model framework is usually aimed at an area with large-scale temporal and spatial impacts, where the impact is estimated due to the transformation process of the resources used and emissions released by processes related to the production, utilization, and disposal of waste.…”

“…Assessing and disclosing biodiversity is not as easy as measuring and valuing physical accounts that are already clearly measured. However, several alternative biodiversity assessments have been developed by several researchers (Lindner et al, 2019;O'Connor & Kenter, 2019;Sizemore, 2015;Turner et al, 2019) by using the intrinsic value approach as an attempt to uncover the value of biodiversity in entity reports.…”

Correction: Lindner, J.P., et. al. Valuing Biodiversity in Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5628

“…The authors would like to make the following corrections about the published paper [1]. The changes are as follows:…”