Understanding Life Cycle Analysis: Evaluation and Strategy

1. Life- Cycle Analysis: The Role of Evaluation and Strategy Frank R. Field III & John R. Ehrenfeld Summary: Asong Suh Critique: Alex Polleri

2. Overview • Definition of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) • LCA Steps • Review of Evaluation Concepts • Environmental Impact Analysis in LCA • Environmental Priority Strategies System (EPS System) • Critique

3. LCA Definition ‘LCA is a technique for the study of strategies to meet environmental challenges’ • Why LCA? • Considers how process will affect the environment in the future • Process & product developers use LCA to incorporate environmental considerations into design • Consumer interest groups use LCA to inform consumers of alternative products • Regulators and policy makers use LCA to guide environmental policy and enforce legislative objectives

4. LCA Steps LCA helps consumers, industrialists and government to make decisions that will minimize environmental impacts. • LCA has three steps: • Inventory analysis- ID and quantify energy and resources used and environmental releases to the air, water & land • Impact analysis- Assessment of the consequences of resource use and environmental releases for the environment • Improvement analysis-Evaluation & implementation of ways to reduce environmental burdens

5. Review of Evaluation Concepts • Difficulty understanding releases to the environment and environmental damage. • Two methods of making environmental decisions • Setting limits that have to be met or can not be exceeded • Using value functions

6. Setting Limits Consider Hypothetical set of potential alternatives with only two environmental impacts Dominated alternatives (2& 3) Nondominated alternatives (1, 4, 5, 6 &7) Selecting from nondominated alternatives

7. Value Functions • Tool for deciding which nondominant alternative is preferable • Value function represents strategic goals of the community doing the analysis. Linear index method Non linear index method

8. Environmental Priority Strategies System (EPS System) • A tool for evaluating ecological consequences of alternative activities or processes • It associates environmental load with individual activities based on materials consumed or processed • EPS environmental safeguard subjects • Biodiversity • Production • Human Health • Resources • Aesthetic Values

9. EPS System cont

10. Strengths of LCA LCA technique covers the entire lifespan of a product or activity Establishes values to environmental impacts LCA also informs consumer on the impact of products and activities to the environment Critique

11. Critique • Limitations of LCA • Can not solve complex problems

12. Limitations of LCA LCA only analysis a problem but does NOT provide a solution. LCA is based on subjective assumptions Relationship between releases to the environment and the environment Critique

13. Limitations of the EPS System It associates a value to an environmental impact subjectively. The associated value will not always be the same for different cultures and countries Critique

14. QUESTIONS?