LCA IX Abstracts

Life Cycle Assessment IX

Toward the Global Life Cycle Economy

Boston September 29 to October 2nd 2009

Thanks to our Sponsors

For support of student attendance

http://www.nsf.gov/index.jsp

September 2009

Welcome to Life Cycle Assessment IX!

This is the first time that USA, Canadian and Mexican LCA centers have joined to

make a joint North American LCA conference, and joined by the SETAC-UNEP

Life Cycle initiative. This is the largest LCA conference ever in North America. It

covers four days, and includes special and regular sessions as well as three poster

sessions and three workshops. Collectively, over 250 presentations are planned.

Please take time to enjoy Boston, one of the oldest cities in the USA, and the home

of the American Revolution. Boston is also the home of a lively LCA community,

and the planning committee has worked hard to develop the social events we have

planned. There is much to enjoy here, and we hope that you find time to take

advantage of the many social and cultural events in the city.

In our ongoing effort to decrease the environmental impact of the conference, we

have de-materialized the conference, and except for those who have asked for a

hard copy, we are providing the conference abstracts online or via a flash drive

rather than through hard copy. This means that we do not need a conference bag

and you should have little to carry home with you except for memories and

contacts.

We wish to thank our sponsors, especially the U.S. National Science Foundation

for its support of student attendance and one of the workshops at the conference

Welcome to Boston!.

The Conference Committee

LCA IX Conference Rooms Hilton Logan

International

Ballroom C Room 209 Room 210

International

Ballroom A

International

Ballroom B

International

Ballroom AB

International

Ballroom C

International

Ballroom DE

8:30

LCACP

Exam

Intro to

SimaPro

10:00

10:30

Exam

continues continuedCoordinating LCI

Inventories Biofuel- Ethanol LCA

12:00

1:30

Carbon

Footprinting Intro to GaBi Regional LCIA Biofuel

Case

Studies

3:00

3:30 - 5:00

Carbon

Footprinting continuedRegional LCIA

continues

Bio-based

Products Landuse

Evening

International

Ballroom AB

International

Ballroom C

International

Ballroom DE Wellesley Middlebury

International

Ballroom AB

International

Ballroom C

International

Ballroom DE Wellesley

International

Ballroom AB

International

Ballroom C

International

Ballroom DE

8:30

Operationalizing

LCA In Industry 1 LCIA-1

Landuse &

BiofuelsAssessing

Water Use

LCM &

Policy 1 GHG 1

Teaching

LCAInt'l Standards of

Carbon Footprint 1 LCI

Food &

Agriculture 1

10:00

10:30

Operationalizing

LCA In Industry 2 LCIA-2

Landuse &

BiofuelsAssessing

Water Use

LCM &

Policy 2 GHG 2

Education

Package 1Int'l Standards of

Carbon Footprint 2 Fossil Fuels

Food &

Agriculture 2

12:00

1:30 Buildings Power

Landuse &

Biofuels

1:00 PM

Uncertainty

Workshop

2:00 PM

UNEP/LCIDynamic &

Temporal LCA Uncertainty EIO

Teaching

LCA

International

Capability

Development

Computational

Methods

Food &

Agriculture 3

3:00

3:30 - 5:00 Social LCA Recycling

Landuse &

Biofuels UNEP/LCIDynamic &

Temporal LCA Design Databases

Education

Package 2

Evening

Life Cycle Assessment IX Conference at a Glance(First Joint North American LCA Conference)

Break

Lunch-Posters Prefunction

Break

Monday Tuesday

Break

Lunch on your own

Break

Opening Plenary

Friday

Break - Prefunction Break Break

Walking Tour at 4:00 Meet in Hotel Lobby PE Reception - Prefunction

Closing Plenary

On Your Own Reception - NE Aquarium

Lunch-Posters - Prefunction

Break Break Break

Thursday

Lunch Posters International Pre-function

Uncertainty

Workshop

ends 7:00 PM

International Ballroom D

Intro to LCA

continued

Advances in LCA

continued

Wednesday

Lunch Pre-Function

Monday

Landuse and Biofuel Workshop




Tuesday Sessions

Tuesday 1

International Ballroom

A-B


C


D-E

Tuesday

8:30-

10:00

Opening plenary

Sustainability in a Food Company

Dan Petit, Director Life Cycle Management & Sustainability at Kraft Foods

Environmental Product Declarations and their Effect on the Global Plastics Industry

Mike Levy, American Chemistry Council

Tuesday

10:30-

12:00

Coordinating Life Cycle

Inventories in North

America and Beyond

Session chair: Rita Schenck

Michael Deru

USA

Pascal Lesage

Canada

Nydia Suppen

Mexico

Progress in Development of

a Chinese LCA Platform Wang Hongtao

Harmonization of life-cycle

inventory in Brazil Tássia Viol Moretti, Cássia

Maria Lie Ugaya

The International

Reference Life Cycle Data

System Miguel Brandao, David W.

Pennington, Rana Pant, Ugo

Pretato, Marc Wolf, Kirana

Biofuel - Ethanol

Session chair: Carina Alles

Consequential Life Cycle

Assessment of cellulosic

ethanol production in the US

Midwest state of Minnesota Junghan Bae, Sangwon Suh

Life Cycle Assessment of Wood

Hemicellulosic Bio-Ethanol Rachel Bowman, Anthony Halog

Consequential LCA of a 2nd

generation biofuel made from

willow Shirley Fagnen, Pascal Lesage,

Ralph Rosenbaum, Réjean

Samson

Do Cover Crops and Lignin-

land Application Improve the

life cycle of corn stover-based

ethanol? Sabrina Spatari, Paul R. Adler,

Stephen J. Del Grosso, Gregory

W. Roth

Life Cycle Assessment in

Support of the

Commercialization of

Cellulosic Ethanol Robin Jenkins, Carina Alles,

Jamie Ginn, Bruce Vrana, Robert

Sylvester, Chris Johnas, Susan

Hennessey

LCA

Session chair: John Jewell

Normative implications of LCA Jan Paul Lindner, Bastian

Wittstock, Oliver Schuller

"Close Enough for LCA":

Numbers, Consensus, and

Consequences for Life Cycle

Assessment Paul Chalmer

Reusing Wastewater in Power

Plant Cooling Towers: Hybrid

and Social LCA Briana Niblick, David Dzombak,

Radisav Vidic, Amy Landis

A case study on multi-impact life

cycle assessment of coffee

alternatives Sebastien Humbert, Vincent Rossi,

Manuele Margni, Olivier Jolliet,

Carole Dubois, Yves Loerincik

Comparative environmental LCA

on water treatment plants Christian Bouchard, Alexandre

Bonton, Stéphane Jedrzejak, Benoît

Barbeau

Tuesday

12:00-

1:30

Tuesday Poster Session and lunch

Tuesday Sessions

Tuesday 2


A-B


C


D-E

Tuesday

1:30-

3:00

Regional life cycle impact

assessment

characterization models

Session chairs:

Shana Shaked and Sebastien

Humbert

Geographical extrapolation

of crop life cycle

inventories and impacts

Thomas Nemecek,

Agroscope Anne Roches,

Frank Hayer, Daniel U.

Baumgartner, Gérard

Gaillard, Sarah Sim, Llorenç

Milà i Canals

GLOBOX: a spatially

differentiated global fate,

intake and effect model for

LCA – results for

nitrobenzene Reinout Heijungs

Spatial variability and

optimal regional scale for

intake fractions linked to a

Canadian emission Rima Manneh, Manuele

Margni, Louise Deschênes

Regionalization of life cycle

impact assessment:

geographic differentiation

vs archetypes Sebastien Humbert, Quantis

A Life Cycle Impact

Assessment Framework for

Characterizing Human

Health Benefits and

Impacts from Emerging

Biofuels Agnes Lobscheid, Thomas

McKone

Estimation of regional

characterization factors for

aquatic eutrophication Alejandro Gallego, Luis

Rodríguez, Almudena

Hospido, Mª Teresa Moreira,

Gumersindo Feijoo

Biofuel

Session chair: May Wu

Life Cycle and Uncertainty

Assessment of biodiesel

compared to other biomass use

Olivier Jolliet, Shanna Shaked,

Josef Kaenzig, Gregory

Houillon, Jinglan Hong

Full consequential cradle-to-

grave LCA of non-agrifuel

ethanol and biodiesel

François Charron-Doucet

ntegration of Land-use Change

Emissions in Biofuel LCA

using Mg-year Accounting Alexandre Courchesne, Ralph

Rosenbaum, Valérie Bécaert,

Réjean Samson, Louise

Deschênes

Sustainability Quick Check for

Biofuels (SQCB): a tool for

standardized and simplified

LCA as driver for sustainable

biofuel production

Mireille Faist Emmenegger,

Jürgen Reinhard, Rainer Zah

LCA Case Studies

Session chair: Mike Levy

Life Cycle Assessment

Comparison of Conventional and

Passive Groundwater

Remediation Technologies for

Solvent Contamination Monica Higgins, Terese Olson

An LCA-based Environmental

Assessment of a Baked Goods

Company Jon Dettling, Dominic D'Amours,

Manuele Margni

Real-time Life Cycle Assessment:

An implementation for ETH

Zürich Chris Mutel, Christoph Meili,

Stefanie Hellweg

Quantitative Analysis of Material

Substitution Effects by Life Cycle

Assessment – A Case Study of

ITO for a Liquid Crystal Display Kotaro Kawajiri, Kiyotaka Tahara,

Yoritsune Noda, Shigeyuki Uemiya

Life Cycle Assessment of

Container Glass Liila Woods, Margaret Zahller,

Marc Binder, Joseph Cattaneo

Tuesday

3:30-

5:00 Bio-based Products

Session chair: François Charron-

Doucet

Life cycle assessment of

biochar production from corn

stover, yard waste, and

switchgrass Kelli Roberts, Brent Gloy,

Stephen Joseph, Johannes

Lehmann

Evaluations of Domestic

Applications of British

Columbia Wood Pellets based

on Life Cycle Analysis

Ann Pa, Jill Craven, Tony Bi,

Land Use in LCA:

Characterization of Impacts,

Geospatial Heterogeneity, and

Renewable Energy Technologies

Session chair:

Thomas Seager

The Workshop on Land Use &

Geospatial Aspects In LCA of

Renewable Energy Systems Thomas Seager

Re-allocation of land as a

consequence of renewable energy

development John Sheehan

Considering transportation and

energy distribution aspects of

Tuesday Sessions

Tuesday 3


A-B


C


D-E

Regionalisation of

Ecosystem Sensitivity for

Acidification: From the

Local to the Global Scale Pierre-Olivier Roy, Manuele

Margni, Louise Deschênes

Spatial and temporal

characterization factors for

ground-level ozone Robert Ries

Capability and challenges

of regionalized LCIA: the

water case Stephan Pfister, Annette

Koehler, Stefanie Hellweg

Regionalisation of impacts

from water use Anne-Marie Boulay

Integration of LCIA and

ERA for the assessment of

contaminated sediment

remediation options Michael Ditor

Staffan Melin, Shahab

Sokhansanj

Sustainable Materials

Management of Wood Fibers

Christopher Evans, Deanna

Lizas, Adam Brundage, Randy

Freed, Henrik Harjula

Briquettes, cubes, or pellets:

Greenhouse gas tradeoffs in

bioenergy

Tom Wilson, Sabrina Spatari,

Paul Adler

Life Cycle Environmental

Impacts from Biobased

Lubricants

Phoebe Cuevas, Amy E. Landis

renewable energy: Report from

the "Workshop on Land Use and

Geospatial Aspects of LCA for

Renewable Energy" James Winebrake,

Impacts Jane Bare

Coupling LCA and Geographic

Information Systems --

Geospatial Variability in LCA for

Renewable Energy Roland Geyer,

Wednesday sessions

Wednesday 1


A-B


C

Int.

Ballroom

D-E

Wednesday

8:30-10:00

Operationalizing LCA within

Industry

Session chair: Wiliam Flanagan

Product Environmental Metrics for

Printer Development at HP Jason Ord, Tim Strecker

Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

to Develop a Corporate Sustainability

Strategy Gretchen Govoni

Challenges and Benefits of

Integrating LCA into Research and

Development: Butamax™ Biobutanol

Case Study

Stephen Tieri, Robin Jenkins, Todd

Krieger, Robert Sylvester, Carina Alles,

Susanne Veith, Steve Barr

The Use of LCAs from within Our

Company's Gate to Our Customers

and Market Segments

Gary Jakubcin, Owens Corning

Using LCA to Develop Climate-

Neutral Products - A Practical

Example

Connie Hensler, John Jewell

Life Cycle Assessment: Promoting

Sustainable Development at Dow Shawn Hunter

Design for Environment at Rolls-

Royce Stafford Lloyd, Andrew Clifton, Lucia

Elghali, Jacquetta Lee,

LCIA 1

Session chair: Ralph Rosenbaum

Challenging land use: Uncertainties in

the application of the species area

relationship for damage factors of land

occupation

An De Schryver, Mark Goedkoop, Rob

Leuven, Mark Huijbregts

Interpreting LCIA results: development

of Canadian normalization factors, at

individual and national levels

Anne Lautier, Ralph Rosenbaum, Manuele

Margni, Louise Deschenes

Mulicriteria Comparison of Ecotoxicity

Methods Focused on Pesticides

Frank Hayer, Daniel U. Baumgartner,

Christian Bockstaller, Gérard Gaillard,

Thomas Kaegi, Laure Mamy, Thomas

Nemecek, Joern Strassemeyer

Life cycle health impact and benefits of

air conditioning: reduction in extreme

heat mortality versus increase in health

impacts due to particulate and climate

change

Olivier Jolliet, Carina Gronlund, Marie

O'Neill, Jalonne White-Newsome

Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Global

Trade: monetary and impact disparities

in developing vs. developed regions

Shanna Shaked, Damien Friot, Sebastien

Humbert, Manuele Margni, Stefan

Schwarzer, Cedric Wannaz, Olivier Jolliet

Land use

and

Biofuels

Workshop

all day

Wednesday

10:30-12:00

LCIA 2

Session chair: Manuele Margni

Life cycle impacts of nanotechnologies

Olivier Jolliet

The influence of value choices on human

health damage assessment in LCA

An De Schryver, Mark Huijbergts

Calculation of LCA characterization

factors for terrestrial eutrophication at

regional scale

Land use

and

Biofuels

Workshop

continued

Wednesday sessions

Wednesday 2


A-B


C

Int.

Ballroom

D-E

Alejandro Gallego, Luis Rodríguez,

Almudena Hospido, Mª Teresa Moreira,

Gumersindo Feijoo

Crucial improvements needed for Land

Use Impact Assessment modeling

concerning biodiversity indicators

Danielle Maia de Souza, Ralph

Rosenbaum, Louise Deschênes, Henrique

de Melo Lisboa

Wednesday

12:00-1:30 Lunch

Wellesley

Wednesday

1:00-7:00

Open workshop:

Towards consistent uncertainty management in LCA – Consensus building and guideline

development for handling uncertainty in LCA

UNEP/SETAC working group on uncertainty management

1:00pm – 1:20pm Presentation “Introduction, context, background”

1:20pm – 1:40pm Presentation “Draft framework and guidelines”

1:40pm – 3:00pm Discussion

3:00pm – 3:20pm Break

3:30pm – 5:00pm Discussion

5:00pm – 5:20pm Break

5:20pm – 7:00pm Wrap up and adjourn workshop

Middlebury

Wednesday

2:00-5:00

Symposium on Global Guidance for LCA Databases

UNEP


A-B


C

Int.

Ballroom

D-E

Wednesday

1:30-3:00

Buildings

Session chair: Bastian Wittstock

An Industry Example – Use of an

LCA Study in the Development and

Registration of an EPD in the US

Connie Hensler

A Comparative Life Cycle

Assessment of Insulating Concrete

Forms with Traditional Residential

Wall Sections

Neethi Rajagopalan, Melissa Bilec,

Amy Landis

Life-Cycle Assessment of a Green

Power

Session chair: Jennifer Princing

Uncertainty and Variability in

Accounting for Grid Electricity in

Attributional Life Cycle Assessment Christopher Weber, Constantine Samaras,

Paulina Jaramillo, Joe Marriott

Scope Dependent Modelling of

Electricity in Life Cycle Assessment Rolf Frischknecht, Matthias Stucki

Variability in life cycle greenhouse gas

emissions from electricity generation

technologies

Land use

and

Biofuels

Workshop

continued

Wednesday sessions

Wednesday 3


A-B


C

Int.

Ballroom

D-E

Educational Building: A Case-Study

Uta Krogmann, Nicholas Minderman,

Jennifer Senick, Clinton Andrews

UBC Building LCA Case Study

Rob Sianchuk, Paul McFarlane

Garvin Heath, Margaret Mann, Pamala

Sawyer

Carbon Footprint of an 800 MW Coal-

fired Power Plant with CCS: CO2-EOR

and Storage Options Jitsopa Suebsiri, Anastassia Manuilova,

Malcolm Wilson

Life Cycle Inventory and Cost Analysis

of Advanced Fossil Energy Electricity

Generation Technology: IGCC &

NGCC Case Studies Robert James, Timothy Skone

Wednesday

3:30-5:00

Social Life Cycle Assessment

Session chair: Catherine Benoit

Development of a screening tool for

Social LCA: The Social Hot spots

Database Part 1 Catherine Benoit

Development of a screening tool for

Social LCA: The Social Hot spots

Database Part 2 Greg Norris

Comparison of the effects caused by

the production of a rose bouquet in

Ecuador to those caused by the

production in the Netherlands using

the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle

Assessment

Andreas Ciroth, Juliane Franze

Achieving Comprehensive Social

Impact Assessment Lise Laurin, Mellisa Hamilton

Proposition of a characterization

model in social LCA: Fair Salary

Index Julie Parent

Quantifying and assessing working

environment related social aspects

along product lifecycles – the LCWE

approach Jan Paul Lindner, Tabea Beck, Ulrike

Bos, Cecilia Makishi Colodel

Recycling

Session Chair: Anny YuShan Huang

The impact of end-of-life LCA

allocation methods on materials

selection decisions in cases of open loop

recycling Elsa Olivetti, Anna Nicholson, Frank

Field, Jeremy Gregory, Randolph Kirchain

Recycling of PE Plastic Bags in terms of

Life Cycle Inventory Guilherme de C. Queiroz, Eloisa E. C.

Garcia

Five recycling models and how they

drive the market behavior. Are they

moving us to sustainability? Laurel McEwen, Lise Laurin

Comparative systems analysis of

thermochemical and biochemical

recycling or organic waste towards

industrial feedstocks Philip Nuss

Status of plastics waste recycling

systems in Japan and study on the

selection of the recycling methods by

LCA methodology Hajime Nishihara, Yoshimi Ozaki

Land use

and

Biofuels

Workshop

continued

Thursday sessions Note: Teaching LCA – Integrated educational package takes place in Wellesley all day

Thursday 1

International Ballroom A-B International Ballroom C International Ballroom D-E

Thursday

8:30-10:00

Assessing water use in LCA

and related

environmental assessments 1

Session chair: Ammette Koehler

Regionalised Assessment of

Fresh Water Use in the Swiss

Ecological Scarcity Method

2006

Rolf Frischknecht, Arthur

Braunschweig, Norbert Egli,

Gabi Hildesheimer

Characterizing direct water

use impacts on human health

and through compensation

scenarios

Anne-Marie Boulay

Health Damage Assessment

Modelling on Agricultural

Water Scarcity based on

Regression Analysis of

Statistical Data

Masaharu Motoshita

Review of methods addressing

water in life cycle assessment Anna Kounina

Assessing water use in LCA

and related

environmental assessments 2

Session chair: Ammette Koehler

Water Use Impacts from

Corn-based Bioethanol

Production Yi-Wen Chiu, Annette Koehler

Assessing Water Impacts of

Tea and Margarine with a

Water Footprint / LCA

Approach. Pilot study in

Unilever Llorenç Mila i Canals

Direct and Indirect Water

Withdrawals for US Industrial

LCM and Policy 1 Session chair: Amanda Pike

A supply chain collaboration

model for improvement of

environmental performance of

a product based on LCA Katsuyuki Nakano, Masahiko

Hirao

Using LCA to measure

sustainability Lise Laurin, Laurel McEwen

Environmental performance of

SRI funds Tomonori Honda, Atsushi Inaba

Incorporating Life Cycle

Assessment Methodologies into

Remedy Selection Todd Krieger, David Ellis, Jamie

Ginn, Brandt Butler, Gordon

Burnett

Environmental clusters as the

drivers of LCA-based

evaluation of the

environmental performance of

a region Adrienn Buday-Malik, Eszter

Siposné Nándori, Klára dr. Szita

Tóth, Judit Roncz

GHG 1 Session chair: Alissa Kendall

Evaluation of green house

gas emission from chemical

products based on life cycle

assessment: practical use of

LCA Junichi Nakahashi

Sustainability of biofuels

and bio-electricity:

allocation and the GHG

calculators Ester van der Voet, Lauran

van Oers, Lin Luo, Reinout

Heijungs

Connecting the Dots in

Carbon Accounting Paul Chalmer

Characterization of Scope 3

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

for Streamlined Corporate

Carbon Footprinting Anny YuShan Huang,

Christopher L. Weber, H.

Scott Matthews

Thursday

10:30-

12:00

LCM and Policy 2

Session chair: Bob Boughton

California‟s Green Chemistry

Initiative - application of LCA

in public policy Bob Boughton

The role of LCA in recycling

policy: a case study in plastic Brandon Kuczenski, Roland

Geyer

Incorporating waste prevention

activities into life cycle

assessments of municipal solid

waste management systems:

Methodological issues and

Toronto, Canada case study

GHG 2

Session chair: Alison Brady

The energy and climate

change impacts of different

music delivery methods Christopher Weber, H. Scott

Matthews, Jonathan Koomey

Creating a Greenhouse Gas

and Energy LCA for CRT

Televisions: Data

Availability and

Transboundary Challenges Christopher Evans, Victoria

Thompson

Development of a


Thursday 2


Sectors Michael Blackhurst, Chris

Hendrickson, Jordi Sels i Vidal

Poster Spotlight 1: Testing of

Operational Methods for

Impact Assessment of

Freshwater Use on Midpoint

and Endpoint level: Insights

and Conclusions Stephan Pfister, Annette

Koehler, Stefanie Hellweg

Poster Spotlight 2:

Characterization Factors for

Damage to Aquatic

Biodiversity caused by Water

Use Sebastien Humbert

Julian Cleary

LCA of transportation fuels:

uncertainty and implications

for policy design Richard Plevin

Global versus local pollution: A

case study of LCA applied to

Diesel Retrofit Regulations Juhong Yuan, Alissa Kendall

Construction Materials

GHG Database: Case Study

of Concrete Corinne Reich-Weiser, Chris

Erickson, David Dornfeld

Manufaturing Energy

Consumption for Solid

State Lighting Systems Deanna Matthews, Mary

Ashe, Christopher Weber,

Paulina Jaramillo, H. Scott

Matthews

Thursday

12:00-1:30

Thursday Poster Session and lunch

These posters include those related to the „Assessing water use in LCA‟ session

Thursday

1:30-3:00

Dynamic and temporal

modeling in LCA

Session chair: Annie Levasseur

How dynamic LCA can bring

consistency in assessing global

warming mitigation scenarios

Annie Levasseur, Pascal Lesage,

Manuele Margni, Louise

Deschênes, Réjean Samson

Capturing the Effects of the

Timing of Emissions in Life

Cycle Greenhouse Gas

Assessments: A Case Study of

Photovoltaic Technologies

Alissa Kendall, Brenda Chang,

Benjamin A. Sharpe

Modeling process, product and

usage evolution in LCA: three

case studies Eric Williams, Liqiu Deng,

Callie W. Babbitt, Pei Zhai

Dynamic Life Cycle

Assessment of biogas

production from micro-algae

Collet Pierre, Arnaud Hélias,

Laurent Lardon, Jean-Philippe

Steyer

Towards a consistent

management of uncertainty in

Life Cycle Assessment

Session chair: Olivier Jolliet

Sampling and analytical

approaches toward

propagating uncertainties in

LCA Reinout Heijungs, Olivier Jolliet,

Ralph Rosenbaum, Andreas

Ciroth, Thomas McKone,

Manfred Lenzen, Jinglan Hong

Uncertainty and scenario

analysis in the life cycle of

biofuel systems: modelling

issues and applications Fausto Freire, João Malça

Analytical Uncertainty

Propagation in Life Cycle

Inventory and Impact

Assessment: high-efficiency

versus conventional electric

hand dryer and paper towel

systems Olivier Jolliet, Jinglan Hong,

Shanna Shaked, Ralph

Rosenbaum, Jon Dettling

Confronting the Uncertainties

in Life-Cycle Impact

EIO

Session chair: Joe Marriott

Quantifying Land Use in

Consumed Goods using

Input-Output Life Cycle

Assessment Methods Christine Costello, Michael

Griffin, H. Scott Matthews,

Christopher L. Weber

Business appropriate

hybrid life-cycle assessment

– a case study of Playworld

Systems, Inc. Carter Brooks, Chris

Erickson, Corinne Reich-

Weiser

Evaluating Economic Value

as a Proxy for

Environmental Impact in

Material Systems Jeremy Gregory, Susan

Fredholm, Randolph Kirchain

Hybrid Assessment of the

Life Cycle Energy Intensity

of Laptop Computers Rachel Deng, Eric Williams,

Callie Babbitt


Thursday 3


Modeling future emissions

from Municipal solid waste

incineration in Europe Dominik Saner, Daniel Lang,

Annette Koehler

LCA of Waste Prevention

Options for the Residential

Construction Sector in Oregon Jon Dettling, Dominic Pietro,

Jordan Palmeri, Bill Jones,

Johnathan Balkema, Bruce

Sullivan, David Allaway,

Sebastien Humbert, Olivier

Jolliet

Meeting the NEEDS of

European environmental

sustainability assessment Rolf Frischknecht, Krewitt

Wolfram

Exploring Leverage in

Responsible Purchasing - A

recursive life-cycle simulation

to explore green purchasing

and life-cycle simulation

Evan Andrews

Assessment for Highway

Transportation Fuels Thomas McKone, Agnes

Lobscheid

Incorporating Variation and

Uncertainty in Strategic Life

Cycle Decisions Jeffrey Dahmus, Elsa Olivetti,

Jeremy Gregory, Randolph

Kirchain

A method to combine

simulation and approximation

formulas for uncertainty

calculation revisited Andreas Ciroth

A Hybrid Input-Output,

Bottom-Up Approach for

Assessing Supply Chain

Environmental

Improvement Potentials Eric Masanet

Thursday

3:30-5:00

Design

Session chair: Jan Paul Lindner

Multi-objective process design

optimization using LCA Etienne Bernier, François

Maréchal, Réjean Samson

An Innovative approach for

sustainable packaging design:

the packaging “i-report” Coppelia Marincovic, Nuno Da

Silva, Laura Flanigan

Ecodesign of Single-use

Products: Consideration of

Design Specifications within

LCA Mylène Fugère, Valérie Bécaert,

Julie-Anne Chayer, Manuele

Margni, Réjean Samson

Databases

Session chair: Christopher

Mutel

ecoSpold version 2 –

improved data format

meeting the challenges of

future LCI databases Roland Hischier, Bo

Weidema

Generation of LCI

Databases – experiences in

setting up and updating

databases or integrating

additional public databases Harald Florin, Martin Baitz,

Mathias Fischer

Mathematical analysis of

the ecoinvent database with

the purpose of developing

new validation tools Andreas Ciroth

Development of the U.S.

Extension Database for

GaBi Eric Munsing, Martin Baitz,

Harald Florin

1

Friday Sessions

Friday 1


A-B

International Ballroo

C


D-E

Friday

8:30-

10:00

International Standardisation of

Carbon Footprinting

Session chair: Matthias Finkbeiner

Introduction to the international

standardisation of carbon

footprinting

Matthias Finkbeiner

Introduction to the Japanese

carbon footprint trial programme

Atsushi Inaba, Chie Nakaniwa,

Masayuki Kanzaki

Product Carbon Footprint –

Work on Methodology and

Communication by the German

Government Ulf Dietmar Jaeckel

PAS 2050 and the International

Standardisation of Carbon

Footprinting

Graham Sinden

Status of ISO 14067

Sergio F. Galeano

Developing International

Standards on Product Life Cycle

and Scope 3 Carbon Footprint

Management - An Overview of

the GHG Protocol Product and

Supply Chain Standard

Pankaj Bhatia

The carbon footprint project of

the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle

Initiative Guido Sonnemann, Sonia Valdivia,

Jim Fava, Matthias Finkbeiner

LCI

Session chair: Evan Griffing

Development of a US Truck

Transportation LCI Dataset Susan Fredholm, Coppelia

Marincovic, Peter Canepa,

Matthias Fischer, Michael

Faltenbacher, Nuno Da Silva

Modeling the Life Cycle

Impacts of Electronics Peter Canepa

Life Cycle Inventories of

Crude Oil Consumption

Mixes and Fuels produced

from these 2030 Oliver Schuller, Michael Dr.

Faltenbacher, Jan Paul Lindner

Life Cycle Inventory of

Copper Primary Production

from Copper Oxides in Chile Claudia Pena, Claudio Zaror,

Mauricio Bustamante, Mabel

Vega

Food and Agriculture 1

Session Chair: Chris Weber

Environmental Impacts of

Diet Changes in the EU Reinout Heijungs, Arnold

Tukker, René Kleijn, Arjan de

Koning, Oliver Wolf

An EPD program for Costa

Rican products Wesley Ingwersen, Silvia

Alvarez, Ana Quiros, Carli

Koshal, Milagros JeanCharles,

Diego Acuña

Energy balance for locally-

grown versus apple cv.

'Braeburn' fruit imported

from New Zealand Michael Blanke

Life Cycle Assessment of

Frozen Tilapia Fillets from

Indonesian Lake and Pond-

Based Intensive Aquaculture

Systems Nathan Pelletier, Peter

Tyedmers

LCA of the Global Warming

Potential of California Rice

Production and Processing

Systems Sonja Brodt, Alissa Kendall,

In-Sung Lee, Juhong Yuan,

James Thompson, Gail

Feenstra

Friday

10:30-

12:00

Fossil Fuels

Session chair: Michael Deru

A Case Study in Allocation

Methods: A Life Cycle

Accounting of CO2 Emissions

from an Enhanced Oil

Recovery System Paulina Jaramillo, Michael

Griffin, Sean McCoy

Land use and habitat

fragmentation of oil sands


Session chair: Adam Cone

Multi-functional compost for

sustainable agricultural

production: Improvements

of resource and disease

management using life cycle

approach Kiyotada Hayashi, Keiichi

Murakami, Naoto Kato

Friday Sessions

Friday 2


A-B


C


D-E

production: a life cycle

perspective Sarah Jordaan, David Keith,

Brad Stelfox

Gate-to-gate Environmental

LCA of Brine Aquifer

Sequestration of CO2 and CO2

Enhanced Oil Recovery Robert Dilmore

Re-evaluating LCA models to

determine CO2 emissions in

refineries:The crude oil

quality factor

Jessica Abella, Oyeshola

Kofoworola, Heather L.

MacLean, Joule A. Bergerson

Eutrophication footprints of

foods and comparison to

carbon footprints Xiaobo Xue, Amy Landis

Evaluating Tradeoff between

Material Type,

Lightweighting and

Recyclability using Life

Cycle Assessment - a Case

Study on Wine Packaging Xavier Bengoa, Danielle Maia

de Souza, Réjean Samson

Life cycle analysis and

carbon footprint of imported

Huelva Strawberries Michael Blanke

Friday

12:00-

1:30

Friday poster session and lunch

Friday

1:30-

3:00

International Capability

Development Activities on Life

Cycle Topics

Session chair: Sonia Valdivia

Life Cycle Thinking Worldwide –

Business and Governments

Challenges and Needs Sonia Valdivia, Guido Sonnemann

The Associação Brasileira do

Ciclo de Vida and capability

development activities in Brazil

and contribution to the

international community Cassia Ugaya

Developing LCM Capability in

Africa – How successful was

LCM2009 in Cape Town Philippa Notten

European Platform on Life Cycle

Assessment - International

Interaction in Support of

Business and Government David Pennington

Capability Development, Life

Cycle Data and Methodologies

Computational Methods

Session chair: Matthew

Pietrzykowski

Estimating the environmental

impacts of chemical

production and chemical

mixtures under data-scarce

conditions Gregor Wernet, Stefanie

Hellweg, Stavros

Papadokonstantakis, Konrad

Hungerbühler

Data Mining and LCA: A

Survey of possible marriages Matthew Pietrzykowski

Are results more reliable

when life cycle inventory

databases are mixed to bridge

data gaps? 'Nigho Idris, Gayle Rece

A Consequential Life Cycle

Assessment Method for a

Large System Affected by

Non-Marginal Variations Thomas Dandres, Pablo Tirado,

Pascal Lesage, Réjean Samson


Session chair: Michael Blanke

Land use in LCA: a

consequential approach for

accounting for impacts on

ecosystems Miguel Brandao

Towards an LCA-based

environmental management

of meat producing farms Daniel U. Baumgartner,

Martina Alig, Gérard Gaillard,

Frank Hayer, Thomas

Nemecek

Environmental Performance

of the Portuguese Dairy

Sector using a life cycle

approach Érica Castanheira, Ana Cláudia

Dias, Luis Arroja

What’s at Steak? The

ecological economics of

animal husbandry 2000 –

2050 Nathan Pelletier, Peter

Tyedmers

Friday Sessions

Friday 3


A-B


C


D-E

related Activities in Mexico and

Latin America Nydia Suppen

National LCI Databases based on

a common international,

technology LCI database Roland Hischier, Bo Weidema

Progress in Chinese Capability

Development on Life Cycle based

Tools - Towards a Chinese

LCA/LCM Platform Hongtao Wang

We Need a Truly International

Life Cycle Database System Mark Goedkoop

New inventory computation

algorithm to support

regionalization Guillaume Bourgault, Pascal

Lesage

Friday

3:30-

5:00

Closing Plenary

Driving Sustainability through Life Cycle Assessment Allison Campbell, Portfolio Strategy Walmart Private Brands

Coordinating Life Cycle Inventories in North America and Beyond

1 International Ballroom A-B

Tuesday late morning

Special session coordinator: Rita Schenck, IERE

Life cycle Inventory databases are being developed in Canada and in Mexico, and the US LCI inventory is currently undergoing upgrades. These three countries are very active trading partners, and it is common for products to have unit processes performed in two or more of the three countries. Thus it is essential that the databases be coordinated to facilitate data transfer.

This panel discussion will describe the status of efforts to develop life cycle inventories in Canada, Mexico and the USA, and begin the discussions of how to coordinate these three databases. With all the efforts underway, this is the ideal time to discuss how we can work together.

At the same time, LCA practice reflects the global economy, and LCI database efforts in North America need to work with the efforts being developed in other parts of the world. The session will include speakers from Brazil and China.

Topics to be covered include:

- formats currently being considered by each country - strategies for filling data gaps - special considerations related to data exchange (e.g. language)

Questions will be provided by the moderator and will also be taken from the audience.

Presenters:

Michael Deru, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA)

Pascal Lesage, CIRAIG (Canada)

Nydia Suppen, Centro de Analisis de Ciclo de Vida y Diseño Sustentable (Mexico)

Progress in Development of a Chinese LCA Platform Wang Hongtao

Harmonization of life-cycle inventory in Brazil Tássia Viol Moretti, Cássia Maria Lie Ugaya

The International Reference Life Cycle Data System Miguel Brandao, David W. Pennington, Rana Pant, Ugo Pretato, Marc Wolf, Kirana Chomkhamsri, Malgorzata Goralczy




Progress in Development of a Chinese LCA Platform

Hongtao Wang*, Sichuan University

Yongguang Zhu, ITKE Environmental Technology (Chengdu) Co., Ltd.

LCA related R&D in Sichuan University and ITKE, which aims at providing a platform for LCA research and application in China, is introduced. It includes development of a Chinese LCI database, establishment of Chinese EPD program (i.e. type III environmental declaration) as well as software development for LCA modeling, data collection, EPD program and Eco-design.

A comprehensive Chinese average LCI database is still missing, which is the biggest problem with LCA research and application in China. Dozens of unit processes of key energy carriers and materials have been investigated by Sichuan University. Then a life cycle of multi-industrial system comprising those processes was modeled with self-developed LCA software, eBalance. LCI results of those products can be derived from the model and used as background database for downstream product LCA studies. Meanwhile, a documentation format for data collection has been developed, which facilitates data collection work with traceable data sources, calculation routines, assumptions made, etc. and can be used by any database developers. Software for data collection is also under development.

EPD is a promising way to communicate life cycle information among producers and consumers. A Chinese EPD program has been established following the methodology of ISO 14025. A software suite, eDeclare, has been developed to support the full verification procedures and workflows of program operator, verifiers and producers. It can be used for carbon footprint label also. Development of EPDs for flat glass is introduced.

LCA is more and more applied in Eco-design practice to support environmental analyses and decisions. Quick modeling the life cycle of a product based on its design is a key issue in Eco-design. An IT solution for Eco-design workflow is proposed featuring with close collaboration between designers and LCA analysts.

Acknowledgement: This project is funded by Ministry of Science and Technology, China (2006BAC02A02)

* [email protected]




Harmonization of life-cycle inventory in Brazil

Tássia Viol Moretti*, UTFPR - Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná

Cássia Maria Lie Ugaya**, UTFPR - UniversidadeTecnológica Federal do Paraná

It is necessary to introduce environmental considerations in the aspects of industrial management practices for phases of production, marketing, use and end of life of a product, to get a substantial progress on the planet. Thus, reflections on life cycle are a way to address environmental issues and opportunities in a system and to evaluate a product and or a service system aiming to reduce potential environmental impacts on their life. Through life-cycle assessment (LCA), it is possible to study environmental aspects and impacts over the life of a product, from acquisition of raw materials, through production, use and disposal. There are databases of European, Japanese and U.S.A. origin to make an LCA, but they do not reflect the reality of the Brazilians characteristics, due to differences in the climate, average temperature, technologies of energy and production. Due to, it has increased the availability of life-cycle inventory (LCI) in Brazil. On the other side, these lists do not have the same scope, making it impractical for use in a single study. Because of the necessity for harmonization of life-cycle inventory (LCI), Brazil opted to centralize the database of LCI and prepare their own inventories. In view of the extent of activities in the country, the objective of this study is to define the priority lists to be made. Thus, first data had been collected from main industries in Brazil and found those with high potential for environmental impacts.

* [email protected] ** [email protected]




The International Reference Life Cycle Data System

Miguel Brandao*, EC

David W. Pennington, EC Rana Pant, EC

Ugo Pretato, EC Marc Wolf, EC

Kirana Chomkhamsri, EC Malgorzata Goralczy, EC

The concept of Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) helps to avoid the possibility of resolving one environmental problem while creating another, avoiding the so-called “shifting of burdens” from one part of the life cycle to another, among different types of impacts, among different regions of the world, and even among different generations. This concept is operationalised by the quantitative tool Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and standardised by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO 14040 series). LCA is increasingly recognized as one of the most advanced environmental systems analysis tools which has the potential for steering the global society towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Accordingly, a growing number of both leading businesses and public policy-makers integrate life-cycle approaches into the core of their modern environmental policies and related instruments. However, no commonly accepted system exists that complements the general framework provided by the ISO LCA standards for ensuring robust assessments enabled by consistent and reproducible life cycle data. As the life cycles of goods and services are interconnected through global supply-chains, markets, and end-of-life processes, coupled by an increasing number of conflicting LCA studies and the surfacing of misleading claims, the need for a common, globally harmonised guidance for compatible and quality-assured LCAs arises. Driven by the need to guarantee quality and reliability of life cycle based studies and instruments for reliable decision support in public policy and business, the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) is being developed, which supports the availability, exchange and use of coherent and quality-assured life cycle data, methods and studies. The ILCD consists primarily of a Handbook and a Data Network. The Handbook is a series of technical guidance documents developed through peer review and consultation in line with the ISO standards, and the Data Network provides consistent and quality-assured data from different organisations that are compliant with the ILCD Handbook requirements. This paper gives an overview of the ILCD.

* [email protected]

Biofuel – Ethanol

5 International Ballroom C


Session chair: Carina Alles

Life Cycle Assessment of Wood Hemicellulosic Bio-Ethanol Rachel Bowman, Anthony Halog

Consequential LCA of a 2nd generation biofuel made from willow Shirley Fagnen, Pascal Lesage, Ralph Rosenbaum, Réjean Samson

Do Cover Crops and Lignin-land Application Improve the life cycle of corn stover-based ethanol? Sabrina Spatari, Paul R. Adler, Stephen J. Del Grosso, Gregory W. Roth

Life Cycle Assessment in Support of the Commercialization of Cellulosic Ethanol Robin Jenkins, Carina Alles, Jamie Ginn, Bruce Vrana, Robert Sylvester, Chris Johnas, Susan Hennessey

Biofuel – Ethanol



Life Cycle Assessment of Wood Hemicellulosic Bio-Ethanol

Rachel Bowman*, University of Maine Anthony Halog**, University of Maine

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a commonly accepted technique for determining the environmental sustainability of a product or process. The goal of this research is to complete a cradle to gate LCA of wood based hemicellulosic bio-ethanol from a modified Kraft mill that produces pulp and paper using Eco-LCA, Open LCA, and commercial SimaPro software. The system boundary of this study may change depending on data availability. An LCA of wood based bio-ethanol has already been achieved using SimaPro, but such LCA technique only accounts for emissions and non-renewable resources. Other LCA programs consider land usage in their evaluation, and end-point impact assessments also exist that incorporate multiple factors. Eco-LCA and Open LCA are newly developed models that offer a more complete approach to LCA. Eco-LCA, a free LCA model available to the public, considers ecosystem goods and services, referred to as natural capital, which accounts for the environmental impact of a process on natural goods and services such as water, soil, wood, and grass. Eco-LCA uses an input-output model to assess a system, resulting in a more comprehensive outlook that requires only simple resource input data, rather than specific information about the emissions from individual processes. SimaPro requires setting a boundary for the types of factors that will be included in the LCA and specific emissions data from each individual process, therefore potentially yielding different results than the Eco-LCA evaluation. The results of Eco-LCA and Open LCA will be compared to the results of SimaPro LCA, particularly in green house gas emissions and net energy consumption. The discrepancies between the three models will be reported to determine the model that reflects better representation of the environmental impacts of bio-ethanol.

*[email protected]

**[email protected]

Biofuel – Ethanol



Consequential LCA of a 2nd generation biofuel made from willow

Shirley Fagnen*, CIRAIG Pascal Lesage, CIRAIG

Ralph Rosenbaum, CIRAIG Réjean Samson, CIRAIG

As a new feedstock for 2nd generation biofuel Salix (e.g. willow) are grown successfully in the province of Quebec. The main objective of this research is a complete evaluation of the environmental consequences of using this new biofuel before expanding it to large-scale production.

The study starts with an attributional LCA using a well-to-wheel approach. The results indicate that cellulosic ethanol produced in Quebec with this crop could be an environmentally preferable alternative to regular fuel.

To include indirect consequences of changing the use of land, a consequential LCA is carried out. Willow, as short rotation crop, displaces some corn cultivation in Quebec, which needs to be considered in the analysis. Present work consists of identifying the affected market and the marginal technologies/land use that would compensate the decrease in crop production due to the cultivation of Salix.

Following the methodology proposed by Schmidt 1, six scenarios are tested. They consider the displacement of 0,071 kg of corn in Canada, being the amount displaced due to growing willow needed for 1 pkm in a car using E100. The scenarios introduce the different potential consequences associated with this increase in demand by 1) increasing the surface in Canada, 2) increasing the yield in Canada, 3) displacing another crop (which needs to be compensated), importation from USA increasing 4) surface or 5) yield there), or 6) a combination of local production and importation. The affected processes have been identified and the economic and geographical data collected. The impacts are in the process of being evaluated. The probability of each scenario will be analysed to have a complete and generalised approach. This talk will present the resulting model and the results of the various scenarios.

References

1. Schmidt, 2008. System delimitation in agricultural consequential LCA.

*[email protected]

Biofuel – Ethanol



Do Cover Crops and Lignin-land Application Improve the life cycle

of corn stover-based ethanol?

Sabrina Spatari*, Drexel University/Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering

Paul R. Adler, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS), Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, University

Park, Pennsylvania 16802 USA Stephen J. Del Grosso, USDA-ARS, Soil Plant Nutrient Research Unit, Fort Collins,

Colorado 80526 USA Gregory W. Roth, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Penn State University

Biofuels derived from agricultural residues hold great promise as emerging sources of low carbon fuels because they do not compete for prime agricultural land, interfere with food production, or induce carbon emissions via indirect land use change (iLUC). Variability exists in the quantities of agricultural residue (e.g. corn stover) that can be reliably removed from agricultural soils due to differences in soil organic carbon (SOC) requirements in different growing regions of the U.S. and tillage practices. The quantity that can be sustainably removed could be enhanced through planting winter cover crops and returning lignin separated from the feedstock at the biorefinery to the land.

We compare the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of converting corn stover to ethanol using a stochastic life cycle model that accounts for model variable uncertainty in feedstock production and fuel conversion. Life cycle GHG emissions per unit of land (ha) may vary by region due to soil differences, existing land uses, and ethanol yield. We develop scenarios that investigate how cover crop planting and the decision to convert residual (carbon-rich) lignin and solids separated following feedstock pretreatment to electricity or to reapply it on agricultural land in order to restore SOC and thus remove large fractions (up to 70%) of stover for conversion to ethanol, which would displace greater quantities of gasoline, change life cycle GHG emissions significantly. Because of lignin’s slow decomposition, the carbon fraction of this component of lignocellulose should remain undigested in soils for longer periods than if fractions of stover complete with cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, were left on the land. Given the uncertainty of today’s conversion technology, and variability in ethanol yield, converting residual lignin to electricity avoids releasing more GHGs (3.5±0.9 g CO2 eq./ha/year) than does returning lignin to agricultural land (2.2±0.6 g CO2 eq./ha/year). With anticipated improvements in ethanol yield through pilot scale testing, the balance of avoided GHG emissions could shift in favor of land application of lignin due to greater displacement of gasoline fuel. We hypothesize that under both scenarios, cover crop planting enhances gasoline displacement thereby allowing for greater net displacement of GHG emissions and additionally improves SOC.

*[email protected]

Biofuel – Ethanol



Life Cycle Assessment in Support of the Commercialization of Cellulosic Ethanol

Robin Jenkins*, DuPont

Carina Alles, DuPont Jamie Ginn, DuPont

Bruce Vrana, DuPont Robert Sylvester, DuPont

Chris Johnas, DuPont Susan Hennessey, DuPont

In 2008, DuPont and Genencor, a division of Danisco, formed the joint venture DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC (DDCE), with the mission to accelerate the development of commercial scale biorefineries, create value for the renewable fuels and agricultural industries, and lead the way toward a low-carbon economy (www.ddce.com). Current research and development efforts in the DDCE cellulosic ethanol program focus on optimized process design for the conversion of cellulosic biomass to ethanol.

When life cycle assessment is integrated with process development early in a biofuel research and development program, environmental benefits and consequences of business and technology choices can be thoroughly evaluated. The DDCE is using life cycle assessment as a scientific decision support technique to quantify the environmental implications of various biorefinery process, feedstock, and integration options. Through the use of LCA, we see that cellulosic ethanol has the potential to provide a sustainable solution to the nation’s growing concerns around energy security and climate change.

* [email protected]

LCA

10 International Ballroom D-E


Session chair: John Jewell

Normative implications of LCA Jan Paul Lindner, Bastian Wittstock, Oliver Schuller

"Close Enough for LCA": Numbers, Consensus, and Consequences for Life Cycle Assessment Paul Chalmer

Reusing Wastewater in Power Plant Cooling Towers: Hybrid and Social LCA Briana Niblick, David Dzombak, Radisav Vidic, Amy Landis

A case study on multi-impact life cycle assessment of coffee alternatives Sebastien Humbert, Vincent Rossi, Manuele Margni, Olivier Jolliet, Carole Dubois, Yves Loerincik

Comparative environmental LCA on water treatment plants Christian Bouchard, Alexandre Bonton, Stéphane Jedrzejak, Benoît Barbeau

LCA



Normative implications of LCA

Jan Paul Lindner*, Fraunhofer IBP, Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi)/University of

Stuttgart, Chair of Building Physics, Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi) Bastian Wittstock, University of Stuttgart - Chair for Building Physics / Fraunhofer

Institute for Building Physics/Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi) Oliver Schuller, University of Stuttgart, Dept. GaBi

Life Cycle Assessment methodology is perceived as scientific, objective, and descriptive. The approach can be explained to strangers in a couple of minutes and is pretty straightforward. Or is it? In fact, LCA is anything but objective and descriptive. Think about the numerous studies on the same topic that come to different conclusions (e.g. beverage containers, biofuels). Every serious practitioner knows that the definition of the system boundary, as well as allocation procedures, may severely influence the results of a study. LCA practitioners tend to shun away from assuming responsibility for the normative implications of their reports. After all, we’re only consultants, right? We provide information, but other people make decisions. But if these people come to us for counseling, precisely because they lack the expertise in a certain matter, their decision depends mostly on our judgment – the judgment we try to avoid making.

From an ethical point of view, LCA is not so much about environmental impacts, but more about responsibility. The underlying consensus is: If you buy this product, you assume responsibility for the environmental burden of its life cycle (and: environmental burdens are to be minimized). The very reason why people are interested in LCA is because they want to get advice on how to act - which product to buy, how to optimize their processes and where to place political incentives. Obviously, the method we all like to call objective has strong normative implications.

The debate on the integration of land use impacts in LCA is well suited as a starting point, because the normative implications are most obvious here, but the presentation will not be limited to land use. Allocation issues will also be tackled, since allocation is a field of endless discussion because there is no scientific answer to the “which” and “how” questions.

The presenter argues (1) that developers and practitioners need to be aware of the normative implications of their tool and face them pro-actively. (2) that as long as LCA remains scientific, i.e. as long as they the implications are seriously addressed, they do not diminish its use as a decision support tool. (3) that practitioners should openly state the implications of their results, because at the end of the day, to give an uncomfortable but honest answer is stronger than to avoid giving answers at all.

* [email protected]

LCA



"Close Enough for LCA": Numbers, Consensus, and Consequences

for Life Cycle Assessment

Paul Chalmer*, NCMS

It’s 2015, five years after the LCA Revolution, and LCA methods are now universally accepted. Two chemical engineers are designing a reactor vessel. Let’s listen in on their conversation.

“My calculation shows that the reactor will operate at 15 atmospheres.”

“That’s funny. My calculation says to expect 30 atmospheres. Are you sure you’re allocating the energy right between the ethylene and the propylene?”

“No problem with my allocation. I think you’ve got the wrong system boundaries.”

You get the idea. If engineers used LCA methods, we’d be in a world of trouble. But many of us think our current technological practices are moving us ever more deeply into that world of trouble. We’re counting on LCA methods to help us evaluate alternative paths forward.

The science and methodology of LCA have been under intense development for twenty years. It is the acknowledged gold standard for impact evaluation. Yet when it comes to establishing regulations or setting certification thresholds, LCA remains not ready for prime time. What’s the problem, and what do we do about it?

First, the problem: LCA has developed a body of practice suitable for determining the most representative number to evaluate the impact associated with carrying out a process. That work is still not complete, but for some of the more straightforward impact categories, we’re zeroing in on a reasonable level of agreement.

The problem is that finding those representative numbers is not the end of the journey. It is a significant milestone, and a giant step along the way. But we need to go further to progress from methodological coherence to political consensus.

We’ll look at one possible way forward, understanding that LCA numbers are not engineering numbers. We’ll see how we can calculate, using system level data, a companion number to every “most representative” LCA number, representing variability. From these two numbers, we generate a maximum (worst acceptable) and a minimum (best viable) impact. And we’ll look at some evidence that this approach gives us an effective place to start in formulating the political consensus needed to turn LCA results into policy.

* [email protected]

LCA



Reusing Wastewater in Power Plant Cooling Towers:

Hybrid and Social LCA

Briana Niblick*, University of Pittsburgh David Dzombak, Carnegie Mellon University

Radisav Vidic, University of Pittsburgh Amy Landis, University of Pittsburgh

Although much research has been conducted regarding wastewater reclamation and reuse, only a tiny portion of this research has considered LCA. This lack of comprehensive systems analysis is concerning when one considers the current and future issues of water scarcity. There have long been predictions of severe drought and water resource competition, both of which will have significant impacts on power generation since power plants require large amounts of water to function. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts nearly a 22% increase in capacity of thermoelectric generation between 2005 and 2025, but the water shortage is expected to impede the development of thermoelectric power generation. 1 Since much of the water is required for power plant cooling processes and since such water is becoming scarce, alternative sources of water must be identified.

One of the most widely available alternative sources is treated municipal wastewater. Due to potentially overly conservative water quality concerns, however, power plants that currently use recycled wastewater either significantly dilute or further treat the effluent upon entering the cooling towers to minimize the effects of corrosion, biofouling, and scaling. Determining an effective and environmentally favorable chemical treatment regimen requires careful balance among chemical choice, dosage, and evaluation of side effects. This study therefore addresses the questions: 1) how is the wastewater best handled prior to entering the cooling towers and 2) how do the prospective chemical treatment regimens compare with one another in terms of environmental and overall system impacts. Given the necessary chemical and technical data, these questions can be evaluated through the application of hybrid LCA.

Chemistry, however, is not the only concern here. This study also considers social impacts of wastewater reuse by means of literature review and collection of survey data. Both the social perceptions of the local community, as well as the perceived barriers to implementation from the plants’ perspectives are incorporated into the LCA framework. By combining social, chemical, and process data, this study aims to provide a holistic assessment of the power plant cooling system and analyses to inform future system decisions.

References

1. US Department of Energy. (2006). “Annual energy outlook 2006 with projections to 2030.” Retrieved November 11, 2008.

* [email protected]

LCA



A case study on multi-impact life cycle assessment

of coffee alternatives

Sebastien Humbert, Quantis Vincent Rossi, Quantis

Manuele Margni, Quantis Olivier Jolliet, Quantis

Carole Dubois*, Quantis Yves Loerincik, Quantis

This work aims 1) to identify critical environmental issues and responsibilities along the entire life cycle chain of three coffee alternatives: the spray dry coffee, drip filter coffee and capsule espresso coffee 2) and to compare them. This screening life cycle assessment (LCA) specifically uses foreground data obtained directly from the coffee manufacturers and the suppliers. Aside from energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the ‘water footprint’ is also studied in detail, including regionalization of water impacts based on the ecological scarcity method 2006. Other impact categories are analyzed using the IMPACT 2002+ LCIA methodology. The overall LCA results for a 1 dl cup of spray dried soluble coffee amounts approximately to 1 MJ of primary non-renewable energy consumption, to emissions of 0.7 kg of CO2-eq, and between 3 and 10 liters of non-turbined water use, depending on whether or not the coffee cultivation is irrigated and wet treated. When considering turbined water (water turbined in hydropower dams to produce electricity, in kg of water), use can be up to 400 liters of water per cup. Pouch - and to a lesser extent metal can packaging alternatives - show lower environmental burdens than glass or sticks. The defined functional unit for a cup of coffee (1 dl) can be discussed according to the function. On average, one half of the environmental footprint occurs at a life cycle stage under the control of the coffee producer or its suppliers (i.e., during cultivation, treatment, processing, packaging up to distribution, along with advertising) and the other half at a stage controlled by the user (shopping, appliance manufacturing, use and waste disposal). Key environmental parameters of the spray dried soluble coffee are the amount of extra water boiled and the efficiency of cup cleaning during use phase, whether the coffee is irrigated or not, as well as the type and amount of fertilizer used in the coffee field. The packaging contributes 10% of the overall life cycle impacts. Compared to the other coffee alternatives, the spray dried soluble coffee uses less energy and has a lower environmental footprint than capsule espresso coffee or drip filter coffee, the latter having the greatest environmental impact on a per cup basis. This study shows that a broad LCA approach is needed to help industry to minimize the environmental burdens directly related to their products. Including all processes of the entire system is necessary i) to get a comprehensive environmental footprint of the product system with respect to sustainable production and consumption, ii) to share responsibility with shareholders along the entire product life cycle, and iii) to avoid problem shifting between different life cycle stages.

* [email protected]

LCA



Comparative environmental LCA on water treatment plants

Christian Bouchard*, Laval University

Alexandre Bonton, Laval University Stéphane Jedrzejak, Laval University

Benoît Barbeau, Polytechnique Montréal

The production of drinking water from fresh surface water generally involves several processes. The latter could be physical, chemical or both, thus requiring energy consumption and chemical dosing which have some global environmental impacts. In addition to conventional criteria as costs and performances, these environmental impacts, as well as those of plant construction and decommissioning, should be taken into account in the choice of water treatment processes. However, little information is available about those global environmental impacts, especially for new water treatment processes and for the North American context.

The objective of the present study is to do a comparative Environmental Life Cycle Analysis (ELCA) on two water treatment plants, an enhanced conventional one and a nanofiltration (NF) plant. The interest in conducting such a comparative study is that these two plants are very different in nature: the conventional treatment involves several chemical dosing whereas the NF plant mainly requires electric energy to operate the membrane filtration units.

One real NF plant was chosen and investigated in much detail, including the operation and construction phases. This plant is located in the Northern part of the province of Quebec and has been in operation for over 10 years. A virtual, but realistic, conventional plant was designed for comparative purpose. This virtual case was developed from known design rules, process models and from data originating from similar existing plants. This allows building a virtual plant which treat the same raw water and provide the same treated water quality, making the comparison possible.

The regional context was taken into account as much as possible to get realistic data for the ELCA which was performed using SimaPro software for inventory and analysis phases. The study reveals very different impacts for the two plants, emphasizing the importance of the choice of water treatment chemicals, and brings some new information about the ELCA of NF modules.

* [email protected]

Tuesday Posters

16 International Pre-function

Tuesday lunch

The importance of selecting relevant impact categories and

alignment of LCIA methods with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Reporting Categories

Thomas Gloria*, Life-Cycle Services/Bainbridge Graduate Institute

International awareness and application of life cycle assessment (LCA) as an objective framework and method to assess true environmental and human health impacts has grown substantially in the advent of the new millennium. The framework of LCA, a holistic system based approach to identify and assess impacts associated with products, processes and services, is readily understood and widely supported. In practice, the methods that underlie the interpretation of impacts are deficient in scope of the relevant impacts that have been identified in the broader aspects of sustainability and ecosystem services.

The purpose of this presentation is twofold: first, to bring awareness to the importance of selecting relevant and appropriate impact categories when conducting life cycle assessment studies; second, to present an approach to align the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods to a broader, worldwide perspective that includes the concerns of both developed and developing nations. As such, the proposed approach to alignment is based on the UNEP Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Framework.

Key benefits include the promotion of a global consensus by researchers and policy makers; a means of integration with the broader international community of sustainability experts in government, industry and non-governmental organizations; and most important achieve a means of validating the efforts to raise human well-being and reduce abject poverty through life cycle assessment based on the work and comprehensive data and analysis that has been done through the MA efforts. * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

Determination of empirical allocation measures

for non-ferrous metals

Thomas Gloria*, Life-Cycle Services/Bainbridge Graduate Institute

Forthcoming work by key constituents in the ferrous and non-ferrous metals industry achieved consensus on applicable metals recycling mapping, allocation approaches and the identification of harmonized metrics. 1

The aim of Dubreuil et al. was to present guidance on the application of ISO 14044 to allocation procedures for metal recycling. As such, graphical patterns of metal recycling and generic “rules” for metal recycling maps were developed for copper, zinc and nickel.

This work applies the consensus generic metals recycling maps as absorbing Markov chains to determine empirically based allocation parameters for metals recycling for the non-ferrous metals of copper, zinc, and nickel. Markov chains, named after the mathematician, Andrey Markov, are stochastic mathematical representations of systems, typically expressed in graphical the form as a diagraph. A system with Markov properties has future states that depend only on present states, and are independent of past states. Markov chains are an elegant approach to describing complex systems such as global metals flows, hence can be readily applied to metals recycling to determine appropriate levels of allocation.

References

1. Metals Recycling Maps and Allocation Procedures in Life Cycle Assessment * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

Life Cycle Assessment of Wood Chips for Biofuels Production

Binod Neupane*, University of Maine Anthony Halog, University of Maine

Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels is an important strategy promoted by oil consuming countries, notably the US. Biofuels is deemed important to mitigate climate change and address the issues pertaining to depleting petroleum resource stocks. The US government has plans to produce 36 billion gallons of bio-ethanol and is expected to replace 30 percent of fossil fuels by 2022. Out of the target production, 21 billion gallons of biofuels need to be cellulosic ethanol. In 2005, US produced 3.9 billion gallons of bioethanol which was mostly produced from corn. Current bioethanol production contributes about 2% to the total US transportation fuel consumption. To achieve this target, production should grow by at least ten times. Recent studies have shown that wood chips can supply about 14 million tons of hemicellulose annually, along with co-production of pulp. In relative terms, net GHG emissions using cellulosic ethanol can be reduced by 3 times than the net GHG emissions from corn-based bio-ethanol. Wood chips warrants in depth separate LCA study since most of the published biofuels studies have not considered this stage to be a potential major environmental impact, which might affect the veracity of complete cradle to gate LCA results.

The objective of this research is to assess the potential environmental life cycle impacts and resource consumption in producing woodchips for biofuels production. This is from cradle to gate analysis (from trees to woodchips). The Eco-Indicator 99 based LCA method was employed to evaluate the potential environmental and resource depletion impacts. Emissions to air, water and land in wood chips production are assessed in different stages. Data used are primarily based on available literature and life cycle inventories databases (Eco- Invent 2.0 and Franklin-98). The functional unit used in this study is to produce one million BTU energy of bio-ethanol which is equivalent to 2.303 tons of wood chips needed. Our initial results show that seedling production and tree harvest stages contribute the highest amount of GHG emissions from trees to wood chips. Data analysis revealed that fossil fuel consumption and respiratory inorganic effects have relatively the most significant impact to the environment. * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

Modeling Hydrogen Production Costs with LCA-based Methods

Bastian Wittstock*, University of Stuttgart - Chair for Building Physics / Fraunhofer

Institute for Building Physics/Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi) Oliver Schuller, University of Stuttgart, Dept. GaBi

Monika Kentzler, Daimler AG Michael Faltenbacher, PE INTERNATIONAL GmbH

Matthias Fischer, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics/Department Life Cycle Engineering

Costs are major market drivers for the installation of new technologies. The identification of such drivers is one question for Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to answer. One example, where a specifically adjusted LCC approach addresses an area of high relevance for the forecast of technological development is the implementation of hydrogen as a road vehicle fuel.

The task to accomplish hereby is to identify and remove major technological barriers. Different cost models provide bases for tackling this challenge. In the United States, with the “H2A studies”, a sophisticated hydrogen cost calculation model exists, focusing on economic boundary conditions. In Europe, the “E3database” of the “Hyways” research project provides similar analyses.

The European research project HyFLEET:CUTE of the “6th Framework Programme” performed cost analyses, using a modeling approach that stems from LCA. Here, cost structures have been set up in an LCA modeling environment, providing a technical basis of hydrogen costs. This includes the use of unit processes and flows – representing cost contributions, not mass or energy flows – the use of parameters to allow for user interaction into the model and the model layout in a hierarchical structure. The model is set up in a way to distinguish between costs for hydrogen production, for monitoring purposes and for means of purification.

Based on this technical cost structure, the influence of different elements of small scale production units on hydrogen costs is assessed. Special focus is hereby directed to the question of purity requirements on hydrogen as vehicle fuel and the impacts on costs through different purity requirements. The model can be used by the industry partners to identify the cost-related barriers in their respective area of engagement to analyze the possibilities of hydrogen as an energy carrier. The model is also used to compare the cost calculations of HyFLEET:CUTE with the results of the U.S. model of the H2A studies.

The presentation will lay out, how the principles and mechanisms of LCA modeling are used to perform this technology-based cost analysis and it will compare cost results of the HyFLEET:CUTE project with H2A hydrogen cost results and the E3database results. * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

TEA - Total environmental assessment,

boundaries and rebound effects

Philip F Henshaw*, HDS systems design science

Locating impact boundaries within systems involves understanding the spread of effects that either dissipate or multiply. That may vary as natural systems either grow, and so multiply local effects, or climax when the environment begins to respond by providing resistance and cause local effects to dissipate instead. The difference is not a matter of what the small changes directly “cause”, exactly, but in how the environment responds.

A major uncertainty for LCA is estimating the ‘true’ boundaries of these impacts, including estimating their micro-economic and macro-economic rebound effects. LCA measures presently do not include an assessment of these known types of impacts that are not individually accountable because they depend on environmental responses beyond view. The most immediate one is that LCA does not yet included the impacts of providing the information and services to operate product delivery technology, the impacts of the human technology that runs things. It also omits the rebound effect of improving efficiencies on one thing promoting the growth of impacts for others. The hazard is that overlooking the category of environmental response impacts gives clients misinformation about ‘the impact’ of their decisions.

The need, then, is to search for answerable aspects of these questions while acknowledging the unanswerable ones. The “accountable” environmental response impacts start with ones that can be estimated statistically. For example, energy is traded globally and so tends to trade at a single price. All products also compete to minimize energy use and, if you count human services, have especially wide distributions of kinds of embodied inputs. That implies most spending has average energy impact, and the global energy intensity of GDP is a good starting point for the boundary of energy impacts of individual expenditures. That becomes highly informative as a basis for estimate refinement. It helps indicate how much the direct accounting methods leave uncounted, as the implied global share of all impacts is often very different from the observed local measure of direct impacts.

The session would be about just framing these kinds of whole system models. What you get is TEA (Total Environmental Assessment) , a first step toward accessing the impacts of human services as well as of creating or relieving bottlenecks in the larger economy with spreading secondary effects. Doing this requires both a strategy and a way of linking embodied impacts for different kinds of measures (some way to add ‘apples’ and ‘oranges’) so each metric can retain its independent definition, connect to others, and all improve the measure of the whole. * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional and

Environmentally Preferable Green Seal Certified Cleaning Product

Nana Takyi Wilberforce*, Green Seal

The goal of this study was to compare the environmental impacts of environmentally preferable cleaning products, those that meet the Green Seal standards, and conventional cleaning products. As a basis comparison, the functional unit of the study was 100 pounds of cleaner. Using the Ecoindicator-99 model, the impact categories examined included respiratory inorganics, acidification, eutrophication, fossil fuels, ecotoxicity, carcinogens, land use and climate change.

Normalized results show that the most dominating impact categories for the cleaning products were: land use, respiratory inorganics and fossil fuels. Between the Green Seal certified and conventional industrial and institutional cleaners, the conventional cleaner was identified as having the highest environmental impact in all impact categories analyzed. The high impact of the conventional cleaner can be explained by the high amount of energy and resources used in producing the chemical components and the product of the conventional cleaner. Packaging alone (package/product ratio, packaging material) contributed significantly to the high environmental impacts for the conventional cleaners.

The comparative life cycle assessment performed in this study showed that the environmentally preferable cleaning product, a product that meets the Green Seal standards, is the best choice when considering environmental impacts. * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

Shifting the Environmental Performance Standard within an

Industry: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Hand Drying Methods

Jon Dettling*, Quantis

Manuele Margni, Quantis

Prior efforts to examine the comparative environmental performance of hand drying systems for public buildings have often led to inconclusive results, with electric dryers and paper towels performing within a close margin. The entry into the market of high-performance electric hand dryers shows a potential to for a significant improvement in this sector. For example, the XLERATOR hand dryer uses less than a quarter of the electricity per use in comparison to conventional electric dryers.

To examine the comparative performance of these next-generation electric hand dryers, a life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted to compare: 1) the high-efficiency XLERATOR dryer, 2) a standard hand dryer and 3) paper towel systems (including with and without recycled paper fiber). The LCA examines the full environmental impacts occurring over the life cycle of each system and includes several sensitivity tests to examine the dependence of the study results to the assumptions made. For example, multiple rates of usage, electricity sources and allocation procedures have been tested. Environmental impacts are considered in the categories of climate change, energy use, water use, human health, ecosystem quality and resource depletion.

The results indicate a substantial environmental advantage for the high-efficiency XLERATOR hand dryer in comparison to both conventional hand dryers and paper towel systems. The sensitivity tests show that the direction of this outcome is not highly sensitive to the assumptions made or to conditions of use. The results provide an example of how technical innovations and advances are able to revolutionize the standards for life cycle environmental performance within an industry. This presentation will show the results of the comparative LCA and discuss the sensitivity tests that were applied to test the conditionality of the findings. * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

A System Dynamics Approach to

Sustainable Supply Chains of Bio-fuels

Shashi Dhungel*, University of Maine, Orono Anthony Halog**, University of Maine

Alternative energy development pressure has spurred primarily from the concerns of sustainability, environmental degradation and energy independence. Investment decisions on alternative energy have never been so promising before. In 2007, United States consumption of petroleum products stood at 20 million barrels/day of which about 12 million barrels were imported. This reliance on import insinuates the vulnerability of Americans’ life and economy in case of any oil embargo like that of 1973. In order to make the country energy independent Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) was enacted. EISA mandates the production of 36 billion gallons of qualifying credits from bio-fuels by 2022 of which 21 billion gallons needs to be produced from non-cornstarch products. Though deemed long lasting and renewable, energy production from bio-mass in itself is not sustainable. Bio-products adeptness to produce large amount of fuels needs further scrutiny. Forest is a complex system that functions and maintains human well-being by providing social, economical and environmental opportunities. Unsustainable exploitation of biomass could result in non-linear and very uncertain behavior of the forest system triggering more ills than goods. We have used the System Dynamic concept to model feedstock supply. A valid working prototype is developed for scenario analysis to assess whether the emerging conversion technologies using the available forest feedstock can really contribute towards meeting the development of sustainable bio-fuels supply chain. This project created a decision support system to model dynamically the interplay among environmental and socio-economic benefits/impacts of wood-based products and processes in the emerging bio-energy markets. The prototype developed can serve as a template to analyze bio-fuel technologies and supply chains that are developing in other regions. This prototype serves as a fore sighting tool that can be used to forecast the future trends in the availability of energy tree crops and assess the impacts of chemical conversion technologies in bio-fuels industry to support greenhouse gas reduction target. This tool could suggest what optimal technology and feedstock mix to choose to sustainably develop bio-industry sector. * [email protected] ** [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

LCA Case Study of Coloration of Synthetic Textiles

Jeff Yorzyk*, Five Winds International

Margaret Zahller, PE Americas Paul Raybin, Colorep

An innovative process for coloration of synthetic textiles has been developed that minimizes water use and significantly lowers energy use when compared to traditional processes. It uses a proprietary transfer process that infuses the fibers of a fabric with color such that bleach application will not affect the colorfast properties of the dye. In addition, the new process does not require large run volumes, enabling unit production and significantly reducing waste generation due to out-of-fashion or “overstock” materials. This paper describes the ISO 14040 compliant, critically reviewed LCA study that was conducted to evaluate the environmental impact of this coloration method and the associated upstream processes, and to compare it to traditional processes.

The new coloration process can be used in multiple product sectors, and two product types were assessed: a synthetic textile colored to a solid color throughout and a synthetic textile imprinted with a pattern on one side. The traditional processes that were examined were continuous wet dye application and rotary screen printing. GaBi 4 Software was used to assess these products based on primary energy demand, water consumption, global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential.

Cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment results demonstrate that the new process has a lower environmental impact across many inventory and impact categories, including primary energy demand and water use. The results also show that the environmental impact of the new coloration method is concentrated in a few process steps and source materials, which can be areas of focus for further improvement in environmental performance. This information has been used to support customer communications materials, including an environmental production declaration-like document, that competitively position the technology in multiple product sectors. * [email protected]

Tuesday Posters


Tuesday lunch

Life Cycle Assessment of Starch Foam:

Thermopressing versus Extrustion Processes

Natália Naime*

Patricia Ponce**, IPEN Gil Silva, University of Sao Paulo Ademar Benévolo Lugão, IPEN

The styrofoam, corporate name of expanded polystyrene, is a synthetic polymer that comes from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. This polymer is often used to produce packaging, even though it is not biodegradable; therefore it can lead up to 150 years to putrefy itself. It leads to an irreversible buildup of municipal solid waste causing fouling of beaches, scarring of landscapes, and several problems to marine life [1]. One of the current concerns with the environment is the accumulated packaging of the not degradable plastics. It creates a great expectation for more ecological and economically viable alternatives to minimize the environmental impact. Several materials from agricultural resources have been used to produce renewable biodegradable, and edible packaging, frequently called agricultural or agropackaging materials, as STARCH [2]. This work reports the influence of plasticizers on the barrier properties (water absorption) [3] and mechanical properties (compression resistance and flexibility) of foamed articles based on cassava starch. The starch foam was obtained by thermopressing [4][5] and extrusion (twin-screw extruder) processes [6], both based in heat treatments at different conditions. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and glycerol were selected as plasticizers and water was necessary for the the foams preparation. The environmental performance of both different techniques of starch foams production (extrusion process and thermopressing process) were compared using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The mechanical properties of starch foams are influenced by the plasticizer concentration. The results showed that glycerol was an excellent plasticizer for starch. An increase in plasticizer content showed a considerable increase in elongation percentage and a decrease of the foams tensile strength; also increased the permeability of the foams in water. * [email protected]

Regional life cycle impact assessment

characterization models 1 & 2


Tuesday afternoon

Special session coordinators:

Shanna Shaked, University of Michigan, Applied Physics

Sebastien Humbert, Quantis

Regionalization is recognized as an important step towards improving the accuracy and precision of life cycle assessment (LCA) results, thereby increasing its discriminatory power for comparative assessments. Many types of damage, such as acidification or (eco-)toxicological impacts on humans and ecosystems, often occur as regional or local impacts, making it important to evaluate them as a function of where the emission takes place. By regionalizing such impacts, decision-makers can have greater confidence in the non-global impacts presented in the LCA.

This session aims at addressing the state of the art in the development of regional life cycle impact assessment characterization models, addressing a wide range of impact categories related to human health and ecosystems, resource use and depletion, and social issues.

To motivate the need for regionalization of impact assessment, the first half begins with a talk addressing regionalization of life cycle inventories and the subsequent differences in impacts due to region of emission. This will be followed by presentations of recent developments and applications of general spatial impact assessment methods for human health, including an application to emerging biofuels.

The second half will focus on regionalization in specific impact categories, including acidification and eutrophication. Regionalization in the expanding field of water use impact assessment will also be discussed. Finally, because social issues clearly vary among regions, the most recent developments in regionalized social LCA are presented.

Geographical extrapolation of crop life cycle inventories and impacts Thomas Nemecek, Agroscope Anne Roches, Frank Hayer, Daniel U. Baumgartner, Gérard Gaillard, Sarah Sim, Llorenç Milà i Canals

GLOBOX: a spatially differentiated global fate, intake and effect model for LCA – results for nitrobenzene Reinout Heijungs




Tuesday afternoon

Spatial variability and optimal regional scale for intake fractions linked to a Canadian emission Rima Manneh, Manuele Margni, Louise Deschênes

Regionalization of life cycle impact assessment: geographic differentiation vs archetypes Sebastien Humbert, Quantis

A Life Cycle Impact Assessment Framework for Characterizing Human Health Benefits and Impacts from Emerging Biofuels Agnes Lobscheid, Thomas McKone

Estimation of regional characterization factors for aquatic eutrophication Alejandro Gallego, Luis Rodríguez, Almudena Hospido, Mª Teresa Moreira, Gumersindo Feijoo

Regionalisation of Ecosystem Sensitivity for Acidification: From the Local to the Global Scale Pierre-Olivier Roy, Manuele Margni, Louise Deschênes

Spatial and temporal characterization factors for ground-level ozone Robert Ries

Capability and challenges of regionalized LCIA: the water case Stephan Pfister, Annette Koehler, Stefanie Hellweg

Regionalisation of impacts from water use Anne-Marie Boulay

Integration of LCIA and ERA for the assessment of contaminated sediment remediation options Michael Ditor




Tuesday afternoon

Geographical extrapolation of crop life cycle inventories and

impacts Thomas Nemecek, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station

Anne Roches, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station Frank Hayer, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station

Daniel U. Baumgartner, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station Gérard Gaillard, Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station Sarah Sim, Unilever - Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre

Llorenç Milà i Canals, Unilever - Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre

With the increasing use of LCA for life cycle management in the food sector and the globalisation of the latter, there is a strong demand for specific data on agricultural products originating from various regions of the world. A detailed data collection for each situation is not feasible for each food ingredient from each producing country. There is a need to derive generic LCA data describing averages and variability over a wide range of situations. As a first step, we developed a method for geographical extrapolation of crop life cycle inventories and impacts.

A modular crop LCA model was built, by splitting the LCA into nine modules: a basic cropping module (encompassing the minimum operations and inputs to grow a crop), variable machinery usage, tillage, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus fertilisation, plant protection, irrigation and product drying. Each of the modules is driven by a single parameter that can be relatively easily found for any studied situation (e.g. a farm; a country; a group of countries…). In case such parameters are not available for a given situation, we developed a model to estimate the parameters from FAOSTAT data for any country growing a given crop. Therefore it is possible to calculate crop impacts for any producing country as well as global / regional average impacts and their variability. The validation of the model with crop and country specific data from the ecoinvent database (ecoinvent Centre, 2007) gives a relatively good fit for the energy demand, global warming potential, ozone formation potential, but is less reliable for acidification potential, eutrophication potential (due to soil and climate dependence of the emissions) and ecotoxicity potentials (due to lack of detailed data on pesticide use). The results reveal the huge variability in impacts between different countries for the same crop. By using the underlying variability of agricultural management parameters, we found that, depending on the crop, N fertilisation and irrigation are the key parameters driving most of the impacts; furthermore pesticide application dominates the toxicity impacts. The method can be applied to estimate global median impacts and their variability, as well as for the assessments of crop production in a larger group of countries. The main results are the impacts per input unit for each module, the amount of the inputs used for the world production as well as for each country and the related median impacts, together with their statistical distribution.




Tuesday afternoon

GLOBOX: a spatially differentiated global fate, intake and effect

model for LCA – results for nitrobenzene

Reinout Heijungs, Leiden University

GLOBOX is a model for the calculation of spatially differentiated LCA toxicity characterisation factors on a global scale. It can also be used for risk characterisation purposes. The GLOBOX model contains equations for the calculation of fate, intake and effect factors, and equations for the calculation of LCA characterisation factors for human toxicity and ecotoxicity. The model is differentiated on the level of 239 countries/territories and 50 seas. Each region has its own set of homogeneous compartments, and regions are interconnected by atmospheric and aquatic flows. Multimedia transport and degradation calculations are largely based on the EUSES 2.0 multimedia model, and are supplemented by specific equations to account for advective air and water transport between different co untries and/or seas. Metal-specific equations are added to account for speciation in fresh and marine surface water. Distribution parameters for multimedia transport equations are differentiated per country/territory or sea with respect to geographic features, hydrology, and climate. The model has been tested with nitrobenzene as a test chemical, for emissions to all countries/territories in the world. Spatially differentiated characterisation factors turn out to show wide ranges of variation between countries, especially for releases to inland water and soil compartments. Geographic position, distribution of lakes and rivers and variations in environmental temperature and rain rate are decisive parameters for a number of different characterisation factors. Population density and dietary intake play central roles in the variation of characterisation factors for human toxicity. The countries that show substantial deviations from average values of the characterisation factors represent a significant part of global GDP. It is concluded that spatial differentiation between countries is an important step forward with respect to the improvement of LCA toxicity characterisation factors.




Tuesday afternoon

Spatial variability and optimal regional scale for intake fractions

linked to a Canadian emission Rima Manneh, CIRAIG

Manuele Margni, CIRAIG Louise Deschênes, CIRAIG

The human health impact score of a pollutant in LCIA is obtained by the product of the emitted mass, its intake fraction (iF) and effect factor. The iF is calculated as the mass fraction of the pollutant emitted that is taken by the population (Bennett et al. 2002). When developing intake fractions for human health impact assessment, one has to deal with uncertainty. One source of uncertainty comes from neglecting to acknowledge spatial variability of the iFs. Questions arise concerning the level of regionalisation needed in LCIA for toxicity impacts.

The multimedia and multi-pathways model IMPACT 2002 was used (Pennington et al. 2005). iFs were developed for the Canadian context, for the following spatial resolutions: ecozones (15), provinces (13) and sub-watersheds (172). Spatial variability was assessed within and across each type of resolution, in order to determine the optimal regional scale for the evaluation of human toxicity impacts. The overall spatial variability (ratio of highest to lowest iF) was much higher for the sub-watersheds resolution and was up to 10 orders of magnitude for water emissions of acephate and benomyl. The highest iFs were obtained for emissions within regions of high agricultural and animal production. The analysis indicated that the resolutions based on the ecozones and provinces were unappropriate, since they did not bring additional discrimination capabilities among different emission locations.




Tuesday afternoon

Regionalization of life cycle impact assessment: geographic

differentiation vs archetypes

Sebastien Humbert, Quantis

The regionalization of impacts in life cycle assessment is a topic of increasing interest. It can considerably increase confidence in results of ‘non-global’ impact categories, such as human health, ecotoxicity or water use. Regionalization reduces the uncertainty of generic characterization factors and enhances the accuracy of LCA. Several models have been developed to calculate characterization factors for specific regions in the world. However, because of the diversity and variations within each region, the number of situations required to calculate a specific characterization factor soon become computation and data intensive (e.g., regionalization based on country level already requires a calculation of about 200 CFs per pollutant and per media of emission). Rather than using specifi c global regions and sub-regions, another viable option is the approach of archetypes. This approach groups several regions with similar defining characteristics, such as population density (urban, rural, remote, etc.); ecoregions (temperate, tropical, boreal, arctic, etc.); water scarcity; etc. Such an approach can significantly reduce the number of regional characterization factors to be calculated, providing at the same time a simple and easy-to-implement solution for life cycle inventory modeling. To make this approach operational, different archetypes must be carefully defined and results must be compared with a geographically differentiated model to demonstrate to practitioners and decision makers that the results obtained with this approach are in line with a ‘true’ geographically regionalized approach.

Based on previous research focusing on regionalization, this work explores the discrepencies in results from the ‘true’ regionalized approach and the archetype approach for different impact categories (human toxicity, respiratory inorganics, ecotoxicity, and water use). For each of these categories, we propose a list of relevant archetypes and corresponding characterization factors, and we explain why the archetype approach proposes a practical solution toward addressing regionalization.

This approach uses a multi-criteria (i.e., different impact categories) analysis and will help life cycle assessment better address the issue of regionalization when considering extended supply chains.




Tuesday afternoon

A Life Cycle Impact Assessment Framework for Characterizing

Human Health Benefits and Impacts from Emerging Biofuels

Agnes Lobscheid, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Thomas McKone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Petroleum-based transportation fuels impose a significant disease burden. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) provides a framework that addresses both benefits and impacts from biofuels for a number of key impact categories--including human health. LCIA addresses the links among emissions, transport, human exposure, and health damage. We have adapted LCIA to evaluate health impacts of emerging biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol and butanol, relative to petroleum-based gasoline. This presentation describes the development of spatially resolved characterization factors (CFs) that yield important information on the human disease burden (expressed as disability adjusted life years, or DALYs) attributable to atmospherically emitted pollutants from the following life stages of petroleum-based and emerging bio-based transportation fuels—1) feedstock recovery/production; 2) transport to a fuel production facility; 3) fuel production/refining; 4) storage, transport and distribution of the fuel; and 5) fuel combustion (vehicle use). We use systems models that track the exchange of chemicals between air, water, soil, and plant compartments to provide fate and exposure factors. These factors combine to provide an intake fraction (iF). We combine the iF with chemical-specific effect factors to estimate spatially resolved CFs for human health impacts (DALYs per year) across all fuel life stages for: 1) the contiguous US; 2) a generic urban region; and 3) each US county. For gasoline, we find that the largest disease burden arises from primary and secondary particulate matter emissions during the vehicle-use stage. For gasoline VOC emissions, the majority of health damage occurs in large urban regions, and arises from fugitive emissions from service stations and local fuel distribution by truck. For cellulosic biofuels, we identify where emissions are likely to occur from the feedstock to vehicle use stages, and provide preliminary estimates of characterization factors. We estimate that a 10% reduction in gasoline use would avoid up to 20,000 DALYs per year in the US, primarily attributable to less primary and secondary particulate matter emitted from the vehicle use stage. We characterize the main sources of uncertainty in our impact estimates and prioritize information needs to better characterize the human health benefits and impacts of emerging biofuels.




Tuesday afternoon

Estimation of regional characterization factors for aquatic

eutrophication

Alejandro Gallego, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Santiago de Compostela Luis Rodríguez, Institute for Environment and Sustainability

Almudena Hospido, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Santiago de Compostela Mª Teresa Moreira, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Santiago de Compostela Gumersindo Feijoo, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Santiago de Compostela

LCA have been traditionally considered a site-independent tool, but nowadays there is a trend towards making LCA more site-dependent. Specifically for aquatic eutrophication, characterization factors have been reported for large geographical areas (mainly European and North American countries). Those factors are not detailed enough for countries which present large geographical, climatic and economical variability such as Spain. So, this work aims to calculate the characterization factors for aquatic eutrophication at a regional level, using Galicia (NW Spain) as a case study. Finally, the comparison of the factors here obtained with literature values have been used to analyse the influence of spatial differentiation along the causality chain.

Particular ecological and economic reasons justify the estimation of characterization factors in Galicia taking into account the specific characteristics of three different ecosystems: Atlantic Ocean, freshwaters and rias. Both the principal pathways of transport and the sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were considered to calculate the characterization factors. The analysis on uncertainty carried out identified the principal unsure values: the estimations of fractions of N-NHx and N-NOx deposited maritime waters, land and freshwaters and the amount of N and P deposited in the soil that reaches water ecosystems.

By comparing the results obtained with those available in the literature, it is clear that the application of transport factors in the calculation of characterization factors leads to a more realistic definition of aquatic eutrophication, especially when P inputs to the soil take place. When varying the spatial differentiation (continent, country or region), characterization factors do not vary significantly; however, this variation is likely to increase as long as the definition of the causality chain is improved as it has been reported for other impact categories. In this sense, the methodology here described can be adapted when those effect factors became available, being flexible and suitable for future applications in other regions.




Tuesday afternoon

Regionalisation of Ecosystem Sensitivity for Acidification: From the

Local to the Global Scale

Pierre-Olivier Roy, CIRAIG Manuele Margni, CIRAIG Louise Deschênes, CIRAIG

With the globalization of markets, assuming that the entire life cycle emissions of a product system occur within a specific geographical area (eg. Europe or Canada) is no longer a suitable assumption for regional impact categories, since the impact of a same elementary flow varies from an emission location to another. Furthermore, current LCIA approaches do not allow to consistently assess and compare emissions occurring from different continents as the characterization factors (CF) are obtained from different characterization models. Thus, a model covering a worldwide scale, but also able to account for local conditions needs to be developed to provide consistent regionalised CFs worldwide. This paper aims to set the basis for the development of a global characterization model able to consistently evaluate acidifying emissions at both the local and global scale for the acidification impact category. Fate factors are evaluated with the GEOSCHEM model. Ecosystem sensitivity was evaluated using the PROFILE steady-state model. Simulation comparison of ecosystem indicators (pH and/or BC/Al ratio) with the PROFILE model using coarse worldwide input parameters and field observations evolution of pH in the soil and/or critical load exceedence over a restrained region (quarter size of Europe) of North America, proved that it was possible to represent local field observations adequately or at least in a better way than available worldwide soil interpolation data. The proposed approach could also overcome the current limitations of the North American LCIA methods which do not consider ecosystem sensitivity.




Tuesday afternoon

Spatial and temporal characterization factors for

ground-level ozone

Robert Ries, University of Florida

Life cycle assessment impact characterization factors often do not consider the spatial and tempo-ral differences in environmental impact. These can be significant for those emissions whose impacts can vary with such regional factors as climate, land use, population density, or weather. The formation of ground-level ozone from tropospheric ozone precursors is one typical life cycle impact category where the spatial and temporal effects can be significant. This presentation will review a methodology for developing spatial and temporal life cycle impact assessment character-ization factors and demonstrate the approach using a case study of the production and use of bio-fuels in the United States.




Tuesday afternoon

Capability and challenges of regionalized LCIA: the water case

Stephan Pfister, ETH Zurich, IFU

Annette Koehler, ETH Zurich Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Zurich

Life cycle assessment is designed to facilitate comprehensive quantification of environmental impacts related to a product or service. However, spatial differences have been widely neglected in impact assessment so far. Especially in the case of water, global average impact factors make no sense as regional features of climate influence greatly the impact. Furthermore, vulnerabilities of ecosystems also vary considerably in space. To allow for proper impact assessment, regions have to be modelled individually or attributed to classes of defined features (archetypes). Recently, new data sources of relatively high spatial resolution and global coverage have become available for many relevant parameters and their quality is continuously increasing. Furthermore, technological development has led to simplified use of geographic information systems (GIS) and increased computer capacity facilitating integration of spatial differentiation into LCA. These advancements should be used for both, LCI and LCIA. We have developed regionalized models to calculate spatially explicit impact factors with global coverage for more than 10’000 watersheds for 3 different midpoints and applied them to simplified LCA of crop production and other water intensive industries. The results show the relevance of the location of an activity but also raise several questions related to regionalized LCIA, such as the question of scale: For different spatial resolutions, different concepts should be used and values of indicators are not fully comparable between different scales. As literature data often link to a certain scale, it is a challenge to adopt the insights consistently to the model resolution. Furthermore, different parameters are best modeled on different spatial scale and require compromises in the model design. From the data availability perspective, we are facing the issue of variable data quality leading to spatially varying modeling uncertainty: Regarding water consumption, in many of the most vulnerable regions data quality is poor and requires special attention in future research.




Tuesday afternoon

Regionalisation of impacts from water use

Anne-Marie Boulay, CIRAIG - École Polytechnique

Although freshwater only represents 2.5% of the planet’s water resources, and that less then 1% of this water is available for human use, this is still enough to fulfill all current human needs. Most problems are arising from the uneven spatial and temporal distribution of this resource. Through the project «Assessment of Freshwater Use and Consumption within LCA », accepted by the 2nd phase of the Life Cycle Initiative, a conceptual framework to characterize impacts of freshwater use was proposed. The methodology developing from this framework addresses regionalisation issues at several stages of the cause-effect chain leading either to a new mid-point impact category “Water Deprivation for Human uses” or to the use of backup technologies to compensate the lack of water. This paper shows how the impacts of water use vary from a re gion to another around the world and discusses the key parameters influencing the regionalisation.

The geographical location where water is being withdrawn and released is an important factor in characterizing the impacts from water use. This is reflected by six parameters taken into account in the proposed methodology.

1. The scarcity of the region will determine whether or not the use of water will change water availability for other users;

2. The regional distribution of water amongst the different users and 3. the local functionality of water for specific activities such as freshwater fishing or

hydropower will affect the degree of competition between users; 4. The socio-economic situation of the country, as monitored by the GDP for example,

offers an assessment of the adaptation capacity of users to a change in water availability : a country able to adapt to the lack of water will use backup technologies, which will generate different impacts than deprivation for human uses;

5. The leading desalination technology, which is chosen as backup technology for some of th e human uses;

6. The energy grid-mix, which will influence the impacts from the use of backup technologies.

A fictitious example is presented where water use impacts from the same pulp and paper plant are modeled for several localizations around the world.




Tuesday afternoon

Integration of LCIA and ERA for the assessment of

contaminated sediment remediation options

Michael Ditor, CIRAIG Contaminated site management requires a holistic approach that ensures a net positive environmental benefit will be gained from remedial action. Such an approach evaluates both the local primary impacts caused by the site-related contamination and the secondary impacts associated with the remediation activities themselves. LCA has been used successfully to evaluate secondary impacts, however site-related impacts are poorly assessed due to the generic nature of LCIA models. The integration of site-specific environmental risk assessment (ERA) results within LCIA has the potential for improving LCA’s ability to assess contaminated site remediation options.

Taking a contaminated industrial port as a case study, site-specific data as well as ERA results are used to develop a local mass balance model and estimate concentrations over time for the water column and sediment layer, considering processes such as tidal flow, degradation, diffusion and settling. These concentration profiles are used to assess the local ecotoxicity impact as well as the contaminant mass transported to the arm of the Pacific Ocean upon which the site is located. Contaminant impacts within the ocean arm and at the global scale are assessed by means of the LCIA model IMPACT 2002, with an added zone taking parameter values from the site investigation to represent the ocean arm.

An LCA is carried out on the following site remediation options: excavation with secure disposal, capping, and monitored natural attenuation. Each option is evaluated both with and without the integration of ERA results to assess the extent to which site-specific data can modify the conclusions obtained using a generic LCIA method.

Biofuel


Tuesday early afternoon

Session chair: May Wu

Life Cycle and Uncertainty Assessment of biodiesel compared to other biomass use Olivier Jolliet, Shanna Shaked, Josef Kaenzig, Gregory Houillon, Jinglan Hong

Full consequential cradle-to-grave LCA of non-agrifuel ethanol and biodiesel François Charron-Doucet

Integration of Land-use Change Emissions in Biofuel LCA using Mg-year Accounting Alexandre Courchesne, Ralph Rosenbaum, Valérie Bécaert, Réjean Samson, Louise Deschênes

Sustainability Quick Check for Biofuels (SQCB): a tool for standardized and simplified LCA as driver for sustainable biofuel production Mireille Faist Emmenegger, Jürgen Reinhard, Rainer Zah

Biofuel



Life Cycle and Uncertainty Assessment of biodiesel compared to other biomass use

Olivier Jolliet*, University of Michigan

Shanna Shaked, University of Michigan, Applied Physics Josef Kaenzig, University of St. Gallen

Gregory Houillon, BG Consulting Engineers Jinglan Hong, University of Michigan

In a first step this presentation aims to determine the Life Cycle Impacts of biodiesel and compare it with those of conventional diesel. Special focus is set on testing the robustness of the comparison using both Monte Carlo techniques and Taylor series expansion with lognormal distribution. The biodiesel/diesel case study is built starting from the ecoinvent database for diesel and rape methyl esther, and calculating impact for operating a bus for a 1 liter diesel equivalent drive. Results show that global warming impact are reduced from 3.1 kg CO2 equivalent with diesel down to 1.6 kg CO2 equivalent with biodiesel, thus a 48% reduction of 1.5 kg CO2 per liter diesel equivalent. Similar trends are observed for non renewable primary energy consumption, whereas human health impact may vary considerably depending on the bus technology (particle filter, etc.). The Monte Carlo analysis is run looking at the difference since scenarios are not independent. It confirms the significance of the reduction since the 95% confidence on the reduction in greenhouse gas emission still amounts to a 0.9 kg CO2. In a second step, biodiesel is compared to biomass production for heating that is susceptible to also substitute a liter oil used for heating purposes. The Life Cycle Assessment demonstrates that the heating substitution is twice more efficient in substituting diesel than the biodiesel application, with a 97% reduction down to only 0.1 kg CO2 per liter diesel equivalent. This difference in substitution efficiency is highly significant since the statistical analysis shows that the 95% confidence limit on the improvement compared to biodiesel amounts to 0.9 kg CO2 equivalent. A method is developed to also compare the substitution potential per ha cultivated area. Depending on the biomass application the substituted CO2 equivalent and non renewable primary energy may be 3 to 40 times more efficient than biodiesel. The statistical analysis confirms the robustness of the advantage of the heating use of biomass compared to biodiesel at a 95% confidence interval. Results are finally generalized to different types of biofuels (bioethanol, etc.) and compared to different uses of biomass (biomaterials, agricultural biomass for heating, biopolymers, surfactants, hydraulic fluids and lubricants, solvents and other chemicals). This is based on a systematic literature review carried out for the French EPA (ADEME) demonstrating large variation in substitution efficiency depending on the biomass use.

* [email protected]

Biofuel



Full consequential cradle-to-grave LCA of

non-agrifuel ethanol and biodiesel

François Charron-Doucet*, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal/CIRAIG

For many years now, LCA practitioners have been discussing if the consequences of a decision should be included within the LCA framework, thereby proposing approaches labeled as consequential LCA. Yet, there is no universally accepted methodology to conduct consequential LCA. This presentation suggests testing the feasibility of consequential LCA methodology using second generation biofuels as case studies. Up until now, only limited consequences of biofuel production have been modeled in LCA (ex. indirect land use change). The goal of this study is to carry out a full consequential cradle-to-grave LCA of ethanol made from corn residues in the United States, synthetic diesel from willow in Europe and biodiesel from jatropha in Africa. The objectives of this study are to establish and compare attributionnal and consequential environmental profiles of the biofuels under study, assess consequential result’s quality (including uncertainty assessment), determine their relevance for decision-making and identify methodology gaps that need to be addressed to produce relevant and reproducible consequential LCA results. The results demonstrate that it is possible to build a consequential LCA system with an attributional and disaggregated LCA database. For biofuel made from residues, the environmental burden measured using consequential LCA is not heavier than the one obtained with an attributionnal approach. Also, consequential LCA reduces uncertainty related to system modeling, like allocation choices. For energy crops, consequential LCA increases complexity and overall uncertainty of the results and does not provide precise values for impact category indicators (including Global Warming). However, consequential LCA is used to map different environmental impact intensity cause-and-effect chains of consequences. A better understanding of these cause-and effect chains, will enable decision-makers to select measures which aim at reducing or eliminating the most harmful indirect environmental effects of biofuels.

* [email protected]

Biofuel



Integration of Land-use Change Emissions in Biofuel LCA

using Mg-year Accounting

Alexandre Courchesne*, CIRAIG Ralph Rosenbaum, CIRAIG

Valérie Bécaert, CIRAIG Réjean Samson, CIRAIG

Louise Deschênes, CIRAIG

The debate of whether and how land-use change emissions should be integrated in biofuel assessment is taking place as legislation concerning GHG-intensity acceptance are being written. While consistent methodological frameworks are still lacking, this presentation proposes to integrate land-use change (LUC) emissions within the life cycle inventory of a LCA by considering biofuel as a carbon mitigation project rather than an energy vector for transport. This supposes that the studied function will be in the form of a climate change mitigation metric. A Mg-year accounting (or Lashof) methodology is used for GHG accounting and as a basis of comparison. The Mg-year methodology calculates the cumulative radiative forcing (CRF) on a yearly basis. This dynamic aspect allows the comparison between atmospheric carbon removal and carbon emission reduction.

The Mg-year accounting methodology is tested in a LCA of three ethanol pathways (maize, sugarcane and willow) displacing three potential land types (Brazilian tropical forest, Brazilian Cerrado, or American grassland). The ethanol is used in an E85 blend in Europe. To assess biofuel for their carbon mitigation properties, a 1 Mg-year reduction (compared to a petrol Euro3 scenario) over 100 years is used as the functional unit. Land-use change emissions are therefore directly considered in the functional unit. Results show that no biofuel pathway can reduce the CRF by 1 Mg-year within the 100 year time frame when displacing a tropical forest and that maize ethanol can never respect the desired reduction when displacing any of the studied land. Impacts generated by sugarcane ethanol and willow ethanol with land displacement are calculated.

Mg-year accounting used to calculate payback time (years needed to repay the carbon debt generated by LUC emission) yields higher values in our case compared to other studies as emissions from land clearing start to contribute to radiative forcing at the beginning of the studied time frame. Ultimately, this approach could be used to compare any mitigation project ranging from an efficient lighting initiative to a sequestering power plant or a reforestation project.

* [email protected]

Biofuel



Sustainability Quick Check for Biofuels (SQCB): a tool for

standardized and simplified LCA as driver for sustainable biofuel production

Mireille Faist Emmenegger*, Empa

Jürgen Reinhard, Empa Rainer Zah, Empa

Recent regulations such as the Swiss ordinance on mineral oil tax or future standards for sustainably produced biofuels (e.g. from the Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels) often require calculations of the greenhouse gas emissions or even of the environmental impacts on a life cycle basis. For small or medium producers, such an evaluation may be too costly and prevent them to enter the market. The Sustainability Quick Check for Biofuels (SQCB) has been designed within this context. SQCB (www.sqcb.org) is a free web-based tool which evaluates the sustainability of biofuels on an LCA basis 1.

SQCB strongly relies on a Swiss LCA study on biofuels 2, which shows that the most important steps are agriculture followed by biofuel processing. In contrast, the transportation of biofuels from the country of production is not relevant for the overall results of the LCA. Relying on these insights, we determined the most relevant factors of the agricultural step with a sensitivity analysis. The web-based SQCB questionnaire uses this knowledge to reduce the requested user entries to the most relevant and easily available parameters of the biofuel production chain.

The questionnaire allows the user to enter his specific data for biofuel production where available. Data gaps are automatically filled by default values. Based on this input, the inventory is modelled and linked to the SQCB database. The software then performs the environmental impact assessment and checks the results against sustainability criteria. Since these results are immediately available, key environmental factors can be analyzed interactively.

The SQCB follows two goals: first, to improve knowledge in developing countries on LCA and on the key parameters of the biofuel chain. Secondly, SQCB allows producers to roughly evaluate if their biofuel fulfils the requirements for tax exemption. Furthermore, due to its modular concept, SQCB can be adapted to include additional certification schemes by extending its questionnaire, introducing alternative evaluation methods or adding new benchmarks.

References

1. Zah R, Faist M, Reinhard J, Birchmeier D. Standardized and simplified life-cycle assessment (LCA) as a driver for more sustainable biofuels, J Clean Prod (2009), doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.04.004

2. Zah R, Hischier R, Gauch M, Lehmann M, Böni H,Wäger P. Life cycle assessment of energy products: environmental impact assessment of biofuels. Bern: Bundesamt für Energie, Bundesamt für Umwelt, Bundesamt für Landwirtschaft; 2007

* [email protected]

Bio-based products

44 International Ballroom C Tuesday late afternoon

Session chair: François Charron-Doucet

Life cycle assessment of biochar production from corn stover, yard waste, and switchgrass Kelli Roberts, Brent Gloy, Stephen Joseph, Johannes Lehmann

Evaluations of Domestic Applications of British Columbia Wood Pellets based on Life Cycle Analysis Ann Pa, Jill Craven, Tony Bi, Staffan Melin, Shahab Sokhansanj

Sustainable Materials Management of Wood Fibers Christopher Evans, Deanna Lizas, Adam Brundage, Randy Freed, Henrik Harjula

Briquettes, cubes, or pellets: Greenhouse gas tradeoffs in bioenergy Tom Wilson, Sabrina Spatari, Paul Adler

Life Cycle Environmental Impacts from Biobased Lubricants Phoebe Cuevas, Amy E. Landis

Bio-based products


Life cycle assessment of biochar production from

corn stover, yard waste, and switchgrass

Kelli Roberts*, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University Brent Gloy, Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

Stephen Joseph, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales

Johannes Lehmann, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University

Biomass pyrolysis with biochar returned to soil is a promising strategy for climate change mitigation and reducing fossil fuel consumption. Biochar is the stable, carbon-rich charcoal that results from pyrolysis of biomass materials. Used as a soil amendment, biochar improves soil health and fertility, soil structure, nutrient availability, and soil water retention capacity, and is also a mechanism for long-term carbon storage in soils. Slow pyrolysis of biomass in an industrial-scale facility results in four co-products: long-term carbon sequestration in the form of stable carbon in the biochar, renewable energy generation, biochar as a soil amendment, and biomass waste management. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to estimate the net energy, climate change impacts, and economics of biochar production. The feedstocks analyzed represent agricultural residues (early and late harvested corn stover), an organic waste source (yard waste), and energy crops (switchgrass cultivated on both marginal and annual croplands). For all feedstock scenarios, the net energy of the system is positive, i.e. more energy is generated than consumed. The excess syngas energy ranges from +2000 to +4000 MJ per tonne of feedstock. The net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for both stover and yard waste are negative, indicating that for each tonne of feedstock, more than one-half tonne of CO2 equivalent reductions are made. Meanwhile, the switchgrass results highlight the critical role that indirect land-use change plays on the life-cycle climate change impact of energy crops. Switchgrass developed on marginal land has the potential to sequester carbon, however, switchgrass produced on land diverted from annual crops results in net GHG emissions. The economic viability of the pyrolysis-biochar system is largely dependent on the costs of feedstock production and pyrolysis, and the value of carbon offsets. Biomass sources that have a need for waste management such as yard waste have the highest potential for economic profitability and environmental sustainability.

* [email protected]

Bio-based products


Evaluations of Domestic Applications of British Columbia

Wood Pellets based on Life Cycle Analysis

Ann Pa*, University of British Columbia Jill Craven, Clean Energy Research Centre, University of British Columbia

Tony Bi, University of British Columbia Staffan Melin, elta Research Corporation, Delta, Canada

Shahab Sokhansanj, Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, University of British Columbia and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

A LCA database for British Columbia wood pellets has been developed. Currently about 80% of the pellets produced in BC are exported to Europe. Based on the database, marine transportation is responsible for 45% of the life cycle energy consumption and is the top contributors to most pollutants investigated. Exported pellets have an energy penalty of 33% while non-exported pellet’s value is only 18.3%. Exported pellets’ energy value contains 22.2% fossil fuels but non-exported only contains 7.5%. It is evident that wood pellets can be even greener if utilized in BC. Based on this finding, two case studies exploring possible domestic usage of wood pellets are carried out using the LCA database.

The first case looks into the change in environmental impacts and health impact potential (HIP) if UBC boiler house, which currently runs on natural gas 99% of the time, was to be fueled by wood pellets. The environmental impacts evaluated are global warming potential (GWP), acid rain formation potential (ARP), and smog formation potential (SFP). The proposed pellet system consists of pellet gasification followed by the combustion of the syngas produced.

The result indicates that GWP of the operation can be reduced by 70% if pellets are used but ARP will increase by approximately 285% while SFP may increase by 185%. This result is based on a streamlined LCA including all fuel production and transportation. To investigate the change in HIP, only the actual end usage emissions are included in the evaluation. The HIP increases by 285% from 24.07 to 92.67 for switching to pellets and the increase is 227% when an electrostatic precipitator unit is installed.

The second case looks into the change in emission in BC if the current residential log-burning furnaces are replaced with pellet stoves. In addition to the quantification in the reduction of air emissions, a simple cost analysis is also carried out to evaluate the economic feasibility of this proposal. The result of cost analysis will also aid the local government in the development of an incentive program to promote the switching of current log furnaces to wood pellet furnaces in BC. * [email protected]

Bio-based products


Sustainable Materials Management of Wood Fibers

Christopher Evans, ICF International

Deanna Lizas*, ICF International Adam Brundage, ICF International

Randy Freed, ICF International Henrik Harjula, OECD

The pulp and paper industry is a key sector in the global economy with important sustainability opportunities. As the fourth largest industrial consumer of energy, it represents 5.7 percent of global industrial energy use 1. This industry and its products are responsible for nearly 600 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2-e) emissions per year 2. This accounts for approximately 2 percent of global CO2 emissions 3.

The industry’s importance in the global economy, its reliance on vast natural resources, and impact on the climate warrants further study on the best approaches to reduce the environmental impacts while balancing economic and social aspects across the wood fiber products’ life-cycle. To that end, ICF International is supporting the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in an analysis to identify opportunities for the sustainable materials management of wood fibers. The environmental impacts of focus include energy, water use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the life-cycle stages of: wood harvesting, pulping and bleaching, papermaking, transportation, and end-of-life.

Our study finds that in pulping, reductions in energy use on the order of 20 to 30 percent could be achieved in conventional mills by existing technologies such as combined heat and power systems. Chemical and thermo-mechanical pulp mills offer the greatest potential for energy savings. Paper drying in the papermaking stage is the most energy-intensive process across the life cycle consuming 15 to 25 percent of total energy. Increased and more efficient use of biomass energy—considered biogenic if sourced from sustainably-managed forests—can further reduce GHG emissions. Sustainable forest management practices and certification are key to ensuring that biomass fuels remain carbon neutral. At end-of-life, recycling paper products saves 7 to 19 GJ of energy per metric ton of paper recycled and results in a net carbon sink relative to virgin manufacture of paper. Although barriers such as volatility in energy and recovered paper prices, slow rates of capital turnover, and gaps in information sharing exist, there is large potential for energy efficiency gains and GHG reductions across the paper life cycle.

OECD intends to use the results of the study within a broader effort to investigate sustainable materials management of select priority materials. The study is a work in progress and has not yet been adopted by OECD or its member countries; OECD retains copyright for the results.

References

1. IEA. (2006). Energy Efficient Technologies and CO2 Reduction Potentials in the Pulp and Paper Industry. International Energy Agency (IEA), in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

2. NCASI. (2007). The Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Profile of the Global Forest Products Industry. National Council for Air and Stream Improvement.

3. IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers.

* [email protected]

Bio-based products


Briquettes, cubes, or pellets: Greenhouse gas tradeoffs in bioenergy

Tom Wilson*, Pennsylvania State University

Sabrina Spatari, Drexel University Paul Adler, USDA

Switchgrass has gained recent attention as an alternative energy resource. To be utilized for energy, switchgrass must be harvested, collected, and transported to the point of utilization. End-use applications range from electricity via co-firing with coal to biofuel conversion through residential heating. Currently, switchgrass is packaged in large square or round bale formats. To further reduce the costs associated with transporting this bulky material, switchgrass may be densified beyond baling into several different forms: pellets, briquettes, or cubes. The purpose of densifying biomass is to increase the energy density of the product so that it can be transported more efficiently, reducing both costs and emissions associated with transportation. The end-use application will largely dictate the appropriate form of densification due to tradeoffs that exist between transport distance, product density, and physical limitations of the equipment. Feedstock preparation is a critical and energy intensive step in the densification process. For quality production, appropriate moisture content and particle size distribution are essential. This requires grinding and drying; both processes consume energy. New technology enables some particle size reduction in the baling process, and this method is compared to the traditional model of particle size reduction downstream. Preliminary data indicate that in-field particle size reduction requires only a fraction (0.5%) of the energy of that downstream. In addition, switchgrass may be harvested in the spring or fall. The fall scenario produces higher yields, but due to stochastic variability in weather, the fall crop is generally wetter and requires energy input due to drying necessary for densification. Preliminary analysis indicates that emissions from biomass pellets for heating applications are 4.7 g CO2e/MJ compared to 59, 51, and 83 for fuel oil, natural gas, and electricity for space heating, respectively. Despite yield losses from overwintering, this number improves by nearly 60% with the spring harvest scenario to 1.9 CO2e/MJ due to the substantial energy input required for drying with the fall scenario. For the case of the fall harvest with in-field particle size reduction, life-cycle emissions improve by 12.7% to 4.1 g CO2e/MJ compared to the base scenario.

* [email protected]

Bio-based products


Life Cycle Environmental Impacts from Biobased Lubricants

Phoebe Cuevas*, University of Pittsburgh Amy E. Landis**, University of Pittsburgh

Approximately 50 percent of all lubricants, mostly mineral based, are released into the environment during use, spills, and disposal. This is a concern since traditional lubricants, mostly mineral based, are not completely biodegradable and have high toxic content. Therefore, new and used lubricants can cause significant damage to the environment, especially to water sources. 1

Biobased lubricants are being manufactured and employed with the hope of minimizing the life cycle environmental impacts that are caused by use of mineral based lubricants. These biolubricants are being produced from agricultural feedstocks, are biodegradable, and have the potential for lower toxicity 2,3.

Research on biobased lubricants has generated varying conclusions regarding the environmental impacts of these products. Most of the studies conclude that the agricultural phase has the highest environmental impact, contributing to acidification, eutrophication, and smog 4,5,3. Alternatively, studies indicate lower impacts to the global warming potential and climate change categories from the biobased options than the mineral based products.

This presentation will present a comparative life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of soybean, rapeseed, and mineral based lubricants. The effects of an increase in the use of biobased lubricants at state level will be discussed in addition to the effects caused by the use of different lubricants (soybean, rapeseed, and mineral based). The study presents a comparison of the CO2 emissions from each of the lubricants, and the contribution to global warming for different use scenarios. In addition, the impact on demand for agricultural land, water quality impacts, and energy savings from the use of biolubricants will be presented.

References

1. Schneider, M.P., Plant-oil-based lubricants and hydraulic fluids. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2006. 86(12): p. 1769-1780.

2. IENICA, Biolubricants - Market Data Sheet, I.E.N.f.I.C.a.t. Applications, Editor. 2004, Central Science Laboratory. p. 1-11.

3. Miller, S.A., et al., A comparative life cycle assessment of petroleum and soybean-based lubricants. Environmental Science and Technology, 2007. 41(11): p. 4143-4149.

4. Vag, C., et al., A comparative life cycle assessment of the manufacture of base fluids for lubricants. Journal of Synthetic Lubrication, 2002. 19(1): p. 39-57.

5. McManus, M.C., G.P. Hammond, and C.R. Burrows, Life-cycle assessment of mineral and rapeseed oil in mobile hydraulic systems. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2004. 7(3-4): p. 163-177.


LCA Case Studies



Session chair: Mike Levy

Life Cycle Assessment Comparison of Conventional and Passive Groundwater Remediation Technologies for Solvent Contamination Monica Higgins, Terese Olson An LCA-based Environmental Assessment of a Baked Goods Company Jon Dettling, Dominic D'Amours, Manuele Margni Real-time Life Cycle Assessment: An implementation for ETH Zürich Chris Mutel, Christoph Meili, Stefanie Hellweg Quantitative Analysis of Material Substitution Effects by Life Cycle Assessment – A Case Study of ITO for a Liquid Crystal Display Kotaro Kawajiri, Kiyotaka Tahara, Yoritsune Noda, Shigeyuki Uemiya Life Cycle Assessment of Container Glass Liila Woods, Margaret Zahller, Marc Binder, Joseph Cattaneo

LCA Case Studies



Life Cycle Assessment Comparison of Conventional and Passive

Groundwater Remediation Technologies for Solvent Contamination

Monica Higgins*, University of Michigan Terese Olson, University of Michigan

Groundwater that becomes contaminated through natural or anthropogenic actions can be remediated using technologies that optimize performance at minimal cost and potential environmental impact. A permeable reactive barrier (PRB) is an innovative, passive treatment technology in which a reactive media is installed in situ, transforming contaminants as groundwater flows through it under the natural gradient. Choosing a PRB reduces environmental impacts during operation when compared with a conventional pump-and-treat system (PTS) by eliminating use-phase material and energy inputs. However, reduced operation impacts may be off-set by increased material production impacts, resulting in negligible life cycle environmental benefit for PRBs. The trade-off between life cycle phases necessitates a holistic comparison between the two technologies. The longevity of PRB reactive media is uncertain and is expected to significantly influence the relative benefits of a PRB when compared with a PTS. Thus, reactive media longevity must also be investigated for its effect on the magnitude of PRB impacts and as a parameter in comparisons of the two technologies. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) is employed to investigate and compare a PRB to a PTS, where both case study systems were designed for the remediation of groundwater containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Potential impacts for the two systems were investigated for a thirty-year fixed operation time using established life cycle assessment framework and impact assessment with characterization factors from the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts (TRACI). Analysis of the PRB system revealed that potential impacts are driven by the mass of zero-valent iron (ZVI) reactive media. PRB longevity was investigated among different use-phase scenarios and found to control the magnitude of PRB system impacts and the extent to which it was optimal relative to the PTS. Minimum longevity for benefit in choosing a PRB was determined to be between five and ten years in impact categories where such a minimum existed. The results suggest that strategies for reducing environmental impacts of the PRB system include consideration of alternative reactive media and maximizing media longevity. * [email protected]

LCA Case Studies



An LCA-based Environmental Assessment of a

Baked Goods Company

Jon Dettling*, Quantis Dominic D'Amours, Pineridge Foods

Manuele Margni, Quantis

Gourmet Baker is a leading supplier of baked goods products to food service and retail markets throughout Canada and the US. They provide markets throughout Canada with pre-baked and ready to baked products, including croissants, brownies, cakes, cheesecakes, pastries and much more. In pursuing their internal commitment to operate in an environmentally responsible manner, many questions have arisen regarding what actions or and areas of focus should be chosen within the company’s operation to provide the greatest reduction of their environmental impact. It is unclear what portion of their operations and/or the life cycle of their products incur the most environmental impacts and provide the best opportunities for improvements.

To address these questions, Gourmet Baker has conducted a company-wide analysis of its operations based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The entire operations of the company and life cycle of its products have been included in this assessment. This includes the production of raw materials, their pre-processing and delivery to production site, Gourmet Baker’s manufacturing activities, company overhead and operations, finished product transportation, cooling and/or baking by the customer, and disposal of packaging and other wastes. The results present an overview of the company’s total “footprint” on the environment and an ability to see what aspects of the company operations require the most attention. Efforts and resources for environmental initiatives can then be focused in areas where they will be most effective.

The results include an ability to compare supply-chain impacts to those of manufacturing, transportation, overhead, and product usage and end-of life. It also includes an ability to compare among facilities, product categories, time period and more. This presentation will provide an overview of the methodology, describe its implementation at Gourmet Baker, show and discuss the results and describe the company’s implementation and next steps. * [email protected]

LCA Case Studies



Real-time Life Cycle Assessment:

An implementation for ETH Zürich

Chris Mutel*, ETH Zurich Christoph Meili, ETH Zurich Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Zurich

A key consideration for any LCA study is the communication of conclusions. It is customary for LCA studies to represent a snapshot of current production practices or alternatives. We describe the implementation of a web-based program for real-time LCA of the ETH Zürich campus, including heat, electricity, water, mobility, conference travel, and chemical use. Energy and water consumption data are available on 15 minute intervals, while the other data sources are averaged from annual totals. The use of a continually updated life cycle assessment of the university allows for feedback between the model, and faculty and students. This interaction with LCA results represents a new perspective on how LCA can help improve decision making. The use of freshly updated data also ensures that LCA results remain relevant for years to come. The use of a web-based model also allows LCA result data to be easily viewed, interpreted, and used in other formats and applications. Because data is gathered on a detailed level, comparison between buildings and departments are possible, allowing for further interaction between behaviour and LCA results. Possible further linkages between LCA and environmental management and monitoring systems are also discussed. The software model will be demonstrated, and is available as an open-source program. * [email protected]

LCA Case Studies



Quantitative Analysis of Material Substitution Effects by Life Cycle

Assessment – A Case Study of ITO for a Liquid Crystal Display

Kotaro Kawajiri*, RISS, AIST Kiyotaka Tahara, RISS, AIST

Yoritsune Noda, Gifu University Shigeyuki Uemiya, Gifu University

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is practically used for transparent conducting oxide in a liquid crystal display (LCD). Its total consumption has been remarkably expanding in recent years. However, indium is rare metal and the shortage in the near future is noticed. Therefore, it is important to develop its alternatives to reduce future risks of its stable supply and price hike. Some alternatives to ITO have been developed recently. However, the effects of substitution are uncertain yet because alternative materials are under research phase and then, the comparison with conventional materials is difficult.

This paper describes how to evaluate the effects of substituting a future new material for conventional one by life cycle assessment (LCA) in a case study of ITO. Al-doped ZnO (AZO) is employed as the alternative to ITO. Based on expert judge and empirical studies, system boundary and scenario are defined. The inventory of each stage is quantitatively evaluated by the inventory of ITO and information comparing the case of ITO and that of AZO in patents and journals.

Most of CO2 emission comes from production stage and usage stage. Electrical conductivity of AZO is smaller than that of ITO. Then, the film thickness of AZO becomes large to overcome the shortage of electrical conductivity. As a result, CO2 emission at the production stage becomes large in case of AZO. On the other hand, transparency of AZO is larger than that of ITO. Then, power supply to the back panel, nearly 70% of total power consumption at the usage stage, can be reduced by using AZO. Therefore, the total CO2 emission depends on the balance between CO2 emission at production stage and that at usage stage. It is implied that the total CO2 emission for LCD can be reduced by substituting AZO for ITO in our condition. * [email protected]

LCA Case Studies



Life Cycle Assessment of Container Glass

Liila Woods*, PE Americas

Margaret Zahller, PE Americas Marc Binder, PE Americas

Joseph Cattaneo, Glass Packaging Institute

Member companies of the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), the trade association representing the North American container glass industry, have provided current life cycle inventory data on container glass production. This critically reviewed LCA study contains the first industry wide primary data available on the production of container glass used for packaging materials (i.e., containers used for wine, jam, beer, spirits, nonalcoholic beverages, food, etc.) and represent over 75% of North American production. The study was conducted in parallel with a study for the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) member companies to generate data on both North American and European industry average container glass.

The cradle-to-gate inventory of container glass addresses all inputs and outputs for the production of 1 kg of container glass. The use of post-consumer cullet (recycled, furnace-ready scrap glass) requires less energy to melt in the glass producing furnace than virgin batch materials (silica sand, soda, etc.) but requires treatment to prepare it prior to input into the furnace (collection of used glass, transportation, crushing, etc.). The impacts of post-consumer cullet treatment have been included in this study as well as different end-of-life recycling scenarios therefore allowing for a cradle-to-cradle assessment of container glass. The data collected in this study show that in 2007 an average of 23% post-consumer cullet was input into new container glass. GPI member companies have committed to using at least 50% recycled input by 2013 but will need an increase in glass recycling and post-consumer cullet availability to meet this goal.

The data from this study will be beneficial to GPI, glass producing companies and LCA practitioners to understand, communicate and improve processes for the environmental aspects of container glass, both for the production of glass as well as the impact of end-of-life treatment.

This presentation will summarize the cradle-to-gate results of the life cycle inventory and life cycle assessment study of container glass production in North America as well as discuss various end-of-life scenarios. Examples of completed packaging options such as a beer bottle (including label and crown) and a wine bottle (including label, cork, and foil) will also be addressed. * [email protected]

Land Use in LCA: Characterization of Impacts, Geospatial

Heterogeneity, and Renewable Energy Technologies


Tuesday late afternoon

Special session coordinator: Thomas Seager, Rochester Institute of Technology

Although land use impacts are widely acknowledged to have profound consequences for biodiversity, water quality, and climate, there is currently no consensus regarding the treatment of land use in life cycle assessment (LCA). This is partly due to the emphasis in LCA on quantifying an inventory of material flows, rather than characterizing qualitative changes in scarce resources such as fresh water or ecological habitat. However, the problem of land use is compounded by the difficulty of describing geospatial heterogeneity in LCA. That is, both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of land use in LCA depend upon the location of the land -- particularly with regard to renewable energy systems such as wind, solar and biomass, which are significantly more land intensive than traditional fossil fuels. This special session provides an interim report on the progress of the Workshop on Land Use and Geospatial Aspects of LCA for Renewable Energy, which is running concurrently with LCA IX. The Chairs of the parallel sessions of LCA methods for land use will summarize the workshop discussions in their sessions in brief presentations and lead discussion with the conference participants in a panel format. Topics include changes in land use, characterizing land use impacts, understanding geographic variability in inventory data resulting from land use characteristics, and modeling geospatial aspects of distribution systems.

Presenters:

The Workshop on Land Use & Geospatial Aspects In LCA of Renewable Energy Systems Thomas Seager, Rochester Institute of Technology

This presentation reviews the agenda and policy context for the National Science Foundation "Workshop on Land Use and Geospatial Aspects of LCA for Renewable Energy" that is being held concurrent to the LCA IX conference. It reviews some of the new policy initiatives in the United States that seek to curb renewable energy development and discusses the need for increased research attention to land use implications of wind and solar energy development, which have received little or no attention in the context of LCA, despite an increased level of concern in political or policy arenas.

Re-allocation of land as a consequence of renewable energy development John Sheehan

This presentation summarizes the interim findings of the "Workshop on Land Use and Geospatial Aspects of LCA for Renewable Energy" with regard to estimating land use changes resulting from renewable energy development.

Land Use in LCA: Characterization of Impacts, Geospatial

Heterogeneity, and Renewable Energy Technologies


Tuesday late afternoon

Considering transportation and energy distribution aspects of renewable energy: Report from the "Workshop on Land Use and Geospatial Aspects of LCA for Renewable Energy" James Winebrake, Rochester Institute of Technology

This presentation summarizes the discussion of the parallel session on renewable energy collection and distribution aspects in LCA of renewable energy.

Impacts Jane Bare, USEPA Office of Research & Development

This presentation summarizes the interim findings of the "Workshop on Land Use and Geospatial Aspects of LCA for Renewable Energy" with regard to quantifying impacts resulting from land use.

Coupling LCA and Geographic Information Systems -- Geospatial Variability in LCA for Renewable Energy Roland Geyer, University of California - Santa Barbara

This presentation summarizes the interim findings of the Workshop with regard to geospatial variability.

Operationalizing LCA within Industry 1 & 2


Wednesday morning

Special session coordinator: William Flanagan, GE

Industrial interest in LCA has increased substantially in recent years as a result of several factors including product-focused regulatory and standard-setting activities, retailer initiatives, consumer interest, green competition, increased corporate social responsibility, supply chain greenhouse gas reduction initiatives, and evolving green marketing guidelines. LCA provides the opportunity to address product life cycle issues across the value chain, ultimately leading to a more efficient utilization of the planet’s limited natural resources in order to meet the needs of society with the lowest environmental impact. This session focuses on the application of LCA within industry, and offers perspectives from companies that have been practicing LCA for many years as well as those that have only recently begun to implement life cycle perspectives. Industrial applications of LCA vary, as each company has its own unique culture driven by business strategy, competitive landscape, organizational structure, and many other internal and external factors. The presentations in this session highlight a wide range of LCA applications that impact a company’s products and operations. Specific topics to be addressed include: Application of LCA in research and development Collaborative use of LCA with customers and suppliers LCA in the broader context of Design for Environment LCA as a tool to develop internal product development metrics Use of LCA methods to address life cycle greenhouse gas reduction initiatives Product LCA examples Streamlined LCA approaches Product Environmental Metrics for Printer Development at HP Jason Ord, Tim Strecker Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to Develop a Corporate Sustainability Strategy Gretchen Govoni Challenges and Benefits of Integrating LCA into Research and Development: Butamax™ Biobutanol Case Study Stephen Tieri, Robin Jenkins, Todd Krieger, Robert Sylvester, Carina Alles, Susanne Veith, Steve Barr



Wednesday morning

The Use of LCAs from within Our Company's Gate to Our Customers and Market Segments Gary Jakubcin, Owens Corning Using LCA to Develop Climate-Neutral Products - A Practical Example Connie Hensler, John Jewell Life Cycle Assessment: Promoting Sustainable Development at Dow Shawn Hunter Design for Environment at Rolls-Royce Stafford Lloyd, Andrew Clifton, Lucia Elghali, Jacquetta Lee,



Wednesday morning

Product Environmental Metrics for Printer Development at HP

Jason Ord, HP

Tim Strecker, HP

Hewlett-Packard’s Imaging & Printing Group (IPG) is charting a course towards environmental leadership in its markets. To do this, IPG must look beyond just satisfying the regulations and identify opportunities for groundbreaking improvement. Carefully designed metrics are necessary to guide design, chart progress and set goals in this effort. IPG’s Environmental Strategy Team is leading an initiative to establish these metrics internally. This paper describes the development process the authors followed to construct the initial metrics, focused on the "carbon footprint" of products under development, as well as the lessons learned and results achieved thus far, implementation, challenges, and future opportunities for improvement.



Wednesday morning

Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to Develop a Corporate

Sustainability Strategy

Gretchen Govoni, SABIC Innovative Plastics As SABIC Innovative Plastics transitioned to new ownership, we were in a position of beginning to embrace LCA during the same time period that the sustainability program was being modified to fit the new business model. Therefore, we were able to apply lifecycle concepts into the development of the new sustainability strategy. Strategy development steps included evaluation of impacts from raw materials, from our own processes, and impacts downstream of our operations including the use and end of life phases. Five key strategic pillars were confirmed based on the lifecycle impacts: bio-based materials, recycle, cleaner chemistry, process efficiency and application design. Lifecycle assessment resources are currently dedicated to supporting technology development, product marketing, and manufacturing.



Wednesday morning

Challenges and Benefits of Integrating LCA into Research and

Development: Butamax™ Biobutanol Case Study

Stephen Tieri, DuPont Robin Jenkins, DuPont Todd Krieger, DuPont

Robert Sylvester, DuPont Carina Alles, DuPont

Susanne Veith, DuPont Steve Barr, DuPont

DuPont's 2015 Sustainability Goals are the expression of a life-cycle-thinking business concept integrating all of our operations, from research and development to manufacturing to marketing. Successful new products provide superior functionality and favorable sustainability attributes to customers and stakeholders, such as reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Choices made early in research and development programs often determine these product attributes. However, significant uncertainties in evolving technologies, data gaps, and changes in the business and regulatory environment are all challenges in the effort to integrate LCA into general business practice. To meet these challenges, DuPont LCA practitioners use LCAs to identify areas of concern and improvement opportunities in the early development stages. BP and DuPont have recently formed Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels to commercialize Biobutanol. The Butamax™ business example illustrates how the integration of sustainability principles into research and development enables innovative and competitive future technology options with quantifiable environmental benefits in the marketplace. Specifically, our LCA has guided development of production pathways for Biobutanol that are superior to traditional biological production of butanol by acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) technology in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil energy use.



Wednesday morning

The Use of LCAs from within Our Company's Gate to Our

Customers and Market Segments

Gary Jakubcin, Owens Corning

Up until the last year or so, the focus of performing a product LCA has been for company use only. They were performed to better understand our product’s environmental and energy footprints. Sometimes the data was used for external reasons. With increased awareness by the marketplace and industry sectors, the demand for product LCA information has increased tremendously. Product LCAs have now been included as requirements and/or options in various “Green” building specifications for product approval for use. Product comparisons using LCAs are being requested by architects, designers and other product segment groups. Working jointly with our customers using LCAs has provided a new step in supplier-customer synergies. This presentation will cover Owens Corning’s perspective on the external explosion of LCA requests and our experience with using them with our customers.



Wednesday morning

Using LCA to Develop Climate-Neutral Products:

A Practical Example

Connie Hensler, Interface John Jewell, PE Americas

Interface and its partner PE Americas share a common concern for the environment with particular interest in mitigating climate change through the elimination of product-related emissions. With the help of PE, Interface addressed this concern by creating climate neutral products. The total GHG emissions created during the life cycle of Interface’s carpet products (raw material acquisition, manufacturing, transportation, use and maintenance, and end-of-life disposal) are modeled using Life Cycle Assessment via PE’s Gabi software. These emissions are then neutralized through the purchase and retirement of an equivalent number of verified emission reduction credits. As a result of this program, Cool CarpetTM, a majority of Interface’s global product offering is climate neutral. Each of Interface’s worldwide business units offer a different range of carpet products and utilize different manufacturing and distribution networks. To keep the Cool Carpet program simple, a sales-weighted average product was modeled for each business unit. Dozens of LCAs were performed for 90% of the top-selling carpets using a parameterized Gabi model. Gabi’s global parameters easily switch Fiber type and weight, backing type, recycled content, and EOL disposition. Once the GWP is determined the next step in the program is offsetting. Not all offsets are created equal and strict criteria to select carbon offsets for the Cool Carpet program are required. When reviewing offsets, they must be real, permanent, additional and verifiable carbon offsets certified to a consensus-based protocol. To identify credible carbon offsets, Interface uses a combination of verification requirements, standards and additional criteria. Some of these include the Voluntary Carbon Standard, the Gold Standard, CDM-VER, and VER+. The offsets are purchased and are permanently retired. Each Interface business unit (manufacturing location) absorbs the cost of offsetting their average product for every square yard of Cool Carpet sold. Another advantage of modeling the carpet LCA with Gabi was highlighting differences among the Interface business units based on their GHG performance. The LCA broke life cycle impacts further into Fiber, Backing, other Materials, Transport, Process Energy, Use phase (cleaning), and Disposal. Interface businesses who use less energy and materials or sold more innovative environmental products (like carpets with high recycled content) spent less money on offsets than their counterparts around the company, creating healthy competition between the branches. Because carbon offsetting can be controversial it is important that programs like this be third party verified. Interface’s Cool Carpet program is verified by SGS. This includes verification of the LCA methodology, the calculation of the required offsets, and the credibility and retirement of the offsets.



Wednesday morning

Life Cycle Assessment: Promoting Sustainable Development at Dow

Shawn Hunter, Dow Chemical

Life Cycle Assessment has been practiced at Dow Chemical for more than 20 years. Dow continues to be engaged in the development and promotion of LCA methodology and concepts. The announcement of Dow’s 2015 Sustainable Chemistry goal, which is based on life cycle thinking, led to a focused LCA effort and to the establishment of a formal LCA expertise group within Dow’s EH&S/Sustainability organization. This group is leveraged across all Dow businesses to provide LCA support for customer inquiries, collaborative projects, and business decision making. This presentation will review the goals, activities, and vision of the Dow LCA group. LCA tools, methods, and processes used by the group will be discussed. Highlights of recent LCA studies will also be presented, which demonstrate the value of the group in promoting and integrating sustainability at Dow.



Wednesday morning

Design for Environment at Rolls-Royce

Stafford Lloyd, Rolls-Royce Andrew Clifton, Rolls-Royce

Lucia Elghali, University of Surrey Jacquetta Lee, University of Surrey

This paper presents a case study of applying a novel approach to interpreting life cycle inventory information. Data has been taken from a simplified life cycle analysis of certain components of a low-bypass ratio turbofan engine manufactured by Rolls-Royce, and analysed to provide a measure of its environmental impact together with a financial measure of current and future business risks. The paper presents the results of the study and discusses issues in the application of the approach and how it needs to be developed. The business risk indicator is derived from a survey of regulatory, legislative and market based influences arising from public policy developments in response to environmental concerns. Rolls-Royce’s products have relatively long life cycles so predicting how these influences are likely to change into the future is an important requirement. The critical aspect of the approach is that it provides an environmental cost indicator derived from (potential) operational costs, rather than attempting to calculate uncertain (and contentious) damage values. This technique has been developed specifically for the needs of Rolls-Royce as part of a DfE (Design for Environment) system based on a streamlined life cycle analysis approach. The requirement for DfE has been defined from a situational analysis of the decision-making contexts within design processes, and from knowledge of the environmental profile of a typical Rolls-Royce product. From this requirement the system has been developed to focus (although not exclusively) on the areas of the product life cycle outside of the use phase, specifically issues from manufacture and end of life. The DfE system needs to highlight where environmental concerns pose a risk to the cost or produceability of a product so that environmental information can be compared with other design decision parameters generally measured in monetary terms. This necessitates the development of the business risk indicator providing a measure of current or potential environmental costs.

LCIA 1

67 International Ballroom C Wednesday early morning

Session chair: Ralph Rosenbaum

Challenging land use: Uncertainties in the application of the species area relationship for damage factors of land occupation An De Schryver, Mark Goedkoop, Rob Leuven, Mark Huijbregts

Interpreting LCIA results: development of Canadian normalization factors, at individual and national levels Anne Lautier, Ralph Rosenbaum, Manuele Margni, Louise Deschenes

Mulicriteria Comparison of Ecotoxicity Methods Focused on Pesticides Frank Hayer, Daniel U. Baumgartner, Christian Bockstaller, Gérard Gaillard, Thomas Kaegi, Laure Mamy, Thomas Nemecek, Joern Strassemeyer

Life cycle health impact and benefits of air conditioning: reduction in extreme heat mortality versus increase in health impacts due to particulate and climate change Olivier Jolliet, Carina Gronlund, Marie O'Neill, Jalonne White-Newsome

Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Global Trade: monetary and impact disparities in developing vs. developed regions Shanna Shaked, Damien Friot, Sebastien Humbert, Manuele Margni, Stefan Schwarzer, Cedric Wannaz, Olivier Jolliet

LCIA 1


Challenging land use: Uncertainties in the application of the species

area relationship for damage factors of land occupation

An De Schryver*, Radboud University Nijmegen Mark Goedkoop, PRé Consultants b.v.

Rob Leuven, Radboud University Nijmegen Mark Huijbregts, Radboud University Nijmegen

Anthropogenic land use activities are one of the dominant stressors for terrestrial species and are recognized as being important to consider in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Land use damage factors, also known as characterization factors, can be expressed as potential disappeared fraction (PDF) of vascular plant species 1. PDF equals 1 – Si/Sb, where S is the species number on land use i or baseline land use. The number of species can be modeled using the species area relationship (SAR:S=c.Az) 2. The SAR describes the relation between the number of species observed and the area size, using the species accumulation factor z and the species richness factor c. Land use damage modeling contains several levels of uncertainties which are recognized but hardly quantified in LCA. This presentation outlines the influence of various key assumptions and uncertainties within the development of damage factors for land use, such as uncertainty in species sampling data, choice for the species accumulation factor z, standard area size and regional effects. A model framework was developed to analyze the uncertainties of damage factors for 15 land use types 3. Modeling choices were analyzed by defining three scenarios, based on cultural theory perspectives, namely the egalitarian, the hierarchist and the individualistic perspectives 4. The uncertainties of species number and species accumulation factor z are quantified through Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicate that depending on the scenario chosen, the damage factors can change from negative to positive values. The calculated uncertainty range is mainly explained by the uncertainty in the species accumulation factor z, and results in overlapping uncertainty ranges of the damage factors within each model scenario. We can conclude that modeling choices and uncertainties within the SAR largely influence the damage factors for land use. The use of model scenarios is a way of dealing with the different modeling choices. However, within each model scenario, the damage factors of land use types do not always significantly differ because of the uncertainty of the species accumulation factor z. This finding stresses the importance of further decreasing the uncertainty of the species accumulation factor z.

References

1. Muller-Wenk R (1998) Land use - the main threat to species. How to include land use in lca. Iwö diskussionsbeitrag no. 64. 3-906502-66-X. Universität St. Gallen. St. Gallen, Switzerland

2. MacArthur RH, E.O. W (ed.) (1967) The theory of island biogeography. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

3. Defra (2000) Countryside survey 2000, www.countrysidesurvey.org.uk, assessed 30.12.2008 4. Hofstetter P (1998) Perspectives in life cycle impact assessment. A structured approach to combine models of the

technosphere, ecosphere and valuesphere. London, UK

* [email protected]

LCIA 1


Interpreting LCIA results: development of Canadian normalization

factors, at individual and national levels

Anne Lautier*, CIRAIG Ralph Rosenbaum, CIRAIG - Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of

Products, Processes and Services Manuele Margni, CIRAIG, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Louise Deschenes, CIRAIG

Normalization is an optional element of LCA which calculates the magnitude of an impact (midpoint or endpoint) relative to the total effect of a given reference. Expressing the results of an LCA related to a common basis allows determining the relative importance of the different effects to the selected reference. A reference value, called normalization factor, is associated to each impact category of a LCIA methodology. It is often referring to a global, continental or regional level as a whole or expressed on a yearly person basis.

Normalization factors can be calculated either from a bottom up approach, that considers the impact of individual consumption, or from a top down approach that considers the total effect of national industrial commercial and agricultural activities, energy production, transport, and residential activities on a yearly person basis. The goal of this work was i) to calculate normalisation factors for Canada using both top down and bottom up approaches, and ii) to compare the results from both.

Top down normalization factors have been calculated from national annual emission inventories using the characterisation factors from LUCAS (Canadian), IMPACT 2002+ (European), and TRACI (US) respectively. Bottom up normalization factors have been calculated from statistical data of individual Canadian consumption, and using both the European Écoinvent database and the American Economic Input-Output 98 database.

As an example, individual energy consumption totals 427 GJ/pers.yr when considering the top down approach, and 188 and 323 GJ/pers.yr when applying the bottom up approach, using process LCA and Economic Input Output (EIO) LCA respectively. Similarly, global warming effects amount to 20,6 t-eq CO2/pers.yr for the top down approach, and 9,8 and 14,4 t-eq CO2/pers.yr for the bottom up approach, using process LCA and EIO LCA respectively.

The differences between the top down and bottom up approaches can be explained either by gaps in the individual consumption inventory or by the fact that Canada is an important exporter of energy, minerals and agricultural products, which means that the total national emissions cannot be entirely attributed to individual Canadian consumption. Furthermore, process LCA and EIO LCA also gave different results due to the differences between both methodologies. Future work will focus on identifying the differences and will lead to a hybrid methodology that uses jointly process LCA and EIO LCA.

* [email protected]

LCIA 1


Multicriteria Comparison of Ecotoxicity Methods

Focused on Pesticides

Frank Hayer*, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART Daniel U. Baumgartner, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART

Christian Bockstaller, INRA Agronomie et Environnement Gérard Gaillard, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station

Thomas Kaegi, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART Laure Mamy, INRA UR 251 PESSAC

Thomas Nemecek, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART Joern Strassemeyer, Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI) Federal Research Centre for

Cultivated Plants

Several life cycle assessment (LCA) models are available to analyze the toxic effect of chemical substances on the environment and human health. Often fully contradictory results show substantial limitations and differences between the models, especially regarding pesticides in agricultural production systems. In the frame of the European network of competences on pesticides (ENDURE) the performances of the LCA toxicity models EDIP, CML-USES, IMPACT2002+ were compared together with the risk assessment (RA) methods SYNOPS, I-PHY and PRZM-USES. The comparison is based on a multi-criteria analysis combining self assessment and cross checking. The criteria list is based on the work of the COMET Project described in 1 and adopted to pesticide application. It considers a set of criteria belonging to the three themes: Scientific soundness, practical feasibility and stakeholder utility. The assessment of the two last dimensions has been validated by applying the methods to a large data set of surveyed pesticide application strategies for wheat (186 in Saxony-Anhalt) and apple orchards (50 from the German and 100 from the Swiss side of Lake Constance). For this analysis around 400 active ingredients were characterized for the LCA methods using physicochemical and ecotoxicological data from the pesticides property database and the database of SYNOPS. The RA methods show a better scientific soundness compared with the LCA ones regarding the coverage of agricultural production and production factors. On the contrary, the LCA methods prove their strength considering the criteria sets environmental issues and human health. Regarding the practical feasibility and stakeholder utility the methods SYNOPS and I-PHY are favorable because of their graphical user interface and the presentation of the results. For LCA purposes, it is recommended to use the CML-USES method for the assessment of the whole production system. As soon as pesticides play a major role, an agricultural LCA study should systematically be complemented by a RA study.

References

1. Bockstaller C, Guichard L, Keichinger O, Girardin P, Galan M-B and Gaillard G 2009: Comparison of methods to assess the sustainability of agricultural systems. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 29 (1) 223-235, DOI: 10.1051/agro:2008058

* [email protected]

LCIA 1


Life cycle health impact and benefits of air conditioning: reduction in extreme heat mortality versus increase in health impacts due to

particulate and climate change

Olivier Jolliet*, University of Michigan Carina Gronlund, University of Michigan

Marie O'Neill, University of Michigan Jalonne White-Newsome, University of Michigan

This paper aims to develop a method to consistently compare on a life cycle basis mitigation of climate change versus adaptation strategies. The method feasibility is developed and evaluated on a case study on the use of air conditioning as s response to extreme heat events. Climate change tends to increase the frequency and magnitude of extreme heat event and the weather related mortality that include among other cerebrovascular disease, ischemic heart disease and hypertensive disease. As an adaptation strategy on the one hand, the use of air conditioning has been shown to reduce extreme heat mortality risks. On the other hand, air conditioning contributes to increase emissions of both greenhouse gases and in primary and secondary particulates. This raises two main questions: How does these benefits compare with the increase in impacts? On a global scale who benefits and who suffers from the use of air conditioning? To address these questions based on a life cycle approach, both damage and benefits are first quantified on a common scale of Disability Adjusted Life years (DALYs) as defined by the World Health Organization. Epidemiologic data show that air conditioning potentially reduces mortality due to extreme heat by approximately 130,000 DALY/year in North America. In comparison, epidemiological data also show that the primary and secondary particulates associated with the life cycle of air conditioning are estimated to generate a similar order of magnitude of 140,000 additional DALY/year. The greenhouse gases emitted to produce the electricity to supply the AC units of 80 million households in the US may generate 290,000 DALYs per year, mostly in developing countries (wide uncertainty range from 20,000 to 1,400,000 DALY depending on the considered time horizon and scenario). This case study demonstrates the feasibility of the approach and suggests as a first estimate that adaptation using air conditioning generates as a first order of magnitude as much impacts on human health than avoided in North America and additional impacts in developing countries. In this respect, actions that contribute to both mitigation and adaptation may be more efficient in reducing impacts on human health. Further research is required to systematically assess uncertainty propagation in the various models in order to further test result robustness.

* [email protected]

LCIA 1


Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Global Trade: monetary and

impact disparities in developing vs. developed regions

Shanna Shaked*, University of Michigan, Applied Physics Damien Friot, Ecole des Mines de Paris

Sebastien Humbert, Quantis Manuele Margni, CIRAIG, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Stefan Schwarzer, UNEP Cedric Wannaz, University of Michigan Olivier Jolliet, University of Michigan

Increasing globalization results in many developed regions effectively exporting their manufacturing (and associated emissions) to developing regions. We combine a global production chain model, input-output analyses, and a global impact model to estimate the disparities in monetary output and health impacts associated with this production. The health impacts are estimated based on the fate, exposure and intake of pollutants emitted during the manufacturing, transport and use phases, which occur respectively in the producing nation, the rest of the world and the consuming nation. In order to determine the health impacts of current consumption patterns, we use a multi-continental multimedia model and life cycle impact assessment techniques to link emissions resulting from production to the subsequent health impacts on both the producing and consuming countries.

This model has previously been applied to German textile consumption to show that China and India receive only 13% of the money spent on production, but suffer 61% of the impacts associated with particulate matter emissions. We have now expanded this model to look at global textile consumption and regionally-allocated impacts associated with particulate matter and CO2 emissions. Using the global production chain model, we find that Germany domestically emits only 75% of the CO2 emissions globally needed to meet German total household demand. China, on the other hand, emits twice as much CO2 emissions domestically as needed by Chinese household consumption. Thus Germany is effectively exporting 25% of its CO2 emissions to developing regions such as China.

Along with greenhouse gas emissions, developed regions are exporting the damaging chemical emissions associated with manufacturing, such as particulate matter, which have more localized health impacts. The higher population densities in developing regions and lower environmental standards means that exporting these emissions results in disproportionately higher health impacts. A given emission in India or China can result in 2-8 times more health damage than if the emission where in US or Europe.

This work is being done in collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Program and other decision-makers in order to best provide guidance on the optimal methods for decreasing human health impacts and increasing sustainability in global trade.

* [email protected]

LCIA 2

73 International Ballroom C Wednesday late morning

Session chair: Manuele Margni

Life cycle impacts of nanotechnologies Olivier Jolliet

The influence of value choices on human health damage assessment in LCA An De Schryver, Mark Huijbergts

Calculation of LCA characterization factors for terrestrial eutrophication at regional scale Alejandro Gallego, Luis Rodríguez, Almudena Hospido, Mª Teresa Moreira, Gumersindo Feijoo

Crucial improvements needed for Land Use Impact Assessment modeling concerning biodiversity indicators Danielle Maia de Souza, Ralph Rosenbaum, Louise Deschênes, Henrique de Melo Lisboa

LCIA 2


Life cycle impacts of nanotechnologies

Olivier Jolliet*, University of Michigan

This paper presents a framework to analyze the trade-offs between life cycle impacts and benefits of nanotechnologies, as a replacement for conventional technologies. It first discusses how the LCA approach applies to nano-based products. The EPA-EU Workshop on Life Cycle of nanotechnologies hold on 2-3 October 2006 at the Wilson center has shown that:

a) There is no generic LCA of nanomaterials, just as there is no generic LCA of chemicals. b) The ISO-framework for LCA (ISO 14040:2006) and the UNEP LCIA framework such as

operationalized with USEtox are suitable to the case of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials.

c) Processes are under development and may be rapidly evolving. This is a very similar situation to e.g. electronic industry.

d) The main challenge and gap in term of Life Cycle Impact Assessment is linked to the direct toxicity of nanoparticle.

A matrix approach has been developed to identify the main risks associated to nanotechnologies over the whole product life cycle (raw material extraction, manufacturing, use phase, disposal and recycling) and case studies are shown for various nanoapplications. The presentation then focuses on assessing the impact on human health of the emitted nanoparticles in a consistent way with other life cycle impacts: First the nanoparticle intake fraction - the fraction of the particle emitted that is taken in by the population - is calculated using a multi-media model of fate and exposure. This step is illustrated through an example of fullerenes compared to persistent organic substances such as dioxins. In a second step, the intake is combined with dose-response information that assess the probability of various diseases per unit intake to eventually obtain human health impacts in term of disability adjusted life years.

* [email protected]

LCIA 2


The influence of value choices on

human health damage assessment in LCA

An De Schryver*, Radboud University Nijmegen Mark Huijbergts, Radboud University Nijmegen

Uncertainties involved in environmental decision making, using results from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Risk Assessment or any other analytical tool, are inevitable 1. Within life cycle impact assessment methodologies, parameter uncertainty caused by lack of knowledge in the development of characterization factors can be assessed by applying methods such as Monte Carlo analysis 2 3. Uncertainties due to differences in moral beliefs, concerns or interests (also defined as value choices), e.g., time frames considered and the level of proof needed, are embedded into the characterization factors and not easy to cope with by practitioners. To handle value choices arising in the modeling procedure in a consistent way, three coherent perspectives can be defined based on the Cultural Theory, namely the hierarchist, egalitarian and individualist perspectives 4 5. Each perspective reflects a type of people with a specific set of preferences and contextual values that explains their view on nature and society 6. This allows the combination of both scientifically valid impact modeling and the representation of the decision maker’s or the human actor’s world views. Furthermore, it motivates decision makers, methodology developers and analysts to make transparent their value choices.

This presentation outlines the practical consequences of value choices in impact assessment damage modeling by using the Cultural Theory. For a range of ecoinvent processes 7, covering the most important consumer product groups, the human health damage score was calculated using three different sets of characterization factors. The applied methodology combined six human health impact assessment categories: human toxicity, climate change, respiratory inorganics, ionizing radiations, ozone layer depletion and photochemical ozone formation. The characterization factors were recalculated and adapted to three predefined sets of value choices representing the hierarchist, egalitarian and individualist perspectives. The results indicate that the relative contributions of the human health impact categories change when using a different perspective and that the products ranking between the three perspectives is product group specific. For example, for agricultural products the ranking correlation factor is the highest (0.90) between the hierarchist and egalitarian perspective; and the damage scores are mostly dominated by the respiratory inorganics impact category for the hierarchist perspective, by climate change for the egalitarian perspective and by human toxicity for the individualistic perspective.

The differences in results due to value choices in impact assessment modeling are shown and changes in relative contribution of the different human health impacts to the overall human damage score and products ranking for each perspective are presented. Furthermore, the value choices that are the main drivers in result changes are outlined and explained. This study reflects the consequences of choosing one specific perspective within impact assessment modeling, an important awareness to have for practitioners and especially decision makers.

LCIA 2


References

1. Steen, B. (2006) Describing values in relation to choices in LCA. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 11, 4) 277-283

2. Geisler, G., Hellweg, S. & Hungerbühler, K. (2005) Uncertainty analysis in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): case study on plant-protection products and implications for decision making. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 10, 184-192.

3. Huijbregts, M. A. J., Gilijamse, W., Ragas, A. M. J. & Reijnders, L. (2003) Evaluating Uncertainty in Environmental Life-Cycle Assessment. A Case Study Comparing Two Insulation Options for a Dutch One-Family Dwelling.

4. Goedkoop, M. & Spriensma, R. T. (1999) The Eco-indicator 99: A damage oriented method for Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methodology. Amersfoort, The Netherlands, PRé Consultants.

5. Goedkoop, M., Heijungs, R., Huijbregts, M., De Schryver, A. M., Struijs, J. & Van Zelm, R. (2008) ReCiPe 2008. A life cycle impact assessment method which comprises harmonised category indicators at the midpoint and the endpoint level; First edition Report I. Characterisation. Den Haag, The Netherlands, VROM.

6. Hofstetter, P. (1998) Perspectives In Life Cycle Impact Assessment. A Structured Approach To Combine Models Of The Technosphere, Ecosphere And Valuesphere. London, UK.

7. Ecoinvent Centre (2006) ecoinvent data v2.0, ecoinvent reports No. 1-25. 2007, CD-ROM. Duebendorf, Switzerland, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories.

* [email protected]

LCIA 2


Calculation of LCA characterization factors for terrestrial

eutrophication at regional scale

Alejandro Gallego*, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Santiago de Compostela Luis Rodríguez, European Commission, Directorate General JRC, Institute for

Environment and Sustainability Almudena Hospido, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Uni. of Santiago de Compostela Mª Teresa Moreira, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Uni. of Santiago de Compostela Gumersindo Feijoo, Dept of Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Santiago de Compostela

One of the major drawbacks of models used currently to calculate characterization factors for terrestrial eutrophication is the use of information at a country scale. This fact may turn to be a problem, especially in countries with large geographic, climatic and economic variability such as Russia, Sweden or Spain. Currently the only way to calculate these characterization factors is by measuring and calculating local emissions, deposition and critical loads. Galicia (NW Spain), a region where terrestrial eutrophication caused by the atmospheric deposition of N-compounds has been reported to be the main threat for the sustainability of the terrestrial ecosystems, was selected as a case study for the calculation of regional characterization factors. Depositions levels for NOx and NHy were measured on-field by using data recorded at 34 monitoring sites. Annual emissions from the principal sources of emission were also quantified using the best available calculation methods. Exceedances of N deposition has been calculated considering specific values of immobilization, uptake, denitrification and the leaching processes of different ecosystems. Regional characterization factors have then been calculated using accumulated exceedance as impact category indicator and results have been compared with figures available in the literature for Spain. The values obtained for the regional characterization factors turned out to be quite different to those obtained for a country scale, although a more detailed comparison of both studies is required in order to calculate the exact value of the uncertainties associated with each characterization factor. This study confirms that accumulated exceedance is a good category indicator for terrestrial eutrophication in LCA as it produces stable characterization factors with low variations in emissions, which is typical for LCIA applications.

* [email protected]

LCIA 2


Crucial improvements needed for Land Use Impact Assessment

modeling concerning biodiversity indicators

Danielle Maia de Souza*, UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina)/POLYMTL /CIRAIG

Ralph Rosenbaum, CIRAIG - Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services

Louise Deschênes, CIRAIG - Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services

Henrique de Melo Lisboa, UFSC - Federal University of Santa Catarina

On the continuous effort to improve the Life Cycle Impact Assessment methodology in Brazil, the adaptation of current characterization models was made necessary. Considering the global efforts on the development of indicators for land use impact assessment in LCA – biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services and ecological resources - within Ecosystem Quality, biodiversity indicators were the one chosen for the evaluation and assessment. The main reasons are its importance on sustaining ecosystem functions and the core need to focus the sustainability and conservation of Brazilian biodiversity. An evaluation of the existing models for land use assessment, according to biodiversity indicators, has been carried out. The aim has been to analyze the applicability of current mostly used indicators – and their weak points on the assessment - and check out the possible correlation of other indicators which could improve the analysis of land use occupation and transformation effects on biological diversity in Brazil. During the analysis it has been identified the necessity to review many aspects which still remain unclear, such as the land use types and respective intensities of use; the restoration times; the reference time for the comparison of actual and post-transformation and/or occupation and its relation with the intensity of use. Different methodologies deal with these issues but most remain unclear. Further, in many cases, the ecological value of ecosystems are not taken into account, considering that the states of “natural” or “near-to-natural”, supposedly to be reached after restoration, are mostly considered to be the same, no matter which region the assessment is being carried out. In land restoration, for example, it is clear that regional differences play an important role on the assessment. This paper is an effort to review some of the parameters involved in Land Use Impact Assessment, having in mind, the necessity to adaptation of modeling into countries like Brazil, with a diverse biological diversity, according to different land uses and regions – with still lack on data availability for the assessment.

* [email protected]

Buildings

79 International Ballroom A-B Wednesday early afternoon

Session chair: Bastian Wittstock

An Industry Example – Use of an LCA Study in the Development and Registration of an EPD in the US Connie Hensler

A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Insulating Concrete Forms with Traditional Residential Wall Sections Neethi Rajagopalan, Melissa Bilec, Amy Landis

Life-Cycle Assessment of a Green Educational Building: A Case-Study Uta Krogmann, Nicholas Minderman, Jennifer Senick, Clinton Andrews

UBC Building LCA Case Study Rob Sianchuk, Paul McFarlane

Buildings


An Industry Example – Use of an LCA Study in the Development and Registration of an EPD in the US

Connie Hensler*, Interface, Inc.

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is an ISO type III ecolabel requiring life cycle assessment and third party verification. While EPDs are being adopted in Europe, they have little traction in the US. Interface is the first carpet manufacturer in North America to have registered EPD.

EPDs follow a credible, verifiable process in their development. Companies must have a commitment to full disclosure of what is usually confidential information about how products are made. In addition to this ingredient information, companies must perform a life cycle assessment pursuant to ISO 14040 standards with goal and scope defined by the Product Category Rules (PCR). From this information, an Environmental Product Declaration is developed, pursuant to ISO 14025 standards.

Interface’s first verified and registered EPD is for a modular carpet. The PCR was adopted from the IBU Institut fur Bauen and Umwelt ‘s PCR – Floor Coverings, Environmental Product Declarations Harmonized Rules for Textile, Laminate and Resilient Floor coverings, 2008. The LCA study and the EPD were verified by Five Winds International and the EDP was subsequently registered with The Green Standard.

The process of developing an EPD is extensive and the adoption of EPDs as a decision making tool in the US is uncertain. The first companies to invest in EPD take a risk in exposing proprietary information about their products, but hopefully will reap the rewards of the position of environmental leadership. The value of an EPD beyond demonstrated leadership will depend on the acceptance of EPDs as a common method for environmental disclosure and guidance for purchasing decisions. When there’s only one EPD out there, there’s nothing for comparison. When it is commonly available on products, comparisons can be made to guide purchasing decisions and to assist in understanding the environmental footprint of larger systems. A trend in Europe is use of EPDs for construction products to measure the environmental impact of entire buildings. While here in the US, there is less support, but the transparency made possible with EPDs should make it the standard environmental comparisons between products.

* [email protected]

Buildings


A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Insulating Concrete Forms

with Traditional Residential Wall Sections

Neethi Rajagopalan*, University of Pittsburgh Melissa Bilec, University of Pittsburgh Amy Landis, University of Pittsburgh

Buildings account for 30-40% of the world’s energy use 1. In the United States, buildings use 70% of the nation’s electricity 2 and emit 40% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions3. Energy efficient structures which reduce energy consumption and its consequent environmental impacts over the life cycle of the buildings are increasingly becoming necessary. Wall assemblies made of insulating concrete forms (ICF) which have the insulation built in with the structure help in addressing the need for energy efficient structures. This research focuses on life cycle modeling of a 2, 450 square feet single family home in Pittsburgh.

The LCA is divided into four broad phases-the manufacturing, construction, use and end of life phases. For the manufacturing phase of the structures, an inventory assessment of 1 square foot of ICF is compared with 1 square foot of wood frame structure. Preliminary results of LCI on an ICF structure show that the polystyrene component which is used to make the forms has significant environmental impact in comparison to concrete. Also ICF has high air emissions when compared to the wood frame structure in the manufacturing phase.

The energy efficiency of a 2,450 square feet house is modeled in a Department of Energy (DOE) freeware called eQuest. This software calculates hour by hour building consumption based on hourly weather data and location considerations. Detailed data about building occupancy, heating, lighting, fenestration details and building envelope are required for modeling in eQuest. The house is modeled to meet the requirements of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), the residential energy code in the US. Various modeling scenarios involving the use of ICF and wood in different structural members are modeled to identify the best combination with the least energy consumption.

This study will identify the energy intensive phases in a life cycle of a residential structure and will suggest manufacturing and use changes to reduce significant environmental impacts associated with the building material. A residential model will be created to understand all the phases of the life cycle of a house.

References

1. Heijungs, R. F., R., A Special View on the Nature of the Allocation Problem. Int. J. LCA 1998, 3, (5), 321-332.

2. Table R1: Energy Consumption by Sector, Ranked by State 3. Buildings Energy Databook: 1.1 Buildings Sector Energy Consumption

* [email protected]

Buildings


Life-Cycle Assessment of a Green Educational Building:

A Case-Study

Uta Krogmann*, Rutgers University Nicholas Minderman, Rutgers University

Jennifer Senick, Rutgers University Clinton Andrews, Rutgers University

Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) of whole buildings are challenging because buildings are large scale, complex in materials and function, temporally dynamic and not standardized. As a result only a few LCAs of whole buildings and even fewer LCAs of green buildings exist. In this study, an LCA of a new 890 square meter educational facility with classrooms, laboratory space and administrative offices was conducted with a focus on primary energy consumption and global warming potential and the results were compared to literature data of conventional buildings. Green features of the building include daylighting, occupancy sensors, building orientation, enhanced insulation, solar power, water efficient fixtures, low volatile organic compounds (VOC) paint, linoleum floor, low VOC carpet, and Forest Stewardship Certified wood.

The building has an initial mass of 1860 metric tonnes and of 1940 metric tonnes if materials for renovations and replacements over a 50-yr life-time are included. The material placement phase (raw material extraction and manufacturing) contributes 40.9%, the operations phase 58.1% and the decommissioning phase 1.1% to the total life-cycle primary energy consumption of 89000 MWh. As expected, the LCA showed that the life cycle primary energy consumption of the building is much less dominated by the operations phase than in conventional buildings, due to the energy conserving features and the solar panels. However, the embodied primary energy during the materials placement phase seems to be higher than in conventional buildings. Similar effects were also found for the global warming potential and the acidification potential.

The LCA also highlights how building material choices may inadvertently shift impacts across impact categories and/or geographies (e.g., the eutrophication effects of linoleum). This was confirmed by other studies that compared wood, linoleum and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) flooring materials and concluded that wood flooring is the most favorable floor material followed by linoleum and then PVC. However, wood flooring is the most expensive flooring material.

The case study of this green educational building confirms the effects of the reduced energy consumption of this building. However, additional data are necessary specifically for green building materials to expand the study to other than energy related environmental impacts.

* [email protected]

Buildings


UBC Building LCA Case Study

Rob Sianchuk*, University of British Columbia

Paul McFarlane**, University of British Columbia

A special topics course, Life Cycle Analysis of UBC Buildings (CIVL 498C), was created for fourth year civil engineering students at the University of British Columbia (UBC) for the 2008 winter session. The objective of the course was to contribute to the development of an environmental performance-based tool to establish quantifiable sustainable development guidelines for future UBC construction, renovation and demolition projects. Each student completed a cradle-to-gate LCA on the structure and envelope of an assigned academic or residential building at UBC. The students performed material takeoffs from architectural and structural drawings using OnCenter’s OnScreen TakeOff software, and built their respective LCA models using the Athena Institute’s Environmental Impact Estimator version 4.0. Standardized input and assumption document formats were used to provide transparency, and to ensure that these LCA studies could be expanded upon in the future by including further building elements and life cycle stages. This study established a materials inventory and environmental impact references for 20% of the approximately 15 million ft2 of floor area currently constructed at UBC. The preliminary impact assessment results indicated that the average academic building at UBC has an embodied energy of 263 MJ /ft2, global warming potential of 21 kg CO2 eq/ft2, ozone layer depletion of 5.4x10-8 kg CFC-11 eq/ft2, acidification potential of 7 moles H+ eq/ft2, smog potential of 9.2x10-2 kg NOx eq/ft2 and eutrophication potential of 5.6x10-4 kg N eq/ft2. For comparison, the average residential building at UBC has an embodied energy of 443 MJ /ft2, global warming potential of 31 kg CO2 eq/ft2, ozone layer depletion of 8.8x10-8 kg CFC-11 eq/ft2, acidification potential of 10 moles H+ eq/ft2, smog potential of 1.5x10-1 kg NOx eq/ft2 and eutrophication potential of 1.1x10-3 kg N eq/ft2. Furthermore, approximately 4 million tons of carbon are stored in the structures of the sampled buildings at UBC, with the majority being stored in small dimension lumber and plywood. This case study exemplifies the type of community-scale LCA investigation that is an essential element in contributing to the emergence of a global life cycle economy.



84 International Ballroom A-B Wednesday late afternoon

Special session coordinator: Catherine Benoit, UQAM

2009 is an important year for the development of Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA). The publication of the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment by the UNEP SETAC Life Cycle Initiative sets the stage, outlining a framework and best-practices for assessing the social and socio-economic impacts of product life cycles, and also highlights where new research is needed. This session provides a forum in which to share the results of research and applications in the development and demonstration of impact assessment methods, databases, and software tools that bring Social LCA to a wider state of practice. Case studies in Social LCA are welcome as part of this session scope, as are strategies for and examples of collecting social life cycle inventory data. Other topics of interest for the session include experiences with stakeholder engagement and peer review of S-LCA studies.

Development of a screening tool for Social LCA: The Social Hot spots Database Part 1 Catherine Benoit

Development of a screening tool for Social LCA: The Social Hot spots Database Part 2 Greg Norris

Comparison of the effects caused by the production of a rose bouquet in Ecuador to those caused by the production in the Netherlands using the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment Andreas Ciroth, Juliane Franze

Achieving Comprehensive Social Impact Assessment Lise Laurin, Mellisa Hamilton

Proposition of a characterization model in Social LCA : Fair Salary Index Julie Parent

Quantifying and assessing working environment related social aspects along product lifecycles – the LCWE approach Jan Paul Lindner, Tabea Beck, Ulrike Bos, Cecilia Makishi Colodel



Development of a screening tool for Social LCA:

The Social Hot spots Database Part 1

Catherine Benoit, UQAM Product Life Cycles include many unit processes. In fact, every sector can be found, at some level, in every product supply chain. For this reason, in environmental LCA we use “generic” or industry average data for the “background” processes that make small individual (but possibly large total) contributions to total impacts over a life cycle. We then identify the processes which make a major contribution to total impacts, and these “hot spots” become priorities for data refinement and possibly for environmental progress as well. A similar process of identifying hot spots using average data can be very helpful in the early stages of a social LCA. Social hot spots are unit processes located in a region where a situation occurs that may be considered as a problem, a risk or an opportunity, in function of a social theme of interest. The social theme of interest represents issues that are considered as threatening social well-being or that may contribute to its further development. The presentation is the first of two which will, in sequence, describe the elements of a global social hot spot database and modeling system, and will present results for a case study addressing child labor risk. The global hot spot database and analysis system is being developed in an open source, non-proprietary way. An open, transparent database uses and summarizes best-available information about reported risks and measures relating to each category of concern or impact in social LCA. The data table summarizes risks and opportunities by sector, by region. When combined with the global IO model with data on worker participation, we are able to conduct a “life cycle attribute assessment”, and also to identify social hot spots in the global supply chains of products. As with environmental LCA, these social hot spots then become priorities for data refinement, and may provide the best opportunities for achieving improvements in social impacts within a given product life cycle.



Development of a screening tool for Social LCA:

The Social Hot spots Database Part 2

Greg Norris, Sylvatica Product Life Cycles include many unit processes. In fact, every sector can be found, at some level, in every product supply chain. For this reason, in environmental LCA we use “generic” or industry average data for the “background” processes that make small individual (but possibly large total) contributions to total impacts over a life cycle. We then identify the processes which make a major contribution to total impacts, and these “hot spots” become priorities for data refinement and possibly for environmental progress as well. A similar process of identifying hot spots using average data can be very helpful in the early stages of a social LCA. Social hot spots are unit processes located in a region where a situation occurs that may be considered as a problem, a risk or an opportunity, in function of a social theme of interest. The social theme of interest represents issues that are considered as threatening social well-being or that may contribute to its further development. The system is built upon the GTAP global input-output model. This system provides data for 113 regions, and each is differentiated into 57 sectors. The inputs to each sector, used to produce its product output, are specified quantitatively; so are the trade flows between each region. The model forms the backbone of a global input/output LCA model. To support global social hot spot assessment in LCA, this system is augmented with data on worker participation levels by sector by region. The presentation will describe how researchers and LCA practitioners in any region can make use of the model, to support: a) Development of environmental and social LCI databases for their country, in a way that takes explicit account of global trade flows; b) Identification of social hot spots in product life cycles.



Comparison of the effects caused by the production of a rose bouquet in Ecuador to those caused by the production in the

Netherlands using the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment

Andreas Ciroth, GreenDeltaTC GmbH Juliane Franze, GreenDeltaTC

We will present a case study for a social life cycle assessment (sLCA) based on the recently published “Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products” as developed by a UNEP/SETAC Working Group. The general aim is to “try out” the proposed method, which so far has not been tested in detail on a specific case. The case study itself is about the impacts of rose production. It compares the effects caused by the production of a rose bouquet in Ecuador to those caused by the production in the Netherlands. In both cases, the roses are delivered to the European market, and put on sale at a venue in Aalsmeeer, the Netherlands. Further objective is to identify differences and similarities in environmental and social life cycle modelling, and find both social and environmental hot spots in each of the life cycles. While additional effort will be needed in terms of data collection,methodological experiences, and software support, the guidelines as such proved to be applicable. Coupling social and environmental LCA has synergies so that both together can be performed quicker than if each were conducted separately. In addition, the case study shows that results can be completely different for the environmental and for the social dimension, so that it will often be needed to perform both assessments if a complete picture is required.



Achieving Comprehensive Social Impact Assessment

Lise Laurin, EarthShift

Mellisa Hamilton, EarthShift Just as environmental impact assessments miss important environmental affects and are often augmented by a risk assessment, the inclusion of social impacts in an assessment method will miss important social impacts. Because social impact assessment is a relatively new concept, there will be a learning curve over which the methods will get better and more comprehensive. In addition, social impacts are less tangible than environmental impacts, and may never be as well modeled using a life cycle assessment approach. These impacts can also be assessed using a risk assessment, this time an assessment of social risk. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is often criticized for missing major environmental impacts. As an example, brominated flame retardants, even those which are no longer manufactured due to the possibility of risk to human health, are ignored by all major impact assessment methods. The risks to fish migrations in hydroelectric power generation are also ignored. To ensure that these important environmental impacts are not ignored in major decision-making, most LCA practitioners recommend a complimentary risk assessment to capture these other impacts. Social LCA has even more potential for missing impacts. Cultural biases mean that one society’s benefit is another’s bane. We have seen, however, that social risk assessment as applied using Total Cost Assessment (TCA) has done an excellent job at digging out the potential social impacts of a behavior or decision. Applying TCA to several projects, social concerns have come to the forefront: concerns over noise, immediate human health impacts, disease transmittal from one location to another, and local employment, for example. While TCA is only one example of a social risk assessment, we will show how this method has brought the issue of social sustainability side by side with economic and environmental sustainability. By including this type of assessment as a compliment to the LCA methodology at the outset, we simplify the initial task for Social Impact Assessment Method developers and give them a greater chance of success.



Proposition of a characterization model in Social LCA:

Fair Salary Index

Julie Parent, UQAM Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) has evolved a lot in the last year, with the publication of the Guidelines for SLCA for products and services (2009) by the Life Cycle Initiative’s task force on the integration of social aspects into Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This international Taskforce has agreed on a general framework for the tool which is presented in the Guidelines. However, methodological issues still need further research. This is the case for social mechanisms, which need to be translated into characterization models for calculating indicator results for the impact categories. Regarding this need, we proposed an evaluation model for the characteristic “Salary”, an important subject when assessing the impact category “work conditions”. As it is proposed in the Guidelines for SLCA, two levels of assessment can take place depending on the goal of the study: hotspot assessment, where the unit processes are at the national and sectoral level, and case specific assessment, where the unit processes become more precise regarding the organizations responsible of the activities along the life cycle. Our Fair Salary Index belongs to the Hotspot assessment and aims to measure the adequacy of the salary expected to be at the national level. It aggregates indicators helping to identify if a country is at risk regarding salaries. These indicators have been extracted from ILO’s work on Decent Work. In addition, since an Index will inherently involve subjective steps, hardly avoidable when dealing with social aspects, we attempted to represent the value system of the ILO, which one can consider as being based on an international consensus.

Our characterization model aims to assign a score representing the adequacy of the salaries expected for the countries involved in the life cycle of a product; the score of the index being the indicator of the subcategory “salary”.

Finally, the Index is tested on the product system of the Québec greenhouse tomato. The subcategory indicator is attached to the product system using a model proposed for the Life Cycle Attribute Assessment (LCAA), but recognized as being adequate for SLCA in the Guidelines for SLCA. The case study gives a platform to discuss the signification of the values once attributed to a product life cycle.

If our work focused on a single subcategory, the method used to build the Index might be relevant to develop others characterization models.



Quantifying and assessing working environment related social

aspects along product lifecycles – the LCWE approach

Jan Paul Lindner, Stuttgart University Tabea Beck, Stuttgart University Ulrike Bos, Stuttgart University

Cecilia Makishi Colodel, Stuttgart University The integration of working environment related social aspect into life cycle oriented sustainability assessments provides important information for decision makers in policy, society and industry and helps to identify trade-offs between environmental and social impacts. In the method developed at the University of Stuttgart, Department of Life Cycle Engineering, the sectoral and the process based approach as mentioned in the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment are combined: Industry sector specific statistical data from national censuses is gathered and allocated to process level. The assumptions this allocation is acting on are that the social impacts of a process are related to the amount of human labour of the process. Furthermore, the amount of human labour of a process is related to the effort made to add value by processing (which is equivalent to the added-value itself). Based on this allocation the approach enables both the use of statistical data on social aspects and the aggregation of process specific data along the life cycle of products. The basis for the aggregation and the weighting of the processes is working time. The indicators developed so far are qualified working time distinguishing different general qualification levels, total working time as well as lethal and non-lethal accidents. For all these indicators process specific data has been generated and integrated into the GaBi software system enabling the assessment of the impacts also including background systems. The methodology and data have been employed in different projects in parallel to conventional LCAs and have demonstrated their viability. In the presentation the LCWE methodology including the development of the indicators will be presented. The generation of process specific data from industry sectoral statistical data will be elaborated and a case study will be shown with the respective results.

Power


Wednesday early afternoon

Session chair: Jennifer Princing

Uncertainty and Variability in Accounting for Grid Electricity in Attributional Life Cycle Assessment Christopher Weber, Constantine Samaras, Paulina Jaramillo, Joe Marriott Scope Dependent Modelling of Electricity in Life Cycle Assessment Rolf Frischknecht, Matthias Stucki Variability in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation technologies Garvin Heath, Margaret Mann, Pamala Sawyer Carbon Footprint of an 800 MW Coal-fired Power Plant with CCS: CO2-EOR and Storage Options Jitsopa Suebsiri, Anastassia Manuilova, Malcolm Wilson Life Cycle Inventory and Cost Analysis of Advanced Fossil Energy Electricity Generation Technology: IGCC & NGCC Case Studies Robert James, Timothy Skone

Power



Uncertainty and Variability in Accounting for Grid Electricity in

Attributional Life Cycle Assessment

Christopher Weber*, Carnegie Mellon University Constantine Samaras, Carnegie Mellon University

Paulina Jaramillo, Carnegie Mellon University/Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Joe Marriott, University of Pittsburgh

The electricity sector is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases and conventional pollutants worldwide. It has long been a focus in life cycle assessment (LCA), both as an object of LCA studies as well as a major component of the life cycle inventory of producing nearly any product or service. Despite the seemingly broad study of this important sector, considerable variation still occurs in how electricity is accounted for in LCA methods. This presentation will review the status of electricity in LCA, discuss the inherent assumptions in current accounting methods, and propose recommendations for future modeling and standard-setting. We accomplish this through a review of different standards for LCA and carbon footprinting (the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, PAS 2050, and various US government initiatives as well as the ISO 14040 series) and a detailed study of different accounting boundaries for the continental United States.

We find substantial variation in short run marginal and average electricity grid mixes at scales from the local grid to the continental boundary. Taking into account only variation in CO2 emissions from delivered electricity, emissions factors range over one and a half orders of magnitude at a state level and over a factor of three at the level of grid operational control. As would be expected, as the area over which the grid is averaged becomes larger, the range of assessed emissions factors becomes smaller until the full continental United States is eventually averaged.

While there is a general consensus toward country-specific average grid mix in attributional and short-run consequential LCA, we argue that the proper mix of electricity generation to use in an LCA should be more reflective of true market conditions. This begins with using consumption-based electricity mixes as opposed to production-based mixes, which is becoming standard practice in LCA but is not fully accepted yet. Additionally, we argue the geographical area for the consumption mix should be dictated by grid interconnectedness as opposed to arbitrary national or sub-national borders. Finally, we discuss the implications of this research for uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in LCA.

* [email protected]

Power



Scope Dependent Modelling of Electricity in Life Cycle Assessment

Rolf Frischknecht*, ESU-services Ltd.

Matthias Stucki, ESU-services Ltd.

The choice of the appropriate model is subject of current debates related to life cycle inventory analysis. Three basically different models exist in life cycle inventory analysis: the attributional, the decisional and the consequential model 1. The attributional model is used to describe the environmental impacts caused by the average supply of a product in a given time period. It is mainly used to document the environmental impacts caused by an existing activity, e.g. environmental reports of a company, or an existing product, e.g. environmental product declaration of a refrigerator. The decisional approach is used to describe the environmental impacts caused by a change in supply of a product due to an increase or decrease in consumption in a given time period, considering the financial and / or contractual relationships between the economic actors. It is used in decision support. It helps to model product systems by taking relevant changes in the economic system into account, respecting business-management decisions. The consequential approach is used to describe the environmental impacts caused by a change in supply of a product due to a massive increase or decrease in consumption in a given time period. Like the decisional model, the consequential model is used in decision support. It helps to model product systems by taking relevant changes on a macro-economic level into account, including contraints, shifts in price levels, changes in capacity loads etc. We recommend using the relative economic size, to classify objects of investigation into three groups to which the most appropriate LCI models are assigned. An individual decision with comparatively small consequences is best modelled under ceteris paribus (other things being equal) conditions. Decisions with large potential consequences should be modelled under the conditions of mutatis mutandis (the necessary changes being made). Depending on the relative economic size of the object of investigation and the dimension of potential changes in the economy, the decisional or consequential model is better suited to comply with the mutatis mutandis condition. We recommend establishing electricity LCI datasets primarily on the basis of the attributional and the decisional approach. The attributional approach is sensible for environmental reporting and product labelling and declaration. The decisional approach is sensible for LCAs of product and process development, as well as site and supplier evaluation carried out by private companies. There are relevant LCA applications, in particular with regard to national and European policy making, where limitations and interrelations on a macro-economic scale are highly relevant. Limited availability of biomass, limited hydroelectric power potential or extension of arable land at the cost of primary forests need to be considered when it comes to an environmental assessment of large-scale policy measures (like for instance promoting renewable energies). This may be of relevance for companies too, if they offer products or services that are in line or help to comply with such government policies. The reasoning for the choices mentioned above is explained and examples covering a large European country and EU-27 are given.

References

1. Frischknecht R. 2007: Modelling of product systems in Life Cycle Inventory Analysis: Synopsis of attributional and consequential system models – properties and differences, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Ed.), Uster, Karlsruhe 2007

* [email protected]

Power



Variability in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from

electricity generation technologies

Garvin Heath*, National Renewable Energy Laboratory/University of Colorado at Boulder

Margaret Mann, NREL Pamala Sawyer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The climate change mitigation potential of renewable energy (RE) should be evaluated across the full range of technologies on a consistent basis. “Climate change mitigation potential of RE” means the difference in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions between an amount of energy supplied by an RE technology and by an incumbent technology. Because the most significant source of GHG emissions for RE technologies often occurs during manufacturing and assembly of the system components, their emissions must be evaluated considering the full life cycle. For consistency, GHG emissions from incumbent technologies must also be evaluated over their full life cycle as well.

Life cycle assessments (LCAs) have been performed on many energy technologies by numerous research groups over the past 20+ years. Some RE and conventional technologies have been evaluated in many studies, some in few or one, and some have yet to be examined. This presentation will synthesize existing estimates of life cycle GHG emissions to provide a foundational understanding of the variability of life cycle GHG emissions for RE and conventional electricity generation technologies. This synthesis is based on an exhaustive review of the LCA literature, where any reference reporting life cycle GHG emissions for an electricity generation technology that meets minimal standards of documentation, originality and relevance to modern designs was considered.

However, direct comparisons amongst LCAs are problematic owing to ubiquitous methodological inconsistencies. Therefore, NREL is undertaking a substantial effort of methodological harmonization of the set of existing LCAs on energy technologies. This effort follows the model of Farrell and colleagues 1, where, given a set of high quality and fully documented prior LCAs, system boundaries and other methodological issues can be harmonized ex post facto. Meta-analysis on the set of harmonized results provides for the possibility of determining the robustness of conclusions about the GHG emissions of the evaluated technologies, e.g., a central tendency and an estimate of uncertainty or variability, and can assist in prioritization of future research. This presentation will briefly describe the harmonization progress to date.

References

1. Farrell AE, Plevin RJ, Turner BT, Jones AD, O'Hare M and Kammen DM. 2006. Ethanol Can Contribute to Energy and Environmental Goals. Science 311: 506-8. January 27, 2006.

* [email protected]

Power



Carbon Footprint of an 800 MW Coal-fired Power Plant with CCS:

CO2-EOR and Storage Options

Jitsopa Suebsiri*, University of Regina Anastassia Manuilova, University of Regina

Malcolm Wilson, Office of Energy and Environment, University of Regina

Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is increasingly seen as an important component of broadly based greenhouse gas reduction measures, such as the use of renewable energy sources or nuclear energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) uses 19% of emission reduction requirements as the target for CCS. Although a fossil fuel power plant is a large source of CO2 emissions, with CO2 capture these emissions can be reduced substantially. However, it must be recognized that CO2 capture significantly decreases power plant efficiency; therefore, extra resources (for example, coal in the case of a coal-fired power plant) are needed to compensate for the lost capacity. Extensive application of CO2 capture will require the construction of replacement power plants to compensate for the loss of electricity to the grid. CO2 transport and storage also contribute to an increase in emissions and waste generation, as well as an increase in energy and other resource consumption. To understand the implications, CCS activities should be studied from a full life cycle perspective.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a CCS system consisting of an 800 MWe coal-fired power plant with a CO2 post-combustion capture unit, CO2 transport, CO2-EOR operations and storage was conducted. The Weyburn project in Saskatchewan, Canada, provides a case study. Life cycle inventory data specific for Canada were collected for the study. Where Canadian data were not available, published data for the US or worldwide averages were used. The analysis of data was performed using GaBi4 LCA software.

The results of the analysis showed an approximate 30% reduction in CO2 emissions for the full life cycle of CCS using the enhanced oil recovery base case. However, the efficiency of the power plant dropped by 10 percentage points and resource consumption increased by 30% based on electricity to the grid. In addition to CO2, other greenhouse gases (CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6) were also assessed and reported in the impact category Global Warming Potential (GWP). The results of the study demonstrate that LCA methodology clearly identifies the carbon footprint of CCS activities and the areas where improvement is needed to reduce resource consumption.

* [email protected]

Power



Life Cycle Inventory and Cost Analysis of Advanced Fossil Energy Electricity Generation Technology: IGCC & NGCC Case Studies

Robert James*, US DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory

Timothy Skone**, US DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory

The possibility of legislation requiring greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions has already incited investments in emerging energy generation technologies or retrofits which claim to provide both environmental and economic benefits over existing technologies. Investors and decision makers need a concise way to compare the environmental and economic performance of current and existing generation technologies. This quantification will be accomplished, in part, through a series of life cycle analysis (LCA) studies. This effort will expand on existing system studies on selected electricity generation technologies.

The purpose of this study is to model the economic and environmental life cycle performance of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power generation facilities over a 30-year period. Both technologies were studied with and without carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). It is assumed that both technologies are built as new greenfield construction projects. In addition to the energy generation facility, the economic and environmental performance of processes upstream and downstream of the power facility was considered.

The upstream LC stages (coal mining and coal transport for IGCC, natural gas extraction and transport for NGCC) are modeled for both technology cases; the cases with CCS include the additional transport and storage of the captured carbon. The downstream LC stages (electricity distribution and end use) are also included. Cost considerations provide the constant dollar levelized cost of delivered energy (LCOE) and the present value (PV) of the production and delivery of energy over the study period. Environmental inventories include green house gases (GHG), criteria air pollutants (CAP), mercury (Hg) and ammonia (NH3) emissions to air, water use and consumption, and land use (acres transformed).


Recycling

97 International Ballroom C Wednesday late afternoon

Session Chair: Anny YuShan Huang

The impact of end-of-life LCA allocation methods on materials selection decisions in cases of open loop recycling Elsa Olivetti, Anna Nicholson, Frank Field, Jeremy Gregory, Randolph Kirchain Recycling of PE Plastic Bags in terms of Life Cycle Inventory Guilherme de C. Queiroz, Eloisa E. C. Garcia Five recycling models and how they drive the market behavior. Are they moving us to sustainability? Laurel McEwen, Lise Laurin Comparative systems analysis of thermochemical and biochemical recycling or organic waste towards industrial feedstocks Philip Nuss Status of plastics waste recycling systems in Japan and study on the selection of the recycling methods by LCA methodology Hajime Nishihara, Yoshimi Ozaki

Recycling


The impact of end-of-life LCA allocation methods on materials

selection decisions in cases of open loop recycling

Elsa Olivetti*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Anna Nicholson, BIO Intelligence Service

Frank Field, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jeremy Gregory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Randolph Kirchain, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

One frequently discussed challenge in LCA methodology is the allocation or partitioning of environmental burdens between various co-products or processes with multiple inflows or outflows. This work considers the allocation challenge brought by partitioning the benefits or “credits” and burdens at product end-of-life (EOL) in the case of open loop recycling. This work explores several analytical variations of EOL allocation in LCA and investigates the implications of these variants on materials selection decisions across a range of contexts. Currently, ISO 14040 standards do not explicitly address the issue of EOL accounting in open loop recycling 1 and a diverse set of methods exist to address this challenge 2. Another LCA standard, focused on quantifying greenhouse gas emissions, is the Publically Available Specification (PAS 2050) developed in the United Kingdom, which describes seven allocation strategies and leaves the burden of open loop recycling calculations to the life cycle analyst 3. In order to test the robustness of materials selection decisions when using different LCA EOL allocation methods, stylized analyses across a range of materials are presented, focusing on materials with varying primary and secondary materials production burdens. The EOL allocation methods that were investigated include: cut-off, loss of quality, closed loop approximation, 50/50, substitution methods and those methods that include information on supply and demand price elasticity 4,5,6. This work illustrates that a) the application of distinct EOL allocation methods give different values of cumulative environmental impact for the same material, b) these impacts change at differing rates between the various methods, and c) these disparities can result in different rank ordering of materials preference. Characterizing this behavior over a range of parameters illustrates the potential trends in allocation method bias for or against particular materials classes. Results indicate that some methods are more averse to materials with a high ratio between secondary and primary production burdens while others are more averse to materials with high primary production burdens. This presentation will include how several metrics of environmental performance, such as energy, global warming potential and toxicity, are impacted by various EOL allocation methods. References 1. ISO 14040, "Environmental Management -- Life Cycle Assessment --Principles and framework.," Geneva: International

Organization forStandardization, 1997. 2. J. G. Vogtlander, H. C. Brezet, and C. F. Hendriks, "Allocation inrecycling systems - An integrated model for the analyses

ofenvironmental impact and market value," International Journal of LifeCycle Assessment, vol. 6, pp. 344-355, 2001. 3. "PAS 2050: Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhousegas emissions of goods and services," British

Standards Institute, 2008. 4. T. Ekvall and A.-M. Tillman, "Open-Loop Recycling: Criteria forAllocation Procedures," International Journal of Life Cycle

Assessment,vol. 2, pp. 155-162, 1997. 5. European Aluminium Association, "Aluminium Recycling in LCA," 2005. 6. T. Ekvall, "A market-based approach to allocation at open-looprecycling," Resources Conservation and Recycling, vol. 29, pp.

91-109,Apr 2000.

* [email protected]

Recycling


Recycling of PE Plastic Bags in terms of Life Cycle Inventory

Guilherme de C. Queiroz*, São Paulo State Government (SPSG/CETEA)

Eloisa E. C. Garcia**, CETEA/GESP

CETEA (Packaging Technology Center / São Paulo State Government) has conducted a LCA study of PE (polyethylene) plastic bags with emphasis in life cycle inventory, collecting data for the reference year 2003. The goal of this paper is to present part of this complete study, focusing the influence of polyethylene recycling rate on the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of PE plastic bags in Brazil. The adopted methodology was based on the recommendations of SETAC - Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the ISO 14040 Standard ISO. Data storage and modeling were performed by employing of the PIRA Environmental Management System – PEMS. For generating the Brazilian average data of ethylene, HDPE HMW, HDPE/LLDPE and LDPE, the data were compiled taking into account, respectively, 61%, 100%, 78% and 63% of the companies involved in each phase of the production process considering products consumed in Brazil. After the company agreed to collaborate with the Project, appropriate questionnaires were prepared and sent to data collection and fulfill. The companies were responsible for both collecting the data and completing the data sheets. The calculation of the Brazilian average polyethylene recycling was accomplished considering the data supplied by seven companies and technologies. The calculation of the Brazilian average PE plastic bags was accomplished considering the data supplied by four companies and technologies. Taking into account the impact categories adopted in this study it has been shown that recycling helps to improve the PE plastic bags environmental profile measured as LCI data.


Recycling


Five recycling models and how they drive the market behavior. Are

they moving us to sustainability?

Laurel McEwen*, EarthShift Lise Laurin**, EarthShift

Modeling reuse and recycling is not easy and yet is critical for many industrial LCA’s. As companies work towards making more sustainable decisions, they are specifying recycled and recyclable materials in their designs and developing end of life plans to reclaim materials for recycling. Industry wants credit for these efforts in their LCA models. The credit may or may not be applied, however, depending on the value choices inherent in the recycling model chosen, and the credit may or may not be appropriate depending on the material market. For example, attaching no burden to the use of recycled material, as in the cut-off method, may be appropriate for seldom recycled materials such as carpet where the demand is diverting waste, whereas for steel, where nearly all material returned for recycling is reused your demand is more likely driving virgin production. Understanding these value choices is critical to choosing which method you select. This paper will diagram the value choices inherent in several common recycling models (avoided burden, cut-off, economic, market model for system expansion), and ask the question, “What behavior is the method driving?” Industry can use this understanding to select a recycling method that drives sensible behavior in their market.


Recycling


Comparative systems analysis of thermochemical and biochemical

recycling or organic waste towards industrial feedstocks

Philip Nuss*, University of New Hampshire

Shifting the resource base for chemical and energy production from fossil feed-stocks to renewable raw materials is seen by many as one of the key strategies towards sustainable development. Depletion of fossil-fuels and escalating environmental concerns create a need for novel sustainable routes for the production of commodity and specialty products that have similar or advanced properties as compared to current fossil-fuel derived substances. The utilization of biomass in biorefineries for the production of chemicals, materials and energy is proposed as an alternative to the petroleum-based industry.

Current research focuses mainly on the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass, originating from agriculture and forestry, as second generation feed-stocks for biofuel and chemicals production. However, in this regards also the biodegradable municipal solid waste (BMSW) fraction may be considered as an alternative feedstock. Among the advantages of using BMSW as a primary feedstock are that it provides a steady source of supply (in contrast to agricultural biomass which is seasonal) and that, unlike other purpose-grown crops, its production does not consume additional land and water resources. Furthermore, BMSW is the only feedstock with an already existing collection and processing infrastructure in place, and it has the advantage of being separately funded in most instances. Finally, BMSW feed-stocks can be collected at a zero or negative cost where tipping fees competitive with landfill alternatives can be levied.

This project aims at looking at biochemical and thermochemical processes capable of converting BMSW into platform chemicals that can be used to further produce polymers and biomaterials. Looking at the conversion routes towards synthetic materials will be of particular interests as these are predestined to allow a closer cycle of materials and reduce dependence on either fossil or biobased raw materials. The work attempts to analyze the efficiency of these routes with regard to their carbon and energy balance and the system-wide environmental impacts as well as technological and economic implications, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Results will be compared to data available for fossil-fuel based commodity chemicals and it is hoped that results of this study will add to the current debate on sustainable biomass utilization and to establish future supply chains for green and sustainable chemical products.

* [email protected]

Recycling


Status of plastics waste recycling systems in Japan and study on the

selection of the recycling methods by LCA methodology

Hajime Nishihara*, Plastic Waste Management Institute Yoshimi Ozaki, Plastic Waste Management Institute

Japanese plastic production amounts to 14,650,000 tons in 2007 and 9,940,000 tons of the production quantity are discharged as plastic wastes. The ratio of utilization of the plastic wastes reached 73%,which was divided into mechanical recycling 22%, feedstock recycling 3%,and energy recovery 48%. At the moment the recycling methods are not always selected by LCA methodology.

This study is concerned with the criteria of the recycling method selection, in the cases of containers and packaging recycling. In order to investigate it, the recycling effects and the quality of reclaimed plastics are important. The recycling effects are evaluated by energy-resource consumption saving, which is the difference between the consumption energy of non-recycling system and that of the recycling system. The quality of reclaimed plastics is evaluated by the mechanical recycling substitution rate, which shows the value of reclaimed plastics to virgin resins. For example, 50% of the substitution rate means that the quality of reclaimed plastics corresponds to 50% of that of the virgin resins.

The criteria are as follows. In terms of the selection of the recycling methods, mechanical recycling is preferable in case of more than 80% of the substitution rate, energy recovery such as incineration with power generation and refuse paper & plastic fuel (RPF) is preferable in case of under 60% of the substitution rate, and feedstock recycling such as coke-oven chemical materials and blast furnace raw materials is preferable in between 60% and 80%.

We have investigated real recycling cases based on the above criteria.

Firstly, mechanical recycle is selected in the recycle of foamed polystyrene trays, because they have high quality of nearly 100% substitution rate with their being carried out single sorting and collecting.

Secondly, in case of containers and packaging, mechanical recycle is compared with the energy recovery and feedstock recycle. Because the reclaimed plastics have low quality , mechanical recycle is not suitable under the criteria.

In order to select recycling methods, LCA methodology is one of the most effective ones.

* [email protected]

Assessing water use in LCA and related

environmental assessments 1 & 2


Thursday morning

Special session coordinator: Annette Koehler, ETH Zurich

The topic of water use and depletion of freshwater resources is rapidly gaining momentum and nowadays is perceived as important as climate change. While water use has been widely disregarded in LCA in the past, new methodological approaches are being developed both for inventory modeling of water use and for impact assessment describing the impact pathways up to different areas of protection. Here different types of freshwater resources and various environmental mechanisms are being considered. Taking the rapid evolvement of this topic into account, establishing some central guidance for water-use reporting and assessment is recognized as major challenge to be taken already in this early phase. This session welcomes presentations on method development for water-use related LCI schemes, complex LCIA metrics, and simplified assessment approaches for water footprinting. Aspects of spatial differentiation and data availability as well as applications to specific case studies will be discussed. The purpose of this session is to gather researchers and practitioners from business and industry dealing with environmental assessment schemes of freshwater use and depletion.

Session Chairs: Annette Koehler, ETH Zurich Emmanuelle Aoustin, Veolia Cécile Bulle, CIRAIG

Regionalised Assessment of Fresh Water Use in the Swiss Ecological Scarcity Method 2006 Rolf Frischknecht, Arthur Braunschweig, Norbert Egli, Gabi Hildesheimer

Characterizing direct water use impacts on human health and through compensation scenarios Anne-Marie Boulay

Health Damage Assessment Modelling on Agricultural Water Scarcity based on Regression Analysis of Statistical Data Masaharu Motoshita

Review of methods addressing water in life cycle assessment Anna Kounina

Session break here – 10:00 to 10:30




Thursday morning

Water Use Impacts from Corn-based Bioethanol Production Yi-Wen Chiu, Annette Koehler

Assessing Water Impacts of Tea and Margarine with a Water Footprint / LCA Approach. Pilot study in Unilever Llorenç Mila i Canals

Direct and Indirect Water Withdrawals for US Industrial Sectors Michael Blackhurst, Chris Hendrickson, Jordi Sels i Vidal

The spotlight poster presenters below will speak briefly during this session. All the posters can be viewed as part of the Thursday Poster Session just after this session. The abstracts for the posters are listed with that session starting on page 138.

Poster Spotlight 1: Testing of Operational Methods for Impact Assessment of Freshwater Use on Midpoint and Endpoint level: Insights and Conclusions Stephan Pfister, Annette Koehler, Stefanie Hellweg

Poster Spotlight 2: Characterization Factors for Damage to Aquatic Biodiversity caused by Water Use Sebastien Humbert

Poster 1: Relevance of Water Use in LCAs of Biofuel Production Mireille Faist Emmenegger

Poster 2: Water Footprint – Principles, Requirements and Guidance Sebastien Humbert




Thursday morning

Regionalised Assessment of Fresh Water Use in the

Swiss Ecological Scarcity Method 2006

Rolf Frischknecht, ESU-services Ltd. Arthur Braunschweig, E2 management consulting

Norbert Egli, FOEN Gabi Hildesheimer, oebu

The Swiss Ecological Scarcity method has first been introduced in 1990 and updated in 1997. The Swiss version of this method was updated and extended in 2006. The update and extension of the method takes into account the recent developments in Swiss and European (as far as it is relevant for Switzerland) legislation and environmental targets. Furthermore, ISO standard revisions and recent developments in scientific knowledge on environmental effects are also considered where appropriate. The basic principle and main strength of the method, measuring the environmental scarcity with the help of actual pollutants (and resources) flows and maximum allowed (so-called critical) flows, remained untouched. Hence, it is still a distance to political target rather than a damage oriented impact assessment method. The method allows for a regional assessment of the emission of pollutants and the consumption of resources based on regional scarcities. Being a scarce resource in many areas of the world, regional eco-factors of fresh water consumption were developed. The assessment makes use of the water stress indicator developed by the UN and OECD. It is proposed classify countries (or regions) into six water stress levels from low (using less than 10% of the available fresh water resources) to extreme (using more than 100% of the available fresh water resources). Several examples show that fresh water consumption matters when assessing water intensive products (e.g. agricultural products). It is of much less relevance for industrial products, even if produced in regions with a moderate water stress.




Thursday morning

Operational Characterization Method for Water Use:

Case Study Application in the Pulp and Paper Industry

Anne-Marie Boulay, CIRAIG

Although freshwater resource issues are continuously arising, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) models are not yet adapted to address this environmental problem. Building on the framework proposed by the project «Assessment of Freshwater Use and Consumption within LCA » of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, this paper aims to provide an operational method and to illustrate its results using a case study in the pulp and paper industry.

The method presented here introduces a new midpoint impact category Freshwater Deprivation for Human Uses, quantifying the volume of freshwater rendered unavailable because of its use as a function of the type of use (ex: degradative or consumptive), regional water scarcity, water quality, type of resource used (groundwater, surface water) and ability to adapt to freshwater scarcity. The calculated characterization factors provide a country level regional assessment, translating a volume of water used into a drinking water equivalent volume unavailable for human uses (ex: Canada:0; South Africa:0,54; Jordan:3,88).

It was considered that fresh water deprivation does not occur in area where economic resources allow the use of backup technologies, i.e. compensation scenarios. The GDP was chosen to act as an indicator of the adaptation capacity of downstream users to water shortage. For cases where water deprivation does not occur, default backup technologies are identified for several countries considered able to compensate water uses. A case study on the pulp and paper industry modeled and combined impacts from these backup technologies with those allocated to the new impact category “Water deprivation for human uses” resulting in all impacts from freshwater use being included in the LCA results. In addition, data from the pulp and paper industry was used to model the avoided impacts as a consequence of the improvement of the water use efficiency in a plant. These impacts are then compared with the impacts directly avoided from a reduction in water consumption, notably the change in power needed. These results may therefore provide guidance to a decision maker in focusing its environmental efforts.




Thursday morning

Health Damage Assessment Modelling on Agricultural Water

Scarcity based on Regression Analysis of Statistical Data

Masaharu Motoshita, AIST

Population growth and subsequently increasing food demand will collapse the balance of water demand in the world. Thus, high concerns should be paid on the environmental issues related to water consumption and deficiency. In the past studies on environmental problems related to water, qualitative assessment has been mainly conducted and water scarcity has not been given enough importance for the assessment of environmental impacts. Particularly, the shortage of agricultural water may lead to prevention of crop productivity and population growth shall cause multiplier effect through the increase of food demand. The aim of this study was to model the cause-effect chain of undernourishment damage due to agricultural water scarcity and estimate damage factors of each country.

In this study, health damage assessment modeling related to agricultural water scarcity was conducted by applying regression analysis based on statistical data. The cause effect chain of undernourishment damages due to agricultural water scarcity was simply assumed to be composed of two steps, food productivity loss caused by the shortage of agricultural water and subsequent increases of undernourishment damage due to insufficient nutrient conditions in the agricultural water scarce country. At first, food productivity losses in each country caused by the shortage of agricultural water were estimated based on a crop productivity model. Secondly, the estimation model of undernourishment damage was conducted by applying non-linear multiple regression analysis based on several statistical data in each country. Explanatory variables, several social and nutritional indices of each country, seemed to affect on undernourishment damages were selected based on the results of multiple-regression analysis and statistical significant test.

Based on several simplified assumptions in the description model of cause-effect chain, prototype of the assessment model on undernourishment damage due to agricultural water scarcity had developed and damage factors for each country could be preliminary calculated. The estimated average factor weighted by agricultural use of water in each country was 1.44*10-8 [DALY/m3]. Especially, African areas showed high sensitivity to agricultural water scarcity.




Thursday morning

Review of methods addressing water in life cycle assessment

Anna Kounina, EPFL

Stress on global water resources is recognized as an important issue. Although the impacts related to water use on human life, biotic and abiotic environment can be substantial, such impacts are yet still poorly assessed in Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). Currently, most LCA studies consider water use as simple water inventory and only few methods are available to evaluate the ecological consequences. Impacts related to water use are not directly proportional to the consumed or degraded water amount. Among other parameters, the severity of impacts can depend on the type of water resource used or on water scarcity in the location under study.

This project aims at performing a systematic qualitative review of existing methods (inventory methods, scarcity indexes, and midpoint and endpoint assessment methods) linked to water assessment within a LCA framework. This review is split in different stages: the methods are first briefly described, classified, characterized and finally evaluated. The project will provide as output: (1) key elements to be considered when modelling the cause effect chains in water assessment and provide indications for deriving operational characterization methods and factors to assess water use in LCA to support researchers, (2) interim recommendations on inventory modelling, scarcity indexes, midpoint and impact assessment methods to support practitioners in their short term application.

So far, the following methods and indexes are presented and characterized (further methods might be added to the complete evaluation):

Inventory methods: Classification based on ecoinvent (Frischknecht 2005), Global water tool (WBCSD 2009), Boulay et al. (2009), Water footprint method (Chapagain and Hoekstra 2004), Vince et al. (2007), Bauer et al. (2007).

Scarcity indexes: Gleick et al. (1996, Basic water requirement), Falkenmark et al. (1989, Water resource per capita), Ohlsson et al. (1998, 1999, Social water stress index), Alcamo et al. (1997, 2000, Criticality ratio and index), Seckler et al. (1998, Index of relative water scarcity), Smakhtin et al. (2004, Environmental water requirement), Pfister et al. (2009, Water stress index), Raskin et al. (1997, Water resources vulnerability index), Sullivan et al. (2003, Water poverty index).

Impact method, at midpoint: Water footprint (Chapagain and Hoekstra 2004), Swiss ecological scarcity method (Frischknecht et al. 2006, 2008), Pfister et al. (2009), Milà i Canals et al. (2008), Boulay and Bayart et al. (2008).




Thursday morning

Impact method, at endpoint (or damage) : Pfister et al. (2009), Motoshita et al. (2008), Boulay et al. (2009), Maendly and Humbert (2009), Van Zelm et al. (2009), CExD (Bösch et al. 2007).

These methods are assessed according to defined criteria elaborated based on the project “Recommendation of methods for LCIA” for the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD), initiated by the European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment (EUPLCA), which builds on the previous work of the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) programme of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative (Task force 1).

The scientific criteria address the following areas: 1. Completeness of scope; 2. Environmental relevance; 3. Scientific robustness and certainty; 4. Documentation, transparency and reproducibility; 5. Applicability.

Each of these criteria is further detailed into a number of sub criteria adapted to the specific category (inventory, index or impact), reflecting their most important aspects and focusing on aspects that can support differentiation between the different methods.

In order to systematize the implementation and the interpretation of the water-use assessment in LCA, it is recommended to reach a clear consensus on a simple and comprehensive approach to assess this important issue.




Thursday morning

Water Use Impacts from Corn-based Bioethanol Production

Yi-Wen Chiu, University of Minnesota

Annette Koehler, ETH Zurich

Water is found as a critical requirement in most of the industrial processes and is recognized as an important environmental resource in LCA studies and LCA database. However, only few LCA studies have been conducted so far which consider water input and output information throughout the entire studied product system. The lack of water inputs and outputs in LCA results to neglect impacts induced by water use. With the increasing awareness of the importance of water sustainability, there is an urgent need to integrate water use impact with the existing LCA structure. Therefore, for the proposed special session, we demonstrate the application of a novel water use impact assessment model (WIAM) which incorporates the potentially disappeared fraction of species (PDF) as assessment indicator.

In the past five years, the conflict between water and alternative fuels has attracted numerous research communities to take efforts for determining ethanol’s water implication. Using Minnesota’s corn-based bioethanol production as a study case, we compute the ecosystem damage factor for the 81 watersheds in Minnesota considering each watershed’s hydrological regime. We assumed that ethanol facilities acquire corn for ethanol manufacture from nearby corn fields in order to satisfy the transportation cost efficiency. A cradle-to-gate system has been set-up to take both irrigation water and process water of the ethanol manufacturing into account. The impacts associated with the 22 studied ethanol facilities are assessed by employing WIAM. Our study further shows (a) how water consumption of a product system can be further translated into ecological impacts by employing WIAM, (b) why it is necessary to take adjacent watersheds into account for future ethanol-facility site selection, and (c) what significant information obtained from this approach can support the decision makers in water conservation.




Thursday morning

Assessing Water Impacts of Tea and Margarine with a

Water Footprint / LCA Approach: Pilot study in Unilever

Llorenç Mila i Canals, Unilever, UK

Unilever seeks to manage the impact of its water use across the life cycle of a product.

Current methods to measure water use and impact are poor but there is both an increasing internal need for guidance on the impacts of water use and an increasing external level of activity to develop standards for water impact assessment. Water footprinting (WF) is one potential tool to understand water use, and the Water Footprint Network (WFN) provides the forum to work with others to develop the methodology for use with products. In this sense, Unilever is working with other WFN partners (university of Twente) to test the application of the WF method to raw materials and processes of two products (tea and margarine), with explicit distinction of water sources (region and water type). In addition to the accounting (inventory) activity, indicators for impacts related to water stress / scarcity are being developed and applied, at the level of detail where a compromise is reached between practicality and environmental relevance. This pilot builds from the experience within the team in both LCA and WF areas,

in order to explore advantages and shortcomings of each tool and the synergies between them.

Results for the two case studies will be presented, including water volumes accounting and preliminary results for the impact assessment. The discussion will focus on how the WF and the LCA approaches can build from each other, and at what level they need to be kept separate in order to make the most out of each.




Thursday morning

Direct and Indirect Water Withdrawals for US Industrial Sectors

Michael Blackhurst, Carnegie Mellon University Chris Hendrickson, Carnegie Mellon University Jordi Sels i Vidal, Carnegie Mellon University

Effective water management is critical for social welfare and ecosystem health. Nevertheless, information necessary to meaningfully assess sustainable water use is incomplete. Using publicly available data, we estimate a vector of water withdrawals for all 428 sectors in the 2002 US economic input-output table. The vector was applied using economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) techniques to estimate direct and indirect water withdrawals for each sector’s production, both in terms of total water use and per dollar of economic output. We estimate that the US economy used 500 trillion gallons of water in 2002, excluded household water use. Given that domestic total non-household water use is approximately 140 trillion gallons, results indicate that the US imports 3.5 times more water than is used domestically. We estimate that 60% of water is used indirectly, ie, is embodied in goods and services. Agricultural activities and power generation constitute a majority of direct water use (>60%). However, these sectors constitute only 30% of total water use when accounting for indirect supply chain effects. For 85% of the sectors, indirect or supply chain water withdrawals are larger than direct water use. Food and beverage processors are the largest indirect water users (20%). Power supply and grain farming are the most frequent sources of indirect water use. Several industrial sectors have relatively high water use per dollar of output, namely paint manufacturers, paperboard mills, and pesticide manufacturers. These results should be useful for environmental life cycle assessment of US production and other studies, but we conclude that better information on water use is essential for effective water management.

LCM and Policy 1

113 International Ballroom C Thursday early morning

Session chair: Amanda Pike

A supply chain collaboration model for improvement of environmental performance of a product based on LCA Katsuyuki Nakano, Masahiko Hirao Using LCA to measure sustainability Lise Laurin, Laurel McEwen Environmental performance of SRI funds Tomonori Honda, Atsushi Inaba Incorporating Life Cycle Assessment Methodologies into Remedy Selection Todd Krieger, David Ellis, Jamie Ginn, Brandt Butler, Gordon Burnett Environmental clusters as the drivers of LCA-based evaluation of the environmental performance of a region Adrienn Buday-Malik, Eszter Siposné Nándori, Klára dr. Szita Tóth, Judit Roncz

LCM and Policy 1


A supply chain collaboration model for improvement of environmental performance of a product based on LCA

Katsuyuki Nakano*, Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry

(JEMAI)/The University of Tokyo Masahiko Hirao, The University of Tokyo

We propose an activity model for enterprises along supply chain, called Supply Chain Collaboration Model (SCCM), to improve environmental performance of a product.

Though LCA has an ability to identify room to improve a product from an environmental point of view, one company rarely has the whole life cycle information and the authority to re-design the product and its manufacturing process. Particularly, component manufacturers, standing at the middle position of the supply chain, receive specifications of the component from their customers and thus they have small flexibility. To achieve the improvement, collaboration activities along supply chain enterprises are required.

In the SCCM, techniques to be adopted and information to be shared in the collaborating enterprises are defined, and the model can be customized for individual practice.

In the model, collaborating enterprises in a product supply chain establish an improvement project and kinds of shared information are decided. Then, each enterprise implements Material Flow Analysis (MFA) for its own production process. MFA provides not only the energy and material loss information, but also the basic data for LCA and Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA). Finally, each enterprise implements LCA and MFCA to quantify environmental impacts and economic losses in the targeted system boundary. LCA is a technique for identifying significant issue in the target product or in the production processes and quantifies improvement measures effects from an environmental point of view. By contrast, MFCA is a technique quantifying each process loss in monetary unit, and it analyzes improvement measures benefits from an economic point of view. Hence, implementation of LCA and MFCA together has an advantage to seek measures which achieve both economic and environmental benefits. In practice, MFCA information may be utilized inside the enterprise if it is confidential to the partners.

We performed three practical case studies using the SCCM. As a result, all of the participated enterprises agreed to take measures for reducing environmental impacts and cost together. In a case, an enterprise succeeded in receiving environmental data from the business partner, and it helps to implement reliable environmentally conscious design and environmental claim for a market. * [email protected]

LCM and Policy 1


Using LCA to measure sustainability

Lise Laurin*, EarthShift

Laurel McEwen, EarthShift

LCA has the unique distinction of being the only scientifically-based, comprehensive method to measure “green.” While LCA should be augmented with environmental risk assessment and some measure of social assessment, it can be the cornerstone of a company’s sustainability assessment.

But what is sustainability? If our definition is something like the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” it becomes clear that no company or product in today’s environment is sustainable, except perhaps a few subsistence farmers in remote corners of the world. We are on a journey to sustainability, we’re not there yet.

How do we assess products to get from here to there most quickly? Early studies of photovoltaic panel manufacture showed that panels would have to work at peak efficiency for as much as 6 years to create as much energy as was used to make the panels in the first place. (Corkish, 1997). Did this heavy upfront energy investment mean that we should have abandoned research in this area? Studies of reusable drinking cups show that the hot water used for washing brings the impacts of these cups close to single use cups (OVAM, 2006). Does this indicate that we should continue work to make the single use cups even less impactful, or is there another alternative? This presentation will explore several scenarios through possible future paths of development with the aim to broaden the discussion of the path to sustainability and the care needed to be sure we don’t abandon the most viable paths before their true potential can be understood.

References:

Corkish, Richard, “Can Solar Cells Ever Recapture the Energy Invested in their Manufacture?” Solar Progress, (Australia and New Zealand Solar Energy Society) vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 16-17, 1997

OVAM , “Comparative LCA of 4 types of drinking cups used at events,” OVAM, 2006 * [email protected]

LCM and Policy 1


Environmental performance of SRI funds

Tomonori Honda*, AIST/RISS

Atsushi Inaba**, Kogakuin University

Socially responsible investment (SRI) is an investment method which maximizes not only financial return but also social and environmental performance. SRI is thriving. In the United States, roughly 11 percent of the assets under professional management are now involved in SRI. Today investment screening of SRI is evaluated by qualitative evaluation of social and economical aspects. Verification of quantitative evaluation of social and environmental aspects is necessary in order to know the effect on sustainable society. Many researchers have paid attention only to a financial performance of SRI funds. They have not evaluated the ameliorating effect on an environmental aspect. Do these funds contribute to the reduction of environmental impact? It is expected that CO2 emission from the listed companies that compose SRI founds is lesser than that from the listed companies of other funds. This research quantitatively evaluates CO2 emission from the listed companies that comprise SRI founds, taking a life cycle thinking approach. It calculated all of SRI funds and three kinds of general funds sold in Japan. Environmental performance of funds was evaluated by the secular distortion of GHGs emission. Based on LCA, this research shows the possibility of not decreasing the environmental impact (GHGs emission) by SRI. The environmental aspects of SRI funds are not only global warming. Stock screening methods of SRI is inadequate for the reduction of GHGs emission. It is shown as a result that the difference environmental performance of General funds(about 1000 funds ) between SRI funds(about 50 funds) . * [email protected] ** [email protected]

LCM and Policy 1


Incorporating Life Cycle Assessment Methodologies into

Remedy Selection.

Todd Krieger*, DuPont David Ellis, DuPont Jamie Ginn, DuPont

Brandt Butler, URS Corporation Gordon Burnett, URS Corporation

The EPA’s Guide for selecting Remedial Actions at Superfund sites identifies nine criteria to use when selecting appropriate alternatives for site remediation. Once potential remedial actions that meet threshold criteria of protecting human health and the environment and compliance with relevant and appropriate regulations are identified, five balancing criteria, including short-term effectiveness, are used to identify trade-offs among the identified alternatives. The short-term effectiveness criterion addresses potential adverse impacts associated with the implementation of a remedial action.

To the extent possible, remediation processes should minimize or eliminate energy consumption or the consumption of other natural resources, reduce or eliminate releases to the environment, especially to the air, harness or mimic a natural process, result in the reuse or recycling of land or otherwise undesirable materials, and encourage the use of remediation technologies that permanently destroy contamination. With these goals in mind, the authors are currently evaluating life cycle assessment methodologies and the use of life cycle assessment software as tools to quantify the short-term effectiveness of remediation options through the evaluation of both on-site and total project impacts. Traditional life cycle impact assessment methods, as well as con-current evaluation of worker exposure hours and other pertinent impacts are evaluated.

At a DuPont site in Martinsville, VA, a soil mixing technology, which added zero valent iron (ZVI) and clay to contaminated soils, was used to remediate a solid waste management unit containing an estimated 20 tons of carbon tetrachloride DNAPL (NRC, 2005). Post-treatment monitoring showed that the treatment was successful. Because highly detailed records of this project are available it is a good case study for comparing methods which estimate the non-remediation impacts of the treatment. Additional potential remediation techniques that met threshold criteria were also evaluated. This case study showcases critical issues associated with life cycle analysis of remedial alternatives, including functional unit selection, inclusion of off-site materials, the impact of uncertainties regarding the amount and expanse of contamination, and translation of life cycle indicators to more traditional risk analysis measures. * [email protected]

LCM and Policy 1


Environmental clusters as the drivers of LCA-based evaluation of

the environmental performance of a region

Adrienn Buday-Malik*, NORRIA - North Hungarian Regional Innovation Agency/University of Miskolc

Eszter Siposné Nándori, University of Miskolc Klára dr. Szita Tóth, University of Miskolc

Judit Roncz, University of Miskolc

Due to the current global economic situation, innovation-based competitiveness and sustainable development became as important priority of the European economic policy as it never had been. As a first step, cohesional strategies and planning processes should still be harmonized, taking the sustainability principles more into account and effect. According to the key findings of the study conducted by the European Cluster Observatory, innovation potential nowhere is so high as it is in a (regional) cluster organisation. Based on the Porterian theory, clusters of today do not aim at only the common resource management, or common services but more at common research and development and innovation activities. According to the current trends in cluster-development, regional clusters are mostly driven by the innovation. During the past five years, environmental industry clusters sampled the best practices for the innovation-driven clusters based on the triple helix. According to a research done in Northern Hungary, environmental clusters, as competence-creating and sustainability transfer organisations can contribute effectively to the regional development. The key responsibilities of the environmental clusters on a regional level:

• To improve the eco- and energy- efficiency of products and services; • To promote life cycle thinking and monetary- flow analysis; • To participate in environmentally responsible infrastructure development; • To contribute to the eco-innovation potential; • To contribute to an up-to-date environmental data management and reporting; • To initiate cooperation actions among the actors of the environmental industry; • To support environmental and innovation policy-making (e.g.: with participation in joint researches or development of regional statistical systems).

Through the active operation and strategic involvement of environmental industry clusters, regional performance assessment and also policy making processes can be enhanced. Due to the fact, that clusters support the wider application of life-cycle thinking, LCA can renew the regional performance assessment systems. By the analytical method, we can easily conduct the sustainability evaluation by setting up an input-output analysis for the functional unit of GDP produced by the region. The inventory is based on the primer resources as inputs and the general output, emissions, environmental effects, etc. as outputs.

LCM and Policy 1


Obviously, we are facing challenges when applying LCA in regional assessment:

• In certain cases there is no reliable statistical data on regional material- and energy flows.

• Databases are not comparable due the fact that in some cases statistical regions and territories of environmental authorities are different.

• Regional application of LCA gives a new aspect to the economic accounting of environmental effects, but LCA software should be improved and amended with thematic panels.

* [email protected]

LCM and Policy 2

120 International Ballroom C Thursday late morning

Session chair: Bob Boughton

California’s Green Chemistry Initiative - application of LCA in public policy Bob Boughton The role of LCA in recycling policy: a case study in plastic Brandon Kuczenski, Roland Geyer Incorporating waste prevention activities into life cycle assessments of municipal solid waste management systems: Methodological issues and Toronto, Canada case study Julian Cleary LCA of transportation fuels: uncertainty and implications for policy design Richard Plevin Global versus local pollution: A case study of LCA applied to Diesel Retrofit Regulations Juhong Yuan, Alissa Kendall

LCM and Policy 2


California’s Green Chemistry Initiative - application of LCA in

public policy

Bob Boughton*, Department of Toxic Substances Control, California

Green Chemistry is a systematic scientific and engineering approach that seeks to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals and the generation of toxic wastes by changing how society designs, manufactures, and uses chemicals in processes and products. Rather than managing wastes after end-of-product life, Green Chemistry shifts our focus to designing chemicals, processes, and goods that have less or no adverse effects—throughout their lifecycle (“cradle to cradle”)—on people and our environment. This green chemistry approach offers substantial opportunity through better information; innovation and new technology; new high-skill, high-wage jobs; stronger worker and consumer protection; and a cleaner, healthier environment.

The California Green Chemistry initiative comes at a time of growing concern that the federal Toxic Substances Control Act, passed three decades ago, has failed to control an explosion of hazardous materials. Europe has enacted tougher toxics rules than the United States, forcing many American companies to revamp products sold for export, but the California program would go further in its disclosure requirements. California law passed last fall has jump-started the program. AB 1879 requires the state to identify "chemicals of concern" and to evaluate safer alternatives by implementing a policy option, “Accelerate the Quest for Safer Products, creating a systematic, science-based process to evaluate chemicals of concern and alternatives to ensure product safety and reduce or eliminate the need for chemical-by-chemical bans”. The adopted rules will lay out the process for products with chemicals of concern to be compared to alternatives by assessing the "environmental and economic footprint" of each using a life-cycle perspective. This application of life-cycle thinking for assessing environmental impacts and for assessing total costs will be described. The background information and progress on the initiative implementation can be accessed at www.dtsc.ca.gov/PollutionPrevention/GreenChemistryInitiative

* [email protected]

LCM and Policy 2


The role of LCA in recycling policy: a case study in plastic

Brandon Kuczenski*, University of California, Santa Barbara

Roland Geyer**, University of California - Santa Barbara

The main US domestic use for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is in the manufacture of disposable soda and water bottles, the most-recycled plastic products in the US. Roughly a quarter of PET bottles disposed of in the US are collected for recycling, though PET packaging is an outlier in the larger scope of US plastic consumption. PET recycling is comparatively widespread largely because of substantial support from state legislators in the form of beverage container deposit programs. We discuss PET recycling from a life cycle perspective, with particular attention paid to the effects of existing regulations on PET recovery. We then investigate the potential for life cycle assessment to provide scientific information which can serve as a basis for the evaluation of recycling policy.

To begin, we use life cycle assessment to describe the environmental effects of the current level of PET recycling. Our analysis takes the form of an LCA of post-consumer PET, into which we incorporate a material flow account of the reuse of this substance. Although most PET is down-cycled from bottle-grade materials into polyester fibers and film, there is some amount of closed-loop recycling of bottles into bottles. Technical and regulatory limitations exist which obstruct more wide-spread closed-loop recycling of PET.

Our studies show that post-consumer collection is among the least impactful processes in the plastic life cycle; yet post-consumer collection is also the bottleneck which most clearly limits expanded recycling. We examine the implications of our LCA results in the context of evaluating the environmental performance of existing plastic recycling policies, particularly beverage bottle deposit programs. Using PET as a model, we then expand our analysis to describe the potential net benefits that could arise from increased recycling collection and recycled material reclamation. We discuss how these and similar results might be invoked to evaluate potential policy initiatives intended to promote plastic recycling or develop markets for post-consumer plastic waste. * [email protected] ** [email protected]

LCM and Policy 2


Incorporating waste prevention activities into life cycle assessments

of municipal solid waste management systems: Methodological issues and Toronto, Canada case study

Julian Cleary*, University of Toronto

Academic study of the incorporation of waste prevention activities (WPAs) into municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems is currently in its infancy, with relatively few papers addressing this issue. Although life cycle assessments (LCAs) are commonly undertaken to evaluate the utility of the waste hierarchy, they generally do not address the waste prevention and product reuse components of this hierarchy. This presentation explores the methodological aspects pertinent to the incorporation of various types of waste prevention into LCAs of MSW, including functional units, system boundaries, and temporal dynamics. It also introduces the Waste Management And Prevention (WasteMAP) LCA, a conceptual model which has the capability of addressing a wider range of questions than conventional process-based LCAs of MSW. Product life cycles associated with WPAs comprise the ‘upstream’ component of the WasteMAP LCA, while the ‘downstream’ component encompasses the waste treatment life cycle. Integral to this model is the requirement that product services provided to the population and the total amount of MSW managed through treatment and waste prevention are held constant in all scenarios. This presentation also includes the results from a case study of the WasteMAP LCA that addresses the MSW management system of Toronto, Canada and WPAs associated with alternative packaging for wine and liquor. While the form of MSW LCA presented here is more labor intensive to undertake than is a conventional LCA, WasteMAP facilitates the evaluation of the life cycle environmental impacts of MSW management, without omitting waste prevention and product reuse.

* [email protected]

LCM and Policy 2


LCA of transportation fuels:

uncertainty and implications for policy design

Richard Plevin*, UC Berkeley

New fuel regulation based on the life cycle GHG emissions of transportation fuels have been implemented in California 1 and are in development by US EPA 2. While stakeholders have focused on the controversial inclusion of indirect land use change emissions, the issue of uncertainty in the estimates of direct GHG emissions has gone largely unexamined. Beyond the uncertainty in activity levels and emission factors, GHG estimation is subject to model uncertainties such as which climate-forcing emissions to include 3, how best to aggregate these 4, and of course whether and how to model indirect effects such as market-mediated land use change 5. Using Monte Carlo simulation in GREET, we quantify and compare the uncertainties in estimates of the direct life cycle GHG emissions for gasoline, diesel, soy biodiesel, corn ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol, under several different model choice alternatives. Recognition of uncertainty has several implications for policy design. Policies designed to enable competition among fuels based on point estimates of life cycle GHG emissions may create perverse incentives since broad uncertainties, especially for biofuels, limit statistical distinguishability among fuels 6. Policies requiring a one-sided test against a baseline fuel (e.g. a 50% reduction in GHG emissions relative to gasoline) are more amenable to probabilistic implementation.

References

1. CARB (2009). Proposed Regulation to Implement the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Volume I, Staff Report: Initial Statement of Reasons. Sacramento, CA, California Air Resources Board: 374.

2. United States Congress (2007). Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. 3. Brakkee, K., M. Huijbregts, et al. (2008). "Characterisation factors for greenhouse gases at a midpoint

level including indirect effects based on calculations with the IMAGE model." The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 13(3): 191-201.

4. ISO (2006). ISO 14044: Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines. Geneva, International Standards Organization.

5. Searchinger, T., R. Heimlich, et al. (2008). "Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land Use Change." Science 319(5867): 1238-1240.

6. Basson, L. and J. G. Petrie (2007). "An integrated approach for the consideration of uncertainty in decision making supported by Life Cycle Assessment." Environmental Modelling & Software 22(2): 167-176.

* [email protected]

LCM and Policy 2


Global versus local pollution: A case study of LCA applied to

Diesel Retrofit Regulations

Juhong Yuan* Alissa Kendall, University of California Davis

In December 2008, California approved new regulations on particular matter (PM) and nitrous oxides (NOx) emissions from all on-road heavy duty diesel vehicles in California (referred to as the Diesel Truck Rule). Concurrent to this, the State has been struggling to create a plan to achieve the landmark California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), which requires reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to1990 levels by 2020. This study performs an LCA on the Diesel Truck Rule for application to agricultural and forestry fleets in California. These fleets were selected because they are, in relative terms, older and lower-mileage fleets than other heavy-duty on-road trucks and have unique operating conditions requiring more onerous filter operation procedures than the high-speed, high-mileage trucks on most highways. The LCA includes manufacturing of new equipment and diesel retrofit technology, use-phase of diesel trucks, and the transportation between all phases. Some scenarios regarding how fleets would respond to the regulation are modeled; diesel upstream emissions and fuel efficiency are also considered. The outcome of this LCA highlights an important tension between controlling criteria air pollutants and GHG emissions. To achieve the Diesel Truck Rule, fleet managers must purchase new control technologies, increase the number of new trucks in their fleets, and increase fuel consumption during truck operation. While effectively decreasing on-road emissions of criteria pollutants, the application of Diesel Rule increases the overall GHG emissions, and also causes local criteria pollutant emissions where control technologies and trucks are produced. Currently, LCA studies of this kind do not inform decisions at the policy level, but our study shows how LCA may be used in a policy context, especially how the impact assessment methods can assist measuring global and local pollution and help policy development. * [email protected]

GHG 1


Thursday early morning

Session chair: Alissa Kendall

Evaluation of green house gas emission from chemical products based on life cycle assessment: practical use of LCA Junichi Nakahashi Sustainability of biofuels and bio-electricity: allocation and the GHG calculators Ester van der Voet, Lauran van Oers, Lin Luo, Reinout Heijungs Connecting the Dots in Carbon Accounting Paul Chalmer Characterization of Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Streamlined Corporate Carbon Footprinting Anny YuShan Huang, Christopher L. Weber, H. Scott Matthews

GHG 1



Evaluation of green house gas emission from chemical products

based on life cycle assessment: practical use of LCA

Junichi Nakahashi*, Asahi-Kasei Corporation

Recently the global warming issue has stepped up from the stage of a scientific discussion to the stage of political regulation. Targets for decreasing the GHG emissions for individual countries are expected to be agreed in the COP15 at the end of 2009. Under these circumstances, the chemical industry is of course required to contribute to GHG reduction. In 2008, the International Council of Chemical Associations made a quantitative evaluation of GHG emissions based on LCA. The study showed that GHG emissions in mining, producing, processing and disposal was one third the size of the GHG reduction in use. ASAHI KASEI CORPORATION, a chemical company in Japan, whose products include chemicals, materials, and fiber for the medical, housing, and electronics industries has begun to evaluate the GHG emissions of its typical products using LCA. We carried out the evaluation of an ion exchange membrane, a membrane for water filtration, and polycarbonate made from chemical materials other than phosgene. The evaluation showed that GHG reduction during the use phase of these three products alone was larger than the GHG emission of all products of the corporation combined.

We conclude that expanding sales of chemical products which reduce GHG emissions during use can contribute to the overall reduction of GHG emissions. We plan to reduce the GHG emissions from the factories directly and also to expand and develop sales of products which can contribute to the overall reduction of GHG emission through their life cycle.

We expect UNEP and the Japanese government to create “a new mechanism to evaluate GHG emissions based on LCA over economic sectors * [email protected]

GHG 1



Sustainability of biofuels and bio-electricity:

allocation and the GHG calculators

Ester van der Voet*, Leiden University, Institute of Environmental Sciences Lauran van Oers, Institute of Environmental Sciences

Lin Luo, Institute of Environmental Sciences Reinout Heijungs, CML

GHG calculators are developed in various countries of the EU to assess the sustainability of bio-energy with regard to GHG emissions. These GHG calculators will be used in energy policy, to decide whether or not specific biofuels to be used for transport or electricity perform sufficiently better than their fossil equivalents. The GHG calculators as developed in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands each have made a different preferred choice for allocation. Avoiding allocation by systems expansion (composite functional unit) or substitution (subtracting of avoided processes) is favoured by some, as being the preferred ISO-option. Allocation based on the energy content of the outputs has the advantage of being the most robust in view of legislation and guaranteeing a level playing field for the actors in society. Allocation based on the market value of the outputs has the most direct link with the actual driving forces behind the chains. It appears that this choice greatly influences the outcome and therefore also the assessment of the sustainability of biofuels. Differences are largest when considering bioelectricity from agricultural residues or waste streams: depending on the allocation methods, the biobased chains perform much better (over 90% reduction of GHG emissions) to a lot worse (100% increase of GHG emissions). In the present EU Directive for biofuels a choice has been made for energy-based allocation. No second generation chains for biobased transport fuels have yet been included in the calculators but here, too, the differences can be expected to be major depending on the allocation method. The debate in science, but particularly policy is still ongoing and will no doubt return in full force when the calculators are expanded to include residues and waste streams for second generation biofuels and for the generation of bio-based electricity and heat. Case study results showing the influence of allocation choices will be presented for both biofuels and bio-electricity. Systems expansion, substitution, energy-based allocation and economic allocation are applied. The results show that substitution generally shows the most GHG profit for bio-based energy chains. Economic allocation offers the worst results for crop-based biofuels, but very good results for waste-based electricity. Energy-based allocation leads to surprisingly bad results for waste-based electricity: here, we encounter the problem that no emissions can be allocated to the service of waste treatment, which has no energy content. The chains therefore have a very bad performance, while in fact A way around this has to be found to be able to apply energy-based allocation, in line with the EU Directive, to waste-based chains. * [email protected]

GHG 1



Connecting the Dots in Carbon Accounting

Paul Chalmer*, NCMS

Every impact category has its own physics, chemistry, and biology, and every impact assessment methodology must account for the specific features of the category to which it applies.

Greenhouse gas emission is arguably one of the simplest categories, since it is dominated by a few actors with well-defined properties. In cases where carbon dioxide is the only greenhouse gas in play, carbon accounting might seem like a simple exercise in atom counting.

But in setting up a framework within which the choice of wood for a given application can be compared on a consistent basis with nonrenewable alternative materials, we encounter a surprising twist. It turns out that the ordinary unit of account for GHG emissions, typically expressed in units of mass of CO2 equivalent per functional unit, is deficient. We see that the physics of the situation demands that we carry out our calculations in terms of a more complicated quantity, mass of CO2 equivalent times time – kilogram-years, not kilograms.

When a tree is harvested, virtually all of the carbon stored in its roots, and some fraction of its above-ground carbon, begin a slow process of decay. Even if a replacement is planted immediately, it will take several decades before the carbon absorbed by the new tree equals the carbon released by the old. The net effect of the entire process on global warming depends on the integral under the carbon balance curve, out to the time horizon of the assessment.

For nonrenewables, the carbon released as CO2 during extraction and refinement is presumed to remain essentially unchanged over time horizons out to a century. The balance curve in that case is a flat line, and the aggregate effect is measured by the area of a rectangle. For wood, the corresponding quantity is a rectangle whose area equals the integral under the carbon balance curve, and the height of that rectangle is the correct quantity to use for comparison.

We’ll look at some actual numbers, and see how a not-too-formidable spreadsheet makes the computations involved relatively painless – actually, rather fun – and, hopefully, enlightening.

* [email protected]

GHG 1



Characterization of Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions for

Streamlined Corporate Carbon Footprinting

Anny YuShan Huang*, Carnegie Mellon University/Green Design Institute Christopher L. Weber, Carnegie Mellon University

H. Scott Matthews, Carnegie Mellon University

Many organizations look to carbon footprint protocols for guidance on measuring the greenhouse gases emissions resulting from their products or activities, or carbon footprint. Existing protocols generally require estimation of direct emissions (Scope 1) and emissions from direct purchases of energy (Scope 2), but focus less on indirect emissions upstream and downstream of the supply chain (optional Scope 3). Because on average, more than 75% of an industry sectors’ carbon footprint is attributed to Scope 3 sources, better knowledge of Scope 3 footprint can help organizations pursue emissions mitigation projects not just within their own plants but also across their supply chain, thus motivate more holistic, effective corporate climate change policies. In this work, Scope 3 footprints of US economic sectors are characterized using a modified form of the Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) model to calculate the sub-total supply chain emissions of upstream suppliers for all 426x426 combinations of producer-supplier pairs. This scoping study identifies upstream emission sources that are likely to contribute significantly to sectors’ footprint, help footprinting entities efficiently focus their efforts on the important parts of their supply chain, and help protocol organizations provide relevant and effective guidelines for conducting Scope 3 footprint. The portions of footprint captured by top-10 upstream Scope 3 suppliers are estimated at 3 different levels of specificity: general economy-wide, industry-specific, and sector-specific. The results show that footprinting entities can capture a large portion of their total upstream footprint by collecting emissions information from only a handful of direct suppliers, and Scope 3 footprint capture rate can be improved considerably with increasing specificity in Scope 3 categories. Furthermore, employee commute and air transportation may be more important for the services and institutions industries (7%-30% of the total analyzed footprint, or TAF), but should not be a focus of the detailed Scope 3 footprint estimates for the manufacturing industries (<1% of TAF). Protocol organizations should actively make more specific Scope 3 guidelines available for their constituents by developing “sector-specific protocols” for as many carbon intensive sectors as they feasibly can and create “industry-specific protocols” for other sectors.

* [email protected]

GHG 2


Thursday late morning

Session chair: Alison Brady

The energy and climate change impacts of different music delivery methods Christopher Weber, H. Scott Matthews, Jonathan Koomey Creating a Greenhouse Gas and Energy LCA for CRT Televisions: Data Availability and Transboundary Challenges Christopher Evans, Victoria Thompson Development of a Construction Materials GHG Database: Case Study of Concrete Corinne Reich-Weiser, Chris Erickson, David Dornfeld Manufaturing Energy Consumption for Solid State Lighting Systems Deanna Matthews, Mary Ashe, Christopher Weber, Paulina Jaramillo, H. Scott Matthews

GHG 2



The energy and climate change impacts of

different music delivery methods

Christopher Weber*, H. Scott Matthews, Carnegie Mellon University

Jonathan Koomey, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University

The impacts of information and communication technologies (ICT) on the environment have been a rich area for research in recent years. ICT has substantially affected commerce, enabling new methods for connecting producers and consumers (ie, e-commerce) and creating new electronic products. A prime example is the continuing rise of digital music delivery, which has obvious potential for reducing the energy and environmental impacts of producing and delivering music to final consumers. This study assesses the energy and CO2 emissions associated with several potential alternative methods for delivering one album of music to a final customer, either via traditional retail or e-commerce sales of compact discs or via a digital download service. We analyze a set of six (3 compact disc and 3 digital download) scenarios of the delivery of one music album from the recording stage to the final consumer’s home in either CD or digital form.

We find that despite the increased energy and emissions associated with internet data flows, purchasing music digitally reduces the energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with delivering music to customers by between 40 and 80% from the best-case physical CD delivery, depending on whether a customer then burns the files to CD or not. This reduction is due to both dematerialization of CDs and CD packaging as well as the logistics required to move physical CDs from production to the household. Given our assumptions, online delivery seems to be a clearly superior music delivery method when compared to traditional CD distribution. However, despite the clear dominance of the digital music delivery method, there are scenarios by which digital music performs less well. For instance, the traditional retail delivery scenario is nearly equivalent to downloading and burning if the customer walks rather than drives to the retail store. Similarly, if the file transfer size is increased to 260 MB the download and burn option looks very similar to the e-commerce delivery CD scenario due to increased Internet energy use for downloading. We discuss future research needs related to digital media and dematerialization of information products. * [email protected]

GHG 2



Creating a Greenhouse Gas and Energy LCA for CRT Televisions:

Data Availability and Transboundary Challenges

Christopher Evans*, ICF International Victoria Thompson**, ICF International

In 2007, over 900,000 tons of televisions were disposed in the United States, of which roughly three quarters were cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions (TVs). Disposals of CRT TVs are expected to increase as consumers replace them with new flat panel models, particularly as result of the transition to digital television in 2009. The tonnage of CRT TVs entering the waste stream increased by over 40% between 1999 and 2007, and in a 2008 survey of North American e-scrap recyclers, 75% reported an increase in CRT volumes within the past year. 1,2 The USEPA estimates that 18% of CRT TVs are recycled at end-of-life in the United States.

To expand the USEPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM), ICF International undertook a life-cycle analysis of the energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission benefits of recycling CRT TVs. Other human health and environmental impacts, while important, are not included in this analysis. Recycling CRT TVs is an open-loop process, meaning that components are recycled into secondary materials rather than directly into new televisions. Our analysis accounts for demanufacturing energy, transportation, and non-energy process emissions.

We estimate that net GHG emissions from recycling one short ton of CRT TVs range from an emission of 0.05 metric tons of carbon-equivalent GHGs, to a 0.12 reduction in carbon-equivalent emissions. Energy use in the recycling process ranges from 2.4 million Btus to a net energy savings of 2.7 million Btus per short ton of CRT TVs recycled. Combusting plastics contained in CRT TVs produces the largest amount of GHG emissions, but is the only case where energy recovery offsets the energy associated with recycling CRT TVs. Our results are sensitive to the assumed composition of CRT TVs, particularly the fraction of steel in CRT TVs relative to CRT glass and plastics.

A substantial fraction of the materials recovered from CRT TVs are sent overseas for recovery. We identify likely end-markets for metals, lead, CRT glass, and other materials, and discuss the data sources used to model end-of-life material pathways. 3,4,5 We also conduct a sensitivity analysis to investigate areas of uncertainty and compare our emission factor with similar studies. 6,7 The availability of life-cycle data for used and end-of-life electronics is poor, particularly with regard to overseas recycling and end-use markets and processes. More information on these subjects is needed to better understand CRT recycling pathways. References 1. EPA. (2007). Electronics Waste Management in the United States: Approach 1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2. Peters, A. (2009). 2008 North American E-Scrap Processors Survey. Gracestone Inc., presentation at 2008 E-Scrap

Conference. 3. EPA. (2006). Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases: A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks. U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 4. Franklin Associates Ltd. (2001). Energy and Greenhouse Gas Factors for Personal Computers. U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA). 5. Liu, X., Tanaka, M., & Matsui, Y. (2009). Economic evaluation of optional recycling processes for waste electronic home

appliances. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(1), 53-60. 6. EC. (2007). Ecodesign of EuP Products - Preparatory Studies LOT 5: Consumer Electronics, Television. European

Commission (EC). 7. Socolof, M. L., Overly, J. G., Kincaid, L. E., & Geibig, J. R. (2001). Computer Display - A Life-Cycle Assessment. U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).


GHG 2



Development of a Construction Materials GHG Database:

Case Study of Concrete

Corinne Reich-Weiser*, Climate Earth/UC Berkeley Chris Erickson, Climate Earth David Dornfeld, UC Berkeley

The construction industry is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and requires comprehensive enterprise-wide life-cycle assessment tools for effective decision-making and design. In 2002, direct emissions and electricity use by the construction industry produced approximately 2% of total U.S. GHG emissions1; however, approximately 70-80% of emissions associated with construction are unaccounted for by this figure, including the mining, processing, and transportation of materials upstream of the construction site2.

LCA tools/databases for the construction industry are currently limited in scope and provide incomplete insight for design modifications. Additionally, the primary standard for “green” buildings in the U.S. is LEED, which provides only qualitative guidelines for building material choices and may not reduce lifecycle environmental impacts3.

Through ongoing collaboration with Webcor Builders Inc., a construction materials GHG database is being developed. In this presentation, a hybrid methodology for development of the Construction Materials GHG database is demonstrated through a case study of concrete. Consistent with an iterative hybrid methodology4, concrete has been chosen as a starting point for the database because it accounts for between 5-15% of new construction GHG emissions2. Initial concrete numbers to refine the input-output database are being developed through work with Central Concrete Supply Co, Inc., a US Concrete Company.

The database development will follow the following process: (1) hybrid LCA of construction using the CEDA 3.0 input-output database2, (2) selective data refinement and expansion through supplier hybrid LCA, (3) hybrid LCA of construction using refined database (4) iterate steps 2 and 3. The methodology provides the opportunity for a comprehensive database incorporating both sub-contractor and materials impacts into a building LCA. This iterative hybrid methodology will enable the database to be refined over time and historical assessments to be updated in real-time.

References 1. Truitt, P. (2009) “Potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector” U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency 2. Suh, S. (2004) Comprehensive environmental data archive, CEDA 3.0 database, IERS, MN, USA. 3. Scheuer, C.W. and G.A. Keoleian (2002) “Evaluation of LEED Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods” United

States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology. 4. Tukker, A., P. Eder and S. Suh (2006) “Environmental Impacts of Products Policy Relevant Information and Data

Challenges” Journal of Industrial Ecology, 10(3), pp.183-198. * [email protected]

GHG 2



Manufacturing Energy Consumption for

Solid State Lighting Systems

Deanna Matthews*, Carnegie Mellon University Mary Ashe, Carnegie Mellon University

Christopher Weber, Carnegie Mellon University Paulina Jaramillo, Carnegie Mellon University H. Scott Matthews, Carnegie Mellon University

Solid-state lighting (SSL) products – lighting with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as the source of light – are a promising technology to significantly reduce the energy consumed by lighting. Current SSL products operate around 50 lumens/Watt, equivalent to compact fluorescent lights and significantly better than the 10 lumens/Watt for incandescent lights. Future SSL technology aims to reduce energy consumption to a range of 75 – 150 lumens/Watt. However, while SSL luminaires offer great energy savings during use, the net energy consumption is under question, as the upstream manufacturing processes for the individual LEDs are energy intensive. We will present results to-date of our research estimating the life cycle energy consumption of SSL lighting products, specifically a downlight replacement luminaire.

SSL luminaires consist of an array of individually encapsulated LEDs. Manufacturing of the LEDs is comparable in many ways to semiconductor manufacturing. LED manufacturing requires the use of high purity materials, closely controlled processing atmospheres, and precision equipment. Unlike silicon semiconductor manufacturing, LED processing uses a gallium-nitride (GaN) material base, smaller wafer size, and an overall processing sequence with fewer steps. Silicon semiconductor manufacturing processes have been investigated from a life cycle perspective 1 2002, 2 2008, but many LED manufacturing processes are developing technologies that are proprietary to manufacturers. The research will leverage the publicly available data from semiconductor LCI studies and combine it with new data and studies from LED manufacturers and related industries. The new data and studies come from a Department of Energy initiated effort to form a collaboration of LCA researchers, lighting industry representatives, and equipment manufacturers with SSL expertise.

At the present time, we have preliminary estimates for the LED manufacturing phase of less than 1 kWh for a luminaire with 10 LEDs. This is similar to the energy consumption of CFL bulb manufacturing. We are beginning research into the materials processing phase for both the LED and luminaire materials, as well as the production of components for the luminaire which are expected to be completed by August 2009 and would be incorporated into the presentation.

References 1. Williams, E. D., Ayres, R. U., and Heller, M. “The 1.7 kilogram microchip: energy and material use in the production of

semiconductor devices.” Environmental Science and Technology, 36 (24) pp 5504-5510, 2002. 2. Krishnan, N., Boyd, S., Somani, A., Raoux, S., Clark, D., and Dornfeld, D. “A hybrid life cycle inventory of nano-scale

semiconductor manufacturing.” Environmental Science and Technology, 42 (8) pp 3069-3075, 2008. * [email protected]

Thursday Poster Session


Thursday lunch

Assessing water use in LCA Poster Spotlight Testing of Operational Methods for Impact Assessment of

Freshwater Use on Midpoint and Endpoint level: Insights and Conclusions

Stephan Pfister*, ETH Zurich, IFU

Annette Koehler, ETH Zurich Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Zurich

We developed regionalized characterization factors for the environmental impacts from freshwater consumption on the midpoint and endpoint level. Midpoint factors are developed for the existing midpoints abiotic resource depletion and land use (by calculating land-use equivalents). These are further assessed for their impacts on the areas of protection resources and ecosystem quality. An additional midpoint category “water deprivation” is introduced, as a basis for modeling related effects to human health. Our method can be used within most existing LCIA methods, either on midpoint or endpoint level. Relative importance of water consumption is analyzed by integrating it into the fully aggregating Eco-indicator 99 method (EI99). Both, importance of regionalization in impact assessment and relative relevance of water consumption are illustrated by the case of several agricultural products produced worldwide. The results show that in arid regions, water consumption might dominate the aggregated overall impact whereas in humid regions, impacts from water use are usually not relevant. Consequently, water-consumption assessment considering a regionalized modeling approach is a crucial development in LCA. This is particularly important when products traded on the global market shall be compared and relevant environmental information shall be provided to decision makers in food supply chains or for consumers interested in sustainable consumption.

Based on the agricultural case studies, we compared the method as add-on of the conventional EI99 to the Swiss Ecological Scarcity Method 2006 (UBP06), which includes regional impact factors for water use. In general, the relative impact of water use compared to other impact categories has been smaller in EI99 than UBP06. We analyzed the reasons for this difference and reflected also further indicators for water scarcity in order to evaluate the limitations of the methods presented and give recommendations for the interpretation of the results.

* [email protected]



Thursday lunch

Assessing water use in LCA Poster Spotlight Characterization Factors for Damage to Aquatic Biodiversity

caused by Water Use

Sebastien Humbert*, Quantis

The way society uses water can significantly affect ecosystems and aquatic biodiversity. However, due to the complexity of this topic, these water use impacts are poorly addressed by current life cycle impact assessment methodologies. This work proposes a framework to calculate characterization factors to quantify damage to aquatic biodiversity caused by water use. Damage can be expressed as the potentially damaged fraction of species (PDF) that disappear over a certain area affected (in PDF*m2) because of a certain amount of water used per year for a specific purpose.

When this framework is applied to the case of hydroelectric dams, the impacts can be expressed either per amount of water flowing through the dam per year or relative to the amount of electricity produced per year. This framework expresses results using PDF*m2*yr per unit of water or electricity. This unit is advantageous in that it is consistent with other damage-oriented impact categories describing damage to ecosystems and thus allows comparison between different types of impacts. Suggested characterizations factors are calculated for dams.

Results show that for run-of-river hydroelectric dams, damage to aquatic biodiversity is on the order of 0.01 (0.002-0.1) PDF*m2*yr per m3 of water turbined or 0.04 (0.01-0.2) PDF*m2*yr per kWh produced. For alpine dams, damage is about 0.001 PDF*m2*yr per m3 of water turbined or 0.0008 PDF*m2*yr per kWh produced.

Thus, alpine dams appear to have damages that are approximately 50 times lower than run-of-rive dams (on a per kWh produced basis), partly explained by the higher efficiency from alpine dams (higher drop), thus less m3 of water is needed to produce 1 kWh. Overall, these values are between 1 and 3 orders of magnitude higher than the total damage to ecosystems currently evaluated for electricity production, indicating that the damage to aquatic biodiversity by hydroelectricity is significantly underestimated and should be considered when comparing the environmental impacts of competing electricity production technologies. These characterization factors can be directly combined with appropriate inventory databases and used in life cycle assessments related to water use. This is especially useful for processes using electricity from hydroelectric utilities, but also for processes using water for irrigation, power plant cooling or public use. Thus the inclusion of water use damage to aquatic biodiversity within overall damage to ecosystems quality increases the reliability of final results reported from LCA containing processes using water.

* [email protected]



Thursday lunch

Assessing water use in LCA Poster Relevance of Water Use in LCAs of Biofuel Production

Mireille Faist Emmenegger*, Empa

Many countries promote biofuels with the main aim to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. However, the potential of biofuels to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions as well as overall environmental impacts is highly controversial. Switzerland is one of the first countries to set requirements in its legislation on tax exemption for biofuels to ensure a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while avoiding additional overall environmental impacts.

comprehensive approach which includes overall environmental impacts within the full life cycle of biofuels. Moreover, water use in biofuel production has only been considered by very recent papers, without, however, relating their results to overall environmental impacts. This step is nevertheless very important for a comprehensive assessment of biofuels. Indeed, one recent publication showed that the assessment of water consumption in an LCA of cotton production strongly influences the results, especially in water scarce regions (Pfister 2009).

Our paper analyses water use in biofuel production. It shows a case study of rape seed methyl ester production in Argentina based on irrigated and non-irrigated cultivation, and compares the results with values for other biofuels from the ecoinvent database. We use regionalized factors for the assessment of the environmental impacts of water use and show the importance of taking into account water scarcity in the respective region. Furthermore, we relate the results to the Swiss legislation, showing that water use should be included in future assessments of biofuels.

* [email protected]



Thursday lunch

Assessing water use in LCA Poster Water Footprint – Principles, Requirements and Guidance

Sebastien Humbert*, Quantis

Freshwater is a very important natural resource, which everyday becomes scarcer and therefore urgently requires appropriate management tools to be used in an internationally consistent fashion by different stakeholders. The objective is to propose and ISO Standard on principles, requirements & guidelines for a water footprint metric of products, processes and organizations, as well as its communication. It aims at being: i) Coherent with ISO14000 series, ii) Coherent with environmental metrics such as carbon footprint, LCA (ISO14040), GHG accounting (ISO14064), iii) Coherent with environmental communication (ISO14020, ISO 14067), and iv) Consistent with existing and ongoing work of GHG protocol (same boundaries, scope, etc.).

This presentation will outline the foreseen process, starting in 2009 and planned to last 3 years, aiming at creating such an ISO Standard.

* [email protected]



Thursday lunch

Regionalization and data specifications: A comparison of Ecospold 2 and ILCD

Chris Mutel*, ETH Zurich

Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Zurich

Regionalization allows for better and more specific results from LCA studies. However, proper regionalization requires that geographic information be included in LCI databases. The type of geographic information determines the type of regionalized LCA that can be performed. In this poster, we describe the types of regionalized information that will be included in two new data formats: Ecospold 2 and ILCD. These new formats are being designed for the next generation of LCI databases, and are intended to allow for the advances in regionalization that are currently being discussed in conferences and the literature. Because both formats use XML, a direct comparison can be made between the advantages and drawbacks of each format choice. Although neither format is finalized, preliminary comparisons indicate that the ILCD format is designed for simpler implementation and data collection, while the EcoSpold 2 format includes more complicated geographic information that is more difficult for those inputting data, but allows for advanced GIS-based regionalization in LCA.

* [email protected]



Thursday lunch

Accounting for Ecosystem Services in Eco-LCA by Combining

Qualitative and Quantitative Information

Shweta Singh*, The Ohio State University Bhavik Bakshi**, Ohio State University

Accounting for ecosystem services has been identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 1. as crucial for meeting the goal of sustainability. Ecologically Based Life Cycle Assessment (Eco-LCA) has been developed recently to address this challenge of accounting for the role of ecosystem goods and services in industrial activities 2,3 . This approach accounts for a large variety of provisioning services including fuels, minerals, soil and water, supporting services such as some biogeochemical cycles, and several regulating services. These services complement existing life cycle inventories and rely on physical methods such as exergy analysis. The Eco-LCA approach may be applied at the process or economy scale, and an Eco-LCA model of the U.S. economy has been developed 2 . Despite these developments, considering the complexity of ecosystems and multitude of services provided, there are still many ecosystem services which have not been accounted for completely in Eco-LCA. It is important to account for the role of other ecosystem services, including regulating services, which include climate, flood and pest regulation. Some of the missing services can be quantified, while for others, only qualitative information is available. Among services that can be quantified, this work accounts for carbon sequestration and nitrogen footprint. Carbon sequestration services considered in this work include those due to land use and land use change, soil sink by croplands remaining cropland, urban trees and organic landfills. Additional sources of emissions due to anthropogenic activities include emissions due to land converted to cropland, grassland remaining grassland and other agricultural emissions such as fertilization and liming. The present work includes these additional sources and sinks of carbon emissions in Eco-LCA quantitatively and further enhance the Eco-LCA inventory. Agricultural soil management and manure management is contributing largely to indirect emissions of nitrous oxide and ammonia , nitrogen runoff and leaching causing negative impacts on ecosystems and loss of ecosystem services such as fisheries. It also contributes to global warming potential and climate change which necessitates to limit and calculate nitrogen footprint in economy. Hence, these additional sources of nitrogen emissions are also included in the Eco-LCA inventory. Ecosystem services required to abate these emissions are also included in Eco-LCA. For services that are difficult to quantify, the approach adopted in this work is to represent these services in a qualitative manner. This includes regulating services like air quality regulation, climate regulation, disease and pest regulation etc. Our approach utilizes process level information to identify critical ecosystem services on a scale from 0 to 5 and combines this with any available quantitative information . Hence, this will provide a process specific qualitative inventory for services which are tough to quantify. Such qualitative insight about the dependence of system on these ecosystem services will help identify the critical ecosystem services in the life cycle of processes. Even though such qualitative analysis cannot be used to calculate the usual impact assessment metrics, still it will provide life cycle view for assessing dependence and impact of systems on ecosystem services. Hence, the proposed quantitative-qualitative approach will lead to development of a unique inventory which can provide a holistic analysis of dependence of system on ecosystem services. References 1. Millenium Ecosystem Assessment report 2. Ecologically based LCA -An approach for quantifying the role of natural capital in product life cycles.

PhD Thesis. Zhang Yi (2008), The Ohio State University 3. Eco-LCA tool * [email protected] ** [email protected]



Thursday lunch

Regional Variations and Implications of Life-Cycle Water

Consumption in the Production of Bioethanol, Petroleum Gasoline, and Electric Power

May Wu*, Argonne National Laboratory

Production of energy feedstocks and fuels requires substantial water input for feedstock growth and conversion to fuel. Water requirements are particularly significant in the production of biofuel feedstocks like corn, switchgrass, and agricultural residues. Water management has become a key feature of agricultural practice and energy production processes in recent years. In the present work, we examine the growing issue of water use in energy production by characterizing current water consumption in (1) bioethanol produced from corn and from cellulosic feedstocks (United States), (2) petroleum gasoline (United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia), and (3) the production of electricity from major sources (United States). Water requirements and consumption are evaluated for two major life cycle stages: feedstock farming and feedstock conversion. We analyzed 10 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) farming production regions for corn, five Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts (PADDs) from United States and major production regions from Saudi Arabia for conventional gasoline, major oil sand production regions for oil sand-based gasoline, and state-level production for power generation. Our analysis revealed that the amount of irrigation water used to grow biofuel feedstocks varies significantly from one region to another and that water consumption for biofuel production varies with processing technology. Such variations imply substantial differences in life-cycle water consumption, even within the United States. Since the feedstock recovery and production stages account for a majority of water use, life-cycle results depend largely on locations in which feedstock is stored or grown. In addition, newly proposed energy projects from multiple sectors could further strain local water resources. Our analysis highlights the vital importance of water management during the feedstock production and conversion stages of the fuel life cycle.

* [email protected]

Dynamic and temporal modeling in LCA 1 & 2


Thursday afternoon

Special session coordinator: Annie Levasseur, CIRAIG

The lack of consideration for temporal aspects in LCA is a repeated criticism of the methodology. Inventory phase excludes temporal information, like the dynamics of the different life cycle processes, giving aggregated results. This absence of time resolution in the inventory results implies the use of some assumptions that can decrease the accuracy of impact assessment models. In LCIA, the choice of time horizons for integrating impacts and the distribution of these impacts through time is also an important discussion subject. This session wants to address the problem of temporal aspects in LCA, in inventory and impact assessment, to look at how time could be integrated into LCA to increase its accuracy and application scope.

How dynamic LCA can bring consistency in assessing global warming mitigation scenarios Annie Levasseur, Pascal Lesage, Manuele Margni, Louise Deschênes, Réjean Samson

Capturing the Effects of the Timing of Emissions in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Assessments: A Case Study of Photovoltaic Technologies Alissa Kendall, Brenda Chang, Benjamin A. Sharpe

Modeling process, product and usage evolution in LCA: three case studies Eric Williams, Liqiu Deng, Callie W. Babbitt, Pei Zhai

Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment of biogas production from micro-algae Collet Pierre, Arnaud Hélias, Laurent Lardon, Jean-Philippe Steyer

Modeling future emissions from Municipal solid waste incineration in Europe Dominik Saner, Daniel Lang, Annette Koehler

LCA of Waste Prevention Options for the Residential Construction Sector in Oregon Jon Dettling, Dominic Pietro, Jordan Palmeri, Bill Jones, Johnathan Balkema, Bruce Sullivan, David Allaway, Sebastien Humbert, Olivier Jolliet

Meeting the NEEDS of European environmental sustainability assessment Rolf Frischknecht, Krewitt Wolfram

Exploring Leverage in Responsible Purchasing - A recursive life-cycle simulation to explore green purchasing and life-cycle simulation Evan Andrews



Thursday afternoon

How dynamic LCA can bring consistency in assessing

global warming mitigation scenarios

Annie Levasseur, CIRAIG Pascal Lesage, CIRAIG

Manuele Margni, CIRAIG Louise Deschênes, CIRAIG

Réjean Samson, CIRAIG

With Kyoto Protocol enforcement in many countries, mitigation mechanisms for GHG like temporary abiotic carbon sequestration scenarios are more and more accepted to meet political targets. To assess the impact of these scenarios, LCA appears to be the preferred tool to avoid burden shifting over whole life cycle. A consensus exists to use GWP (Global Warming Potential) index, developed by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), as characterization factors to assess impacts on climate change. Although many practitioners are aware that GWP index is available for different time horizons, such as 20, 100 and 500 years, only few of them realize that there is often an inconsistency regarding time frame between an aggregated inventory result and the choice of the time horizon used in GWP. In fact, multiplying an inventory result by a set of GWPs for a chosen time horizon assumes that every emission of the aggregated life cycle inventory result is occurring at time zero, which is not true, especially for long-lived products or scenarios.

A new dynamic LCA approach is proposed to overcome this limitation and bring consistency between the inventory and the impact assessment time horizon. This approach consists in i) computing a dynamic inventory to discriminate time dependant emissions over the whole life cycle and ii) calculating dynamic characterization factors for each time step up to the defined time horizon using the AGWP (Absolute Global Warming Potential). A case study for temporary carbon sequestration by afforestation has been developed to illustrate the benefits of this dynamic approach. Dynamic LCA results are showing the change in radiative forcing caused by GHG emissions, at any time t following the beginning of the studied life cycle. The comparison with traditional LCA shows that the dynamic approach gives lower results for a given time horizon, due to the improved consistency in the time frames. Dynamic LCA also brings the temporal resolution necessary for comparing temporary carbon sequestration scenarios.



Thursday afternoon

Capturing the Effects of the Timing of Emissions in

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Assessments: A Case Study of Photovoltaic Technologies

Alissa Kendall, University of California, Davis Brenda Chang, University of California, Davis

Benjamin A. Sharpe, University of California, Davis

With few exceptions [1], studies estimating life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaics (PV) report GHG emissions on an emissions intensity basis, such as per-kWh or per-MJ. To calculate emissions intensity, life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners typically implement a straight-line amortization of the initial emissions, such as emissions from capital investments or manufacturing, over an assumed time horizon [2, 3]. Because the impact of a GHG increases with time in the atmosphere, disregarding when an emission occurs underestimates its climate change effect. This is particula rly true if a large emission occurs at the beginning or in advance of a product’s life cycle. To address this shortcoming in current LCA practices, we have developed a scaling factor, referred to as a time correction factor (TCF) [4]. To calculate the TCF we use a methodology founded on the same principles as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s global warming potentials (GWPs). The TCF is applied to life cycle emissions intensity estimates for various PV technologies. Results show that actual climate change effects are nearly 80% greater than those reported. While this research applies the TCF to better compare climate change effects of alternative PV technologies, the broader concept has a role to play in developing a method to capture the true climate effect of GHG emissions during the impact assessment step of LCA.

[1] O'Hare, M. et. al, 2009. Proper Accounting for Time Increases Crop-Based Biofuels’ GHG Deficit versus Petroleum. Environmental Research Letters 4, 024001. [2] Fthenakis, V. & E. Alsema, 2006. Photovoltaics Energy Payback Times, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and External Costs: 2004-Early 2005 Stuts. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, 14, 275-280. [3] Raugei, M., S. Bargigle & S. Ulgiati (2007) Life cycle assessment and energy pay-back time of advancedphotovoltaic modules: CdTe and CIS compared to poly-Si. Energy 32, 1310-1318 [4] Kendall, A., B. Chang, & B. A. Sharpe, 2009. Accounting for Time-Dependent Effects in Biofuel Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Calculations Environmental Science and Technology, doi: 10.1021/es900529u.



Thursday afternoon

Modeling process, product and usage evolution in LCA:

three case studies

Eric Williams, Arizona State University Liqiu Deng, Arizona State University

Callie W. Babbitt, Arizona State University Pei Zhai, Arizona State University

LCA was initially designed to produce a static snapshot of materials flows and impacts associated with a supply chain. In many cases the temporal evolution of processes, products and usage patterns can significantly affect LCA results, a challenge which the community has long-recognized and worked to grapple with. This presentation reviews three case studies addressing methods and data to work towards temporal characterization of life cycle inventories. The first case study examine photovoltaic manufacturing and develops a retrospective model of product and process evolution to describe trends in energy and carbon overhead of the supply chain. The inventory method is a variety of hybrid analysis combining process and economic input-output approaches. The second case study of semiconductor manufacturing examines how different definitions of functional unit can affect the temporal evolution of the inventory. In particular, the energy to produce a “typical” microprocessor for a given year is roughly constant (typical product normalization) while the energy per transistor (functionality normalization) decreases rapidly. The third case study addresses the empirical analysis of the temporal evolution of computer usage patterns. Data is gathered describing fifteen years of computer use at Arizona State University. One of the main results is that product lifespan, the time from purchase to disposal, has declined steadily, from around 10.7 years in 1985 to 5.5 years in 2000. This suggests that dynamic modeling of lifespan is needed for LCA of some products.



Thursday afternoon

Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment of

biogas production from micro-algae

Collet Pierre, Montpellier SupAgro Arnaud Hélias, Montpellier SupAgro

Laurent Lardon, INRA Jean-Philippe Steyer, Montpellier SupAgro

Fossil fuel depletion and climate change have lead many research groups and private companies to focus on use of biomass to produce renewable energy and fuel. Because of their high production yield, micro-algae have been pointed as an interesting alternative. A relevant mean to upgrade the energy value of micro-algae with optimal performances is the anaerobic digestion of the algae. It enables achievement of environmental benefits and production of energy from renewable resources. However such processes only exist at lab-scale. In order to assess and optimize its performances and environmental impacts, one has to stimulate its behaviour through dynamical models. In broad outline the two major compartments of the system (micro-algae culture and anaerobic digestion process) are linked by internal flows (micro-algae, digestates…) and receive external flows (light, cosubstrates…). As a consequence, overall behaviour is determined by the interaction of several time-dependent processes. For example, the temporal availability of winery effluents induces a better anaerobic digestion due to the high C/N ratio of this kind of cosubstrate, and consequently a bigger production of biogas. So, due to the close loop operating, the needs of chemical fertilizers are lower, and the emissions caused by their production too. This shows the necessity to realize a dynamic Life Cycle Assessment. In our context, a pertinent Life Cycle Inventory can not be achieved without taking into account the dynamic of several processes; some economic flows are determined according to the temporal evolution of processes. Consequently, we integrate dynamic system modeling of micro-algae growth and anaerobic digestion of biomass in the LCA in order to obtain dynamic flows. This approach allows us to obtain dynamic data for the Life Cycle Inventory. This is a preliminary step to more accurate impact assessment.



Thursday afternoon

Modeling future emissions from

Municipal solid waste incineration in Europe

Dominik Saner, ETH Zurich Daniel Lang, ETH Zurich

Annette Koehler, ETH Zurich

With increasing amounts of municipal solid waste being directed to incineration plants the question of future incineration emission loads becomes increasingly important. Emission loads depend on waste amount, waste composition as well as incineration technology, and therefore heavily vary over space and time. A temporal modeling of emissions from municipal solid waste incineration for application in different environmental assessments such as life cycle assessment, substance flow analysis, and pollutant exposure assessment was conducted to address the issue of prospective emission situations.

Applying Formative Scenario Analysis (FSA) future scenarios reflecting socio-economic and demographic developments, technological evolution and different policy settings were generated for municipal solid waste incineration in the coming decades in Europe. Impact variables, which formally describe the driving forces of different scenarios were elaborated. Scenarios were constructed, analyzed for consistency, and used to define input parameters for a probabilistic and spatially-resolved emission model that allows to quantify the incineration emissions into air and water. The waste-input specific, transfer-coefficient based emission model for different waste incineration and flue gas cleaning technologies considers 33 European countries and consists of two databases: one of all existing and planned municipal solid waste incineration plants in Europe, specifying their location and technological installations and a European waste inventory of combustible wastes, including information on current and future national municipal waste quantities, waste types, material compositions and elemental compositions of the waste materials. All input and model parameters are stochastically modeled returning uncertainty ranges for the resulting emission loads. The model thus provides temporally differentiated LCI data for municipal solid waste incineration plants in 33 European countries on a time scale of 4 decades.

In the presentation, the set-up of future scenarios and their temporally varying impact variables will be elaborated. The crucial step of translating scenarios into temporal input parameters of the incineration model will be discussed and the trade-offs between scenario-based (temporal) and stochastically modeled future emission loads analyzed. The results for the pollutant loads show that batteries now and in the future are a main source of heavy metals and that N and S inputs from biodegradable waste into incineration become increasingly important due to prohibited landfilling of biowaste.



Thursday afternoon

LCA of Waste Prevention Options for the Residential Construction Sector in Oregon

Jon Dettling, Quantis

Dominic Pietro, Quantis Jordan Palmeri, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Bill Jones, Earth Advantage, Inc. Johnathan Balkema, Oregon Home Builders Association

Bruce Sullivan, Earth Advantage, Inc. David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Sebastien Humbert, Quantis Olivier Jolliet, Quantis

Within Oregon, the residential construction sector is responsible for a significant portion of the waste generated. While the Oregon DEQ recognizes the importance of waste prevention actions in this sector, it is also recognized that the residential housing sector is an extremely important contributor to other environmental impact areas through its material demands and energy use: a classic case of the potential for shifting burdens. There is therefore a need to ensure that the waste prevention actions that the state government may take are optimized to achieve maximal benefit (and avoid net impacts) in multiple environmental impact categories.

A life cycle assessment has been undertaken to identify the residential construction waste prevention practices that provide the greatest overall environmental benefit. Supporting information for the study has been compiled with the help of the Oregon Home Builders Association (OHBA), Earth Advantage Inc. (EAI, the leading building energy certifier in the state), and the Oregon DEQ in addition to a wide range of subject-matter experts on the building practices. A whole-building LCA framework has been established that integrates detailed data on building materials and energy use (supplied by OHBA and EAI, respectively) with detailed information about the context of residential buildings in Oregon.

More than two dozen possible waste prevention practices have been identified. In a first screening-level phase, these practices were evaluated to narrow the list to those practices showing the most promise. The best performing practices are being evaluated in a second phase in which the level of detail was greatly enhanced and the study was expanded to consider the practices within the framework of a state-wide residential building stock.

In both phases of the project, temporal considerations are highly important. The choice of a lifetime for the modeled residential structures, as well as replacement schedules, highly influences the relative contributions of various aspects the home. When considering state-wide building stock, both the longevity of structures and the chosen time horizon are important.

This presentation will discuss the context of the project, the methodologies used, discuss the findings of the first phase and provide some preliminary results of the second phase.



Thursday afternoon

Meeting the NEEDS of

European environmental sustainability assessment

Rolf Frischknecht, ESU-services Ltd. Krewitt Wolfram, German Aerospace Centre

Mixing LCI data from databases representing today’s situation with LCI data for energy systems and technologies that will only be realised in some decades from now leads to results that do not well represent the environmental impact of the intended future situation. This is the more true for technologies with low or zero direct emissions such as wind, or photovoltaic. Within the recently completed European NEEDS project, the environmental efficiency of the production of selected relevant commodities are adapted to a 2025 and 2050 situation, differentiating three possible scenarios of economic developments and energy policies. Using background data based on unit processes a change in selected datasets propagates into every dataset. This substantially improves accuracy and consistency of the resulting product systems. In the NEEDS project the future energy mix including a share of these new technologies is taken into account as well as changes in the mining, materials and transport sectors. It is shown that a consistent modification leads to results that are significantly different from those using unmodified data.



Thursday afternoon

Exploring Leverage in Responsible Purchasing - A recursive life-

cycle simulation to explore green purchasing and life-cycle simulation Evan Andrews, Sylvatica

Responsible purchasing among institutions is growing. Green procurement, one such example of this, proliferates as companies increasingly seek to manage risks and opportunities in their supply chains. While great progress has been made, one question is often deferred because it is either not understood, or deemed too difficult to address: How deep should green purchasing efforts go into the supply chain? Should suppliers be judged solely on their environmental impacts, or should they also be judged on their purchasing decisions as well? Is it worth the effort to request data from deep in the supply chain? If the goal is to make the world a better place, just how much leverage do purchasers have towards this end? How much faster does the economy green if purchasers take a life-cycle perspective, rather than “one-tier green”, when making buying decisions?

The presentation will tackle these topics through the lens of a life-cycle simulation. The model allows for dynamic interplay of companies, and uses market information to simulate how the economy might change in response to green purchasing decisions. The market features includes pricing, competition, and constrained production among other variables. For example, a supplier that would otherwise be the best candidate to furnish a good might not bid because the job would put her over capacity. Similarly, purchasers make procurement decisions based on the context in which they find themselves, such as whether their company has committed to green purchasing.

The results of the study will be presented. Scenarios will be compared where green purchasers do, and don’t, dig into their supply chains. There will also be discussion of insights gained and future work.

Towards a consistent management of uncertainty

in Life Cycle Assessment

152 International Ballroom C Thursday early afternoon

Special session coordinator: Olivier Jolliet, University of Michigan

Currently, the quantification and communication of uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), in both inventory and impact assessment, is often omitted. Addressing these issues, this session focuses on the integration of uncertainty management into daily LCA practice. It explores approaches to estimate, visualize, interpret and communicate any kind of uncertainty information in LCA and its inclusion in decision-making. Identification and quantification of main sources of uncertainty in all stages of an LCA is a special point of interest; all with the ultimate goal of minimizing resources needed to perform uncertainty analysis in LCA. LCA case studies, where uncertainty was consistently considered, are welcome. Innovative method for uncertainty calculations are of high interest. Uncertainty information routinely reported for LCA results will improve trust and confidence in the method as users and decision makers will be provided with measures of confidence in the result, enabling for example to differentiate between compared options with scores that are essentially equal (revealed by overlapping uncertainty ranges) or well distinguishable. It will also provide a measure of confidence for impact indicators. This session explicitly invites all stakeholders from developers to practitioners and decision-makers to present and discuss their views, experiences and ideas related to practical uncertainty management in LCA.

Sampling and analytical approaches toward propagating uncertainties in LCA Reinout Heijungs, Olivier Jolliet, Ralph Rosenbaum, Andreas Ciroth, Thomas McKone, Manfred Lenzen, Jinglan Hong

Uncertainty and scenario analysis in the life cycle of biofuel systems: modelling issues and applications Fausto Freire, João Malça

Analytical Uncertainty Propagation in Life Cycle Inventory and Impact Assessment: high-efficiency versus conventional electric hand dryer and paper towel systems Olivier Jolliet, Jinglan Hong, Shanna Shaked, Ralph Rosenbaum, Jon Dettling

Confronting the Uncertainties in Life-Cycle Impact Assessment for Highway Transportation Fuels Thomas McKone, Agnes Lobscheid

Incorporating Variation and Uncertainty in Strategic Life Cycle Decisions Jeffrey Dahmus, Elsa Olivetti, Jeremy Gregory, Randolph Kirchain

A method to combine simulation and approximation formulas for uncertainty calculation revisited Andreas Ciroth




Sampling and analytical approaches toward

propagating uncertainties in LCA

Reinout Heijungs, Leiden University Olivier Jolliet, University of Michigan

Ralph Rosenbaum, CIRAIG Andreas Ciroth, GreenDeltaTC GmbH

Thomas McKone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Manfred Lenzen, University of Sydney Jinglan Hong, University of Michigan

The analysis of uncertainty in LCA studies has been a topic for more than ten years, and many commercial LCA programs now feature Monte Carlo analysis. Yet, a full Monte Carlo analysis of a large LCA system, for instance containing the 4000 unit processes of ecoinvent v2.0, is hardly carried out by LCA-practitioners. One important reason for this is the computation time involved. A promising alternative for the Monte Carlo method is the analytical error propagation, by means of a Taylor series expansion. This p aper will explore three different implementations of the idea behind the Taylor series expansion. It compares the theoretical background and mathematical formulas involved. A case study on fossil diesel versus biodiesel approaches these techniques from a practical angle, and moreover allows us to contrast their results with those from a Monte Carlo analysis.




Uncertainty and scenario analysis in the life cycle of biofuel systems:

modelling issues and applications

Fausto Freire, ADAI. Dep. of Mechanical Engineering. Universisty of Coimbra João Malça, ADAI, University of Coimbra, and ISEC

Recently there has been a significant growth in the number of published studies addressing the life cycle of biofuel systems. However, several aspects have been found to affect the life cycle calculations: land use change, data quality, modeling assumptions, and so on. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of uncertainty in the life cycle of biofuels is needed. This presentation evaluates the implications of uncertainty and scenario analysis in the life cycle energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of rapeseed oil and biodiesel (rapeseed methyl ester) displacing fossil diesel. Several sources of uncertainty have been inves tigated: i) uncertainty related to parameters; ii) uncertainty concerning how co-product credits are accounted for, namely in terms of the multiple options associated with the potential uses of the co-products (rape meal and glycerin); and iii) uncertainty in terms of temporal scenarios of the impact model, which include an assessment of the implications of different time horizons for GHG emissions (20, 100 and 500 years). Energy requirements and GHG emissions have been calculated in terms of probability distributions using system expansion and three allocation approaches. Concerning how co-products are accounted for, it can be observed that results strongly depend on the substitution scheme considered. Avoided GHG emissions show considerably higher uncertainty than energy savings, mainly due to land use (nitrous oxide emissions from soil) and land use conversion (carbon stock changes). Thus, the large degree of uncertainty is mainly associated with the cultivation stage. Re sults demonstrate the relevance of applying uncertainty approaches, emphasize the need to reduce uncertainty in the environmental life cycle modeling, particularly GHG emissions calculation, and show the importance of integrating uncertainty into the interpretation of results.




Analytical Uncertainty Propagation in Life Cycle Inventory and

Impact Assessment: high-efficiency versus conventional electric hand dryer and paper towel systems

Olivier Jolliet, University of Michigan

Jinglan Hong, Shandong University Shanna Shaked, University of Michigan

Ralph Rosenbaum, CIRAIG, École Polytechnique de Montréal Jon Dettling, Quantis

Uncertainty information is essential for the proper use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and environmental assessments in decision making. So far, parameter uncertainty propagation has mainly been studied using Monte Carlo techniques that are relatively computationally heavy to conduct, especially for the comparison of multiple scenarios, often limiting its use to research or to inventory only. The present paper aims to develop and apply to both inventory and impact assessment an explicit and transparent analytical approach to uncertainty. This approach applies Taylor series expansions to the uncertainty propagation of lognormally distributed parameters and discusses its validity that is linked to the degree of lognormality of the output result. It estimates the degree of confidence in the prediction that the impact of scenario A is lower than B, accounting for correlations between input variables in different scenarios.

The approach is tested on a case study comparing a high-efficiency electric hand dryer (XLERATOR) with a conventional hand dryer and paper towels. The study indicates that the high-efficiency electric hand dryer, provides significant environmental benefits over the course of its life in comparison to the other options considered. The major cause of its advantage in comparison to conventional electric hand dryers is the reduction of the electricity consumption during the use of the dryer by nearly 4-fold. The uncertainty in the results shows that the confidence in the benefit of the high efficiency in comparison to the other systems drier is very high, with less than a one in a million chance that the opposite case is true. Under the baseline study assumptions, the paper towels show similar environmental performance to the conventional electric dryer: resulting in a slight increase or decrease, the direction of which will depend on variations in the product, its use and the assumptions of the study.

To obtain accurate uncertainty estimates, the case study shows that it is crucial to account for both common inventory processes and common impact assessment characterization factors among the different scenarios.

Overall, the analytical Taylor series expansion based on lognormal distribution was straightforward to implement in an excel spreadsheet and easily provided the explicit contributions of each parameter to the overall uncertainty.




Confronting the Uncertainties in Life-Cycle Impact Assessment for

Highway Transportation Fuels

Thomas McKone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Agnes Lobscheid, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

This presentation provides a detailed case study using life-cycle emissions from highway transportation fuels and vehicles in order to explore and evaluate how uncertainty can impact decisions and how uncertainty can be addressed in life-cycle comparisons. Life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) strives to compare one or more impacts in order to inform product choices. The reliability and consistency of decisions and policies based on LCIA are diminished by a failure to confront and communicate the inherent uncertainties. Multiple sources of uncertainty arise in any impact assessment, but are particularly problematic for comparisons. These sources include lack of knowledge in defining the problem, variation in measured data, disagreement among alternate sources of information, natural heterogeneity, the selection of one model form over another, simplifications of model structure, extrapolation errors, and value judgments. This presentation considers comparisons for the life-cycle impacts among a range of transportation fuel/vehicle alternatives—petroleum-based gasoline, tar-sands gasoline, corn-ethanol, cellulosic ethanol from a number of sources, low-sulfur diesel, and hybrid vehicles. For all major components of the systems that provide highway transportation, both the magnitude and uncertainty associated with emissions impacts are provided on a vehicle-kilometer-traveled (VKT) basis. These transportation components include

• fuel feedstock recovery/production, • fuel production, • vehicle operation, and • vehicle manufacture.

The emissions considered include greenhouse-gas emissions, direct particulate matter (PM) emissions; pollutant emissions that indirectly increase PM levels, and ozone emissions from each life-stage component. These emissions are used to characterize human health impacts and compare overall impacts on human health among fuel/vehicle alternatives. Factors that are key sources of uncertainty include assumptions about the source of energy inputs for non-operational life-stages, choices about the spatial resolution applied to emissions impacts, exposure response factors for air pollutants, the health damage factor for greenhouse-gas emissions, and the choice on how to allocate impacts in time.




Incorporating Variation and Uncertainty in

Strategic Life Cycle Decisions

Jeffrey Dahmus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Elsa Olivetti, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jeremy Gregory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Randolph Kirchain, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

As environmental sustainability rises in prominence among both consumers and firms, the role of life cycle assessment in strategic business decisions has grown. With this growth has come an increased awareness of the considerable data and resource requirements that most life cycle assessments require. The work presented here focuses on streamlining typical life cycle assessment methods, while still yielding actionable results. These results can in turn be used to guide strategic decisions that can move firms towards more environmentally sustainable products and operations.

The streamlined quantitative life cycle assessment approach explored here, comprehends both variation and uncertainty. While these issues are not new to the field of life cycle assessment, the inclusion of such factors in streamlining the life cycle assessment, namely in terms of determining what data – and what level detail of data – is collected, is unique. In addition to streamlining the life cycle assessment process, the inclusion of variation and uncertainty can also play a critical role in determining the range of possible strategic approaches available to a firm. Thus, comprehending these factors is an important component of streamlining existing life cycle assessment methods.

This work will present a streamlined quantitative life cycle assessment method, data on variation and uncertainty in a sampling of industrial processes, and a case study showing how such streamlined life cycle assessment methods, complete with variation and uncertainty data, can guide strategic firm decisions around environmental sustainability.




A method to combine simulation and approximation

formulas for uncertainty calculation revisited

Andreas Ciroth, GreenDeltaTC GmbH

A combination of simulation and approximation for uncertainty calculation in LCA has been developed in a thesis 1998-2001 (Ciroth, A., Fehlerrechnung in Ökobilanzen, doctoral thesis, TU Berlin 2001; english: Ciroth, A., Fleischer, G., Steinbach, J.: Uncertainty Calculation in Life Cycle Assessments - A Combined Model of Simulation and Approximation, Int J LCA 9 (4) 216 – 226 (2004)). Back then, the method was applied for a "virtual case study", based on randomly generated data. The method claims to be faster than simulation alone and yet to be able to calculate the uncertainty as accurately, even in a looped product system. Simulation was only needed for those parts that could not be well reflected by approximation, and the method developed measures to indicate how far approximation is applicable.

The approach is now applied on a large product system from the ecoinvent database. Results are compared to those obtained by approximation formula alone and to those obtained by simulation alone, in terms of time demands and result. Specifically, thresholds proposed in the thesis will be checked. Finally, an implementation in LCA software for the combined method will be shown.

Design

159 International Ballroom C Thursday late afternoon

Session chair: Jan Paul Lindner

Multi-objective process design optimization using LCA Etienne Bernier, François Maréchal, Réjean Samson An Innovative approach for sustainable packaging design: the packaging “i-report” Coppelia Marincovic, Nuno Da Silva, Laura Flanigan Ecodesign of Single-use Products: Consideration of Design Specifications within LCA Mylène Fugère, Valérie Bécaert, Julie-Anne Chayer, Manuele Margni, Réjean Samson

Design


Multi-objective process design optimization using LCA

Etienne Bernier*, CIRAIG

François Maréchal, Industrial Energy Systems Lab, EPFL Réjean Samson, CIRAIG

We investigate the application of LCA in the conceptual phase of process design using multi-objective optimization techniques when at least one objective concerns the environmental impact, illustrating with a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plant model. Integrating LCA results allows the process design to account for the impact of the off-site emissions avoidable or not. Impact mitigation actions of significant potential are considered on-site and off-site, a necessary step since true Pareto-optimality cannot neglect procurement and waste management options. LCA is also useful to calculate on-site emission abatement costs with a life-cycle perspective, which is potentially useful to anticipate the inflationary effects of emission legislation. In the NGCC plant, a CO2 capture process is optimized with respect to electricity cost and global warming potential using an evolutionary algorithm. The simulation combines a process flow-sheeting model, a process integration model and a LCA 1. The natural gas input shows a large off-site emissions abatement potential by sequestering CO2 from the gas sweetening process, by replacing methane-leaking equipment and by blending in synthetic natural gas (SNG) produced by wood gasification and methanation 2. From these options, only the first two are Pareto-optimal at any CO2 capture rate. With a cost of $7.80/GJ for natural gas and $20/ton for CO2 handling, the minimum on-site CO2 abatement cost, achieved with a capture rate of 90%, reaches $62.43/ton on a life cycle basis excluding sequestration leakage, compared with $60.30/ton without considering the life cycle. The difference is attributed mostly to the additional off-site emissions associated with CO2 transportation and with increased fuel consumption. The optimal internal process configuration is unaffected by LCA and includes a wide CO2 absorber, a relatively simple CO2 stripper and heat exchange between the lean absorbent and a low-pressure steam boiler. Finally, carbon neutrality is optimally achieved with 97% CO2 capture and with 3% SNG in the fuel mix. However, carbon neutrality throughout the life cycle requires 19% SNG instead, raising questions about the definition of neutrality.

References

1. Bernier, E., F. Marechal and R. Samson. (2009). Multi-Objective Design Optimization Using Life Cycle Assessment Results of a Natural Gas Combined Cycle with Carbon Dioxide Capture. Energy, ECOS2008 special issue. Accepted.

2. Gerber, L., Gassner M. and F. Marechal (2009). Integration of LCA in a thermo-economic model for multi-objective process optimization of SNG production from woody biomass. In: Proceedings of 19th European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering, Cracow, Poland. Accepted.

* [email protected]

Design


An Innovative approach for sustainable packaging design:

the packaging “i-report”

Coppelia Marincovic*, PE Americas Nuno Da Silva, PE Americas Laura Flanigan, Five Winds

PE Americas, in collaboration with a World’s leading confectionery company, developed a parameterized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model to support the design of sustainable packaging for the company’s products and help designers in their decision making process.

The “i-report” is an innovative combination of a complex Life Cycle Assessment model and a user-friendly interface that makes it accessible by designers, regardless of their prior knowledge of Life Cycle Assessment. The tool allows designers to easily compare the environmental impacts of different packaging design options, by generating environmental profiles of products at a very early stage in the design process. The model generates in parallel full Life Cycle Assessments, with no simplification, for all scenarios of interest that can then be easily compared.

The model is a process-based “cradle-to-grave” Life Cycle Assessment of the packages, created in GaBi 4, from which key environmental indicators (Global Warming Potential, Primary Energy Demand, Eutrophication Potential and Smog Potential) are calculated. The model is fully parameterized, so that the user can vary different parameters for each scenario of packaging design. Once all the parameters are entered in the model, the environmental indicators are calculated instantaneously, and the results are visualized through graphs and color-coded tables in the user-friendly interface.

The packaging “i-report” is an innovative tool that provides designers with a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impacts of their packaging design, at a very early stage in the design process. By enabling the user to easily compare different options, packaging products are consistently designed to be more sustainable. * [email protected]

Design


Ecodesign of Single-use Products:

Consideration of Design Specifications within LCA

Mylène Fugère, CIRAIG Valérie Bécaert*, CIRAIG

Julie-Anne Chayer, CIRAIG Manuele Margni, CIRAIG, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal


Designers require methodologies to analyze existing designs in order to improve a product’s environmental footprint. LCA can be used to identify products’ “hot spots” over a life cycle perspective. Nevertheless, LCA is not a suitable tool to evaluate all the so-called secondary characteristics of products, such as the qualitative functions based on consumer’s perception. For instance, aesthetics or products’ perceived risks are key design specifications of several products since they are significant to consumers. Those functions may be classified as secondary within LCA terminology, but they are defined as primary in terms of design specifications. Consequently, in spite of the difficulty in establishing causality links between them and the product’s life cycle, it is relevant for product designers to know about the environmental impacts of those secondary functions.

As a result, this project aims to develop a new ecodesign approach by combining in a matrix the results of an LCA with the functional profile developed by Lagerstedt et al. 1. This is illustrated with a case study of a single-use product demonstrating the usefulness of this matrix to designers. For this specific case, the matrix was built by taking into account the relationships between the different components of the product and their respective environmental impacts and functionalities. To be able to adapt this matrix to different types of consumer products, several levels of aggregation were developed.

This matrix based approach highlights the relationships between quantitative LCA results and qualitative information on product specifications, a clear benefit for product designers. From a functional point of view, the resulting matrix allows a more comprehensive identification of product “hot spots”. Thus, this approach leads to a more relevant identification of environmental “hot spots”.

References

1. Lagerstedt, J., C. Luttropp, and L.-G. Lindfors, Functional Priorities in LCA and Design for Environment. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2003. 8(3): p. 160-166.

* [email protected]

EIO

163 International Ballroom D-E Thursday early afternoon

Session chair: Joe Marriott

Quantifying Land Use in Consumed Goods using Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment Methods Christine Costello, Michael Griffin, H. Scott Matthews, Christopher L. Weber Business appropriate hybrid life-cycle assessment – a case study of Playworld Systems, Inc. Carter Brooks, Chris Erickson, Corinne Reich-Weiser Evaluating Economic Value as a Proxy for Environmental Impact in Material Systems Jeremy Gregory, Susan Fredholm, Randolph Kirchain Hybrid Assessment of the Life Cycle Energy Intensity of Laptop Computers Rachel Deng, Eric Williams, Callie Babbitt A Hybrid Input-Output, Bottom-Up Approach for Assessing Supply Chain Environmental Improvement Potentials Eric Masanet

EIO


Quantifying Land Use in Consumed Goods using

Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment Methods

Christine Costello*, Carnegie Mellon University Michael Griffin, Carnegie Mellon University

H. Scott Matthews, Carnegie Mellon University Christopher L. Weber, Carnegie Mellon University

Land use (LU) is gaining popularity as an important sustainability metric 1,2. There is an emerging need to understand the quantity, location, and impacts of LU associated with consumed products, particularly given the rising concern over food and fuel security and increased interest in bio-based products 3,4. Whereas many resources exist for connecting land to primary and intermediate products such as raw agricultural output, connecting LU to final consumed goods like food products and biofuels is still a nascent science. Here we create a metric for land use associated with final products in a consistent manner and seek to quantify the tradeoffs between categories of LU, e.g., forested to agricultural or agricultural to developed. An inventory of LU in the United States was created based on publicly available data, land used to produce commodities were assigned to the appropriate economic sectors of the 2002 U.S. economy. This inventory was incorporated into an Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment model (EIO-LCA). The grain and oilseed sectors of the economy are disaggregated to specifically consider the following crops: corn, wheat, rice and soybeans. Agricultural land uses are one to three orders of magnitude larger than all other sectors of the economy and dominate the supply chain for the majority of products consumed. Agriculture- and food-related land area associated with household consumption is three to five times larger than any other consumption category. This model will be expanded to explore the change in land use due to the expansion of biofuels and increased global meat consumption using Multi-Regional Input-Output methods 5. Quantification of LU in the supply chains of consumed goods is a necessary first step to effectively link the LU activities to related environmental consequences (e.g., carbon loss, pollutant runoff, etc). The challenges and limitations of assigning land areas to the economic sectors and choosing appropriate units (e.g., acre/$-yr, acre/$-operational life) will also be discussed.

References

1. Canals, L.M., C. Bauer, J. Depestele, A. Dubreuil, R.F. Knuchel, G. Gaillard, O. Michelsen, R. Mueller-Wenk, and B.Rydgren. 2007a. Key Elements in a Framework for Land Use Impact Assessment Within LCA. International Journal of LCA. 12(1): pp. 5-15.

2. Canals, L.M. 2007b. Land Use in LCA: A New Subject Area and Call for Papers. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 12(1): pp. 1.

3. Fargione, J., J. Hill, D. Tilman, S. Polasky and P. Hawthorne. 2008. Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt. Sciencexpress. (7 Feb) 4pp.

4. Searchinger, T., R. Heimlich, R.A. Houghton, F. Dong, A. Elobeid, J. Fabiosa, S. Tokgoz, D. Hayes, T-H. Yu. 2008. Use of U.S. Croplands for Biofuels Increases Greenhouse Gases Through Emissions from Land Use Change. Sciencexpress. (7 Feb). 4 pp.

5. Weber, C.L. and H.S. Matthews. 2008. Quantifying the Global and Distributional Aspects of American Household Environmental Impact. Ecological Economics, 66: pp. 379-391.

* [email protected]

EIO


Business appropriate hybrid life-cycle assessment:

a case study of Playworld Systems, Inc.

Carter Brooks, Climate Earth Chris Erickson, Climate Earth

Corinne Reich-Weiser*, Climate Earth/UC Berkeley

Business executives are increasingly in need of comprehensive enterprise-wide carbon footprint assessments that can be used in developing strategies, setting business priorities and establishing goals. These assessments must be done in a repeatable and auditable manner so that they can be periodically updated to track progress and identify any unexpected behavior.

Common “bottom-up” LCA approaches based on process analysis may be ill-suited for repeatable enterprise-wide analysis, due to the extensive cost, difficulty in setting boundaries, and the potential shortage of qualified people to meet increasing demand.

The use of Economic Input-Output models to create “top-down” carbon footprint assessments provides an opportunity to quickly and cost-effectively produce enterprise-wide data appropriate for executive decision making, setting goals and priorities as well as forming a baseline quantitative model of the enterprise footprint which can support increasing detail while also being utilized for tracking and monitoring progress against mitigation goals. Greenhouse gas emissions can be categorized into three groups: scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3. Scope 1 emissions are all emissions directly coming from anything that is owned by a company (for example: natural gas for heating or emissions from company owned vehicles) - these emissions are calculated using mass balance analysis and standard combustion factors. Scope 2 emissions are emissions from electricity consumption. Scope 3 is everything else, including the emissions associated with the supply chain and any utilized services. Scope 3 emissions are primarily calculated through a mapping of financial data to IO data. By utilizing revenue and expense data as a basis for analysis, and software modeling techniques to increase efficiency of data collection and processing, companies can very quickly receive comprehensive footprint analyses that provide a framework for decision making and for tracking and monitoring mitigation programs.

This presentation will discuss multi-year findings from a case study of Playworld Systems Inc demonstrating the strength of a hybrid approach to produce results that can be rapidly updated and actionable. The underlying input-output data used for the hybrid assessment is CEDA 3.0 from Professor Suh at the University of Minnesota. The presentation will also illustrate comparisons between process and IO databases and offer conclusions about the advantages and caveats surrounding the use of hybrid methodology. * [email protected]

EIO


Evaluating Economic Value as a Proxy for Environmental Impact in Material Systems

Jeremy Gregory*, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Susan Fredholm, PE Americas Randolph Kirchain, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) has proven to be a valuable tool for evaluating embodied energy and environmental impact in products and material systems. However, LCA is complex, expensive, and time-consuming, making it inaccessible to many stakeholders making important decisions in material recovery systems. Alternatively, economic value is information that is readily available for materials recovery stakeholders. Furthermore, economic value of materials reflects quality, the cost of production or use (including energy consumption), and scarcity rents for current use of that resource. Thus, end-of-life material recovery metrics that include value provide significant information about the effectiveness with which resources are reclaimed and returned to productive use, providing an indicator of both retained quality and environmental impact.

In light of this situation, two key research questions emerge: Is economic value an effective proxy for embodied energy and environmental impact in material systems, and when would it be appropriate to apply this proxy? These questions are explored through the use of dimensionless energy (cumulative energy demand), environmental impact (Eco-indicator 99), and economic value metrics that reflect the energy saved, environmental burden avoided, and value retained, respectively, by using secondary materials instead of primary materials. A variety of material systems are evaluated including plastics, paper, and metals. Values for energy and environmental metrics are calculated using several LCA databases, and values for economic value metrics are calculated using publicly available data on primary and secondary material values.

Interestingly, when the dimensionless economic value metrics are plotted against either the dimensionless energy or environmental impact metrics for the various material systems (all of the metrics range from 0-100%), many of the points lie near the line of unity (i.e., the metrics are nearly equivalent). This is true for all plastics and most metals. This correlation suggests that market behavior is moving in parallel with environmental impact for materials decisions. However, there are some exceptions, and the research explores the instances when there is no correlation between metrics and the sensitivity of the correlation to fluctuations in material value. * [email protected]

EIO


Hybrid Assessment of the Life Cycle

Energy Intensity of Laptop Computers

Rachel Deng, Arizona State University Eric Williams, Arizona State University/Civil and Environmental Engineering

Callie Babbitt*, Arizona State University

With the rapidly increasing number of personal computers in use, environmental impacts, such as energy consumption, become extremely important in computer design, use, and management. Existing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of computers have sought to quantify energy intensity of computer manufacturing and use, but have reported significantly different results, depending on the processes and materials included in the assessment. Furthermore, these studies have, in the past, focused only on desktop computers, which have recently been surpassed in sales by laptop computers, a trend expected to continue in the future.

Therefore, this study examined energy intensity of the manufacturing and use of a laptop computer, and included in the scope both a bottom-up construction of the supply chain based on equipment and facility level data on material and energy, as well as a top-down economic input-output (EIO) model to account for processes for which direct data were unavailable. A bill of materials was generated by direct disassembly of a Dell Inspiron 2500 laptop. Corresponding process data were obtained from primary literature for semiconductor fabrication; printed circuit board manufacturing; silicon wafer production, plastic, aluminum, steel, and glass production; LCD screen manufacturing; and laptop assembly. For materials and processes where no data were available, the Carnegie Mellon EIO-LCA model was used to obtain energy inputs relative to the economic contribution of these components toward the total computer value.

Results indicate that total energy for a laptop computer is approximately 15% less than energy consumed in a desktop computer life cycle. Energy use for manufacturing energy dominates over the use phase, even more so than previous hybrid LCA studies of desktop computers. These trends are robust under plausible variations in product lifespan assumptions, primary energy definitions, and geographic and process variability in material extraction. Results also indicate that truncation error from excluded processes in the bottom-up process model is significant, perhaps particularly so due to the complex supply chains of IT products. We suggest that some form of hybrid analysis (be it the method used here or another form) is needed to better estimate the life cycle impacts of computers. * [email protected]

EIO


A Hybrid Input-Output, Bottom-Up Approach for Assessing Supply

Chain Environmental Improvement Potentials

Eric Masanet*, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory/University of California, Berkeley

There is growing interest in the assessment of supply chain environmental "footprints," especially with respect to energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. After a footprint is established, some critical questions remain, including: By how much can this footprint be reduced? What are the technologies that can facilitate these reductions? What are the costs associated with various levels of improvement? This presentation summarizes recent exploratory research by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to help answer these questions. This work has developed a supply chain energy use and GHG emissions analysis framework that couples input-output LCA approaches with detailed bottom-up process and technology models to estimate energy efficiency and GHG mitigation potentials for complex supply chains. Specifically, the model incorporates process and technology specific fuel end use coefficients for many of the economic sectors in traditional IO models. A fuel end use is defined as an energy-consuming technology or process within a given sector, such as lighting and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) in the commercial sector or motors, steam systems, and process heaters in the industrial sector. This modeling resolution allows energy and policy analysts to better understand the underlying technologies and processes contributing to the energy and GHG emissions footprints of supply chains. Furthermore, the bottom-up detail facilitates the analysis of specific supply chain technology improvement options -- from both environmental and economic perspectives – to identify a roadmap for reducing supply chain footprints at different cost levels. A U.S. case study is provided to illustrate the utility and policy-relevance of this new approach toward reducing supply chain environmental footprints. * [email protected]

Databases


Thursday late afternoon

Session chair: Christopher Mutel

ecoSpold version 2 – improved data format meeting the challenges of future LCI databases Roland Hischier, Bo Weidema Generation of LCI Databases – experiences in setting up and updating databases or integrating additional public databases Harald Florin, Martin Baitz, Mathias Fischer Mathematical analysis of the ecoinvent database with the purpose of developing new validation tools Andreas Ciroth Development of the U.S. Extension Database for GaBi Eric Munsing, Martin Baitz, Harald Florin

Databases



ecoSpold version 2 – improved data format meeting the

challenges of future LCI databases

Roland Hischier, ecoinvent Centre/Empa Bo Weidema*, ecoinvent Centre

A variety of data (exchange) formats in the area of LCA have been developed within the last about 10 to 15 years. Among all these different formats, the ecoSpold data format is probably the most widely used format worldwide, implemented in all leading LCA software. Only from the ecoinvent database about 4’000 datasets are already available in this format. Currently, this database is one of the most widely used data sources for background Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data worldwide. While Swiss in origin, the ecoinvent database has become with its version 2 already much more international in scope, including e.g. data on US agriculture, worldwide sourcing of raw materials or the production of electronics in Asia. That quest towards more internationalisation will be continued in the development to version 3 of the database as it has been already presented at the LCA VIII conference last year in Seattle. The following two central elements support hereby this globalisation: the cooperation with national database initiatives (NDI) and a change of the structure of the database to facilitate its maintenance and extension by introducing the principle of parameterisation.

Therefore a new version 2 of the ecoSpold format has been developed in order to support this strategy. In detail, the format changes have been done in order to further facilitate database maintenance and extension (including forecasting), to provide better support for alternative modelling options (e.g. consequential and attributional), and to support mass balances, energy balances and monetary balances, language versions of text fields, as well as a better documentation. And last but not least, facilitating data exchange with the ILCD format has also been among the considerations in this development.

In our presentation, the main improvements will be described, such as an option for parent-child relationships between processes, expressing geographical information using GIS coordinates, the use formulas and variables in numerical fields, the use of UUIDs for internal references in datasets, options to declare multiple properties of exchanges, as well as options to use transfer and emissions coefficients; but also issues like backwards compatibility and implementation will be touched upon.

* [email protected]

Databases



Generation of LCI Databases – experiences in setting up and updating databases or integrating additional public databases

Harald Florin*, PE International Martin Baitz, PE International

Mathias Fischer, University of Stuttgart

PE International and the University of Stuttgart have been developing databases for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for 20 years. During this period the databases have been upgraded several times and the scope has also been expanded to account for the changing requirements of LCA practitioners. The presentation will focus on the methods for generating LCI databases. This typically involves identifying the intended application and the type of user, developing and defining an LCI modeling methodology handbook, setting up a comprehensive quality and consistency evaluation procedure, strict administration of the database generation process and the installation of a very experienced project management team. During the set-up of LCI databases, the requirements for their continuous development and maintenance must also be considered. The upgrading process of databases is generally very time-consuming and the effort required can be comparable to that of the initial set-up procedure. The presentation will also cover the challenges of integrating databases from different sources (e.g., ILCD databases or the US LCI database). During this process, the matching of nomenclature is typically the most important step and needs to be conducted very precisely. It is also essential that the completeness and consistency of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) information is preserved and updated during such import procedures.

* [email protected]

Databases



Mathematical analysis of the ecoinvent database with the purpose of

developing new validation tools

Andreas Ciroth*, GreenDeltaTC GmbH

LCA data quality assurance is today mostly done manually and by expert judgment. Automatic quality assurance and validation tools are barely used. This presentation will give an overview of automated data validation and quality assurance for LCA, and show the potential and benefits, and also pitfalls. Tools and techniques (among them exploratory data analyzes, statistical tests, and analyzes for data pattern detection) will be briefly described and characterized. Their application and results will be demonstrated. The presentation will draw from a recent project that I performed for the ecoinvent centre, called ‘mathematical analysis of ecoinvent data’. Aim of this project was to develop a pilot for automated data validation and quality assurance of ecoinvent data, based on an analysis of the complete ecoinvent database. Results of this project will be reported. Results show that automated validation techniques are an addition, but an important one, to expert knowledge. Further, results show how an integrated system of data quality assurance for LCA can look like, where a set of tools for automated data validation and quality assurance are an important element. Concluding, it will be discussed if, and how, such an integrated system could be adapted to other LCA data sources worldwide.

* [email protected]

Databases



Development of the U.S. Extension Database for GaBi

Eric Munsing*, PE Americas

Martin Baitz, PE International Harald Florin, PE

The growth of the LCA industry in the US has been matched by demand for environmental impact data for North American boundary conditions. To provide LCA practitioners with high-quality data based on current industry sources, PE Americas has introduced a set of US-specific LCI databases for the GaBi software, creating the largest up-to-date database of North American-specific LCA data available. Incorporating both the U.S. LCI database and over 350 datasets developed by PE, the database provides life cycle inventory data for common industry processes, chemicals, and infrastructure systems. The development of the database will be discussed, with emphasis on the quality assurance system used during development of the database to ensure ensuring that consistent assumptions were applied throughout the database and to assure that differences between the PE and U.S. LCI datasets were identified and understood. This quality assurance process offers valuable insights for other LCA practitioners managing data from multiple sources, and is crucial to working with the U.S. Extension Database for GaBi.

* [email protected]

International Standardisation of Carbon Footprinting 1 & 2


Friday morning

Special session coordinator: Matthias Finkbeiner, TU Berlin

Carbon footprinting (CF) is really fashionable these days. Like with all fashion, not all that glitters is gold. But, on the other hand we have the market demand. Whether it is real or just perceived or just desired seems not so important. There is enough momentum for numerous international, national and sectoral initiatives underway to deal with CFP. The session seeks to provide information on the current international standardisation projects and discuss synergies, potential inconsistencies and options for alignment between them. Among the main international activities are the upcoming ISO 14067 on the quantification and communication of carbon footprints for products and the development of a GHG Protocol for products and Scope 3 by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Resources Institute. The UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has a project group to support these standardisation activities. In addition, numerous carbon footprint projects are organised by national or sectoral organisations, e.g. the British Standards Institution, the Carbon Trust and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the United Kingdom, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) in Japan, ADEME in France), the German Ministry of Environment or the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The outline of the section is to start with five introductory presentations. They will include Japanese and German programmes as two examples of national initiatives on carbon footprinting and three international initiatives (ISO, WRI/WBCSD, UNEP/SETAC). The presentations will be followed by a structured panel discussion. There are about 10 methodological issues (from treatment of carbon storage, system boundaries, cut-offs etc.) for which the standards may have different requirements. The idea is to address some of those at the panel to establish an overview of state-of-the-art and emerging consensus. This special session is co-organised by the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative.

Introduction to the international standardisation of carbon footprinting Matthias Finkbeiner

Introduction to the Japanese carbon footprint trial programme Atsushi Inaba, Chie Nakaniwa, Masayuki Kanzaki

Product Carbon Footprint – Work on Methodology and Communication by the German Government Ulf Dietmar Jaeckel



Friday morning

PAS 2050 and the International Standardisation of Carbon Footprinting Graham Sinden

Status of ISO 14067 Sergio F. Galeano

Developing International Standards on Product Life Cycle and Scope 3 Carbon Footprint Management - An Overview of the GHG Protocol Product and Supply Chain Standard Pankaj Bhatia

The carbon footprint project of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative Guido Sonnemann, Sonia Valdivia, Jim Fava, Matthias Finkbeiner



Friday morning

Introduction to the Japanese carbon footprint trial programme

Atsushi Inaba, Kogakuin University Tokyo

Chie Nakaniwa, Japan Environmental Association for Industry Masayuki Kanzaki, Japan Environmental Association for Industry

In Japan, a preliminary trial project of carbon footprint was conducted in 2008, where enterprises obtained the best available primary and secondary data and calculated carbon footprints for the purpose of recognizing specific issues. 30 enterprises participated in this project and calculated carbon footprints of 62 commercial goods of food, beverage, commodities and others. They were shown at “Eco Products 2008” exhibition in December, 2008 and consumer’s reflections ware collected.

In the trial project, primary data were mainly collected at production sites, where primary data coverage of material production stage of food and beverage tend to be higher than other industrial goods. Reviewing those resulted calculation procedures and consumer’s reflections, several issues were recognized including strategy of primary data collection and labeling method of carbon footprint, both of which originated from the nature of carbon footprint, i.e., disclosure of compressed information about whole supply chain of a commercial good. Based on these results, the drafting of the product category rules for some products are now going on.



Friday morning

Product Carbon Footprint – Work on Methodology and

Communication by the German Government

Ulf Dietmar Jaeckel, German Ministry of Environment

In order to preserve consumer awareness and at the same time provide incentives for companies to improve the carbon footprint of their products the Federal Ministry for the Environment commissioned work on methodology for PCF. Improvement of existing approaches is the aim, no single German way. After discussions with all interested parties including the international community, we have now developed a memorandum on methodology which gives guidance for analysing a PCF. It is an offer rather than a mandatory requirement and an input to the international discussion aiming at harmonisation of methodologies on the European and international level.

On communication the existing Blue Angel system was revised. In a cluster-approach criteria will be more focussed and allow a “Blue Angel for Climate Change” which shall be established as the climate label in Germany. To support that, criteria for the 100 most climate-relevant consumer product groups and services are or will be developed. Today criteria for 30 product groups are already available.



Friday morning

PAS 2050 and the International Standardisation of

Carbon Footprinting

Graham Sinden, Carbon Trust

PAS 2050, Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services, provides organizations, governments and consumers with a single, internationally applicable standard for product carbon footprinting. In addressing the single impact category of global warming, PAS 2050 sought to provide and clarify specific methodological approaches to issues encountered in product carbon footprinting. Key contributions to methods development in product carbon footprinting include the treatment of biogenic carbon storage and delayed emissions from product system life cycles, certainty regarding the greenhouse gasses considered in the assessment, the inclusion and treatment of land use change, and other key aspects of the assessment. Specific approaches for data acquisition and the treatment of uncertainty with product carbon footprinting, and refinement of the existing international guidance on allocation to co-products, are further contributions of the standard that both simplify its application and support greater comparability of the results arising from product carbon footprint studies. Since its publication in October 2008, PAS 2050 has been applied by a wide range of organizations in many countries around the world, has been adopted by a number of organizations as the default approach to product carbon footprinting, and has formed the basis of case studies covering a wide variety of products. This presentation will briefly review the development process for PAS 2050, before considering the contribution PAS 2050 has made to the product carbon footprinting and life cycle assessment communities.



Friday morning

Status of ISO 14067

Sergio F. Galeano, Georgia Pacific LLC

IISO 14067 is a standard in development with two parts: quantification and communication. It is one of the three international-type of standards competing for a final acceptance in the market place. At the moment of preparing this presentation, the "zero" version of a Working Draft(WD2) is just circulated to the editing committee for preparation of the final WD#2, comments on which will be discussed at Vienna next October with the hope to move to a Committee Draft(CD #1). The standard is being developed in a fast track and it in the stage of logical consolidation and improvement. Because the nature of this LCA Conference, the author stresses in his presentation, the LCA aspects of Part 1, quantification, logically based on the ISO 14044 LCA standard. The author describes areas of present discussion which need resolution preferably before a CD. The role of the standard as a tracker of progress or a comparison tool is also discussed with limitations in the latter to be clarified. The resolution of these issues will frame the practicality and credibility of the document which, in turn will determine the added value ultimately offered by the standard to the stakeholders.



Friday morning

Developing International Standards on Product Life Cycle and Scope 3 Carbon Footprint Management - An Overview of the

GHG Protocol Product and Supply Chain Standard

Pankaj Bhatia, World Resources Institute

Building on the success of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standard over the last decade, the GHG Protocol Supply Chain Initiative is poised to develop and promote the widespread adoption of new international standards for measuring and managing GHG emissions across corporate and product supply chains, through a broad, global multi-stakeholder process of businesses, policymakers, and other experts and stakeholders. The initiative will produce two new standards: 1) GHG Protocol product life cycle accounting and reporting standard (for assessing supply chain GHG emissions at the product level), and 2) corporate value chain (scope 3) accounting and reporting standard (for assessing supply chain GHG emissions at the corporate level). Led by WRI and WBCSD the GHG Protocol will develop the new standards through a broad, inclusive, multi-stakeholder process, based on the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and ISO 14040-44 life cycle assessment standards, which will serve multiple business and GHG program objectives. WRI believes that the design and form of the GHG Protocol supply chain and product accounting framework must be driven by the objectives and functions it will serve, with a long-term goal of supporting and catalyzing widespread GHG reductions across business value chains.

In the last six months the GHG Protocol has established a global stakeholder partnership of more than 1000 active members that include a Steering Committee of more than 20 members made up of global businesses, governments, and academics; seven Technical Working Groups of more than 175 members; and a Stakeholder Advisory Group of more than 180 members. To date the Technical Working Groups have held more than 100 conference and two meetings to develop draft requirements on key accounting issues including setting the product system boundary, selecting the allocation method, choosing data, and providing a public report. This presentation will provide an overview of the GHG Protocol supply chain initiative, outline key elements of the accounting framework under development, and identify key issues for further discussion.



Friday morning

The carbon footprint project of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative

Guido Sonnemann, UNEP

Sonia Valdivia, UNEP Jim Fava, Five Winds International

Matthias Finkbeiner, TU Berlin

The aim of this project of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative is to further develop the internationally recognized GHG protocol for enterprises to also include the supply chain and the whole life cycle of products. Therefore, the development and promotion of the GHG protocol is of great importance for the widespread adoption of a new standard for measuring and reporting GHG emissions across corporate and product supply chains, through a broad, international multi-stakeholder process of businesses, policymakers, and other experts and stakeholders. The main target for the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative is to ensure coherence and consistency with state of the art LCA-practice and the ongoing standardisation efforts for carbon footprint. The global network and competence of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative can add value to these initiatives. Consistent with the goal, the UNEP/SETAC project will not generate its own standards or documents, but provide a platform for active participation and written contributions to the main international standardisation projects, i.e. WBCSD/WRI and ISO. The Initiative is represented in the Steering Committee of the GHG Protocol process and the ISO TC207/SC5-Chair leads the project group for UNEP/SETAC and is represented on the International Life Cycle Board of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. Several experts of the Initiative are involved on the Technical Working Group level. All these representatives exchange information and coordinate positions in remote and personal meetings of the project group.

LCI


Friday early morning

Session chair: Evan Griffing

Development of a US Truck Transportation LCI Dataset Susan Fredholm, Coppelia Marincovic, Peter Canepa, Matthias Fischer, Michael Faltenbacher, Nuno Da Silva Modeling the Life Cycle Impacts of Electronics Peter Canepa Life Cycle Inventories of Crude Oil Consumption Mixes and Fuels produced from these 2030 Oliver Schuller, Michael Dr. Faltenbacher, Jan Paul Lindner Life Cycle Inventory of Copper Primary Production from Copper Oxides in Chile Claudia Pena, Claudio Zaror, Mauricio Bustamante, Mabel Vega

LCI



Development of a US Truck Transportation LCI Dataset

Susan Fredholm*, PE Americas

Coppelia Marincovic, PE Americas Peter Canepa, PE Americas

Matthias Fischer, University of Stuttgart, LBP-BaBi Michael Faltenbacher, PE International

Nuno Da Silva, PE Americas

Transportation by truck is a part of almost every product’s life cycle. The environmental impacts associated with this travel are dependent upon regional conditions including emissions regulations and the chemical composition of fuel. PE Americas (PEA) therefore recently developed an LCI dataset for truck transportation in the United States. The truck models are based upon the most recent US public literature available as of October 2008. Sources include but are not limited to US EPA statistics, microdata from the US Census Bureau’s Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS), and current US vehicle emission regulations.

The 28 modeled diesel-fueled trucks fall into one of eight different weight categories based on their Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). The type of goods being transported has a significant impact on the vehicle’s gross operating weight. Many retail products have a relatively low density and thus the truck will fill its volume before reaching the weight limit (“cube-out”), whereas many construction materials will reach the weight limit first (“gross-out”). PEA’s US truck models vary fuel consumption as a function of both payload (mass of goods carried) and utilization ratios (how often the truck drives full vs. empty). Each model of truck is constructed with inputs of cargo and fuel, and outputs emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), SO2 (sulfur dioxide), NH3 (ammonia), CO (carbon monoxide), PM (particulate matter), NMHC (non-methane hydrocarbons), NOx (nitrogen oxides), N2O (nitrous oxide), and CH4 (methane).

A comparison of PE Americas’ US truck transportation models with that of PE’s European models demonstrates US truck transportation has greater CO2 and SO2 emissions due to greater fuel consumption per mile, much higher NH3 and CO emissions, and lower N2O, NOx, CH4 and PM emissions. * [email protected]

LCI



Modeling the Life Cycle Impacts of Electronics

Peter Canepa*, PE Americas

Electronics are some of the most widely-consumed and obsolescence-prone consumer goods on the market today. These products are a composed of hundreds, even thousands, of separate electrical, electro-mechanical, and mechanical components that contain hazardous material, precious metals, and plastics. If inadequately handled at end-of-life these products can lead to environmental and health impacts. As a result of this potential risk, regulatory schemes like Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive have been put into practice to address inadequate disposal and material composition of electronic products.

While these regulatory mechanisms are successful, they do not fully address the life cycle impacts of electronics. To better understand the upstream impacts associated with the manufacturing of electronic components a massive data collection project was undertaken and led to the generation of an LCI database for electronics. The daunting task of accurately collecting LCI data for the more than 10 million electronic components currently on the market begot the need for a simplified classification scheme. Through collaboration with the Japan Electronics and Information Technologies Industries Association (JEITA) a classification scheme was developed and industry data providers identified. The resultant database is comprised of 120 representative (type and function) global average datasets for electronic components. Using this database each component on an electronic product can easily be related to a cradle-to-gate LCI by function, size, housing types, mounting technology, and material composition.

This presentation will detail the methodology used to develop the database and highlight the difficulties faced when trying to model the life cycle impacts of electronic products including: accurate representation of disparate passive and active components, capturing cradle-to-gate LCI data for input raw materials in electronics, and eliminating the need for data collection on component manufacturing for electronic products. Additionally, a selection of actual examples from industry projects where this database was applied will be used to illustrate key findings and next steps for the database. * [email protected]

LCI



Life Cycle Inventories of Crude Oil Consumption Mixes and

Fuels produced from these 2030

Oliver Schuller*, University of Stuttgart, Dept. GaBi Michael Dr. Faltenbacher, PE INTERNATIONAL GmbH

Jan Paul Lindner, Fraunhofer IBP, Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi)/University of Stuttgart, Chair of Building Physics, Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi)

The globally increasing demand on crude oil and petroleum products caused by increasing mobility, consumption and not least due to the advanced economic growth in countries like China or India, presents our society a challenge. In with addition to this increasing demand and the interconnected question of security of supply as well as the volatility of crude oil prices, the issue of climate change is playing an increasingly important role. Especially the release of green house gases is one of the big topics when talking about fulfilling the national and international CO2 reduction regulations / goals.

Life Cycle Assessment is a suitable tool to compare alternative drive trains (e.g. Hydride vehicles, Fuel fuels) with conventional drive trains in a comprehensive way. The same applies for alternative fuels (e.g. biofuels, hydrogen) which are often benchmarked with conventional fuels (based on fossil crude oil). To analyse and to find out which role alternative fuels will play in the future, potential analyses of future scenarios (2030) are conducted, to calculate for instance, the possible GHG reduction potential again compared to conventional fuels. Often not considered in these scenarios is the fact that the conventional fuels and not least crude oil production will change over the time. This will be adressed here.

This presentation will show ways to forecast the Life Cycle Inventories of future crude oil mixes and fuels produced from these, allowing more detailed and not least accurate benchmarks. The major steps needed to obtain the inventory are:

1) LCA of possible crude oil supply chains including sensitivity analysis

2) Development of a method / framework combining determining economic, technological and political boundary conditions with the technological system parameters of the crude oil supply chain

3) Scenario analysis and calculation of future crude oil mixes and fuels produced from these

The presentation will highlight the results of the conceptual method / framework for modelling the future LCI of crude oil mixes and fuels produced from these, which are influenced by multi criteria, in order to obtain more accurate Life Cycle Inventories. * [email protected]

LCI



Life Cycle Inventory of Copper Primary Production from

Copper Oxides in Chile

Claudia Pena*, Chilean Research center for Mining and Metallurgy (CIMM) Claudio Zaror, University of Concepción

Mauricio Bustamante, Chilean Research Center of Mining and Metallurgy (CIMM) Mabel Vega, University of Concepción

Chile is the major copper producer worldwide and accounts for around 40% global reserves. Therefore, copper exports are a key component of the Chilean GNP. In recent years, copper production from copper oxide ores has increased, and this trend is expected to be maintained during the next decade. In this context, this paper presents the life cycle inventory of cathodic copper obtained from copper oxides in Chile. This is the first attempt to built a national inventory database of such production process. The system boundaries comprise extraction of minerals, and energy resources, all major transformations and associated chemicals, fuels and electricity subsystems, transportation systems, leaching, solvent extraction and electrowinning. Material and energy balances were built on the basis of data obtained from industrial operations, official environmental {Conama} and production reports {Annual Reports}, literature, and other sources. Data associated to imported chemicals, machinery or other input generated overseas, was obtained from the ecoinvent database. Methodological aspects are presented in this paper, as well as main environmental loads. In this respect, water and energy represent key environmental aspects, since most copper production in Chile takes place in areas where water is scarce, and most electricity is generated from imported coal. Finally, the Chilean electricity production inventory is also presented here. * [email protected]

Fossil Fuels


Friday late morning

Session chair: Michael Deru

A Case Study in Allocation Methods: A Life Cycle Accounting of CO2 Emissions from an Enhanced Oil Recovery System Paulina Jaramillo, Michael Griffin, Sean McCoy Land use and habitat fragmentation of oil sands production: a life cycle perspective Sarah Jordaan, David Keith, Brad Stelfox Gate-to-gate Environmental LCA of Brine Aquifer Sequestration of CO2 and CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Robert Dilmore Re-evaluating LCA models to determine CO2 emissions in refineries:The crude oil quality factor Jessica Abella, Oyeshola Kofoworola, Heather L. MacLean, Joule A. Bergerson

Fossil Fuels


Friday late morning

A Case Study in Allocation Methods: A Life Cycle Accounting of

CO2 Emissions from an Enhanced Oil Recovery System.

Paulina Jaramillo*, Carnegie Mellon University/Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Michael Griffin, Carnegie Mellon University Sean McCoy, Carnegie Mellon University

Injection of CO2 into oil reservoirs to increase oil extraction is an established Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) method. Recently, the use CO2 recovered from power plants has been identified as a potential method of sequestering CO2. The National Energy Technology Laboratory estimates that there are substantial amounts of CO2 from power plants that could be sequestered via EOR projects. The oil produced however, is a carbon rich fuel that is eventually combusted. In this study we analyze the total life cycle CO2 emissions in an EOR system. The boundary of the system includes an IGCC power plant with CO2 capture, transport of this CO2 via pipeline, EOR field operations (which include CO2 injection into the reservoir, CO2 recycling and ultimately sequestration), transport of crude oil, crude oil refining and the combustion of the refined petroleum products. We find that the CO2 emissions within the system boundary are between 3.5 and 5 times larger than the CO2 injected and sequestered in the EOR field. However, if we assume that oil and electricity produced within the system boundary replace an equivalent amount of oil and electricity produced from conventional sources, there would be a net reduction in emissions. This emissions reduction would be about a third of what is injected and sequestered in the EOR field.

Allocation of emissions (or emission savings) is an integral part of performing life cycle inventories of transportation fuels. Argonne’s GREET model performs emission allocation based on energy content of the co-products, while studies about the life cycle ethanol emissions perform allocation using system boundary expansion. In this study we explore how different methods can be used to allocate the emissions associated with the EOR system. Two different industries are contained within the system boundary of the EOR project (the power sector and the oil sector). Any net emission/emission reductions associated with the production of oil through captured CO2-EOR will have to be allocated among these sectors, especially once a carbon market develops. We find that emissions allocation in this system can be complicated and any emission savings can easily be double counted. For this reason, strict allocation guidelines should be developed. * [email protected]

Fossil Fuels


Friday late morning

Land use and habitat fragmentation of oil sands production:

a life cycle perspective

Sarah Jordaan*, University of Calgary/Institute for Sustainable Energy Environment and Economy

David Keith, University of Calgary/Institute for Sustainable Energy Environment and Economy

Brad Stelfox, Forem Consulting Ltd

Methods for the inclusion of landscape fragmentation in life cycle assessment are not well established. We describe an approach that can be used to compare land disturbance between spatially compact and diffuse activities that contribute to the life cycle of a single product, in this case synthetic crude oil (SCO) from Alberta’s oil sands. We examine both direct and peripheral land use of oil sands development by quantifying land disturbance using a parameterized measure of fragmentation that relies on “edge effects” with an adjustable buffer zone. This approach is used to compare production using surface mining and in situ extraction technologies. In situ technologies disturb less land per unit of production than surface mining, but the spatial footprint of in situ production is more dispersed and results in the fragmentation of landscapes. In situ recovery also requires significantly more natural gas to extract bitumen. Natural gas production requires infrastructure that is comprised of largely linear features which results in land disturbance and fragmentation. We incorporate time by assessing the land disturbance intensity (m2/m3 SCO) of oil sands technologies and the upstream natural gas production over the lifespan of each development on the landscape. Oil sands technologies have a maximum land use intensity of 0.3-0.6 m2/m3 SCO and 0.07-0.2 m2/m3 SCO respectively for surface mining and in situ recovery 1. The land use intensity of in situ recovery alone can increase significantly during the operational phase of the project, when the land use intensity is 0.03-0.06 m2/m3 SCO, if the land disturbance associated with natural gas production is considered (for one case, adding another 0.2-0.3 m2/m3 SCO). The impacts of fragmentation associated with the creation of linear features will vary depending on the species or impact of interest. We then examine land occupation (m2-year/m3 SCO) by varying the extent of the impacts of fragmentation. Using a life cycle perspective, we show that the land area influenced by in situ technology is comparable to land disturbed by surface mining when fragmentation and upstream natural gas production are considered. The results suggest that land disturbance due to natural gas production can be relatively large per unit energy. We go further to apply this approach to assess the land disturbance and fragmentation of key transportation fuels that could be produced in Alberta. This approach can be applied in the comparison of other energy developments generating the same product, such as coal mining and natural gas production when both fuels are used to generate electricity.

References 1. S. M. Jordaan, D. W. Keith, B. Stelfox (2009). Quantifying land use of oil sands production: a life cycle

perspective. Environmental Research Letters, 4. * [email protected]

Fossil Fuels


Friday late morning

Gate-to-gate Environmental LCA of Brine Aquifer

Sequestration of CO2 and CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery

Robert Dilmore*, United States Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory

Capture of CO2 from large point sources and sequestration in geologic sinks has been proposed as a means of controlling atmospheric emissions of this large-volume greenhouse gas. Preliminary results are presented for analyses of two CO2 management alternatives: CO2-flood enhanced oil recovery and large-scale geologic sequestration of CO2 in brine aquifers. These attributional analyses consider the gate-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions, criteria air pollutant emissions, land use, water use and consumption, and net energy yield for all phases of site activity: site evaluation and characterization, facility design and construction, facility startup and operation, facility closure and decommissioning, and post-closure site monitoring, verification, and accounting of CO2 storage.

In geologic sequestration, CO2 that has been separated from large point sources (e.g., coal-fired power plant) is compressed to a supercritical fluid, transported to an injection facility, and injected into underlying deep geologic sinks for long term storage.. As much as 88.6% of the domestic geologic sequestration capacity for CO2 lies in deep saline formations - large-volume aquifers containing water with total dissolved solids concentrations of 10,000 mg/liter or greater that is not suitable for human consumption, and have relatively impermeable overlying stratum (or strata). These impermeable strata act as a seal to prevent the upward migration and leakage of stored CO2.

In CO2-flood enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR), carbon dioxide is injected into depleted oil reservoirs to stimulate oil production beyond that which was achieved through pressure depletion (primary) and water flood-stimulated (secondary) recovery methods. In addition to stimulating additional oil production, some CO2 storage may be achieved through CO2-EOR activity. CO2-EOR scenarios are considered ranging from current practice with relatively low CO2 injection volumes to “next-generation” practices coupling high CO2 injection volumes to increase CO2 flood sweep efficiency with post oil recovery reservoir pressurization to maximize CO2 storage. Results of these studies are intended to inform policy makers, industry representatives, and managers of research programs about environmental costs and benefits of these CO2 management alternatives. * [email protected]

Fossil Fuels


Friday late morning

Re-evaluating LCA models to determine

CO2 emissions in refineries:The crude oil quality factor

Jessica Abella*, University of Calgary/EESG Oyeshola Kofoworola, University of Toronto Heather L. MacLean, University of Toronto Joule A. Bergerson, University of Calgary

Most LCA models to determine CO2 emissions in refineries do not consider important crude oil parameters such as hydrogen content, the true boiling point curve (TBP), and micro-carbon residuum (MCR). The consideration of these parameters in the LCA models, additional to sulphur content and API specifications, provides a better understanding of the effects the quality of crude oil has on refinery CO2 emissions estimation. From a global economy perspective, major consideration of crude oil quality specifications is required for a comprehensive understanding of the transportation fuels GHG emissions in a well-to-wheel (WTW) basis due to increasing participation of heavy and oil sands crudes on world oil production and refining. This paper extends the research conducted by Charpentier, Bergerson, and MacLean (2009) which found inconsistencies in using LCA models to calculate GHG emissions for the oil sands and conventional crude oils, and which suggested that many inconsistencies could be attributed to the quality of crude oils. Running a petroleum refinery linear programming model and through a factor analysis, this research studies the simultaneous effects of several key crude oil parameters (i.e. sulphur, density, hydrogen, TBP, MCR) on the refinery CO2 emissions estimation. Specified/target product slates changes and refinery configuration modifications (i.e. coking and hydrocracking basis) are also explored. Finally, the study compares the methods and results for specific pathways with those in the GHGenius and GREET WTW transportation fuel to demonstrate the impact of considering a more complete set of parameters in the refinery module. Preliminary results indicate that the quality of the crude should be a priority over refinery configuration and product slate in the estimation of total CO2 emissions for a refinery. Also, the hydrogen content appears to be as significant as sulphur and API parameters and more instructive of crude quality when calculating total CO2 emissions for a refinery. The results of this research will provide insights on the assignment of CO2 emissions in policies such as a Low Carbon Fuel Standard to different crude oils, use of LCA methods to assign these values, and the improvement of LCA models. * [email protected]




Session Chair: Chris Weber

Environmental Impacts of Diet Changes in the EU Reinout Heijungs, Arnold Tukker, René Kleijn, Arjan de Koning, Oliver Wolf An EPD program for Costa Rican products Wesley Ingwersen, Silvia Alvarez, Ana Quiros, Carli Koshal, Milagros JeanCharles, Diego Acuña Energy balance for locally-grown versus apple cv. 'Braeburn' fruit imported from New Zealand Michael Blanke Life Cycle Assessment of Frozen Tilapia Fillets from Indonesian Lake and Pond-Based Intensive Aquaculture Systems Nathan Pelletier, Peter Tyedmers LCA of the Global Warming Potential of California Rice Production and Processing Systems Sonja Brodt, Alissa Kendall, In-Sung Lee, Juhong Yuan, James Thompson, Gail Feenstra




Environmental Impacts of Diet Changes in the EU

Reinout Heijungs*, CML

Arnold Tukker, TNO René Kleijn, CML

Arjan de Koning, CML Oliver Wolf, JRC-IPTS

The study Environmental Impacts of Products (EIPRO) showed that expenditure on food and drink, transport and built environment drive over 70% of the environmental impacts of EU consumption. The EU was hence interested in the environmental impacts related to diet changes in the EU. The following approach and results come from a study of TNO and CML, with support of the EC JRC IPTS.

1. The FAO Food Balance Sheets provided data on existing diets in the EU. Diet recommendations from most EU countries and the WHO lead to three alternative diet scenarios.

2. An Environmentally Extended Input Output model, E3IOT, was used to calculate impacts of the food baskets in each scenario. Additionally, 1st order income effects were taken into account by assuming a change in disposable income for non-food products would lead to proportional change in expenditure on non food products.

3. Dynamic 2nd order economic effects were estimated with a partial equilibrium model, CAPRI, showing e.g. what alternative products the food and agriculture sector will produce if the original demand changes due to diet changes. The feedback of CAPRI in E3IOT gives insight in 2nd order environmental effects.

4. Experiences with consumption policy were reviewed to identify to what extent diet change can realistically be stimulated.

Moderate diet changes can lead to 8% less impact related to food consumption, or 2% less impacts of the total consumption expenditure in Europe. The 2nd order CAPRI calculations show that production however will not diminish dramatically, which implies that impacts in Europe will not diminish, although these are now related to exports rather than domestic consumption. * [email protected]




An EPD program for Costa Rican products

Wesley Ingwersen*,University of Florida

Silvia Alvarez, University of Florida Ana Quiros, ECO GLOBAL/ALCALA Carli Koshal, University of Florida

Milagros JeanCharles, University of Florida Diego Acuña, University of Costa Rica

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) provide information on environmental impacts of products assessed according to product-specific LCA rules and are designed primarily for business-to-business communication. EPDs may be supported by federal policy as a market-driven approach to increasing sustainability of production and consumption. EPD programs have been established in Europe and Asia, but are yet to be used as instruments in developing countries. Through the 2009 Conservation Clinic, a collaborative program between the University of Florida and the University of Costa Rica, a feasibility study was conducted for implementing EPDs for Costa Rican products. Particularly, EPDs were considered as possible instruments for producers of agricultural exports bound for markets in Europe and North America, with the reasoning that EPDs may influence supply-side decisions in these markets. The products of this effort were a policy study and a pineapple EPD stakeholder workshop. The policy options study was conducted to explore how Costa Rican national policy could be used to support an EPD program, drawing on examples from other national programs and determining how such a program could be orchestrated in Costa Rica. The stakeholder workshop brought together producers, experts, and government representatives to discuss the use of a EPDs in the pineapple industry, including a discussion of preliminary rules and indicators for a pineapple-specific LCA. The results of these two activities will be synthesized into a list of best practice recommendations for launching an EPD program in Costa Rica, with particular emphasis on the requirements for instituting EPDs of pineapple including the roles to be played by institutional and industry actors and LCA experts. * [email protected]




Energy balance for locally-grown versus apple cv. 'Braeburn' fruit

imported from New Zealand

Michael Blanke*, University of Bonn

Energy balances wre calculated as part of a LCA for apple cv. 'Braeburn' , which were either imported or locally-grown in the Bonn-Meckenheim fruit growing region, one of the major fruit growing regions in Germany. The LCA study aimed to compared apple fruit of the same variety for sale at the same time in April when both regional and imported fruit are available in the Rhein-Ruhr area with a market potential from ca. 10 million inhabitants. One kg of apples was used as the functional unit. Imported apples of the same cultivar were grown in a Southern hemisphere summer in Nelson, New Zealand and were pickes at the end of March. with subsequent 28d transport by sea for sale in May in Germany. Locally-grown cv. 'Braeburn' apples were pickes in mid-October and required a primary energy of nearly 5 MJ/kg fruit including ca. 1 MJ/kg for the six months CA storage at 1°C during a Northern hemisphere winter until mid April. This compared favourably with 7.5 MJ/kg for overseas shipment from New Zealand. Overall, the primary energy requirement of regional produce, stored locally for several months on-site, partially compensated for the larger energy required to import fresh fruit from overseas. * [email protected]




Life Cycle Assessment of Frozen Tilapia Fillets from

Indonesian Lake and Pond-Based Intensive Aquaculture Systems

Nathan Pelletier*, Dalhousie University/School for Resource and Environmental Studies Peter Tyedmers, Dalhousie University

We used LCA to evaluate the cradle-to-destination port life cycle impacts associated with the production, processing and transportation of frozen, packaged Indonesian tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fillets to ports in Chicago and Rotterdam. Specifically, we modelled cumulative energy use, biotic resource use and global warming, acidifying, and eutrophying emissions per kg of fillet. We identify the importance of least-environmental cost feed sourcing for reducing supply chain environmental impacts. We also highlight the need for more effective nutrient cycling in intensive aquaculture, and point to the environmental tradeoffs inherent in substituting technological inputs for ecosystem services in intensive pond versus lake-based production systems. We further call for more nuanced consideration of comparative environmental advantage in the production and inter-regional trade of food commodities than has been characteristic of historic food miles discussions. We conclude that although significant opportunities exist for improving environmental performance in tilapia aquaculture, this product compares favorably to several other fisheries, aquaculture, and animal husbandry products according to the suite of impact categories considered in this study. * [email protected]




LCA of the Global Warming Potential of California

Rice Production and Processing Systems

Sonja Brodt*, Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of California, Davis Alissa Kendall**, University of California, Davis

In-Sung Lee, University of California, Davis Juhong Yuan, University of California, Davis

James Thompson, University of California, Davis Gail Feenstra, University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education

Program

This study uses life cycle assessment methodology to assess the global warming potential of rice production, drying, and milling in California’s Sacramento Valley region. A better understanding of the climate impacts of California rice production is needed due to the large estimated contribution of global rice production to anthropogenic methane in the atmosphere, the lack of studies on high-yield, air-seeded, temperate rice production systems, and the prominence of rice in the agricultural economy of northern California.

The objective of this study was to develop a baseline model that assesses the relative greenhouse gas emissions of different stages of the production and processing systems, in order to identify problem areas and the most fruitful areas for focusing on mitigation. We used a life cycle assessment approach to characterize the CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions resulting from the flooded rice field itself, all agricultural inputs and field operations, including the embodied emissions in manufacturing and distribution of inputs, rice harvest and post-harvest straw management, transport to the processing facility, and the drying and milling processes. We modeled our system on a UC Davis Cost of Production Study that describes inputs and operations on a hypothetical 243-ha (600 acres) farm using practices judged to be typical for conventional rice production in this region of California. We obtained emissions data from published studies, government emissions models such as the state of California’s EMFAC for vehicle emissions, publicly available LCI databases, and the ecoinvent database accessed through Simapro. In addition, we assessed the impact of co-product displacement, in this case, rice hulls used for electricity generation and soil amendments, and rice bran used as cattle feed.

In addition to outlining the relative greenhouse gas contributions of different components of the rice production system, we will discuss the inherent challenges and our strategies for addressing the allocation of emissions from agricultural by-products, especially when these by-products are used in a diversity of industries and may be displacing other products that are themselves by-products. * [email protected] ** [email protected]



Friday late morning

Session chair: Adam Cone

Multi-functional compost for sustainable agricultural production: Improvements of resource and disease management using life cycle approach Kiyotada Hayashi, Keiichi Murakami, Naoto Kato Eutrophication footprints of foods and comparison to carbon footprints Xiaobo Xue, Amy Landis Evaluating Tradeoff between Material Type, Lightweighting and Recyclability using Life Cycle Assessment - a Case Study on Wine Packaging Xavier Bengoa, Danielle Maia de Souza, Réjean Samson Life cycle analysis and carbon footprint of imported Huelva Strawberries Michael Blanke



Friday late morning

Multi-functional compost for sustainable agricultural production:

Improvements of resource and disease management using life cycle approach

Kiyotada Hayashi*, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization

Keiichi Murakami, Mie Prefecture Agricultural Research Institute Naoto Kato, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization

Increased food and feed trade necessitates considering effective management of food by-product and animal waste. Waste resource management is essential to decrease negative environmental impacts of waste products such as animal waste from intensive dairy farms, which depend on imported feed grains and hay, and unutilized by-products of imported agricultural food. It is also important in reducing the negative impacts caused by artificial fertilizer application. In addition, waste resources can be used for making compost that can replace soil disinfectant and the replacement reduces environmental toxicity. Therefore, utilization of multi-functional compost has the potential to be effective resource and disease management. This study investigates the environmental impacts of multi-functional compost made from dairy animal waste and activated bleaching earth used in the manufacture of edible oil.

Comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) was used in this study, which was carried out in an area in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Multi-functional compost made using a vertical airtight compost machine was compared with conventional compost prepared in an open stirrer; it can be effective in preventing plant diseases caused by soil fungi (Fusarium). Furthermore, LCA of greenhouse tomato production was conducted to assess the post-application effects of the compost. The background data for the assessment of compost were accumulated by interviewing the machine manufacturer and the authority in the cooking-oil company. The data available on the JLCA database and ecoinvent 2.0 were also used. The information compiled for agricultural extension services was used for evaluating post-application effect of the compost.

The results indicate that lesser amounts of greenhouse and acidification gases are directly emitted during the production of multi-functional compost than during the production of conventional compost. However, greenhouse gas emissions from the production process of the vertical airtight compost machine were greater than that of the open stirrer. Moreover, distinct differences were observed between the post-application effects of the two types of compost. We believe that the use of multi-functional compost would alleviate the negative environmental impacts of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. The results imply that the development of multi-functional agricultural inputs is a practical method for establishing sustainable agricultural systems. * [email protected]



Friday late morning

Eutrophication footprints of foods and

comparison to carbon footprints

Xiaobo Xue*, University of Pittsburgh Amy Landis, University of Pittsburgh

Vast quantities of food is demanded to satisfy basic human needs every day. Food supply has become an important contributor to the depletion of natural resources and water quality degradation. Excessive nutrients exported from farming and food processing activities already has resulted in serious hypoxia and eutrophication issues in surrounding ecosystems 1. Changing food consumption patterns offers a unique opportunity for consumers to lower their personal eutrophication footprints. Concerned consumers are calling for mitigating environmental burden of food supply. Policymakers and producers therefore require scientifically defensible information about food products and production systems. Despite significant recent public concern and scientific attention to environmental impacts of foods mainly focused on their Carbon footprints, few studies have systematically compared the life cycle nutrients flows among different food types2. A few studies exist which look at overall diet but these have been focused on the relevance of carbon footprint and food consumption pattern. The study of nitrogen and phosphorus inventories for food categories and the potential of reducing nitrification through shifting food consumption patterns have not yet been addressed. This study utilizes a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to quantify the nitrogen flows during food production, processing, packaging and distribution stages over main food types. This study compares solutions to reduce excessive nitrogen outputs, evaluates effectiveness and efficiency of possible solutions. Results show that different food groups exhibit a largely variable nitrogen-intensity. While red meats exhibit the highest nutrient intensity among all food categories, cereals/carbohydrates has the lowest eutrophication potential. Dietary shifting from red meat to cereals/carbohydrates may be an effective way to mitigate eutrophication impacts resulting from food consumption.

References

1. Miller, S.E.; Landis, A.E.; Theis, T.L. Feature: Environmental tradeoffs of biobased production. Enviro. Sci.Technol. 2007,41(15), 5176-5182

2. Weber, C.L.; Matthews, H.S., Food-miles and the relative climate impacts of food choices in the United States, Enviro. Sci.Technol. 2008,42(10), 3508-3513

* [email protected]



Friday late morning

Evaluating Tradeoff between Material Type, Lightweighting and

Recyclability using Life Cycle Assessment: a Case Study on Wine Packaging

Xavier Bengoa*, CIRAIG

Danielle Maia de Souza, CIRAIG Réjean Samson, CIRAIG

In a context of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the question of which type of packaging is environmentally preferable is a recurring issue, as it often holds a large responsibility in the overall impacts associated to a product. However, assessing whether it is the type of material chosen for packaging, its weight or its recyclability, that prevails when minimizing the product’s ecological footprint, is an issue whose answer is not straightforward. Through a case study on wine packaging, this paper aims at evaluating the environmental burden of different packaging alternatives and identifying the key parameters using the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Twelve options are compared, including standard and lightweighted glass bottles (750 and 1500 ml), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles (750 and 1000 ml), a 750 ml aluminum bottle, a 250 ml aluminum can, a 1000 ml aseptic multilayer brick, a 1500 ml multilayer wine pouch and two bag-in-box (3000 and 4000 ml). All these options fulfill the same function: “To hermetically hold 750 ml of wine while conserving its quality from conditioning until consumption during two years”. They are all considered to be filled and transported to Montreal, where wine is sold and consumed. The packaging waste is then managed according to the most realistic practices in Quebec province. Preliminary results have shown significant differences among the options. While lightweighted glass bottles show slightly lower impacts than standard ones, PET bottles appear to be no better than the lightweighted bottles, in spite of being much lighter and recycled. Further, very light as well, aluminum packaging options are credited with very high environmental impacts, especially when not recycled. On the other hand, multilayer pouches and aseptic bricks show much lower scores for all impact categories, in spite of not being recyclable in Quebec. While these preliminary results still need to be confirmed, they show that lightweighting and recyclability do not suffice to determine which is the preferred choice among the different packaging alternatives. * [email protected]



Friday late morning

Life cycle analysis and carbon footprint of

imported Huelva Strawberries

Michael Blanke*, University of Bonn

The objective of this study was a carbon footprint as part of a life cycle analysis (LCA) of strawberries grown in spring in Huelva, Spain for consumption in Western Europe, using Germany as example. This is at a time when locally-grown, forced strawberries are not yet available in Northerwestern Europe, but consumer’s demand for fresh strawberries for fresh fruit consumption, fruit salads, ice cream and cake. Life cycle analysis (LCA) was performed for the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the strawberry as a product as carbon footprint, including the emissions of the three most important GHGs emitted from agricultural activities; carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) and used to calculate CO2 equivalents, based on an extended BSI PAS2050 standard. The LCA pilot project comprised the complete life cycle from the supply of the strawberry plantlets in Spain, growing and agrochemicals, packhouse in Huelva in transparent plastic PET punnets, truck-haul, to the RDCs, shopping trip of the consumer, dwell time and local disposal of the strawberrry package in Germany. A 500 g fresh strawberry package was defined as functional unit and had a carbon footprint of ca. 450 g CO2eq ; the largest part was attributed to the transport to the consumer (ca. 205 g) and packhouse and the consumer shopping (65 g CO2eq), strawberry cultivation (60 g CO2eq), while agrochemicals (40 g CO2eq) played a minor role. This study was only made possible by joint efforts of REWE Food Group Köln, the local 'Best alliance' extension service Campina Verde in Huelva, the Spanish packhouses, transport companies, local redistribution centres (RDC) and disposal experts. This study is part of one of the largest carbon footprint pilot project (http:www.pcf-project.de), involving 15 products, 13 international companies, 2 universities (Bremen and Bonn) and 3 NGOs (WWF Germany, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and THEMA1) under the auspice of the Institute for Applied Ecology Hamburg/Berlin with the first results released on 27 January 2009 at Rotes Rathaus, Berlin with ca. 300 journalists. This huge pilot project and its findings and the recommendations derived contribute to a situation, in which the PCF Pilot Project Germany actively helps to shape the international debate on the determination and communication of carbon footprints. The standards and recommendations dervied from this project will be presented and open for discussion. * [email protected]

Friday Poster Session


Friday linch

Life cycle energy and GHG emissions of

biomass-to-electricity systems in Portugal

João Nunes, ADAI. Dep. of Mechanical Engineering. Universisty of Coimbra Fausto Freire*, ADAI. Dep. of Mechanical Engineering. University of Coimbra.

University of Coimbra

Lignocellulosic biomass has received recent attention in Portugal as a key renewable energy source to play an important role in electricity production and advanced technologies are being considered as a promising high efficiency pathway. However, the actual benefits of biomass-to-electricity systems have not been previously assessed in a life cycle perspective. This paper presents the development and implementation of a comparative life cycle model aiming at assessing the full cradle-to-grave energy and environmental performance of alternative lignocellulosic biomass-to-electricity production pathways for Portugal. Twenty-four alternative scenarios have been defined considering different combinations of: i) forest biomass types (residues and energy crops), ii) biomass collection and transportation processes and iii) electricity production technologies (gasification and direct combustion). An extensive data collection has been carried out in Portugal to build the life cycle (LC) inventory for the 24 scenarios. A LC model has been developed based on a systemic description of the various scenarios with the aim of evaluating and finding the most sustainable solutions throughout the various LC stages. The primary energy fossil requirement and the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of 1 MJ of electricity are presented, for each phase of the life cycle. The results calculated for the 24 scenarios show that the fossil energy requirement can vary from 0,062 MJ to 0,166 MJ per MJ of electricity produced. The most efficient pathway is obtained with gasification of forest residues. The processes that require more fossil energy are biomass chipping and transportation (from 19% to 50% of total fossil energy requirements). GHG emissions range from 5,7 gCO2eq to 11,5 gCO2eq per MJ of electricity produced. The present analysis demonstrates that biomass-to electricity can be a sustainable option regarding fossil energy use (primary energy savings: 2,1–2,8 MJ/MJ electrical) and GHG emissions avoided (121–228 gCO2eq/MJ electrical), but advanced energy conversion technologies, namely gasification, must be employed.

* [email protected]



Friday linch

Life Cycle Assessment of overhead and underground primary

power distribution systems in Southern California

Rebe Feraldi*, UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management Sarah Bumby, UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

Ekaterina Druzhinina, Bren School, UCSB Danae Werthmann, UCSB Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

Dr. Jack Sahl, Southern California Edison Roland Geyer, University of California - Santa Barbara

High electrical-power demand has spurred discussion on trade-offs between overhead and underground power distribution systems. Many regions in the United States, European Union, and Australia are considering revising protocol for new power distribution installations and/or conversion of existing infrastructure to underground mode. Studies generally concur that underground distribution is much more costly to install, but may improve reliability and decrease maintenance costs. Recently, a few comparative environmental assessments of overhead and underground cable production have been conducted. However, current literature lacks a full investigation of the life cycle environmental impacts of both distribution methods, including all infrastructure components. This project thus examines the difference between the potential environmental impacts of overhead and underground primary power distribution systems. It is based on a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which has been conducted using LCA software GaBi 4.3, which draws from a wide range of data sources. The analysis synthesizes detailed information on the use phase, including installation, maintenance, and decommissioning of cable and associated infrastructural components. The study is also specific to Southern California Edison, one of the largest electric utility suppliers in the United States. The results cover a wide range of environmental concerns, such as climate change, photochemical smog, acidification, and toxicity.

* [email protected]



Friday linch

Environmental and energy life cycle analysis of microgeneration

applied to five grid connected renewable technologies in a Quebec context

Mourad Ben Amor*, CIRAIG

Pascal Lesage, Sylvatica Pierre-Olivier Pineau, CIRAIG/HEC Montreal


This study aims at evaluating the environmental and energy life cycle performances of five commonly used small scale grid-connected renewable plants deployed in different regions of Quebec (Canada) and to compare these to centralised electricity production. One of the main applications of the study results is to inform different stake-holders of the advantages and limitations of the application of microgeneration as an energy policy tool.

Two types of photovoltaic panels and three types of wind turbines are considered. The two mounted, slanted roof, photovoltaic panels differ according to the cell type (3 kWp mono- and polycrystalline). The three micro-wind turbines differ according to the power rate (1kW, 10 kW and 30 kW) and the installation type (10 m guyed tower, 22 m guyed tower and 30 m lattice tower). Other necessary components for the connection and the transmission of the produced energy are also considered (e.g. inverter (DC/AC), cables, etc.). The data are calculated for a final delivery of 1 kWh at the plant.

A scaling down effect is noticed between micro-wind turbines power rates and the studied impacts. This explains the 1 kW bad performances’s compared to the 30kW. In case of low and medium winds, the two photovoltaic plants seem to be the best alternatives. However, under good wind conditions, the selection depends on power plants. Also, compared to the current centralised electricity production, the grid connected renewable technologies performances are much better as they offer substantial benefits as far as energy savings and environmental impacts are concerned. However, this is not the case for poor winds regions.

As seen from the results, implementing a renewable microgeneration policy based on average values without taking into account regional context could, therefore, be less beneficial than anticipated. Such results are key to assess the extent to which distributed generation can reduce the use of the distribution network and centralised electricity production.

Future work will include an in-depth analysis of the actual displaced electricity production, based on a consequential LCA methodology and considering diurnal and seasonal patterns of electricity production and consumption. * [email protected]



Friday linch

Environmental Impacts of the Recycling and Use of Waste Medium

Density Fibre Board and the Benefits of Wood Fibre Recovery

Amy Mitchell*, Research Scientist at Gnosys UK Gary Stevens, MD of GnoSys/Professor University of Surrey

Over the course of a year in the UK at least 285,000 tonnes of waste medium density fibre board (MDF) arising as industrial process waste is generated from MDF producers and industrial users such as furniture manufacturers. The current disposal practices for this large amount of waste include either disposal to landfill or incineration, with MDF waste being used as a fuel for heat generation. The disposal of this waste has a significant environmental impact. Recycling of MDF to recover the original wood fibres for closed-loop recycling presents an elegant solution to reduce these impacts. This can be achieved through the use of a new technology which utilises a microwave based process to reclaim the wood fibres for re-use in MDF manufacture.

This presentation will discuss the environmental impacts of the reclamation of wood fibre from waste MDF relative to the impacts of the current disposal practices. Additionally, the impacts of using this recycled wood fibre in recycled MDF (rMDF) production will be examined relative to the impacts of current MDF manufacturing process to assess the potential benefits of closed loop recycling.

Through this investigation it was found that over the majority of the impact categories measured, recycling of the MDF waste through the microwave process shows a lower environmental impact when account is taken of the avoided burdens within MDF production in comparison with all other disposal routes. The use of recycled wood fibre from MDF waste in rMDF production resulted in reduced environmental impacts in terms of carbon emission and global warming potential, along with reductions in many other impact categories. These findings indicate that there is likely to be environmental advantage to diverting MDF waste to fibre recovery, however there must be a balance between the diversion of MDF waste to recycling and its use in energy production to support the MDF production processes or to feed energy from waste production in general. These aspects will also be discussed. * [email protected]



Friday linch

Analysis of Aluminum flow and stock in Korea

EunSil Jang

Seok-Jin Hong, Konkuk Univ. Ji-Sun Jung, Konkuk Univ.

Ji-Yong Lee, LG Electronics Tak Hur*, Konkuk Univ.

MFA is conducted to define the flow of aluminum with the following procedures: the definition of the system boundary, the determination of flow and stock, and the material flow illustration and interpretation. In the definition of system boundary, geographic boundary was set as Korea in the year 2007. In the determination of flow and stock, data are collected from different sources to calculate through the Aluminum cycle, which consists of five stages; material, semi-fabrication, industry, recycling, and disposal. The static data are collected primarily, in the case of lack of these data, related documents and the interviews of the experts are used. These collected data are calculated on the basis of mass balance principle. In the material flow illustration and interpretation, flow, process, and stock of Aluminum cycle are drawn. The flow of Aluminum in “material” entering the “semi-fabrication” is about 1,830 Kt/year with primary ingots (53%) and secondary ingots (47%). Counting in import and export, rolled (424 Kt/year), extruded (211 Kt/year), and casting process (965 Kt/year) in semi-fabrication flow into “industry”. It is retained as stock (288 Kt/year) excluding discard flow (657 Kt/year) of “industry”. The part of this discard flow (57%) is recycled as secondary ingot with imported Al scrap (467 Kt/year) in “recycling”. Finally, estimated 283 Kt/year is landfilled in “disposal”. To analyze the stock (ton) and stock density (ton/km2) of Aluminum in seven cities and nine provinces, allocation factors that are estimated considering characterization of each were used. The results of the stock is showed as follows; Gyeonggi-do(2,733Kt), Seoul(2,003Kt), Gyeongsangnam-do(720 Kt). However the stock density is identified to Seoul(3.31 Kt/ km2), Busan(0.93Kt/ km2) and Gwangju(0.58Kt/ km2) orderly. Therefore the waste management needs to focus on cities, in order to increase the recycling of end-of-life Al effectively.

* [email protected]



Friday linch

Life-cycle Inventory of Manufacturing Engineered

Wood Flooring in the Eastern United States

Richard Bergman*, University of Wisconsin Scott Bowe, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Because of the environmental impacts that a building product and its associated manufacturing process pose to the physical environment, building products have come under increased scrutiny by a growing segment of environmentally concerned stakeholders. The economic costs, the energy use, and the environmental impact of residential building materials are playing an increasing role in the product choice decisions of the general public and contractors. Life-cycle inventory (LCI), a major component of life-cycle analysis, is emerging as an unbiased, scientifically rigorous method of understanding a product’s total impact from “gate to gate.” This study examined engineered wood flooring in the eastern United States. The LCI results for this product may provide a means of comparing wood and non-wood materials such as carpet, vinyl, or tile on an energy and environmental basis. Methodology put forth by the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials was used. One square meter (10 mm thick basis) was selected as the unit basis for the final product of engineered wood flooring. Five engineered wood flooring manufacturers were surveyed in the eastern United States that represented 18.7% of total annual production in 2007. For the year 2007, data were collected for annual production, energy use and generation, material inputs, product outputs, and other by-products. Engineered wood flooring was produced from either 3- or 5- ply hardwood veneer panels. Some preliminary results found were weight-averaged values of 26.3 and 21.2 thousand cubic meters of dried veneer and wood flooring produced per manufacturing facility, respectively. Most facilities used urea-formaldehyde resin for gluing hardwood veneer into panels. These data were modeled using SimaPro to estimate the environmental footprint of engineered wood flooring manufacturing in the United States. * [email protected]



Friday linch

Life Cycle Consumptive Water Use and Greenhouse Gas

Implications of Unconventional Oil

Aweewan Mangmeechai*, Carnegie Mellon University H. Scott Matthews, Carnegie Mellon University W. Michael Griffin, Carnegie Mellon University

Paulina Jaramillo, Carnegie Mellon University/Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Despite significant attention on the environmental impacts of unconventional oil, e.g., oil sands, oil shale, and coal-to-liquid (CTL), few studies have focused on their life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and life cycle consumptive water use. This study looks at the life cycle GHG emissions and consumptive water use of unconventional oil and then compare to those of conventional oil. Consumptive water use defined as water with¬drawn that is evaporated, transpired, incorporated into products, consumed by humans, or otherwise removed from the immediate water environment. The life cycle analysis’ boundary includes these following stages: crude oil extraction; refining; crude oil combustion; and reclamation. The life cycle GHG emissions and consumptive water use for electricity consumption throughout the crude oil life cycle are also included in this analysis. We find CTL is the worst in GHG emissions while oil shale In-situ requires the largest amount of consumptive water use. Life cycle GHG emissions and consumptive water use of oil sands are the least among unconventional oil. Life cycle consumptive water use for oil sands (surface mining and In-situ), oil shale surface mining (high and low scenarios), oil shale In-situ (high and low scenarios), and CTL (high and low scenarios) are -61% to -9%, -35% to -11%, -51% to 46%, and -60% to 19% lower or higher than that of U.S. domestic crude oil. The life cycle GHG emissions of oil sands (surface mining and In-situ), oil shale surface mining (high and low scenarios), oil shale In-situ (high and low scenarios), and CTL (high and low scenarios) are 14%-21%, 4%-19%, 46%-98%, and -5%-113% higher than those of U.S. domestic crude oil. If the U.S has a goal to enhance energy security while seeking to reduce the environmental impacts of petroleum, CTL, oil shale, and oil sands are not the right path. * [email protected]



Friday linch

Sustainable implications of vertical farming for

Philadelphian urban food supply

Alex Stadel*, Drexel University Sabrina Spatari**, Drexel University/Department of Civil, Architectural, and

Environmental Engineering

The carbon intensity of food production has come under scrutiny in the popular literature, which raises questions of how to supply local food needs in order to reduce energy-food miles. This, along with the malnutrition of inter-city citizens, requires a new alternative for providing fresh produce. This study investigates opportunities for reducing transportation energy and greenhouse gas emissions through the construction of vertical farms. These structures are designed to grow hydroponic crops to meet dietary needs in US urban centers. Using the city of Philadelphia as a case study, a model is constructed using data from GREET 1.8c, eQUEST, and the Carnegie Mellon EIOLCA tool to aggregate construction, operation, and deconstruction emissions for a 1.2 million square foot vertical farm over 50 years. Using a hybrid change-oriented Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Economic Input Output (EIO) approach, the results will compare the global warming potential (GWP) per hundredweight of vegetable production of traditional farming against the progressive idea of vertical urban agriculture. We model the farming process and transport of produce from a traditional farm in the United States, with a focus on the import of crops into Philadelphia from California and other agriculturally prominent states. Current estimates indicate that traditional farming creates 43kg CO2 equivalents per hundredweight of crop production and import to Philadelphia. The goal of this comparison is to examine whether the prospect of a built urban agriculture environment can reduce the carbon intensity of food production and transport relative to the current preference. * [email protected] ** [email protected]



Friday linch

Life cycle analysis of environmental load and reduction potential

related to food consumption in Japan

Naoki Yoshikawa*, Ritsumeikan University Koji Amano, Ritsumeikan University

Koji Shimada, Ritsumeikan University

Agriculture is one of the major emission sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) including non-CO2 gases and figured as a cost-effective sector for GHGs emission reduction. Japanese food supply, especially wheat and animal feed, mostly relies on imports from U.S. and Australia by long distance maritime transportation although rice, staple food of Japanese, is mostly self-sufficient. Life cycle approach would be applied for evaluating agricultural biomass utilization policy in regional level and environmental load of agricultural production in commodity level, which has advantage of allowing quantifying net environmental reduction. On the other hand, global studies of agricultural GHGs reduction potential are difficult to implement life cycle analysis because of its geographical scale.

We estimated environmental load (GHGs emission and final disposal of waste) related to food consumed in Japan and its reduction potential including some cost analysis by actions of energy use, fertilizing, biomass utilization, distribution and recycling. This country-level evaluation is implemented by aggregating commodity level or regional level estimation, and calculated cost efficiency of environmental load reduction. Scenario analysis is used to consider uncertainty of estimation conditions. * [email protected]



Friday linch

Public Perception of Carbon Footprint(s) as additional Food Label

Michaela Schlich*, Nutritional and Consumer Science, Institute for Management,

University Koblenz Landau, Campus Koblenz Daniela Thomae, Justus Liebig University Giessen

Elmar H. Schlich, University Giessen

At present different efforts are made for introducing Carbon Footprint (CF) as additional label on food packages in Europe. This is a contribution to the increasing public attention which is paid to all questions related to climatic change.

Food packages serve for many objectives. First of all, the package protects food from the environment in order to keep it for degustation, health and wellness. At the same time the packaging protects the environment from foods so as to prevent pollution. Secondly the package serves as carrier of product information. This task is strictly regulated by legal requirements regarding information about producer, trademark, quantity, price, composition, ingredients, nutritional recommendations, and even recipes for the preparation at home 1. Sometimes information about farm management (e.g. kind of organic farming) could be presented as well 2.

The poster exemplary compares the recent state of CF-label development in the UK 3, France 4, Sweden 5, and Germany 6. The public perception of such additional food label in Germany has recently been investigated by interviewing experts (n = 95) and private consumers (n = 150). The results are more or less bleak:

• Most consumer don't care about greenhouse gas emissions or are simply not able to understand “Carbon Footprint”.

• The system borders and boundary conditions of label calculation differ across EU. This leads to increasing confusion and distrust, and could turn out to be a trade obstruction.

• The part of consumer behavior in terms of shopping by car, of storing and cooking food at home and of loss by mistreatment is substantial but not included into CF-label.

• Aspects like seasonality, regional farming, business size and ecologies of scale 7,8 are neglected.

Obviously it is necessary to improve the scientific database of entire supply chains for food in order to calculate reliable CF-labels. In the long run we must endeavor to achieve a situation where consumer can simply rely without further ado on a carbon footprint label that should at least be compatible within EU.

References



Friday linch

1. Lebensmittelkennzeichnungsverordnung. Verordnung über die Kennzeichnung von Lebensmitteln. Bundesministerium der Justiz, Bundesrepublik Deutschland (2007).

2. Verordnung (EG) Nr. 967/2008 des Rates vom 29. September 2008 zur Änderung der Verordnung (EG) Nr. 834/2007 über die ökologische/biologische Produktion und die Kennzeichnung von ökologischen/biologischen Erzeugnissen. BMELV (2008).

3. Publicly Available Specification: Specification for the assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of goods and services. London, BSI: October 2008.

4. Fourdrin E. Environmental communication on consumer goods in France. Vortrag beim Treffen des „federal public service belgium“: „Toward consumer-oriented environmental information on consumer goods”. 22. January 2009

5. Krav, Svenskt sigill u.a.: Project Description for the Project Standards for Climate Marking of Foods Version No 2.0, Authorized by SG 15 February 2008.

6. Projekt Carbon Footprint Ergebnisbericht: Product Carbon Footprinting - Ein geeigneter Weg zu klimaverträglichen Produkten und deren Konsum? Erfahrungen, Erkenntnisse und Empfehlungen aus dem Product Carbon Footprint Pilotprojekt Deutschland.

7. Schlich E, Fleissner U: The Ecology of Scale: Assessment of Regional Energy Turnover and Comparison with Global Food. Special Issue of Int J LCA (2004).

8. Schlich E, Schlich M: The Ecology of Scale: Further Examples and Comments. InLCA (2004).

* [email protected]



Friday linch

Dynamic LCA modelling of long life structures: Buildings

Matthias Fischer*, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics/Department Life Cycle

Engineering Jan Paul Lindner, Fraunhofer IBP, Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi)/University of

Stuttgart, Chair of Building Physics, Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi) Bastian Wittstock, University of Stuttgart - Chair for Building Physics / Fraunhofer

Institute for Building Physics/Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi)

LCA of long life structures and products like cars, planes, infrastructure or buildings are currently performed on a static approach. That includes that the time aspect is not further considered and one single point in time is chosen as reference. This is in case of the production phase an adequate and meaningful assumption as the production period is usually short. But regarding the use phase the time related boundary conditions change so that the LCA results show a more and more dynamic progress. Regarding the end-of-life phase it can be stated that the boundary conditions after a long life time could differ seriously and in case of a big relevance of this life cycle step it is required to adjust the modeling accordingly. The time dimension and the dynamic development of general boundary conditions, legal boundaries, technologies, technical parameters, supply chains and technical systems lead to a variability in the material and energy flow system which influences the LCI results. The impacts to environment depend on emission time, chemical fate and other dynamic effects which influence the LCIA results additionally to the dynamic LCI. So the LCA interpretation should include in addition to the classical steps also an overall consideration of time dynamic aspects in the goal and scope definition, technical system, LCI and LCIA as well as time aspects in the interaction of the different LCA phases. Based on previous own work on parameterized modeling, time series and future scenarios as well as LCA of buildings within the German Sustainable Building Certification System the presentation will show temporal influences on LCA and compare static and dynamic modeling approaches. Especially changes within the use phase of a building will be analyzed and presented. * [email protected]



Friday linch

Ecologically based Life Cycle Assessment of Building Materials

Mason Earles*, University of Maine Anthony Halog, University of Maine

Conventional LCA techniques inadequately account for products' natural capital consumptions. Doing so would allow for more complete inter- and intra-sector comparisons of the life-cycle impacts of building materials such as wood, concrete and steel.

The EcoLCA method has recently arisen to address the challenge of providing comprehensive resource accounting in LCA and standardizing a unit for resource aggregation. To address the issue above, the proposed research seeks to accomplish the following objectives: (1) Compare the life-cycle performance of common building materials, such as wood, concrete, and steel, using the emerging EcoLCA technique and (2) use hybrid EcoLCA to characterize the environmental profile of current research on engineered wood based building materials. Within EcoLCA, Ecological Cumulative Exergy Consumption (ECEC) provides a standardized unit for comparing overall resource intensity.

While preliminary, this study compares four NAICS sectors using the online EcoLCA tool: Engineered Wood Member Manufacturing, Fabricated Structural Metal Manufacturing, Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing, and Reconstituted Wood. Early results suggest that the Ready-Mix Concrete Manufacturing sector has the largest ECEC per million dollars, while Engineered Wood Member Manufacturing measures the lowest . Results do not yet exist for the hybrid EcoLCA study of specific materials under development at the University of Maine’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center. * [email protected]

International Capability Development Activities on

Life Cycle Topics


Friday early afternoon

Special session coordinator: Sonia Valdivia, UNEP

Strengthening life cycle thinking in our societies is becoming a key element in the design of our future. Our awareness of the need to take more life cycle based decisions is being raised through a wide range of daily occurrences and events.

It is clear that people and organizations with differing world-views or from dissimilar cultures put life cycle thinking into practice differently. Governments may rather introduce green public procurement policies, ecolabels or regulations for energy efficient design from cradle to gate, while corporations may be able to implement supply chain programs, ecodesign in the design phase, LCM in the current activities, etc.

The UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has acknowledged the need for capability development as core aim. It is deploying a number of international efforts in developed economies and Non OECD countries. Co-organization of international conferences, training programs in emerging economies, set up of platforms for networking of national life cycle networks and business clusters, elaboration, translation in 6 UN languages and dissemination of international guidance documents and training materials and the LCA Award for Non OECD countries are some of the activities.

This session has the aim to introduce some facts, aspects, thoughts and challenges around capability development processes to enable life cycle based decisions through the presentation of experiences of business and governments as well as through active discussions with the participants and the identification of common areas of interest which could represent a building block for future joint work.

Life Cycle Thinking Worldwide – Business and Governments Challenges and Needs Sonia Valdivia, Guido Sonnemann

The Associação Brasileira do Ciclo de Vida and capability development activities in Brazil and contribution to the international community Cassia Ugaya

Developing LCM Capability in Africa – How successful was LCM2009 in Cape Town Philippa Notten


Life Cycle Topics



European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment - International Interaction in Support of Business and Government David Pennington

Capability Development, Life Cycle Data and Methodologies related Activities in Mexico and Latin America Nydia Suppen

National LCI Databases based on a common international, technology LCI database Roland Hischier, Bo Weidema

Progress in Chinese Capability Development on Life Cycle based Tools - Towards a Chinese LCA/LCM Platform Hongtao Wang

We Need a Truly International Life Cycle Database System Mark Goedkoop


Life Cycle Topics



Life Cycle Thinking Worldwide – Business and Governments

Challenges and Needs

Sonia Valdivia, UNEP Guido Sonnemann, UNEP

The Life Cycle Initiative is a joint programme of The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) launched in 2002. The Initiative has the aims to enhance global consensus of life cycle methodology and data, to improve knowledge and capacity to apply life cycle thinking in decision making of business, government and even the general public and to facilitate the implementation of life cycle approaches. UNEP has witnessed a positive progress worldwide with respect to the internalization of life cycle thinking in both governments’ and businesses’ policy development and activities; however, there is still an enormous gap between the levels of implementation in developing economies and industrialized countries. The Initiative acknowledges the role of government in mainstreaming life cycle applications in business and the society and recognized the need for better understanding of the challenges, requisites, and priorities of governments and business. The present study will present results from a first survey done (a) on the level of networking on life cycle topics at national level, (b) on business benefits, needs and challenges when implementing life cycle based tools, and (c) on government’s level of understanding on the life cycle concept and knowledge to apply life cycle thinking in policy design and development in developing and emerging economies. These results are relevant for the Initiative and help it to refine the current work and design middle term activities in the regions.


Life Cycle Topics



The Associação Brasileira do Ciclo de Vida and capability development activities in Brazil and contribution to the international community

Cassia Ugaya, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná - Brazil

The Associação Brasileira do Ciclo de Vida (ABCV) is a non profit organization and has the aims to promote and build capacity of life cycle assessment in Brazil, disseminate the implementation of life cycle based approaches and tools in the country, facilitate life cycle information in the country and other Latin American countries and advice Brazilian private, non profit and governmental institutions related to life cycle thinking. One important activity was the organization of the Second Latin-American Conference of Life Cycle Assessment (CILCA) in Sao Paulo in 2007, the 1st LCM Brazilian Conference in 2008 and the 2nd LCM Brazilian Conference in 2010. The ABCV is also member of the International Life Cycle Board of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative and has the main role to present the views, needs and expectations of emerging countries such as Brazil in the design of activities of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative.


Life Cycle Topics



Developing LCM Capability in Africa – How successful was

LCM2009 in Cape Town

Philippa Notten, The Green House

Life Cycle Assessment is still an emerging field in Africa, with limited capability for implementation. However, advances have been considerable. These include improved information sharing and networking opportunities between African colleagues, advances in data and software availabilities, and training opportunities. An international Life Cycle Management Conference was recently held on African soil for the first time, with LCM2009 taking place in Cape Town in early September. This presentation will highlight what the recent LCM2009 conference has meant for African capability development and discuss some of the other barriers and opportunities to implementation of LCM in South Africa in particular.


Life Cycle Topics



European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment - International

Interaction in Support of Business and Government

David Pennington, European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)

The European Platform of Life Cycle Assessment (EPLCA) has been established to support the development of scientifically robust, consistent and quality-assured life cycle methodology and data.

As stated in the European Integrated Product Policy Communication (IPP) of 2003, the European Commission has recognised LCA as “the best framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products, but the debate is ongoing about good practice”. To support this work and the global need for consistent methods and data, the European Platform of Life Cycle Assessment (EPLCA) has been established. One of the main activities of the Platform is to develop guidance on LCA methodology based on best practice worldwide and to improve the access to consistent and quality-assured data. As Life Cycle Assessment is a global issue, the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD), consisting of mainly a Handbook and a Data Network, was initiated via the Platform. International interactions are supported via e.g. Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and Collaboration Agreements (CA) with governmental organizations in Brazil, China, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand as well as more broadly with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Similar interactions are equally ongoing with representatives of business. The platform supports capacity building, both directly and indirectly, e.g. via trainees, by organising workshops, via participation in international research projects, as well as through bilateral collaboration with partners outside from Europe agreed in MoUs and CAs. High level strategic guidance documents on Life Cycle Thinking and Assessment in support of governments and business are being prepared, in addition to the technical guidance documents of the ILCD Handbook. A data editor and database application are provided for free-of-charge use globally.


Life Cycle Topics



Capability Development, Life Cycle Data and Methodology related

Activities in Mexico and Latin America

Nydia Suppen, Centro de Analisis de Ciclo de Vida y Diseño Sustentable

The Center for Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainable Design (CADIS) of Mexico is a leading organization on innovation, development and training, and in sustainable consumption and production. Its activities extend to other Latin American countries with whom they cooperate more specifically on joint traininig, adaptation of life cycle methodologies for the Latin American context and the development of life cycle databases (e.g. in the fields of energy and building). Moreover, the Center for Life Cycle Analysis and Sustainable Design is a co-organizer of the Fourth Latin-American Conference of Life Cycle Assessment (CILCA) in Mexico in 2011. This Center has also strong linkages with North American organizations regarding the development of life cycle assessment studies. The positive increase of life cycle related activities in Mexico has been possible due to the intervention of CADIS.


Life Cycle Topics



National LCI Databases based on a common international,

technology LCI database

Roland Hischier, ecoinvent Centre Bo Weidema, ecoinvent Centre

While Swiss in origin, the ecoinvent database has the aim to respond to global needs and, therefore, efforts have been done during the last years to expand the international scope. The new version (version 2) includes, e.g., data on US agriculture, worldwide sourcing of raw materials and the production of electronics in Asia. This internationalisation will be continued in the development of version 3 which is planned to be launched end of 2011.

More cooperation with national and local initiatives is crucial for ecoinvent to keep this development of internationalization; this offer was presented at the last North-American LCA conference in Seattle. Key factors of such a cooperation with national database initiatives (NDI) are aspects like “national responsibility” or “use of common quality rules”.

It is expected that v3 of ecoinvent will present a new database structure which will be even more suitable to promote the internationalization. This new data structure will combine the completeness of input-output tables with process details used e.g. in the current version (v2) and, thus, provide a simple way to create consistent national versions out of the core part of the ecoinvent database. It will result in an international technology LCI database which will require very little efforts for the respective NDI.

Within its presentation, the management of the ecoinvent Centre will show the mutual advantages of its strategy for LCA users worldwide; resulting for all in a much broader access to transparent, consistent and quality-controlled life cycle inventory datasets and a contribution to capability development worldwide.


Life Cycle Topics



Progress in Chinese Capability Development on Life Cycle based

Tools - Towards a Chinese LCA/LCM Platform

Hongtao Wang, Sichuan University

Despite the fact that local LCA infrastructures, especially a Chinese LCA database, are still missing, China has seen increasing interest in LCA and LCM. The roles of the Sichuan University and ITKE are essential and aim at providing a platform for LCA/LCM in China. This presentation will highlight experiences and lessons learned, LCA related R&D activities in Sichuan University and ITKE and news on the Chinese Conference on Life Cycle Management.

With the help of LCA award for non-OECD countries (2008), an exploratory LCA study on generation and transmission of electricity in China had been conducted by the Sichuan University, which led to the methodology and guidelines for developing a national average LCI database. The updating of Chinese LCIA parameters is under way, including an updating of characterization factors, normalization references and weighting factors. EPD (i.e. type III environmental declaration) is a promising way to communicate life cycle information among producers and consumers as well as a market based mechanism to inspire LCA/LCM practices. A Chinese EPD program has been established following the methodology of ISO 14025. Development of Product Category Rules of flat glass and aluminum-plastic panel as national standards will be introduced. Several Chinese software tools for LCA/LCM practice have been in development by Sichuan University and ITKE. The general LCA tool, eBalance, is designed for LCA case studies. The software suite, eDeclare, supports the full verification procedures of EPD and carbon footprint programs. A free tool for data collection is proposed, featuring with the documentation format for data collection developed in LCA award project. Tsinghua University and Sichuan University in collaboration with the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative will co-organize the 2nd Chinese conference on Life Cycle Management (CLCM2009) and the 3rd Chinese Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production from the 14th to the 16th November in Beijing, China. This international conference aims to bring Chinese and international LCA/LCM experts, policymakers, producers, retailers and intermediaries together to explore the potentials of life cycle approaches for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), especially for policy making in China.


Life Cycle Topics



We Need a Truly International Life Cycle Database System

Mark Goedkoop, PRé Consultants b.v.

There is a rapidly increasing need to provide the world a truly international and transparent dataset. The world is asking for data on carbon, and many more impacts, not in a few years, but now, or at least in one or two years. Such a supply of data cannot come from uncoordinated regionally different projects. The lack of harmonisation is a problem. It also cannot come from one single regional centre, as one trade block cannot set the rules. It can also not come from commercial consultants; the world cannot become dependent on a commercial consultant. What we can do though, is to sit together, talk and accept some kind of international coordination, preferably by a body that is not linked to any regional trade block, such as the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. What we can also do is mobilise individuals to share the data they have been collecting in their work. By now there are many thousands of individuals working on a daily basis. We have proposed an open source database system to mobilise this huge LCA workforce, and this is now accepted as a UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative project. Of course there are risks around this approach, and these should be carefully managed. We need to avoid risks from being too slow and divided. Over the last decade the LCA community has been slow in satisfying the demands of society. By being too divided, and too slow the LCA community as a whole loses relevance, and credibility. The presentation provides an outlook on how we can mobilise the LCA community, and how we can effectively satisfy the huge demand for LCA data and methods, so we all become a thriving community.




Session chair: Matthew Pietrzykowski

Estimating the environmental impacts of chemical production and chemical mixtures under data-scarce conditions Gregor Wernet, Stefanie Hellweg, Stavros Papadokonstantakis, Konrad Hungerbühler Data Mining and LCA: A Survey of possible marriages Matthew Pietrzykowski Are results more reliable when life cycle inventory databases are mixed to bridge data gaps? 'Nigho Idris, Gayle Rece A Consequential Life Cycle Assessment Method for a Large System Affected by Non-Marginal Variations Thomas Dandres, Pablo Tirado, Pascal Lesage, Réjean Samson New inventory computation algorithm to support regionalization Guillaume Bourgault, Pascal Lesage




Estimating the environmental impacts of chemical production and

chemical mixtures under data-scarce conditions

Gregor Wernet*, ETH Zurich Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Zurich

Stavros Papadokonstantakis, ETH Zurich Konrad Hungerbühler, ETH Zurich

Chemicals are present in the production life cycle of almost every consumer product. The need for LCI data of chemical production is therefore high. However, chemical production data are often confidential. Companies are reluctant to provide data, so many studies do not publish inventory data (e.g. 1,2). In addition, measurements of energy flows in production are oftentimes not available, so LCI generation may require additional efforts 3. Therefore, publicly available data exist for only relatively few of the roughly 100000 chemicals in production. Estimation models on a process level can be of use but still require knowledge of the synthesis route 4,5. The methodology described in 6 demonstrates the fundamental feasibility of a structure-based approach using neural networks, which can be applied with no knowledge of the production process. However, a lack of data prohibited the development of generally applicable models in 6. In new work with several industry partners, a larger dataset of 392 LCIs was created, covering not just basic chemicals but also advanced and fine chemicals (e.g. the CED of the dataset ranged from 30 to 1400 MJ-eq/kg). This allowed the creation of fully functional models suited to a wide range of organic chemical classes, from basic to fine chemicals. These models were then optimized to perform adequately for screening LCA and supply chain management, and they can be of use in process design or optimization. They require only a description of the molecular structure as input and deliver estimations of key parameters, such as the CED, the GWP or other LCIA results, in seconds. Results show that the structure-based approach can deliver useful and accurate tools for a wide range of organic chemicals. These new models complement process-based approaches by allowing screening LCAs of chemicals where data scarcity would otherwise be prohibitive. They therefore offer new options to LCA practitioners facing large data gaps or unable to acquire chemical production data. A tool containing the new MSMs was created to be freely available for download. The use of this tool is demonstrated and results are shown to display the capabilities of the models.

References

1. Saling, P., Kicherer, A., Dittrich-Krämer, B., Wittlinger, R., Zombik, W., Schmidt, I., Schrott, W., Schmidt, S. (2002). "Eco-efficiency Analysis by BASF: The Method." Int J LCA 7: 203-218

2. Curzons, A.D., Jiménez-Gonzalez, C., Duncan, A.L., Constable, D.J.C., Cunningham, V.L. (2007). "Fast Life Cycle Assessment of Synthetic Chemistry (FLASC) Tool." Int J LCA 12: 272-280




3. Szijjarto, A., Papadokonstadakis, S., Fischer, U., Hungerbühler, K. (2008). "Bottom-up Modeling of the Steam Consumption in Multipurpose Chemical Batch Plants Focusing on Identification of the Optimization Potential." Ind Eng Chem Res 47: 7323-7334.

4. Hischier, R., Hellweg, S., Capello, C., Primas, A. (2004). "Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability." Int J LCA 10: 59-67

5. Geisler, G., Hofstetter, T.B., Hungerbühler, K. (2004). "Production of Fine and Speciality Chemicals: Procedure for the Estimation of LCIs." Int J LCA 9: 101-113

6. Wernet, G., Hellweg, S., Fischer, U., Papadokonstantakis, S. and Hungerbuhler, K. (2008). "Molecular-Structure-Based Models of Chemical Inventories using Neural Networks." Environ Sci Technol 42(17): 6717-6722.

* [email protected]




Data Mining and LCA: A Survey of possible marriages

Matthew Pietrzykowski*, General Electric Global Research

A survey of data mining techniques is presented together with possible applications to aid the analyst in evaluating an LCA model. The core of an LCA is an empirical model that requires a variety of input data. The model outputs are functions of the data, the transformations, subjective choice and inherent error. This presentation will focus on tools born out of statistics, artificial intelligence, computer science and other disciplines designed to work with, manage and interrogate LCA data and models.

The LCA modeling process is iterative and requires the analyst to challenge the data and model frequently with focused questions such as: During the data gathering stage, were there errors in collection, missing data or data input? Once an inventory is built, what type of inherent structure is present? How do the data naturally aggregate? Did the data collection produce enough representative data for the scope of the study? Given an adequate data inventory to address the question asked of the model, how certain is the information, and how will this certainty manifest itself in the results? Can credible assessments be made based on the model's output? Data mining techniques can help with these questions.

Tools like clustering, signal processing and transformations can address concerns in LCA data inspection. Neural networks, supervised and unsupervised discrimination as well as multivariate data reduction help with LCI exploration. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses can be approached with stochastic methods, experimental design, Bayesian approaches, genetic algorithms and more. The goal of this discussion is to present a variety of techniques that are available to the LCA practitioner that may not have been considered and to give some simple examples of their application. * [email protected]




Are results more reliable when life cycle inventory

databases are mixed to bridge data gaps?

'Nigho Idris*, Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH, USA Gayle Rece, Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH, USA

A well known issue to LCA practitioners is LCI data gaps. With many initiatives to improve LCI data availability such as Ecoinvent and the European Life Cycle Database project in Europe, the NREL database in the US and many others, it became easier to find specific data. In addition, many commercial LCA software providers collaborated with these initiatives to make the data available within their software. As data gaps in life cycle studies always lead to underestimated impacts, it is often preferred to include data from a different database, even if the geographical context is not in line with the scope of the LCA study. A number of issues however arise from this practice which leads to increased uncertainty on the final results. Examples are: a different selection of elementary flows, or a different background data for an aggregated dataset. As impact assessment methods may include indicators that are sensitive to the selection of these elementary flows, the question arises about the reliability of the results obtained. This case study shows a comparison of different materials from various LCI databases and the difference this creates in a simple product context for a variety of environmental indicators. * [email protected]




A Consequential Life Cycle Assessment Method for a Large System Affected by Non-Marginal Variations

Thomas Dandres, CIRAIG

Pablo Tirado, CIRAIG Pascal Lesage, Sylvatica

Réjean Samson*, CIRAIG

Consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) has been developed to estimate environmental consequences of variations occurring in life cycles. CLCA is usually conducted by identifying the processes and/or resources affected by a marginal variation in the product’s life cycle; economic models are often used to estimate how a process/resource is affected by the market’s perturbation. To the authors’ knowledge, CLCA has been used only on product systems affected by marginal variations. While the principle of the consequential approach remains the same for systems affected by non-marginal variations, the methodology will need to be adapted. For this purpose, a CLCA study of a massive development of the future bioenergy production in the European Union (EU) is conducted. The consequential approach implies modeling land use changes and competition for biomass (wood, cereals, grass) and their substitutes. The current CLCA approach would recommend an identification of the affected technology and resource that will be affected by the increase of bioenergy production in total energy production. However, considering the volumes of goods and the land surfaces involved, looking for new market equilibriums and land use assignment using only price elasticity and past tendencies may be misleading regarding true environmental consequences. A non-marginal increase in bioenergy demand is expected to affect many types of technologies and resources instead of a single “marginal” technology and resource as it is currently modeled in the CLCA approach. Thus to evaluate the importance of differences in consequences resulting from marginal and non-marginal perturbations, results obtained from current CLCA approach will be compared with those from a new CLCA approach involving macroeconomics models. In both approaches, the partial equilibrium model PRIMES has been used to identify affected technologies and the general equilibrium model GTAP will simulate the global perturbation of world markets in the new approach. Then indirect environmental impacts resulting from this perturbation will be assessed by LCA methods. However, because GTAP doesn’t seem to be perfectly adapted to model bioenergy production consequences, additional data and GTAP developments will be used. Finally, beside expected improvement of CLCA results, the labor and time required to run GTAP will be discussed. * [email protected]




New inventory computation algorithm to support regionalization

Guillaume Bourgault*, CIRAIG

Pascal Lesage, CIRAIG

The most widely used LCA computational structure, matrix inversion, yields an inventory arbitrarily aggregated around unit processes. For example, the inventory of train transport is calculated for the whole life cycle, but if it has been used at several instances in the supply chain, individual contributions cannot be accessed. This is also done regardless of the country where the emissions are actually released, and those emissions are multiplied by the same set of characterization factors as if they all had been emitted in a comparable environment. Recent developments in impact regionalization indicate that the same substance can have an impact that varies by several orders of magnitude, depending on the geography, hydrology, population density, etc. This is also problematic because the most frequently encountered unit processes are often those with the most important impacts, such as electricity production and transport. If regionalization of the inventory is to be achieved, LCA will have to make use of another computational structure that allows reconstruction of the whole supply chain tree. The sequential method gives the information needed, but is not applicable to databases as large as ecoinvent, because of memory and computation time limitations. A new computation algorithm, dubbed “total inventory disaggregation”, is introduced. This hybrid between matrix inversion, the sequential method, structural path assessment and accumulative structural assessment allows access to the finest details of the supply chain in a short computation time when using regular desktop computers. With a complete supply chain tree, the path between emissions and the reference flow can be identified. This is the only way to compare computed results with real-life supply chain data. Data are produced in the form of a spreadsheet that is easy to analyze with graphs, filters, sorting and pivot tables. They can also be exported to data mining software for more sophisticated analyses. When global, consistent database and impact methods become available, an entire branch of the supply chain tree could be reassigned with a regionalized set of characterization factors, and its inventory could be replaced with results computed with a suitably regionalized database. * [email protected]




Session chair: Michael Blanke

Land use in LCA: a consequential approach for accounting for impacts on ecosystems Miguel Brandao Towards an LCA-based environmental management of meat producing farms Daniel U. Baumgartner, Martina Alig, Gérard Gaillard, Frank Hayer, Thomas Nemecek Environmental Performance of the Portuguese Dairy Sector using a life cycle approach Érica Castanheira, Ana Cláudia Dias, Luis Arroja What’s at Steak? The ecological economics of animal husbandry 2000 – 2050 Nathan Pelletier, Peter Tyedmers




Land use in LCA: a consequential approach for

accounting for impacts on ecosystems

Miguel Brandao*, EC

Land-use products have a significant environmental impact along their life cycles and the need to assess them systematically is well documented. LCA methodology, developed primarily for industrial systems, cannot be applied to land-use systems without methodological developments. The impacts of production systems on the ability of ecosystems to function have not traditionally been included in LCA. The purpose of this paper is to address these methodological issues, in particular the impacts from indirect land-use changes and impacts on ecosystem functions and on climate change, in the LCA of crop production from cradle-to-gate.

Ecosystem health is largely dependent on the ecological functions of the soil, which in turn are highly correlated to the amount of organic matter present in soil. Equally, above-ground biomass is also important as it harbors and feeds biodiversity, in addition to protecting the soil. The magnitude of the changes in the carbon stock in both above-ground biomass and soil organic matter is therefore proposed as a proxy indicator for impact on ecosystems in the LCA of land-use products.

The results show that biofuels, in some cases (particularly annual crops), may not present any greenhouse gas savings and impact negatively upon ecosystems, due to both their direct and indirect effects on land use, such as soil carbon changes.

It is recommended that the differences in the magnitudes of the carbon flows associated with the different land uses is substantial and worth exploring as an aid to the development of an overall strategy of reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This study therefore shows that, for assessing the sustainability of agricultural activities, it is useful to extend the impacts considered in Life Cycle Impact Assessment to include changes to both above- and below-ground carbon as an indicator of impacts on ecosystem health, but also that considerations of consequential land-use changes are extremely important and should, thus, not be forgotten. * [email protected]




Towards an LCA-based environmental management of meat producing farms

Daniel U. Baumgartner*, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART

Martina Alig, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART Gérard Gaillard, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART, Zurich

Frank Hayer, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART Thomas Nemecek, Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station ART

Within the food chain, agriculture often has an important share in the environmental burden. The high variability of the environmental impacts of farms with the same main production submitted to the same legislation indicates that the farmer is a key-player for an efficient environmental farm management (e.g. 1 observed on dairy farms differences of up to factor 4 for the energy demand per kg milk). This hypothesis is now analysed more deeply.

We assess 35 meat producing farms in Switzerland using the SALCA (Swiss Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment) methodology. The analyses are carried out on the farm level and meat production branch level, i.e. beef and pork. The functional units applied are ha utilised agricultural area (UAA), MJ digestible energy, CHF gross profit and kg meat production. Every participating farmer receives a feedback with the farm results allowing him to draw conclusions for the management of his farm.

The high variability of the environmental impacts between the different farms is confirmed, with e.g. for energy demand a factor of over 15 between the farm with the highest and the one with the lowest energy demand per ha UAA. Even between farms of the same farm type there is still a factor of 3 to 5. This suggests that there is a considerable management effect. Furthermore it indicates that there is a potential for optimisation.

The important input groups differ between the assessed environmental impacts, but also vary according to the type of farm and between the farms of the same type. For eutrophication e.g., the important input groups are the fertilisation/ nutrients, the purchase of feedstuffs and animals, as well as the animal husbandry/ handling of manure.

The present variability of results between the farms underlines the necessity of a sufficient number of sampled farms for making general conclusions. Furthermore, the sample design must take the farm type into consideration. While parts of the results are linked to the farm type others are due to the farm management. Hence, identifying management options, e.g. for energy carriers, feedstuff or animal purchase, are important to lessen the environmental burden of meat producing farms.

References

1. Gaillard, G. & Rossier, D., 2004. Ökobilanzierung des Landwirtschaftsbetriebs. Methode und Anwendung in 50 Landwirtschaftsbetrieben, Schriftenreihe der FAL 53, Zürich, Schweiz, 57p.

* [email protected]




Environmental Performance of the Portuguese Dairy Sector using a

life cycle approach

Érica Castanheira*, ADAI. Dep. of Mechanical Engineering. University of Coimbra. Ana Cláudia Dias, CESAM. Department of Environment and Planning. University of

Aveiro Luis Arroja, CESAM. Department of Environment and Planning. University of Aveiro

The present study contributes to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the dairy sector in Mainland Portugal. For that purpose, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used as an environmental management tool. The environmental impacts associated with UHT milk, curd cheese and yoghurt were estimated over their life cycle, which includes dairy farm, industry, transport, chemical production and energy production systems. The result of the quantification of the environmental impacts of the dairy farms in Mainland Portugal in year 2005 was 4.9 thousand tons of Sb eq year-1 for the abiotic depletion potential, 1813 ktons of CO2 eq year-1 for the global warming potential, 508 tons of C2H4 eq year-1 for the potential formation of photochemical oxidants, 27.5 thousand tons of SO2 eq year-1 for the acidification potential and 8.9 thousand tons of PO4

3- eq year-1 for the eutrophication potential. The majority of these impacts were caused by the dairy farm and the industrial systems. The dairy farm was the main responsible for global warming (57%), acidification (77%) and eutrophication (84%), whereas the milk industry had the main contribution for the depletion of the abiotic resources (48%) and the formation of photochemical oxidants (5%). In the UHT milk subsector, the majority of the environmental impacts were due to the activities taken place in the farms and in the milk production industry. On the other hand, in the curd cheese subsector, the cheese production industry is only the main responsible for the acidification and eutrophication categories. Finally, for the yoghurt subsector, the activities associated to the yogurt production industry contribute less than 10% for all the impact categories. This study provides useful information that can assist the dairy industry in identifying the main environmental impacts and their sources, allowing the industry to improve its environmental performance, not only at the mill level but also on the other systems along the production chain. * [email protected]




What’s at Steak?

The ecological economics of animal husbandry 2000 – 2050

Nathan Pelletier*, Dalhousie University/School for Resource and Environmental Studies Peter Tyedmers, Dalhousie University

Ranking among the top two or three contributors to every critical environmental problem, from local to global scales, animal husbandry is a major driver of anthropogenic environmental change. For example, it has been estimated that the livestock sector accounts for 18% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions – a share greater than that of transport.

Increasingly, the global food economy is being driven by a shift in food consumption patterns towards livestock products. To meet the demands of a growing population consuming diets higher in animal products, world-wide production levels are anticipated to double by 2050, putting further stress on planetary resources and biogeochemical cycles. Given that impacts per unit production must be cut in half just to maintain current damage levels, this must certainly figure among the central challenges of environmental governance in the modern era.

Drawing information from a series of on-going LCA studies of North American beef, pork and poultry production, as well the global salmon and tilapia aquaculture sectors, this presentation will compare and contrast the supply chain cumulative energy and biotic resource use, greenhouse gas emissions and reactive nitrogen fluxes characteristic of these major industrial animal husbandry systems. It will further present the results of several scenario-modeling exercises which quantify the potential impacts of meeting projected demands for animal products in industrialized countries from 2000-2050, and explore the mitigation potential of alternative development trajectories as influenced by population, affluence and technological variables. This information should be of interest to diverse audiences, including producers, consumers, policy makers, and food system sustainability advocates. * [email protected]

List of Attendees Sorted by Last Name

Attendees1

Jessica Abella University of Calgary

Jen Ace Yale

Nadereh Afsharmanesh Earth Friendly Products

Carina Alles Dupont

Evan Andrews Harvard DCE

Robert Anex Iowa State University

Emmanuelle AOUSTIN Veolia Environnement

Alejandro Pablo Arena Universidad Tecnologica Nacional

Anne Asselin Quantis

Roian Atwood Sole Technology

Deana Aulisio University of New Hampshire

Craig Aumann Alberta Research Council

Callie Babbitt Arizona State University

Michael Baeriswyl MIT BOSTON

Kristen Balderston

David Banks Princeton University

Daniel U. Baumgartner Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station

Christian Belanger National Research Council Canada

Mourad Ben Amor CIRAIG

Catherine Benoit UQAM

Richard Bergman University of Wisconsin

Etienne Bernier CIRAIG

Paul Bertram Kingspan

Pankaj Bhatia World Resources Institute

Tony Bi University of British Columbia

Karyn Biasca University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Stephanie Bird Reckitt Benckiser

Mike Blackhurst Carnegie Mellon University

Michael Blanke University of Bonn

Christian Bouchard Laval University

bob boughton Department of Toxic Substances Control, California

Anne-Marie Boulay CIRAIG - École Polytechnique

Guillaume Bourgault CIRAIG

Sandra Bourret Cascades

Rachel Bowman University of Maine

Alison Brady ADM

Miguel Brandao EC

Clare Broadbent World Steel Association

Sonja Brodt Agricultural Sustainability Inst., Univ. of California, Davis

Roxanne Bromiley PE Americas

Cecile Bulle CIRAIG

Jonathan Buonocore Harvard School of Public Health

Allison Campbell Walmart


Attendees2

Peter Canepa PE Americas

marie capdevielle Colgate-Palmolive Company

Joby Carlson Arizona State University

Alberta Carpenter NREL

Érica Castanheira

ADAI. Dep. of Mechanical Engineering. Universisty of

Coimbra.

KImi Ceridon Kalepa Tech LLC

Paul Chalmer

François Charron-Doucet Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Julie-Anne Chayer CIRAIG

Jun-Ki Choi Brookhaven National Laboratory

Keith Christman ACC

Andreas Ciroth GreenDeltaTC GmbH

Andres Clarens University of Virginia

Julian Cleary University of Toronto

Lisa Cleckner Syracuse University

Edouard Clement CIRAIG

David Cockburn Tetrapak

Adam Cone

Kenneth Copenhaver UIC Energy Resources Center

Christine Costello Carnegie Mellon University

Alexandre Courchesne CIRAIG

Phoebe Cuevas University of Pittsburgh

Gil da Silva University of Sao Paulo

Nuno da Silva PE Americas

Jeffrey Dahmus Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dominic D'Amours Pineridge Foods inc.

Thomas Dandres CIRAIG

An De Schryver Radboud University Nijmegen

Nicole Deisl PE Americas

Michael Deru NREL

Jon Dettling Quantis

Harnoor Dhaliwal EarthShift

Shashi Dhungel University of Maine, Orono

Goretty Dias University of Guelph

Robert Dilmore National Energy Technology Laboratory

Michael Ditor CIRAIG

Laura Draucker WRI

Marylene Dussault Sylvatica

Mason Earles University of Maine

Cashion East Applied Sustainability Center, Univ. of Arkansas

Matthew Eckelman Yale University

Christopher Evans ICFI


Attendees3

Alexandra Ewing Vanderbilt University

Shirley Fagnen CIRAIG

Mireille Faist Emmenegger Empa

Jim Fava Five Winds International

Rebe Feraldi UCSB Bren School of Environ. Science & Management

Matthias Finkbeiner TU Berlin

Paul Firth UL Environment

Angela Fisher GE Global Research Center

William Flanagan GE Global Research Center

Harald Florin PE

Brandi Ford BD

Susan Fredholm PE Americas

Susanne Freidberg

Fausto Freire ADAI. University of Coimbra

Rolf Frischknecht ESU-services Ltd.

Brittni Furrow Arizona State University

Alejandro Gallego University of Santiago de Compostela

Caroline Gaudreault NCASI

Maria Gausman Procter and Gamble

Roland Geyer University of California - Santa Barbara

Shana Gillis

Thomas Gloria Life-Cycle Services

Mark Goedkoop PRé Consultants b.v.

Gretchen Govoni SABIC Innovative Plastics

Jeremy Gregory Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Michael Griffin Carnegie Mellon University

Evan Griffing Environmental Clarity LLC

Nadine Gudz InterfaceFLOR

Kifle W. Hagos University of Rhode Island

Paul Haley Pineridge Foods inc.

Melissa Hamilton EarthShift

Eric Harrington

Dave Hartter Newell Rubbermaid

Kiyotada Hayashi National Agriculture and Food Research Organization

Frank Hayer Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station

Garvin Heath National Renewable Energy Laboratory

William Heenan Steel Recycling Institute

Reinout Heijungs CML

Connie Hensler Interface, Inc.

Lloyd Hicks

Monica Higgins University of Michigan

Roland Hischier ecoinvent Centre

Tomonori Honda AIST


Attendees4

Anny YuShan Huang Carnegie Mellon University

Doug Huizenga IERE

Sebastien Humbert University of California

Shawn Hunter The Dow Chemical Company

'Nigho Idris Procter & Gamble Company

Hugues Imbeault-Tétreault CIRAIG

Atsushi Inaba Professor

Wesley Ingwersen University of Florida

Gary Jakubcin Owens Corning

Robert James Department of Energy

EunSil Jang

Paulina Jaramillo Carnegie Mellon University

Robin Jenkins DuPont

Gilbert Jersey ExxonMobil Research and Engineering

John Jewell PE Americas

Olivier Jolliet University of Michigan

Sarah Jordaan University of Calgary

FRANCIS JORDAN Rutgers University

Kotaro Kawajiri RISS, AIST

Daniel Kellenberger Scion

Alissa Kendall University of California, Davis

Vikas Khanna ConocoPhillips

Keith Killpack Scientific Certification Systems

Hyung Chul Kim Columbia University

Annette Koehler ETH Zurich

Joel Kohn Clemson University

Anna Kounina EPFL

Todd Krieger DuPont

Uta Krogmann Rutgers University

Brandon Kuczenski University of California, Santa Barbara

Elizabeth Kujan BD

George Lam EarthShift

Anne Landfield Greig Four Elements Consulting, LLC

Lise Laurin EarthShift

Anne Lautier CIRAIG

Chantal Lavigne National Research Council Canada

Christie Lee Preserve

ann lee-jeffs johnson and johnson

Pascal Lesage Sylvatica

Annie Levasseur CIRAIG

Mike Levy American Plastics Council

Jan Paul Lindner Fraunhofer IBP, Dept. Life Cycle Engineering (GaBi)

Stafford Lloyd Rolls-Royce


Attendees5

Sarah Macedo Formaldehyde Council, Inc.

Susan MacWilliam Saskatchewan Research Council

Jacob Madsen Mr

Danielle Maia de Souza UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina)

James Maiorana Colgate Polmolive

Rima Manneh CIRAIG

Cynthia Manson Industrial Economics, Incorporated

Anastassia Manuilova University of Regina

Manuele Margni CIRAIG, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Coppelia Marincovic PE Americas

Christopher Marozzi Knoll, Inc.

Joe Marriott University of Pittsburgh

kenneth martchek Alcoa

Eric Masanet Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Nabil Massouda

Laurel McEwen EarthShift

Thomas McKone Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Jean-Francois Menard Ecointesys - Life Cycle Systems Sarl

Llorenç Mila i Canals Unilever

Shelie Miller Clemson University

Minal Mistry GreenBlue

Amy Mitchell Research Scientist at Gnosys UK

Michael Moscherosch Johnson & Johnson CPPWW

John Mosheim First Environment, Inc.

Masaharu MOTOSHITA AIST, Japan

Michael Mozur SETAC

Eric Munsing PE Americas

Chris Mutel ETH Zurich

John Mutton Dow Chemical

Junichi Nakahashi Asahi-Kasei Corporation

Katsuyuki Nakano JEMAI

Eszter Nandori Sipos University of Miskolc

Rachael Nealer Student

Thomas Nemecek Agroscope Reckenholz-Taenikon Research Station

Binod Neupane University of Maine

Briana Niblick University of Pittsburgh

Anna Nicholson Clear Carbon Consulting

Hajime Nishihara Plastic Waste Management Institute

Alex Nogueira Escola Politecnica USP

Daniel Normandin CIRAIG

Greg Norris Sylvatica

Philippa Notten The Green House

Philip Nuss University of New Hampshire


Attendees6

Elsa Olivetti Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jason Ord Hewlett-Packard Company

Thaddeus Owen Herman Miller

Ann Pa Univerity of British Columbia

Julie Parent UQAM

Kairas Parvez MeadWestvaco Corporation

Nathan Pelletier Dalhousie University

Claudia Pena Chilean Research center for Mining and Metallurgy

David Pennington EC

Stan Perkins PE Americas

Dan Pettit Kraft Foods

Stephan Pfister ETH Zurich, IFU

Alan Phipps Pure Strategies

Collet Pierre Supagro

Dominic Pietro Quantis

Matthew Pietrzykowski General Electric Global Research

Amanda Pike University of Tennessee Center for Clean Products

Richard Plevin UC Berkeley

Gildas Poissonnier Deloitte

Jennifer Princing Dow Corning

Guilherme de C. Queiroz São Paulo State Government (SPSG/CETEA)

ANA QUIROS ECO GLOBAL

Neethi Rajagopalan University of Pittsburgh

Paul Ranky CIMware USA Inc

Gayle Rece Procter & Gamble

Daniel Reed The University of Tennessee

Corinne Reich-Weiser Climate Earth

Michael Richardson First Environment, Inc.

Brittany Riordan CDM

Kelli Roberts Cornell University

Omar Romero ITAM - Industrial Eng.

Ralph Rosenbaum CIRAIG

Lee Rouse Omni Tech International, Ltd

Pierre-Olivier Roy CIRAIG

Brent Ruttman Nano

Rosie Saad CIRAIG

Abdelhadi Sahnoune ExxonMobil Chemical Company

Rejean Samson CIRAIG, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal

Dominik Saner ETH Zurich

Carolina Santiago

Paul Sauvé OIQ

Rita Schenck IERE

Dan Schibel General Mills


Attendees7

Elmar H. Schlich University Giessen

Dr. Michaela Schlich University Koblenz-Landau

Peter Schulte Pacific Institute

Thomas Seager Rochester Institute of Technology

Shanna Shaked University of Michigan, Applied Physics

Rob Sianchuk University of British Columbia

Shweta Singh The Ohio State University

Karen Sohn UNEP

Guido Sonnemann UNEP

Sabrina Spatari Drexel University

Susan Spierre RIT

Alex Stadel Drexel University

Martha Stevenson GreenBlue

David Stoms University of California Santa Barbara

James Stone South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Vee Subramanian Arizona State University

Jitsopa Suebsiri University of Regina

Terry Swack Sustainable Minds

Tom Swarr Sustainability by Design LLC

Adam Taylor U. Tennessee

Caroline Taylor Energy Biosciences Institute, UC Berkeley

Jonathan Théorêt Groupe de recherche appliquée en macroécologie (GRAME)

Greg Thoma University of Arkansas

Stephen Tieri DuPont

Ladji Tikana Deutsches Kupferinstitut BV

Wayne Trusty The Athena Institute

Sonia Valdivia UNEP

Jason Valenstein Booz Allen Hamilton

Ester van der Voet Leiden University, Institute of Environmental Sciences

Gabrielle van Durme

Matt VanDuinen PE Americas

Venkatesh Vasudevan ExxonMobil

Réjean Villeneuve Centre Québécois de Développement Durable

Hongtao Wang Sichuan University

Ying Wang Dairy Management Inc.

Christopher Weber Carnegie Mellon University

Maria Wellisch Natural Resources Canada

Gregor Wernet ETH Zurich

Philip White Arizona State University

Nana Takyi Wilberforce Green Seal

Eric Williams Arizona State University

Tom Wilson Pennsylvania State University

Monique Wismer Saskatchewan Research Council


Attendees8

Bastian Wittstock University of Stuttgart

Peter Woodbury Cornell University

Liila Woods PE Americas

Ronald Wroczynski GE

May Wu Argonne National Laboratory

Randi Wytcherley

xiaobo xue University of pittsburgh

Jeff Yorzyk Five Winds International

Naoki Yoshikawa Ritsumeikan University

Juhong Yuan

Margaret Zahller PE Americas

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