WS3_AssessmentTools_Varnäs

Assessment Tools for SCP – A Guideline for Civil Society Organisations

Presented by:

Annika VarnäsStockholm Environment Institute, SEI

Action Town - Research and Action for SCP(CSOContribution2SCP)

www.projectwebsite.eu Annika Varnäs Assessment Tools for SCP

Introduction

• systematic way to assess the environmental impacts• communicate environmental information• compare different alternatives• improve products and production methods• allow for different views to be considered

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Different assessment tools

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

• Integrated Sustainability Assessment (ISA)

Assessment frameworks

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

• Economy-wide Material Flow Analysis (EMFA)

• Environmental Input-Output Analysis (EIOA)

Material Flow Analysis

• Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)

• Risk Assessment

• Scenario Analysis

Other tools

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Material Flow Analysis

Economy-wide Material Flow Analysis

Material System AnalysisInput-Output Analysis

Life Cycle Inventories Substance Flow Analysis

Partition of the human system (branches, products)

detail

Specification of the flows (materials, substances)

After Femia & Moll, 2005


Description and objectives of LCA

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method for assessing the environmental impacts during the life cycle of a certain product or service. This includes impacts that may occur during production, as well as during the use and disposal phases of the product’s life cycle.

Description

Objectives

• Provide information of the total environmental impact of a product or service • Compare different products• Improve production processes• Improve use and disposal practices• Communicate environmental information about products to customers


Mode of operation

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Different phases in an LCA study

Goal and scope Formulate goal and scope, decide object of study, establish system boundaries

Impact assessment

Life cycle inventory

Evaluate contribution to impact categories – e.g. global warming, acidification etc.

Interpretation Draw conclusions – what can be learned from the LCA?

Collect all data needed for the study


Strengths and Weaknesses

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Strengths Weaknesses

All stages of the life cycle included.

Data specific to the product is studied.

Provides a detailed analysis.

Easy to communicate. Easy to compare different products, services etc.

Time consuming

Generic data may be needed, because of difficulties of achieving the necessary data.

Transparency difficulties.


A.C.T.I.O.N. areas

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Assess the environmental impact of products and services, compare impacts of different products

Campaign for more sustainable products using LCA

Take part in the development of more eco-friendly products and services

Involve – partner with government for better standards, researchers and business for improved products and production methods

Orient towards eco-friendly purchases

Network with retailers, other NGOs, producers, consumer organisations


LCA Case study

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A description of the situation: After transports, food consumption is the activity by the citizens of Stockholm that leads to most emissions of greenhouse gases. The tomato is, together with the carrot, the vegetable that Swedish consumers eat most.

What inefficiencies there were: While the carrot is well suited for the Swedish climate, tomatoes are grown in greenhouses, or transported long distances, both of which lead to large emissions of greenhouse gases.


LCA Case study

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What the CSO did: The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation used results from and LCA study comparing tomatoes grown in different areas and presented it to the media and the public.The results from the study show that tomatoes grown in Spain and transported to Sweden emit less greenhouse gases than Swedish tomatoes grown in greenhouses.

The results: The campaign made many Swedish tomato producers change to bio-fuels for heating their greenhouses.


EIOA application: Ecological Footprint


Description and objectives of EIOA

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Environmental Input Output Analysis is a tool to study flows between different industrial sectors of the economy, as well as between the economy and the natural environment.

Description

Objectives

• Study interrelationships between different industrial sectors• Study emissions from different sectors and from the economy as a whole• Study changes in one sector as an effect of changes in other sectors


Ecological Footprint cases

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Ecological Budget UK Ecological Budget UK has been developed to quantify the entire global environmental impacts of consumption in the UK. It provides data to facilitate the development of policies.

Living Planet ReportThe Living Planet Report, published by the WWF, describes the changing state of the global biodiversity and the pressure on the biosphere, due to human activities.


What is next?

• Which tools are you interested in?• What information is valuable for CSOs?• What kind of information is needed from

research to support CSOs?• Where to find case studies?

Thank you for your attention!

For further questions, please contact:

Annika VarnäsResearch Fellow, e-mail: [email protected]

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