Life Cycle Assessment

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Life Cycle Assessment
Corus Consulting Limited, Teesside Technology
Centre, P.O. Box 11, Grangetown,
Middlesbrough, Teesside TS6 6UB U.K. Telephone
44 (0)1642 467144 Fax [phone]
460321 E-mail paul.marsden_at_corusgroup.com

• In recent years concern for the environment has
  grown among national governments, industry and
  the general public. In consequence, there is
  pressure to improve manufacturing systems and
  change consumer behaviour to progress towards
  sustainable development. Life Cycle Assessment
  (LCA) has emerged as a leading tool for
  quantitative analysis of environmental impacts of
  products and processes, which are often very
  complex. LCA measures the impact on the
  environment over the course of a products
  lifetime, from the parts and materials that are
  used in its manufacture through to its assembly,
  shipment, use, and ultimate disposal.
• Major drivers for the increased use of LCA
  include
• Assessing and Improving Environmental
  Performance- LCA provides a holistic
  understanding of environmental performance the
  impact on the environment can be reduced not just
  in certain process stages, but from the viewpoint
  of the products total lifetime.
• Legislation Governments are increasingly
  requiring LCAs to be carried out to demonstrate
  compliance with existing legislation.
• Marketing and Eco-Labels LCA results can be
  used to promote products based on environmental
  criteria. Environmental Product Declarations are
  eco-labels based on LCA results and are an
  increasingly popular way of differentiating
  products from competitors by emphasising
  environmental performance.
• Improvements to Process and Product Design LCA
  provides a strategic tool for the identification
  of process and product design improvements

• Corus has Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data for
  steel industry products. This includes materials
  and energy balances, as well as an evaluation of
  emissions to air, water and land in the supply
  chain industries (i.e. mining, transport, power,
  chemicals etc). The LCI was compiled in
  accordance with ISO 14041 guidelines on
  conducting LCAs.
• Corus can provide the following LCA Services
• LCA Studies (to ISO 14041 Standard) Defining
  the scope and the boundaries of the project,
  developing a software model of the system being
  studied, compiling the LCI, conducting the Life
  Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) studies,
  analysing sensitivity to assumptions and data
  quality and interpretation of results.
• Critical Reviews of LCAs Internally generated
  LCAs should be reviewed critically by external
  parties to ensure compliance with ISO14041
  standard.
• Advice on Existing LCA Studies / Methodologies
  Corus can comment on the results or methodology
  used in external LCA studies.
• Related Activities Corus can assist with the
  Life Cycle Costing or Whole Life Costing of
  products.
• Corus can provide service and support to Works,
  commercial and technical functions, customers and
  designers who use steel products and those who
  wish to evaluate using steel in their products
  and services.

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