EIO-LCA Case Studies

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EIO-LCA Case Studies
Scott Matthews Civil and Environmental
Engineering Carnegie Mellon University
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EIO-LCA Software

• Internet version http//www.eiolca.net/
• About 1 million users to date
• About 1,500 registered users
• update notices
• other benefits
• First LCA tool completely free on Internet in
  full version (not a demo)

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Paper vs. Plastic Cups Comparison of Two Studies
Hocking EIO-LCA Hocking EIO-LCA
100,000 Plastic cups 100,000 Plastic cups 100,000 Paper cups 100,000 Paper cups
Electricity kWh 20-30 2,630 980 5,150
Air emissions kg 7-8 10 18-28 19
Hocking, M. B. (1991), Paper versus Polystyrene
A Complex Choice. Science, Vol. 251, February 1,
pp. 504-505. Lave, L. B., E. Cobas, C.
Hendrickson and F. C. McMichael, Using
Input-Output Analysis to Estimate Economy-Wide
Discharges, Environmental Science and
Technology, 29(9), pp. 153-161, September 1995.
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Example CDs vs. Paper

• Conference proceedings switch from paper to CDs
• New 3 per CD (1500 for 500 CDs)
• Old 200 pages per person (300 people)
• Double-sided
• 60,000 pages _at_ 0.05/page 3,000
• Production only

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Economic Effects - 2 options
Paper
CDs
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Some Environmental Effects
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Analysis

• CDs Win-win scenario
• Indirect effects much larger than direct
• Small direct effects within industry
• Proves supply chain management is critical for
  corporate pollution prevention efforts
• Need to identify sources of effects
• Detailed analysis can show hot spots

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Using EIO-LCA to Improve Life Cycle Analysis

• You are a pharmaceutical manufacturer
• Need to do an LCA of main drug product
• You cant include everything what is in and what
  is out?
• Drawing boundaries is an appropriate simplifying
  step - but it is an art not a shortcut
• Are you including/excluding the right parts?

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Product Comparisons

• Need to compare equivalent designs - benefits
  equal
• Manufacturing, OM, end-of-life costs
• Service life/durability/longevity (obsolescence,
  technological change)
• Valuing environmental burdens (Full Cost
  Accounting)
• Planning period, discount rate
• Discounted, annualized costs

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Illustrative Example

• To make your life easier, you focus on your
  processes top 10 direct inputs
• Could get this from product manager, accounting,
  other departments
• Assume that your primary inputs are the primary
  sources of impacts for LCA
• This is a common boundary assumption

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Top Direct Inputs for Drugs

• Chemicals
• Plastics
• Electricity
• Paperboard/ Boxes
• Paper
• Trucking

• Printing
• Computer Services
• Telephone Services
• Refined Petroleum (e.g. gas/diesel)

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Actual Top Ten Economic Effects (incl. Supply
Chain)
per million dollars of output

• Sector Econ. ()
• Drugs 150,000
• Wholesale trade 90,200
• Advertising 75,000
• Industrial chemicals 45,000
• Miscellaneous plastics 30,000
• Real estate mgmt. 21,000

• Accounting auditing 20,000
• Legal services 18,000
• Electric utilities 16,000
• Repair maintenance 16,000
• Paperboard containers 15,000
• Paper mills 14,500
• Trucking and courier 14,000

Your direct top ten list would have ignored 6
of the actual top ten supply chain sectors
(processes) for making drugs.
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Whats Missing?

• Would have only considered local (direct) impacts
  of purchases
• i.e., the items your firm bought
• Would have completely ignored the supply chain
  effects in the industry
• i.e. for electricity, would have only considered
  local use, not systemwide use

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Greenhouse Gas Sources(Total Supply Chain, MT
CO2 Equiv.)

• Total Local/Direct
• Total all sectors 626 306 (49)
• Electric services (utilities) 219 96 (44)
• Drugs 196 176 (90)
• Industrial chemicals 49 23
  (47)
• Trucking and courier serv. 24 7 (29)
• Paper paperboard mills 19 0.1 (0.5)
• Petroleum refining 6 1 (15)
• Paperboard boxes 2 1 (50)
• Plastics Products 1 1 (100)

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Overall View of Drug Manufacturing Business GWP
219
306
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Lessons Learned

• Your perception of what matters is biased by
  local factors
• Overestimates dependence on these items
• Underestimates supply chain effects
• Our perceptions of process inputs usually are
  goods not services
• Services are not environmentally benign!
• Use EIO-LCA to help you frame your LCA problems
  and set your boundaries (screening)
• Potentially as a starting point for conventional
  LCA

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Reinforced Concrete Product
Aggregates mining
Recycling
Concrete production
Chemical additives
Reinforcing steel production
Recycling
End-of-life
Landfilling
Transportation involved
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Simplified Process Model Input Requirements for a
2 Reinforced Concrete Product (1 concrete and
1 steel)
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Total Requirements Table from EIO-LCA for Inputs
of a Reinforced Concrete Product
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Inputs for a 2 Reinforced Concrete Product

• wholesale trade 0.10
• banking 0.02
• advertising 0.02
• maintenance 0.02
• computer services 0.01
• eating places 0.008
• air transportation 0.008
• hotels 0.007
• construction machines 0.004
• paper 0.004
• aluminum 0.003
• plastics 0.003
• postal services 0.003
• fertilizers 0.001
• meat 0.0003

• steel 1.17
• concrete 1.01
• cement 0.20
• electricity 0.15
• trucking services 0.13
• sand and gravel 0.12
• chemicals 0.08
• coal mining 0.07
• iron ore mining 0.04
• lime 0.005

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RCRA Hazardous Waste Generators for 150,000 of
Reinforced Concrete Using the Simplified Process
Model
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Top 10 RCRA Hazardous Waste Generators for a
150,000 of Reinforced Concrete Using EIO-LCA