Life- Cycle Analysis: The Role of Evaluation and Strategy

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

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

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LCA Definition
LCA is a technique for the study of strategies
to meet environmental challenges

• Why LCA?
• Considers how process will affect the environment
  in the future
• Process product developers use LCA to
  incorporate environmental considerations into
  design
• Consumer interest groups use LCA to inform
  consumers of alternative products
• Regulators and policy makers use LCA to guide
  environmental policy and enforce legislative
  objectives

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LCA Steps
LCA helps consumers, industrialists and
government to make decisions that will minimize
environmental impacts.

• LCA has three steps
• Inventory analysis- ID and quantify energy and
  resources used and environmental releases to the
  air, water land
• Impact analysis- Assessment of the consequences
  of resource use and environmental releases for
  the environment
• Improvement analysis-Evaluation implementation
  of ways to reduce environmental burdens

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Review of Evaluation Concepts

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

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

• Tool for deciding which nondominant alternative
  is preferable
• Value function represents strategic goals of the
  community doing the analysis.

Linear index method
Non linear index method
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Environmental Priority Strategies System (EPS
System)

• A tool for evaluating ecological consequences of
  alternative activities or processes
• It associates environmental load with individual
  activities based on materials consumed or
  processed
• EPS environmental safeguard subjects
• Biodiversity
• Production
• Human Health

• Resources
• Aesthetic Values

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EPS System cont
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Critique

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

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Critique

• Limitations of LCA
• Can not solve complex problems

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Critique

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

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Critique

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

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QUESTIONS?