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1.
Limitations of data quality and difficulties to assess uncertainty are long since acknowledged problems in LCA. During recent
years a range of tools for improvement of reliability in LCA have been presented, but despite this there is still a lack of
consensus about how these issues should be handled. To give basic understanding of data quality and uncertainty in LCA, key
concepts of data quality and uncertainty in the context of LCA are explained. A comprehensive survey of methods and approaches
for data quality management, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty analysis published in the LCA literature is presented.
It should serve as a guide to further reading for LCA practitioners interested in improving data quality management and uncertainty
assessment in LCA projects. The suitability of different tools for addressing different types of uncertainty and future needs
in this field is discussed. 相似文献
2.
Life‐cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners build models to quantify resource consumption, environmental releases, and potential environmental and human health impacts of product systems. Most often, practitioners define a model structure, assign a single value to each parameter, and build deterministic models to approximate environmental outcomes. This approach fails to capture the variability and uncertainty inherent in LCA. To make good decisions, decision makers need to understand the uncertainty in and divergence between LCA outcomes for different product systems. Several approaches for conducting LCA under uncertainty have been proposed and implemented. For example, Monte Carlo simulation and fuzzy set theory have been applied in a limited number of LCA studies. These approaches are well understood and are generally accepted in quantitative decision analysis. But they do not guarantee reliable outcomes. A survey of approaches used to incorporate quantitative uncertainty analysis into LCA is presented. The suitability of each approach for providing reliable outcomes and enabling better decisions is discussed. Approaches that may lead to overconfident or unreliable results are discussed and guidance for improving uncertainty analysis in LCA is provided. 相似文献
3.
Camila Daniele Willers Luciano Brito Rodrigues 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2014,19(1):144-152
Purpose
A critical evaluation of the life cycle assessment (LCA) studies was performed in the main scientific bibliographic databases (online and free access) of Brazil where the LCA methodology could be considered.Methods
This has been an exploratory study with a qualitative evaluation of quantitative LCA studies with regard to International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 14040 standards. Firstly, the selected papers were those which used the LCA methodology in case studies (quantitative LCA studies). This survey was based on previously chosen keywords which were directly and/or indirectly related to LCA in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.Results and discussion
One hundred and twenty papers related to LCA were found, among which 21 have been effectively used the LCA methodology applied to case studies. The study has indicated agriculture and livestock as some promising areas for the use of LCA methodology in Brazil. As for the scope of LCA, it has been found that nine papers have adopted the cradle-to-grave approach, whereas 12 papers have limited the study to some life cycle stage (cradle-to-gate, gate-to-gate, or gate-to-grave). This behavior can be justified by the difficulty in obtaining data from raw material, supply chain, inputs, or about the disposal, reuse, and recycling of products/systems. The criteria set out in the ISO 14040 standard was carried out in 17 out of the 21 selected papers.Conclusions
The LCA of Brazilian studies could be improved. For instance, when considering the requirements and guidelines of ISO standards, at the goal phase, the papers have clearly mentioned their target audience. The scope phase requires more explanation about the allocation procedures, once the process/product is not isolated, and for most processes, it may generate more than one product. As regards the Life Cycle Inventory, these studies could improve their data sources, once few papers used primary sources. According to our understanding, the best phase performed by the papers was life cycle impact assessment. Hopefully, LCA will become a known research area and will be adopted by most of the Brazilian scientific community. It is further expected that LCA might have a regular publication in scientific journals (perhaps an own journal). 相似文献4.
Matthias Finkbeiner Atsushi Inaba Reginald Tan Kim Christiansen Hans-Jürgen Klüppel 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2006,11(2):80-85
Background, Aims and Scope The development of the international standards for life cycle assessment (ISO 14040:1997, ISO 14041:1999, ISO 14042:2000,
ISO 14043:2000) was an important step to consolidate procedures and methods of LCA. Their contribution to the general acceptance
of LCA by all stakeholders and by the international community was crucial. Currently, the process of the revision of this
first generation of LCA standards is close to completion. The paper explains the outline as well as formal and technical changes
of the coming new international standards of LCA, i.e. the new ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.
Methods The paper refers to life cycle assessment based on the international standards for LCA (ISO 14040:1997, ISO 14041:1999, ISO
14042:2000, ISO 14043:2000). The content relates to the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) versions of the new ISO
14040 and ISO 14044.
Results and Discussion With the publication of the two new standards, ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the existing four standards ISO 14040:1997, ISO 14041:1999,
ISO 14042:2000 and ISO 14043:2000 are technically revised, cancelled and replaced. According to the scope of the revision,
the core part of the technical contents remains unchanged. Improved readability and the removal of errors and inconsistencies
was the focus of the revision. However, despite the fact that the main technical content was confirmed to be still valid,
some relevant formal and technical changes were made. On the technical side these include e.g. the addition of principles
for LCA, the addition of an annex about applications, the addition of several definitions (e.g. product, process, etc.), clarifications
concerning LCA intended to be used in comparative assertions intended to be disclosed to the public, clarifications concerning
the critical review panel, clarifications concerning system boundary, etc. On the formal side, changes include the reduced
number of standards, a reduced number of annexes, a reduced number of pages that contain requirements, alignment of definitions
and clarification of compliance with the standards.
Conclusion The two new standards, ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, reconfirm the validity of the main technical content of the previous standards.
Errors and inconsistencies were removed and the readability was improved. The added technical content is in line with the
previous requirements and serves mainly as a clarification of the technical content. The unanimous vote on the Draft International
Standard versions proved that this was achieved on the basis of the broadest possible international consensus.
Recommendation and Outlook Currently the national member bodies undertake the final voting on the FDIS-versions of the standards. Based on the voting
results at the previous stages of the documents, a positive result is expected. The publication of the new international standards
for life cycle assessment (ISO 14040 and ISO 14044) is expected around mid-2006. For the sake of the international and stakeholder
acceptance of LCA, it is recommended that the new standards serve as core reference documents for the users and practitioners
of LCA. 相似文献
5.
The exclusion of site-specific data from the inventory phase of an LCA continues to be a point of controversy. Though the
current simplified data collection strategy is widely supported by the LCA community, there are still many who are concerned
about the implications this limitation has for the utility and reliability of LCA results. This is particularly relevant to
practitioners who are attempting to draw conclusions about the environmental performance of different systems for the development
of environmental policy. The current site-generic methodology introduces uncertainties into LCA results that have the potential
to misdirect decisions on improvement measures. Therefore, in this paper we assess the practicality of collecting site-specific
data and examine its value for study interpretation and decision-making. In our case study, we compare the contribution of
a number of plastics-based packaging systems to photochemical oxidant formation. Our results demonstrate that the aggregation
of photochemical oxidant precursor emissions into a single global parameter is an unreliable indicator of environmental burden
and that the real significance of each packaging’ contribution to the formation of photochemical smog in the atmosphere can
only be understood after the addition of spatial and temporal information. We conclude that for non-global cumulative impact
categories, additional spatial and temporal data should be collected, and that the benefits to decision makers far outweigh
the additional effort needed to acquire this data for the LCA inventory. 相似文献
6.
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - It has been recognised by life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners that uncertainty analysis needs to be incorporated into LCA studies to... 相似文献
7.
Matthias Finkbeiner Rüdiger Hoffmann 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2006,11(4):240-246
Background, Aims and Scope Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used as a tool for design for environment (DfE) to improve the environmental performance of
the Mercedes Car Group products. For the new S-Class model a brochure including an environmental certificate and comprehensive
data for the product was published for the first time. The paper explains the use of LCA for these applications and presents
exemplary results.
Methods The environmental certificate brochure reports on processes, data and results based on the international standards for life
cycle assessment (ISO 14040, ISO 14041, ISO 14042, ISO 14043), for environmental labels and declarations (ISO 14020, ISO 14021)
and for the integration of environmental aspects into product design and development (ISO 14062), which are accepted by all
stakeholders.
Results and Discussion The compliance with these international standards and the correctness of the information contained in the certificate were
reviewed and certified by independent experts. The global warming potential (GWP 100 years) of the new S-Class vehicle was
reduced by 6%, the acidification potential by 2%, the eutrophication potential by 13% and the photochemical ozone creation
potential by 9%. In addition, the use of parts made from renewable materials was increased by 73 percent to a total of 27
parts with a weight of about 43 kilograms. A total of 45 parts with a weight of 21.2 kilograms can be manufactured using a
percentage of recycled plastics.
Conclusion The application of LCA for DfE is fully integrated as a standard function in the vehicle development process. The DfE/LCA
approach at the Mercedes Car Group was successful in improving the environmental performance of the new S-Class. It is shown
that the objective of improving the environmental performance of the new S-Class model, compared to the previous one, was
achieved.
Recommendation and Outlook Vehicles are complex products with very complex interactions with the environment. Therefore, simple solutions, e.g. pure
focus on fuel economy or light weighting or recycling or single material strategies, are bound to fail. It is a main task
of DfE and LCA to take this fact into account and come up with more intelligent solutions. The application of LCAs for DfE
and their integration as standard practice in the product development process is both the most demanding and the most rewarding.
It requires a substantial effort to acquire the know-how, the data, the experience and the tools needed to generate meaningful
results just in time. However, this is the way how LCA and DfE can add value – they have to be 'built' into the product. 相似文献
8.
Enrico Benetto Christiane Dujet Patrick Rousseaux 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2006,11(2):114-116
Background, Aims and Scope The problem of the evaluation of practitioner's belief and belief-related uncertainties on LCA results obtained from different
methodological choices has been addressed so far by scenario modeling, Cultural Theory perspectives and probabilistic simulation.
The direct evaluation of belief and related uncertainties could be of interest, e.g. when the information available (resulting
from classical uncertainty analysis or the application of the precautionary principle) do not allow one to choose between
methodological alternatives leading to different LCA results and conclusions. The difficulty of modeling belief arises from
the additive nature of classical measures, e.g. probabilities. Since the 1960s, non-additive measures (e.g. possibilities)
have been developed and applied to model belief in real world problems. The aim of this paper is to discuss the application
of possibility measures in LCA for uncertainty analysis in complement to classical approaches.
Methods The nature and the meaning of possibilities are briefly introduced by comparison with probabilities (subjective or not) in
order to enlighten strengths, drawbacks and complementarities. A tentative possibilistic approach based on the evaluation
of a posteriori possibilities of final LCA results depending on a priori possibilities of the methodological choices behind
the calculations is described, also by means of an application example.
Results and Outlook. A new approach for the modeling of practitioner's belief and belief-related uncertainties in complement of classical
methods of uncertainty analysis has been proposed for discussion. Uncertainty can be characterized by confidence intervals
and indexes that could help practitioners in making methodological choices and could improve the interpretation and reliability
of LCA results, still increasing its sophistication. 相似文献
9.
Sébastien Lasvaux Johannes Gantner Bastian Wittstock Manuel Bazzana Nicoleta Schiopu Tom Saunders Cristina Gazulla Jo Ann Mundy Christer Sjöström Pere Fullana-i-Palmer Tim Barrow-Williams Anna Braune Jane Anderson Katrin Lenz Zsoka Takacs Julien Hans Jacques Chevalier 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2014,19(11):1783-1793
Purpose
The objective of the paper is to discuss the role of a new guidance document for life cycle assessment (LCA) in the construction sector available as an online InfoHub.Methods
This InfoHub derives from the EeBGuide European project that aimed at developing a guidance document for energy-efficient building LCA studies. The InfoHub is built on reference documents such as the ISO 14040-44 standards, the EN 15804 and EN 15978 standards as well as the ILCD Handbook. The guidance document was filled with expertise and knowledge of several experts. The focus was put on providing scientifically sound, yet practical guidance.Results
The EeBGuide InfoHub is an online guidance document, setting rules for conducting LCA studies and giving instructions on how to do this. The document has a section on buildings—new and existing—and a section on construction products. It is structured according to the life cycle stages of the European standards EN 15804 and EN 15978, covering all aspects of LCA studies by applying provisions from these standards and the ILCD handbook, wherever applicable. The guidance is presented for different scopes of studies by means of three study types. For the same system boundaries, default values are proposed in early or quick assessment (screening and simplified LCA) while detailed calculation rules correspond to a complete LCA. Such approach is intended to better match the user needs in the building sector.Conclusions and recommendations
This paper can be viewed as a contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the consistency and harmonisation in LCA studies for building products and buildings. Further contributions are now needed to improve building LCA guidance and to strengthen links between research, standardisation and implementation of LCA in the construction practice. 相似文献10.
Llorenç Milà i Canals Adisa Azapagic Gabor Doka Donna Jefferies Henry King Christopher Mutel Thomas Nemecek Anne Roches Sarah Sim Heinz Stichnothe Greg Thoma Adrian Williams 《Journal of Industrial Ecology》2011,15(5):707-725
There is an increasing need for life cycle data for bio‐based products, which becomes particularly evident with the recent drive for greenhouse gas reporting and carbon footprinting studies. Meeting this need is challenging given that many bio‐products have not yet been studied by life cycle assessment (LCA), and those that have are specific and limited to certain geographic regions. In an attempt to bridge data gaps for bio‐based products, LCA practitioners can use either proxy data sets (e.g., use existing environmental data for apples to represent pears) or extrapolated data (e.g., derive new data for pears by modifying data for apples considering pear‐specific production characteristics). This article explores the challenges and consequences of using these two approaches. Several case studies are used to illustrate the trade‐offs between uncertainty and the ease of application, with carbon footprinting as an example. As shown, the use of proxy data sets is the quickest and easiest solution for bridging data gaps but also has the highest uncertainty. In contrast, data extrapolation methods may require extensive expert knowledge and are thus harder to use but give more robust results in bridging data gaps. They can also provide a sound basis for understanding variability in bio‐based product data. If resources (time, budget, and expertise) are limited, the use of averaged proxy data may be an acceptable compromise for initial or screening assessments. Overall, the article highlights the need for further research on the development and validation of different approaches to bridging data gaps for bio‐based products. 相似文献
11.
碳足迹核算的国际标准概述与解析 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
各种层面上的碳足迹核算在全球气候变化控制领域得到了越来越多的关注。但是,这些关于碳足迹核算的相关国际标准繁多,彼此之间的关系复杂,不利于研究领域和工业界对这些标准进行应用与交流,限制了碳足迹核算的发展进度与深度。对目前已有的国际主要碳足迹核算标准及生命周期评价标准进行了整理,梳理出这些国际标准的一些基本特征,绘制了国际标准之间的关系图;并进一步从生命周期评价步骤的角度出发,解析了各种国际标准在这些阶段上的相关内容,以及每一个阶段上各标准相关规定中的不同特点及逻辑关系。对促进我国碳足迹核算相关研究与实践工作具有一定的理论与现实参考意义。 相似文献
12.
Junichi Kasai 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2000,5(5):313-316
Experiences with-Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the Japanese Automotive Industry and the author’s thoughts on how to apply
LCA for automobiles are described. In this paper, LCA applications are categorized into three types:
The idea of the above mentioned categorization and distinctions of LCA applications may also be useful for assembly-based
industries other than the automotive industry. 相似文献
1. | LCA that is strictly based on ISO 14040 series standards → In Japan, this type of LCA studies is used commonly by industry-wide or nation-wide research work, |
2. | LCA that is somehow not consistent with the ISO standards → This type is internally utilized by individual business companies for the purpose of development of environmentally conscious products with discussions about their own subjective judgement and choices, and |
3. | LCA that is completely streamlined in regard to the ISO standards → This type is limited to internal improvement activities for each process or shop in a factory, based on Life Cycle considerations. |
13.
Ivan T. Herrmann Michael Z. Hauschild Michael D. Sohn Thomas E. McKone 《Journal of Industrial Ecology》2014,18(3):366-379
The aim of this article is to help confront uncertainty in life cycle assessments (LCAs) used for decision support. LCAs offer a quantitative approach to assess environmental effects of products, technologies, and services and are conducted by an LCA practitioner or analyst (AN) to support the decision maker (DM) in making the best possible choice for the environment. At present, some DMs do not trust the LCA to be a reliable decision‐support tool—often because DMs consider the uncertainty of an LCA to be too large. The standard evaluation of uncertainty in LCAs is an ex‐post approach that can be described as a variance simulation based on individual data points used in an LCA. This article develops and proposes a taxonomy for LCAs based on extensive research in the LCA, management, and economic literature. This taxonomy can be used ex ante to support planning and communication between an AN and DM regarding which type of LCA study to employ for the decision context at hand. This taxonomy enables the derivation of an LCA classification matrix to clearly identify and communicate the type of a given LCA. By relating the LCA classification matrix to statistical principles, we can also rank the different types of LCA on an expected inherent uncertainty scale that can be used to confront and address potential uncertainty. However, this article does not attempt to offer a quantitative approach for assessing uncertainty in LCAs used for decision support. 相似文献
14.
Background, Goal and Scope For the life cycle assessment (LCA) tool to provide maximum benefit for decision makers, the uncertainty of its results should
be reported. Several methods for assessing uncertainty have been developed, but despite recent efforts, there remains disagreement
about their merits.
Objectives The objectives of the study were to review several assessment methods for estimating numerical and qualitative uncertainty
of impact scores and recommend an appropriate uncertainty assessment scheme. The methods review has been conducted on the
basis of an LCA case study regarding the comparison of the use of either brown or black coals in Australian electricity generation.
Results and Discussion Each assessment method indicated greater uncertainty in the impact scores calculated for black coal use than for brown coal
use. Due to overlap of the uncertainty ranges in calculated impact scores neither of the coals could be regarded environmentally
preferred.
Conclusions Both qualitative and quantitative methods were found to provide useful information about the uncertainty of calculated impact
scores for the case study. Methods that combine qualitative and quantitative uncertainty provided no additional benefits,
and obscured much of the information gained from using qualitative methods.
Recommendation and Outlook It is recommended that LCA results should include separate numerical (using Monte-Carlo simulation) and qualitative uncertainty
assessments. When the ranges of calculated impact scores for compared options overlap, the normalised difference method is
recommended. 相似文献
15.
Eric D. Williams Christopher L. Weber Troy R. Hawkins 《Journal of Industrial Ecology》2009,13(6):928-944
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly being used to inform decisions related to environmental technologies and polices, such as carbon footprinting and labeling, national emission inventories, and appliance standards. However, LCA studies of the same product or service often yield very different results, affecting the perception of LCA as a reliable decision tool. This does not imply that LCA is intrinsically unreliable; we argue instead that future development of LCA requires that much more attention be paid to assessing and managing uncertainties. In this article we review past efforts to manage uncertainty and propose a hybrid approach combining process and economic input–output (I‐O) approaches to uncertainty analysis of life cycle inventories (LCI). Different categories of uncertainty are sometimes not tractable to analysis within a given model framework but can be estimated from another perspective. For instance, cutoff or truncation error induced by some processes not being included in a bottom‐up process model can be estimated via a top‐down approach such as the economic I‐O model. A categorization of uncertainty types is presented (data, cutoff, aggregation, temporal, geographic) with a quantitative discussion of methods for evaluation, particularly for assessing temporal uncertainty. A long‐term vision for LCI is proposed in which hybrid methods are employed to quantitatively estimate different uncertainty types, which are then reduced through an iterative refinement of the hybrid LCI method. 相似文献
16.
Johannes Jung Niklas von der Assen André Bardow 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2014,19(3):661-676
Purpose
In LCA, a multi-functionality problem exists whenever the environmental impacts of a multi-functional process have to be allocated between its multiple functions. Methods for fixing this multi-functionality problem are controversially discussed because the methods include ambiguous choices. To study the influence of these choices, the ISO standard requires a sensitivity analysis. This work presents an analytical method for analyzing sensitivities and uncertainties of LCA results with respect to the choices made when a multi-functionality problem is fixed.Methods
The existing matrix algebra for LCA is expanded by explicit equations for methods that fix multi-functionality problems: allocation and avoided burden. For allocation, choices exist between alternative allocation factors. The expanded equations allow calculating LCA results as a function of allocation factors. For avoided burden, choices exist in selecting an avoided burden process from multiple candidates. This choice is represented by so-called aggregation factors. For avoided burden, the expanded equations calculate LCA results as a function of aggregation factors. The expanded equations are used to derive sensitivity coefficients for LCA results with respect to allocation factors and aggregation factors. Based on the sensitivity coefficients, uncertainties due to fixing a multi-functionality problem by allocation or avoided burden are analytically propagated. The method is illustrated using a virtual numerical example.Results and discussion
The presented approach rigorously quantifies sensitivities of LCA results with respect to the choices made when multi-functionality problems are fixed with allocation and avoided burden. The uncertainties due to fixing multi-functionality problems are analytically propagated to uncertainties in LCA results using a first-order approximation. For uncertainties in allocation factors, the first-order approximation is exact if no loops of the allocated functional flows exist. The contribution of uncertainties due to fixing multi-functionality problems can be directly compared to the uncertainty contributions induced by uncertain process data or characterization factors. The presented method allows the computationally efficient study of uncertainties due to fixing multi-functionality problems and could be automated in software tools.Conclusions
This work provides a systematic method for the sensitivity analysis required by the ISO standard in case choices between alternative allocation procedures exist. The resulting analytical approach includes contributions of uncertainties in process data, characterization factors, and—in extension to existing methods—uncertainties due to fixing multi-functionality problems in a unifying rigorous framework. Based on the uncertainty contributions, LCA practitioners can select fields for data refinement to decrease the overall uncertainty in LCA results. 相似文献17.
When one models impact pathways due to stressors that are caused by the provision of product systems, it results in indicators for environmental damages. These indicators are incommensurable and cannot be compared per se. For example, the statistical life years lost for a human population cannot necessarily be compared with the potentially affected fraction of species within an ecosystem. However, some decision makers who use life-cycle assessment (LCA) prefer a single index, because it facilitates interpretation better than a multi-indicator system. This requires a method for aggregating environmental damages of differing types, thereby confronting LCA with a valuation problem.
The article describes a nonmonetary approach to valuation in LCA that incorporates the findings of a survey among LCA practitioners and users. The survey focuses on the weighting of three safeguard subjects for Eco-indicator 99, a damage-oriented impact-assessment method: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. Of particular interest here is what influence the context provided in the survey (framing) and an individual's characteristics have on his or her weighting of environmental damages. The results indicate that damages on the European level are easier to compare than damages on a micro level. Additionally, although only half of the survey participants could be classified unequivocally into one of three cultural perspectives, each perspective rated the damage categories presented to them significantly differently from the others. Our conclusions were that framing effects need to be more carefully considered in weighting procedures and that weighting preferences vary significantly according to a group's archetypical attitudes. 相似文献
The article describes a nonmonetary approach to valuation in LCA that incorporates the findings of a survey among LCA practitioners and users. The survey focuses on the weighting of three safeguard subjects for Eco-indicator 99, a damage-oriented impact-assessment method: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. Of particular interest here is what influence the context provided in the survey (framing) and an individual's characteristics have on his or her weighting of environmental damages. The results indicate that damages on the European level are easier to compare than damages on a micro level. Additionally, although only half of the survey participants could be classified unequivocally into one of three cultural perspectives, each perspective rated the damage categories presented to them significantly differently from the others. Our conclusions were that framing effects need to be more carefully considered in weighting procedures and that weighting preferences vary significantly according to a group's archetypical attitudes. 相似文献
18.
Valentina Prado Ben A. Wender Thomas P. Seager 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2017,22(12):2018-2029
Purpose
Identification of environmentally preferable alternatives in a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) can be challenging in the presence of multiple incommensurate indicators. To make the problem more manageable, some LCA practitioners apply external normalization to find those indicators that contribute the most to their respective environmental impact categories. However, in some cases, these results can be entirely driven by the normalization reference, rather than the comparative performance of the alternatives. This study evaluates the influence of normalization methods on interpretation of comparative LCA to facilitate the use of LCA in decision-driven applications and inform LCA practitioners of latent systematic biases. An alternative method based on significance of mutual differences is proposed instead.Methods
This paper performs a systematic evaluation of external normalization and describes an alternative called the overlap area approach for the purpose of identifying relevant issues in a comparative LCA. The overlap area approach utilizes the probability distributions of characterized results to assess significant differences. This study evaluates the effects in three LCIA methods, through application of four comparative studies. For each application, we call attention to the category indicators highlighted by each interpretation approach.Results and discussion
External normalization in the three LCIA methods suffers from a systematic bias that emphasizes the same impact categories regardless of the application. Consequently, comparative LCA studies that employ external normalization to guide a selection may result in recommendations dominated entirely by the normalization reference and insensitive to data uncertainty. Conversely, evaluation of mutual differences via the overlap area calls attention to the impact categories with the most significant differences between alternatives. The overlap area approach does not show a systematic bias across LCA applications because it does not depend on external references and it is sensitive to changes in uncertainty. Thus, decisions based on the overlap area approach will draw attention to tradeoffs between alternatives, highlight the role of stakeholder weights, and generate assessments that are responsive to uncertainty.Conclusions
The solution to the issues of external normalization in comparative LCAs proposed in this study call for an entirely different algorithm capable of evaluating mutual differences and integrating uncertainty in the results.19.