Analysis of the potential for a comprehensive approach towards LCA and EMS in Japan

Sustainable development can only be achieved if industry adoptsboth product related and organisation related environmental management tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Management Systems (EMS). In Japan, EMS (ISO 14001) is more widely applied than LCA (ISO 14040). Therefore,one means by which Japanese industries could be motivated to adopt and use LCA is to relate LCA-activities to the policies and instruments of ISO 14001. The potential of such a comprehensive approach was analysed by a survey of 270 Japanese enterprises (response rate 45%). The results indicate that 19% of the responding representatives had responsibilities for both LCA and EMS, while the remaining only work in one of both fields. A statement in the company’s/ plant’s Environmental Policy of ISO 14001, stating that LCA is to be used as part of the EMS, was found in 42% of all companies. A surprising number (39%) either already use, or plan to use, LCA and EMS as combinated/integrated tools. A strong argument for the establishment of a comprehensive approach can be seen in the perception of the usefulness of LCA, which was rated significantly higher in companies that acknowledged the complementary potential of LCA and EMS.     

Application of life cycle assessment in the mining industry

Background, aim, and scope  

In spite of the increasing application of life cycle assessment (LCA) for engineering evaluation of systems and products, the application of LCA in the mining industry is limited. For example, a search in the Engineering Compendex database using the keywords “life cycle assessment” results in 2,257 results, but only 19 are related to the mining industry. Also, mining companies are increasingly adopting ISO 14001 certified environmental management systems (EMSs). A key requirement of ISO certified EMSs is continual improvement, which can be better managed with life cycle thinking. This paper presents a review of the current application of LCA in the mining industry. It discusses the current application, the issues, and challenges and makes relevant recommendations for new research to improve the current situation.     

Life cycle assessment as a tool for improving process performance: A case study on boron products

This paper explores the use of LCA as a tool for process environmental management, thereby moving the focus from product to process oriented analysis. The emphasis is on Improvement Assessment in which the “hot spots” in the system are targeted for maximum environmental improvements. In this context, it is useful to use multiobjective optimisation which renders Valuation unnecessary. The approach is illustrated by the case study of the system processing boron ores to make five different products. The results of Inventory Analysis and Impact Assessment are presented and discussed. In Improvement Assessment, a number of improvement options are identified and evaluated, using system optimisation. It is shown that the site environmental performance can be improved over current operation by an average of 20% over the whole life cycle. Thus the study demonstrates that the optimisation approach to environmental process management may assist in identifying optimal ways to operate a process or plant from “cradle to grave”. This may help the process industries not only to comply with legislation but also provide a framework for taking a more proactive approach to environmental management leading to more sustainable industrial operations and practices.     

Experiences and thoughts about life cycle assessment in the automotive industry in Japan

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:

Life cycle assessment of the selective catalytic reduction process for power plants

The overall reduction of the environmental impact by the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxide emissions in power plants was determined by strict application of ISO 14040 and ISO/DIS 14041. Special emphasis was placed on the implementation of the total product life cycle (PLC) of ammonium molybdate as a key input material. The environmental impact was generated by application of the life cycle assessment (LCA) concept of “ecoscarcity” and integrated in the life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) of SCR systems. The LCI was used to generate the life cycle impact assessment (LC1A) by use of different quantitative valuation methods. Under consideration of the overall LCIA results and the environmental protection costs of the SCR variants, the Ecological Effectiveness of the SCR alternatives was determined. The results enable plausible conclusions with regard to the ecological advantages of the use of deNOx catalysts in the SCR used in hard-coal fired power plants.     

Life cycle assessment of automotive fuels: critical analysis and recommendations on the emissions inventory in the tank to wheels stage

Purpose  

As new alternative automotive fuels are being developed, life cycle assessment (LCA) is being used to assess the sustainability of these new options. A fuel LCA is commonly referred as a “Well To Wheels” analysis and calculates the environmental impacts of producing the fuel (the “Well To Tank” stage) and using it to move a car (the “Tank To Wheels” stage, TTW). The TTW environmental impacts are the main topic of this article.     

Introducing the UNEP/SETAC methodological sheets for subcategories of social LCA

Purpose  

In May 2009, the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products (the Guidelines) were launched at the occasion of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26000 (Social Responsibility) meeting in Quebec City, Canada. Developed by a United Nations Environment Programme/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (“UNEP/SETAC”) Life Cycle Initiative project group on Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), the Guidelines provide a framework to assess social impacts across product life cycles. A year later, the Methodological Sheets for the Subcategories of Social LCA (“the Methodological Sheets”) are being made available to support practitioners engaging in the field. The Methodological Sheets provide practical guidance for conducting S-LCA case studies by offering consistent, yet flexible assistance.     

Application of Life Cycle Assessment for the Environmental Certificate of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (7 pp)

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.     

The hove assessment method: principal structure and pilot application

The German Waste Avoidance, Recovery and Disposal Act (KrW-/AbfG) creates the demand to select for “high quality” and “environmentally sound” waste treatment and disposal techniques. Waste disposers have to choose the most “high quality” and “environmentally sound” technique among different treatment and disposal options, and therefore must have a way to comparably evaluate the different techniques. Prognos developed an assessment method called HoVe to evaluate waste treatment and disposal facilities based on these new guidelines. It adheres to international standards of life cycle assessments (DIN/ ISO 14 040). The assessment is based on emission, material, energy and economic data which already exists, making it practical, time and cost efficient. HoVe employs three Impact Categories (IC) to evaluate the impact of waste treatment. Each IC is characterized by Impact Clusters (ICL) to which original plant data are allocated. The ICL consider the amount and quality of produced products and residues from treatment processes, as well as the issues of ecological impact and energy balance. Further they incorporate economic aspects in order to assess the economic soundness of treatment and disposal plants, a requirement of the KrW-/AbfG. A pilot assessment of treatment options for shredder residues proves the viability of the method.     

Metals recycling maps and allocation procedures in life cycle assessment

Goal, scope, and background  

The aim of this work is to present guidance on the application of ISO 14044 to allocation procedures for metal recycling. As such, graphical patterns of metal recycling and generic “rules” for metal recycling maps are presented. The results are intended to be useful in assessing and validating the suitability of allocation procedures for metal recycling in the context of life cycle assessment (LCA) and assist in the understanding of metals flow patterns in product systems. LCA uses a product-focus; therefore, the perspective here is on recycling metals in post-consumer products. The discussions, analysis, and illustrations in this paper emphasize old (post-consumer) scrap and do not detail flows of new (post-manufacturing, pre-consumer) or prompt (internal) scrap. The work included participation and review from International Council on Mining and Metals, the Nickel Institute, the International Copper Association, the International Zinc Association, worldsteel (formerly International Iron and Steel Institute), and the International Aluminium Institute.     

The New International Standards for Life Cycle Assessment: ISO 14040 and ISO 14044

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.     

Evaluating options in LCA: The emergence of conflicting paradigms for impact assessment and evaluation

LCA aims to help direct decisions in an environmentally sustainable direction. It indicates the environmental effects of choices and evaluates these against this background. Approaches to evaluation in LCA differ substantially, related to the way of modelling environmental effects and to the way these effects are combined into an overall judgement on alternative options. Several approaches are now operational, which are linked to different paradigms in decision making. It is shown that the choice of paradigm is quite decisive on the outcome of the analysis. Also within similar paradigms, different methods now operational may lead to different outcomes. These latter differences may be alleviated more easily than those related to paradigmatic choices, as they are partly a matter of refinement, and they partly result from legitimate differences in subjective priorities. The more basic paradigmatic differences can hardly be bridged. The practical relevancy of the subject is proven by applying different operational methods to one case, showing widely differing outcomes. The paradigm behind evaluating environmental effects is either values based, directly or through policy decisions, or economics based, as individual preferences measured in the monetary terms of willingness-to-pay. Accordingly, the different methods are “policy-oriented” or “monetary”. It may be doubted if the differences between these can be overcome in standardisation.     

Avoiding Co-Product Allocation in Life-Cycle Assessment

Abstract: In a life‐cycle assessment (LCA) involving only one of several products from the same process, how are the resource consumption and the emissions associated with this process to be partitioned and distributed over these co‐products? This is the central question in co‐product allocation, which has been one of the most controversial issues in the development of the methodology for life‐cycle assessment, as it may significantly influence or even determine the result of the assessments. In this article, it is shown that in prospective life‐cycle assessments, co‐product allocation can always be avoided by system expansion. Through a number of examples, it is demonstrated how system expansion is performed, with special emphasis on issues that earlier have been a focus of the allocation debate, such as joint production (e.g., of chlorine and sodium hydroxide, zinc and heavy metals, and electricity and heat), the handling of “near‐to‐waste” by‐products, processes simultaneously supplying services to multiple product systems, and credits for material recycling and downcycling. It is shown that all the different co‐product situations can be covered by the same theoretical model and the same practical procedure, and that it is also possible to include the traditional co‐product allocation as a special case of the presented procedure. The uncertainty aspects of the presented procedure are discussed. A comparison is made with the procedure of ISO 14041, “Life‐cycle assessment—Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis,” the international standard.     

Is LCC relevant in a sustainability assessment?

In a recent letter to the editor, Jørgensen et al. questioned that life cycle costing (LCC) is relevant in life cycle-based sustainability assessment (LCSA). They hold the opinion that environmental and social aspects are sufficient. We argue that sustainability has three dimensions: environment, economy, and social aspects in accordance with the well-accepted “three pillar interpretation” of sustainability, although this is not verbally stated in the Brundtland report (WCED 1987). An analysis of the historical development of the term “sustainability” shows that the economic and social component have been present from the beginning and conclude that LCSA of product systems can be approximated by LCSA = (environmental) LCA + (environmental) LCC + S-LCA where S-LCA stands for social LCA. The “environmental” LCC is fully compatible with life cycle assessment (LCA), the internationally standardized (ISO 14040 + 14044) method for environmental product assessment. For LCC, a SETAC “Code of Practice” is now available and guidelines for S-LCA have been published by UNEP/SETAC. First examples for the use of these guidelines have been published. An important practical argument for using LCC from the customers’ point of view is that environmentally preferable products often have higher purchasing costs, whereas the LCC may be much lower (examples: energy saving light bulbs, low energy houses, and cars). Also, since LCC allows an assessment for different actor perspectives, the producers may try to keep the total costs from their perspective below those of a conventional product: otherwise, it will not succeed at the market, unless highly subsidized. Those are practical aspects whichfinally decide about success or failure of “sustainable” products. Whether or not an analysis using all three aspects is necessary will depend on the exact question. However, if real money flows are important in sustainability analysis of product systems, inclusion of LCC is advisable.     

Life cycle assessment of contaminated sites remediation

For the federal state of Baden-Wiirttemberg, Germany, the decision tool “Umweltbilanz von Altlastensanierungsverfahren” has been developed and found suitable for the quantification and evaluation of environmental impacts caused by remediation of contaminated sites. The developed tool complements the remediation toolbox of Baden-Wiirttemberg. The tool includes a streamlined life cycle assessment (LCA) and a synopsis of the LCA results with the results of a risk assessment of the contaminated site. The risk assessment tool is not explained here. The data base for the life cycle inventory includes several techniques used in remedial actions. The life cycle impact assessment utilises 14 impact categories. The method allows comparisons between remedial options for specific contaminated sites. A software tool has been developed to be available in 1999.     

Eco-design as a normative element of Environmental Management Systems—the context of the revised ISO 14001:2015

Purpose

The aim of this article is to signal the changes envisaged by ISO TC/207 SC1 for introduction in the new version of ISO 14001:2015 as well as to discuss the role of eco-design and life cycle thinking (LCT) in the context of Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

Methods

A review of the proposed changes to be introduced in the new version of ISO 14000:2015 with particular emphasis on those related to LCT and eco-design has been carried out. Additionally, for the purpose of this article, the guidelines with regard to ISO 14006:2011 have been analysed in the context of the role that eco-design plays in an EMS.

Results

The new version of ISO 14001:2015 includes many direct and indirect references to LCT. One of the key changes is organisations adapting a wider perspective to see how their environmental impact stretch across the whole supply chain. Another key recommendation is to use eco-design for identifying and assessing the environmental aspects in relation to products. The whole life cycle of the products should be analysed, which will result in the inclusion of indirect environmental aspects that are beyond the direct control of the organisation.

Conclusions

The planned changes to ISO 14001:2015 with regard to the use of LCT and eco-design should be seen as a significant piece of information by eco-designers and life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners since they provide a real opportunity to increase interest in eco-design tools amongst the environmental managers responsible for the environmental management systems within their organisations. It seems that now is the right time to initiate information campaigns and training on eco-design and LCA tailored specifically for organisations, which have implemented environmental management systems.     

The purpose of LCA in environmental labels and concepts of products

This very interesting Discussion Forum showed the different points of view of basic science and applied science in practice concerning environmental labeling and the lacking comparability between them. Practitioners and consumers stated the large amount of labels. At this point environmental key-parameter models like the one presented for green electricity could be an option. For LCA-researchers it was clear that environmental labeling ought to be connected to an LCA or a comparable environmental valuation method. ISO offers four types of labels and if every label on the market would be ISO-conform and declared as such, comparisons would be much easier. Practitioners from companies stated that a lot of environmental data about there products gained from LCA or similar methods is available, but that the consumer is not yet interested in this kind of information. But in any case their companies will go on issuing environmental declarations for products, hoping that in the long run consumer’s interest and choice will include environmental performance. The discussion in the panel also showed that social aspects are not preferably integrated in an environmental declaration but separate in a social declaration because the evaluation methods are totally different. In any case, the interest of the consumer in the social circumstances of the production of goods is steadily increasing.     

“Less is better” and “only above threshold”: Two incompatible paradigms for human toxicity in life cycle assessment?

The absence of spatial and temporal information in the data from a typical Life Cycle Inventory puts constraints on the possibilities of subsequent Life Cycle Impact Assessment to predict actual impact. Usual methods for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (often referred to as “less is better” methods) make only limited use of spatial and temporal information, because they predict concentration increases rather than full concentrations. As a consequence it does not seem possible to evaluate whether a threshold value is surpassed. The resulting poor accordance between the predicted impact and the expected occurrence of actual impact is a major problem. This problem is particularly relevant for human toxicity assessment, since the probability of surpassing thresholds here traditionally is the main point of attention. A considerable group of practitioners suggests to follow an “only above threshold” principle by introduction of assessment tools from risk assessment and environmental impact assessment in LCA. Intensive debate is going on about possibilities and limitations of “less is better” and “only above threshold”. The debate is obscured by two underlying discussions (about no-effect-levels and about data-availability) that are partly, but not fully intertwined. Both principles tend to be given fixed positions in these discussions, and are therefore often put forward as fundamentally different and incompatible with each other. This article entwines the discussions, shows parallels between both principles, and uses these parallels to present a new method for Life Cycle Impact Assessment of human toxicity from air emissions that — with limited data requirement from Life Cycle Inventory — can take as well threshold evaluation and spatial source-differentiation into account.