Human and Ecological Life Cycle Tools for the Integrated Assessment of Systems (HELIAS) |
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Authors: | Reinout Heijungs René Kleijn Ester van der Voet Arjan de Koning Lauran van Oers Ayman Elshkaki Ruben Huele Gjalt Huppes Sangwon Suh Anneke Wegener Sleeswijk |
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Institution: | 1.Dr. Reinout Heijungs
Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)
Department of Industrial Ecology
Leiden University
PO Box 9518
2300 RA Leiden
THE NETHERLANDS,?,;2.Dr. Ing. René Kleijn, Centre of Environmental Science, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9518, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands,?,;3.Dr. Ester van der Voet
CML
P.O.Box 9518
2300 RA Leiden
THE NETHERLANDS,?,;4.Arjan de Koning
Centre of Environmental Science (CML)
Leiden University
P.O Box 9518
2300 RA Leiden
THE NETHERLANDS,?,;5.Dr. Lauran van Oers, Centre of Environmental Science, P.O. Box 9518, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands,?,;6.Ayman Elshkaki
Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)
Leiden University
P.O. Box 9518
2300 RA Leiden
THE NETHERLANDS,?,;7.Dr. Ruben Huele
Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)
Leiden University
P.O. Box 9518
2300 RA Leiden
THE NETHERLANDS,?,;8.Dr. Gjalt Huppes
Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML)
Leiden University
Einsteinweg 2
2333 CC Leiden
THE NETHERLANDS,?,;9.Sangwon Suh, PhD
Assistant Professor, Corporate Environmental Management
Department of Bio-based Products
College of Natural Resources
University of Minnesota
102 Kaufert Laboratory
2004 Folwell Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
USA,?,;10.Anneke Wegener Sleeswijk, Centre of Environmental Science, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands,?, |
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Abstract: | -DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.008 Goal, Scope and Background CML has contributed to the development of life cycle decision support tools, particularly Substance / Material Flow Analysis (SFA respectively MFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Ever since these tools emerged there have been discussions on how these tools relate to each other, and how they relate to more traditional tools. Remarkably little, however, has been published on these relationships from an empirical side: which combinations of tools have actually been used, and what is the added value of combining tools in practical case studies. In this paper, we report on CML's experience in this field by presenting a number of case studies with their related research questions, for which different tools were deployed. Methods Three case studies are discussed: 1) Waste water treatment: various options for waste water treatment have been assessed on their eco-efficiency, using SFA to comment on the influence of these options on the flows of certain substances in the water system of a geographical area and a combination of LCA and life cycle costing (LCC) to assess the life-cycle impacts and costs of these options; 2) Prioritization of environmental policy measures: A methodology has been developed to prioritize environmental policy measures and investments within companies based on both the environmental impacts and the costs of these measures; and 3) Environmental weighting of materials: to add an environmental dimension to standard MFA accounts, materials were weighted with cradle-to-grave impact factors based on LCA data and impact assessment factors. Results and Discussion For each of these cases, the research questions at stake, the tools applied, the results and the added value, limitations and problems of combining the tools are reported. Conclusionsand Perspective. Based on these experiences, it is concluded that using several tools to address a complicated problem is not only a theoretical proposal, but also something that has been applied successfully in a variety of practical situations. Furthermore, using several tools in combination does not necessarily lead to an increased information supply to decisionmakers. Instead, it may contribute to the comprehensibility and ease of interpretation of the information that would have been provided by using a single tool. Finally, it is concluded that there is not one generally valid protocol for which tools to use for which question. The essential idea of using a combination of tools is exactly the fact that research questions are not simple by nature and cannot be generalized into protocols. |
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