Instruments of Operational Controlling and Management: LCA Flashcards
(17 cards)
What is LCA?
LCA = is a technique to assess environmental impacts of systems
*also known as:
–Life Cycle Analysis
–Eco Balance ( Ökobilanz
–Cradle to grave Analysis
What are the key steps of LCA Methodology?
- Goal and scope definition (reasons, intended application, audience, function and functional unit, system boundaries)
- Inventory analysis (data collection: inputs and outputs)
- Impact assessment (selection, classification, characterization)
- Interpretation (Evaluation, recommendation)
What are the direct applications of LCA?
Product development and improvement, strategic planning, marketing, policy making, other
What is a functional unit in LCA?
Quantified description of the performance of a product system
A good F.U is:
-quantitative and precise
-expressed in terms of application-specific performance requirements
-defined broadly enough to encompass competing technologies
Describe the general product life cycle
Raw material extraction -> Production -> Trade (distribution) -> Use phase -> End of Life (disposal, recycling, reuse)
(Transport in between each process flow)
What are the different scopes of LCA analysis?
Cradle-to-gate: from resource extraction to the factory gate.
Cradle-to-grave: from resource extraction to the end of life
Cradle-to-cradle: from resource extraction to reusing or recycling
What is reference flow in LCA?
Quantified amount of products, including product parts, necessary
to deliver the performance described by functional unit
What is “unit process” in LCI?
Smallest portion of a product system for which data are collected.
Typical examples:
–electricity production by coal combustion
–use of a passenger car
–recycling of aluminum scrap
Unit processes are then combined into a product system
Describe the different LCIA methods
-Qualitative (verbal evaluation, value-benefit analysis)
-Quantitative, monetary (costs of substitution, EPS)
-Quantitative, non-monetary (CED, ReCiPe)
-Midpoint-only (problem-oriented: CML, SPI)
-Endpoint-only (damage-oriented: Eco indicator 99, EPS 2000)
-Combined (mid, endpoint: ReCiPe 2016, Impact 2002+, PEF)
What is the difference between LCA and footprints?
Both apply life cycle perspective
–Fundamental difference in scope and completeness
What is the aim of SLCA?
To assess the social and socio-economic aspects of
products and their potential positive and negative
impacts along their whole life cycle
Important because addresses working conditions, forced labor, child labor, health and safety, etc
What are social impacts?
Social impacts
… are consequences of positive or negative pressures on
stakeholders
… are consequences of social relations (interactions)
Describe the steps in SCLA methodology
1) the goal and scope (Prioritization)
2) data collection (life cycle inventory analysis),
3) impact evaluation,
4) and interpretation.
What are the three forms of social LCA data?
Three forms of Social LCA data:
* quantitative
* semi quantitative (yes/no or rating scale responses) and
* qualitative (descriptive text)
What is a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)?
The LCA phase involving the compilation and quantification of all inputs (materials, energy) and outputs (emissions, wastes) for a product system over its full life cycle
What is Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)?
The LCA phase that assigns the LCI’s inventory flows to impact categories and calculates their potential environmental impacts via characterization models
What are elementary flows?
The only flows that exceed the system boundaries, for example:
–flows from and to the
ecosphere
–Resources & emissions
