1. Life Cycle Assessment Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a process of evaluating the effects that a product has on the environment over the entire period of its life thereby increasing resource-use efficiency and decreasing liabilities. It can be used to study the environmental impact of either a product or the function the product is designed to perform. LCA is commonly referred to as a "cradle-to-grave" analysis.

2. Life Cycle Assessment Possible life cycle stages and typical inputs/outputs measured.

3. History Began in 1960’s by focusing on the energy requirements for the production of chemicals. Concerns over the limitations of raw materials and energy resources sparked interest in finding ways to cumulatively account for energy use and to project future resource supplies and use. Coca-Cola Company that laid the foundation for the current methods of life cycle inventory analysis in the United States in 1969 Interest in comprehensive energy impact studies started to wane after 1975 due the fading influence of the oil crisis. Interest renewed during late 1980’s over concern about solid waste management.

4. Users of LCA Product Designers and Product Manufacturers Shareholders, Financiers, and Insurers Customers Environment and Consumer Groups Regulators

5. Applications of LCA Identify product and manufacturing improvements Reduce supply chain costs and impacts Demonstrate product stewardship and reduce downstream impacts Validate green marketing claims Respond to customer demand Influence regulatory initiatives Compare products or processes on the basis of impacts, efficiency, or emissions Facilitate purchasing environmentally preferable products Compare technologies available to solve problems

6. LCA Methodology Goal Definition and Scoping Life Cycle Inventory Analysis Impact Assessment Improvement Assessment

7. Goal Definition and Scoping The phase of the LCA process that defines the purpose and method of including life cycle environmental impacts into the decision-making process. Determine the type of information that is needed to add value to the decision-making process, how accurate the results must be to add value, and how the results should be interpreted and displayed in order to be meaningful and usable. 1. Define the Goal(s) of the Project 2. Determine What Type of Information Is Needed to Inform the Decision-Makers 3. Determine the Required Specificity 4. Determine How the Data Should Be Organized and the Results Displayed 5. Define the Scope of the Study 6. Determine the Ground Rules for Performing the Work

8. Life Cycle Inventory –A process of quantifying energy and raw material requirements, atmospheric emissions, waterborne emissions, solid wastes, and other releases for the entire life cycle of a product, process, or activity. –Key Steps to Life Cycle Inventory 1. Develop a flow diagram of the processes being evaluated. 2. Develop a data collection plan. 3. Collect data 4. Evaluate and report results.

9. Generic Flow Chart

10. Specific Flow Chart

11. Life Cycle Impact Assessment The evaluation of potential human health and environmental impacts of the environmental resources and releases identified during the Life Cycle Inventory. LCIA does not necessarily attempt to quantify any specific actual impacts associated with a product, process, or activity. Instead, it seeks to establish a linkage between a system and potential impacts. Key Steps to LCIA 1. Selection and Definition of Impact Categories 2. Classification 3. Characterization 4. Normalization 5. Grouping 6. Weighting 7. Evaluating and Reporting LCIA Results

12. Life Cycle Impact Categories

13. Improvement Assessment Identify improvements that will reduce the product’s life cycle environmental impacts by identifying design options that would achieve reductions in impacts. 1. Identify Significant Issues 2. Evaluation which considers Completeness, Sensitivity, and Consistency Checks 3.Draw Conclusions and Recommendations

14. Life Cycle Assessment Framework

15. Example of LCA Analyzed Life Cycle of its pulp and lumber production from harvesting to reforestation. Found largest impacts to be associated with production and transportation. Led to cost-effective environmental improvements to their production processes.

16. Limitations of LCA Time Consuming Cost Lack of reproducibility and credibility Conflicting findings Lack of Data Problems with methodology Not all environmental impacts considered Difficult to make meaningful, quantitative linkages between environmental releases and environmental impacts Value driven process.

17. Questions?