Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: Yes We Can!

Transcription

1 Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: Yes We Can! Open standards, software, and data for transparency and innovation to a sustainable world Gregory A. Norris Harvard / Univ of Arkansas Sylvatica / New Earth

2 Overview Building Block Concepts and Methods Example: The LCA Experience, for a company The Data and Tools Ecosystem Verification and Assurance LCA for Everyone

3 Building Block Concepts Unit processes Input-output / Process models Life cycle inventory results ( footprints ) Life cycle Impact Assessment Results Industry Average / Product-specific Databases Software

4 Building Block of Footprint Computation: Unit Process Outputs to nature Inputs from other processes Outputs to other processes Inputs from nature

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8 Life Cycle Inventory: Cradle-To-Gate Footprint

9 LCI -- LCIA method -- LCIA Results Data

10 Beyond LCA: Extensible Data Standards for reporting on unit processes and supply chains Data Data

11 Impact Assessment Methods are mult-stage; and multiple Data

12 The LCA Experience for a company Basic LCA computation ability in web. Free.

13 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

14 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

15 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

16 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

17 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

18 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

19 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

20 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

21 Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

22 Report Results; Keep Inputs Confidential Publish Footprints in web. Free.

23 Time Out: Verification / Validation / Assurance Where does verification / validation / assurance stand, in relation to LCA? LCA studies can be ISO compliant, or not. Industry Average LCI data can be developed in conformance with one (or another) database protocol ( Yes, thank you. But what about Verification / validation / assurance? )

24 Time Out from the Time Out: Industry Average Databases Outputs to nature Inputs from other processes Outputs to other processes Inputs from nature

25 The Possibility, in relation to Industry Average Data The All-You-Can-Eat Data Pot Luck (with quality control)

26 The Industry Average Data Reality, in the US 10 Years Later: US LCI Database = 178 Unit Processes Incomplete chains Incomplete verification / validation Uncertainties not yet quantified Ecoinvent: 5000 unit processes Each chain complete (usually Euro-completed) Consistent verification / validation Uncertainties quantified

27 Industry Average Life Cycle Inventory Databases Unit Processes (or Cradle-to-gate Totals) Swiss Ecoinvent Database US LCI Database Other national efforts Projects by Industry Associations Supply Chains Are Global Some LCA tools ship with proprietary databases

28 Verification / Assurance in Industry Average Databases Consultants / academics gather data from multiple plants Outliers detected Corrected or explained Verification / assurance of unit-process-level data MISSING at this point in time. Transparency as a second-best option. For now.

29 Product-Level Footprinting Requires U-level Assurance Third party assurance: a marketplace to be created Certify Possible or partial audit comparing records and receipts with reported data Possible full audit Can publish without assurance; Status Clearly Documented An assured result cannot make use of un-assured data Get your supplier's data assured if you want to use it Assured unit process data can be aggregated: new, and Assured, industry average unit process data

30 Share Data in Supply Chains Link to supplier results. Compute. Publish. Free.

31 The Data & Tool Ecosystem Ind Avg Databases Ecoinvent IDEA OpenIO US LCI Social Hotspot DB etc... Client tools SimaPro OpenLCA / Earthster2 GaBi

32 The Data & Tool Ecosystem Web-based Publishing of Product-specific data Ind Avg Databases Ecoinvent IDEA Open IO US LCI Social Hotspot DB etc... Client tools SimaPro OpenLCA / Earthster2 GaBi

33 The Data & Tool Ecosystem Web-based Publishing of Product-specific data Ind Avg Databases Ecoinvent IDEA Open IO US LCI Social Hotspot DB etc... Client tools SimaPro OpenLCA / Earthster2 GaBi

34 Uncertainty as the window onto upstream data Inherent uncertainty Application uncertainty Find and use lowest-uncertainty data Capture uncertainty's influence Register data needs in a database of wishes.

35 Focus on Change / Progress Progress relative to baseline is a more reliable datapoint Indexes can recognize/honor innovation, improvement Progress is a game every company can play Progress, is, after all, what we are after...

36 Discussion