Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: Yes We Can!

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

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

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

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

Life Cycle Inventory: Cradle-To-Gate Footprint

LCI -- LCIA method -- LCIA Results Data 1.000 1.300 1.600 1.900 2.200 2.500 2.800 3.100 3.400 3.700 4.000 4.300 4.600 4.900 5.200 5.500 5.800 6.100 6.400 6.700 7.000 7.300 7.600 7.900 8.200 8.500 8.800 9.100 9.400 9.700 10.000 10.300 10.600 10.900 11.200 11.500

Beyond LCA: Extensible Data Standards for reporting on unit processes and supply chains Data 1.000 1.300 1.600 1.900 2.200 2.500 2.800 3.100 3.400 3.700 4.000 4.300 4.600 4.900 5.200 5.500 5.800 6.100 6.400 6.700 7.000 7.300 7.600 7.900 8.200 8.500 8.800 9.100 9.400 9.700 10.000 10.300 10.600 10.900 11.200 11.500 Data 1.000 1.300 1.600 1.900 2.200 2.500 2.800 3.100 3.400 3.700 4.000 4.300 4.600 4.900 5.200 5.500 5.800 6.100 6.400 6.700 7.000 7.300 7.600 7.900 8.200 8.500 8.800 9.100 9.400 9.700 10.000 10.300 10.600 10.900 11.200 11.500

Impact Assessment Methods are mult-stage; and multiple Data 1.000 1.300 1.600 1.900 2.200 2.500 2.800 3.100 3.400 3.700 4.000 4.300 4.600 4.900 5.200 5.500 5.800 6.100 6.400 6.700 7.000 7.300 7.600 7.900 8.200 8.500 8.800 9.100 9.400 9.700 10.000 10.300 10.600 10.900 11.200

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

Understand: Contributions, What-if, Visualize

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

Time Out: Verification / Validation / Assurance Where does verification / validation / assurance stand, in relation to LCA? LCA studies can be ISO 14044-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? )

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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...

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