Design for excellence

The application of life cycle thinking in the context of European waste policy

The chapter explains what Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) is about, why it is about taking a life cycle approach and shows that SCP-related policies have been developed at the intergovernmental level and in different regions of the world. A key element at the international level is the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on SCP adopted in 2012 and the global agreements on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015. Life cycle thinking has become mature, moving from its academic origins and limited uses, primarily in-house in large companies, to more powerful approaches that can support the provision of more sustainable goods and services through efficient use in product development, external communications, in support of customer choice, and in public debates. Now governments can use LCA for SCP policies. For this purpose LCA databases are needed. LCA is in particular relevant for policies focusing on design for sustainability, sustainable consumer information, sustainable procurement and waste management, minimization and prevention as well as sector-specific policies like sustainable energy and food supply. Examples of life cycle thinking and the use of LCA in policies are provided for numerous countries around the world but with a certain focus on the European Union. It can be expected that the use of LCA in policies for the sustainability assessment of products will further increase, also slowly covering more means of implementation such as incentives and legislative obligations.

The role of sustainability and life cycle thinking in U.S. biofuels policies

Objective. Environmental education is an important tool for raising awareness of sustainability and environmental issues and ultimately, changing behavior to create a sustainable society. The authors have developed a novel environmental education program using LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)software, which addresses global warming as one of the global environmental problems. This program aims to making learners (1)realize the “link” between daily life and global warming through the life cycle of consumer products (e.g. mobile phones, notebooks, pens), and (2)explore ways to reduce CO2 emissions in daily life based on life cycle thinking. The objective of the present study is to analyze the influences of the program on learners’ environmental awareness and attitude as well as their pro-environmental behavior intention.Results and Discussion. The program was implemented in three classes of second-year high school students in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with 126 students to analyze the effects of the program. Pretest-posttest design was used to measure the changes in sense of the “link,” key determinants of behavioral intention (e.g. a sense of responsibility), and pro-environmental behavior intention. Pass analysis was performed using the survey data to reveal a mechanism that explains the change in pro-environmental behavior intention caused by the implementation of the program. Results of the analysis suggested that the realization of the “link” between daily life and CO2 emission based on life cycle thinking seems to increase a sense of responsibility, and then the increase mainly seems to induce the formation of or the increase in behavioral intention towards CO2 reduction. In addition, after implementing the program, another survey was conducted to collect data on students’ impression of the program. Most students answered that the use of LCA software left strong impression on them. Qualitative analysis of students’ description about the reasons why it was impressive suggested that the calculation using LCA software contributes to not only understanding life cycle thinking in general but also realizing the “link” between their own actions and CO2 emissions, and the effectiveness of their own behavioral changes.Conclusions. The environmental education program that the authors developed is effective to enhance pro-environmental behavior intention by making students realize the “link” between daily life and global warming based on life cycle thinking. Especially the use of the LCA software that is the core of the program contributes to making students realize that their own actions in daily life is closely connected to global warming.

For educating a wide audience on the environmental impact of their daily life decisions, the Eco-Confessional has been developed as an interactive exhibit and a serious game. In this, the effectiveness of promoting sustainable lifestyles through life cycle thinking was explored. Based upon life cycle assessments, the eco-confessional reveals the environmental impact of eco-sins and good deeds performed in everyday life in a playful way. As the Eco-Confessional was being exhibited, it was evaluated to measure the impact of the new communication format. The goal of the project was to increase sustainable behavior by influencing both the desire and the ability to make sustainable decisions. The evaluation revealed that these goals were mostly achieved. By combining life cycle data with gamification elements, the Eco-Confessional succeeded in implementing a new scientainment approach to environmental education, which promotes life cycle thinking among the public.

Achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 remains a significant challenge, with 30% of targets showing no progress, regression, or severe deviations. Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) is a valuable method for monitoring and accelerating progress toward sustainable development by evaluating systems, processes, or products from environmental, economic, and societal perspectives. This work provides insights for integrating SDGs into LCT and advancing sustainability science. The study utilized bibliometric analysis of 21,783 publications from 2013 to 2022 to map LCT research to SDGs. It introduces a novel framework for integrating the SDGs into LCT studies, allowing for comprehensive assessments across environmental, societal, and economic dimensions. Thematic analysis identified five main areas of focus: waste management, infrastructure, agriculture, energy transitions, and integrated approaches to sustainable development. The highest emphasis was on SDGs 7 (Affordable Energy), 8 (Decent Work), 9 (Industry and Innovation), 12 (Responsible Consumption), and 13 (Climate Action). The study identified key institutions, journals, and countries contributing significantly to achieving SDGs through LCA and discussed future research topics with potential for shaping strategies towards a sustainable future. This research highlights innovation and evidence-based solutions in critical areas such as clean energy, sustainable urban development, and environmental conservation towards addressing SDGs. The prominence analysis revealed 23 topical clusters, with significant contributions in energy, construction, and pollution control aligning with multiple SDGs. However, the need for collaborative research and policy-making is evident in clusters like corporate social responsibility, supply chains, and air quality, which currently have fewer mappings to SDGs.

Rice processing is the major food processing industry in Sri Lanka. Although the process creates immense economic, social and environmental impacts, the studies conducted to analyze those impacts are scarce in the country. Though there are various rice production processes in the world, basically there are two rice production processes as raw rice and parboiled rice in Sri Lanka. Out of these, parboiled rice processing is the most prominent one. But, it creates considerable burden on the environment. Parboiling process can be categorized into two, as conventional and modern based on the processing methods practice in the mills. This paper compares the environmental impact of that conventional and modern rice processing by using life cycle analysis as the assessment tool. The results reveal that the modern rice processing creates elevated environmental impact in terms of all considered impact categories. In addition, soaking, drying and de-husking are identified as the most causative unit operations to the total environmental impact.

The article summarises the main results of the 'Gestione Rifiuti in Lombardia: Analisi del ciclo di vita' (Waste management in Lombardia region: Life cycle assessment; GERLA) project. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been selected by Regione Lombardia as a strategic decision support tool in the drafting of its new waste management programme. The goal was to use the life cycle thinking approach to assess the current regional situation and thus to give useful strategic indications for the future waste management. The first phase of the study consisted of the LCA of the current management of municipal waste in the Lombardia region (reference year: 2009). The interpretation of such results has allowed the definition of four possible waste management scenarios for the year 2020, with the final goal being to improve the environmental performance of the regional system. The results showed that the current integrated waste management of Lombardia region is already characterised by good energy and environmental performances. However, there is still room for further improvement: actions based, on the one hand, on a further increase in recycling rates and, on the other hand, on a series of technological modifications, especially in food waste and residual waste management, can be undertaken to improve the overall system.

Currently, there are no life cycle impact data available on the construction of road infrastructure in Brazil. This study aimed to determine several environmental impacts associated with the construction of an asphalt-paved highway in Brazil using the life cycle assessment approach and road construction data available from two Brazilian highways. The results from this study can potentially raise awareness to the importance of life cycle thinking in road construction in Brazil. The processes considered within the asphalt road pavement product system were extraction and processing of sand, gravel, and pitch; transportation of these inputs; and machinery use and operation, including direct and indirect emissions, raw materials, and electricity/fuel. Inventories available in Ecoinvent were used, and processes relevant to the Brazilian scenario were selected, with modifications made when necessary. The ReCiPe method was used to calculate the impacts, and for each category a second method was used to verify the results. The impact categories analyzed were global warming potential (GWP), terrestrial acidification potential (TAP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), freshwater eutrophication (FWEP), marine eutrophication (MEP), and freshwater ecotoxicity (FWECP). In addition, an alternative scenario was considered by substituting diesel with biodiesel in the transportation trucks. Gravel production was the main contributor to TAP (56% based on ReCiPe) and MEP (62%) categories. It was also a significant contributor to the GWP (16%), FWEP (25%), and FWECP (33%) categories. Transport of raw materials was the most impactful process in the GWP (58%), FWEP (55%), and FWECP (52%) categories. Pitch production was the major contributor to the ODP category (57%). The impact from sand production was negligible for all categories. Machinery operation had a small contribution in all impact categories (less than 14%). The different assessment methods used for each category indicated similar percent contributions for all processes considered (gravel, sand, pitch, transport, and machinery). Substitution of diesel with biodiesel caused an increase in the total impact for all categories, except for ODP. Gravel and pitch production, as well as raw material transport, were the most impactful processes in road construction. Therefore, strategies to reduce the impacts of road construction projects should focus on these three processes. In particular, investigation of the environmental impact, using a life cycle approach, of substituting gravel and pitch with alternative or recycled materials should be carried out for the Brazilian context.

The European Steel sector is committed to investigate solutions for reducing its environmental impact in terms of atmospheric and water emissions, energy consumption and solid waste production. To this aim, the project entitled Environmental Impact Evaluation and Effective Management of Resources in the EAF Steelmaking (EIRES), that is funded by the Research Fund for Coal and Steel, aims at providing electric steelworks with a tool for a systematic evaluation and investigation of solutions improving the process sustainability. As complex process modifications, before being practically implemented and tested on the field, need a thorough evaluation, a simulation model of the whole electric steelmaking route was developed as a part of EIRES tool. The paper presents such simulation model, which has been developed through Aspen Plus® V 8.6 in order to assess the impact of each operation unit, including both production processes and fumes and wastewater treatment plants. A case study is presented, which compares the environmental and energy impact related to the production of some of the most commonly produced steel grades. Correlations between the steel grade and the consumed electric energy or the slag amount and composition were highlighted, that can be a useful starting point for further assessment of potential margins of improvement of electric steelwork sustainability.

Environmental decision making in multi-stakeholder contexts: applicability of life cycle thinking in development planning and implementation

Increasing population and affluence have had a direct influence on increasing the energy demand of nations across the globe. Energy from non-renewable fossil resources has associated emissions of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, a major challenge facing us today. The governments of many countries have tried to address the twin issues of limited local availability of fossil resources and greenhouse gas emissions by promoting the use of bioenergy. Bioenergy is not automatically sustainable unlike popular belief. Assessing its sustainability using a life cycle thinking approach reveals many caveats, not only regarding greenhouse gas emissions but also other environmental impacts that are often ignored. The environmental assessment of palm oil-based biodiesel shows the trade-offs when considering all the life cycle stages of the biofuel supply chain and also when multiple impact categories are considered. The so-called carbon neutrality becomes questionable and other impacts from agriculture arising due to the use of land and agrochemicals are also seen to be very significant. Ignoring these in policymaking could result in serious unintended consequences. Thus, the importance of life cycle thinking in sustainability assessment is illustrated. This will be critical in addressing national needs while also moving towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Application of life cycle thinking towards sustainable cities: A review

Environmentally conscious construction has received a significant amount of research attention during the last decades. Even though construction literature is rich in studies that emphasize the importance of environmental impact during the construction phase, most of the previous studies failed to combine environmental analysis with other project performance criteria in construction. This is mainly because most of the studies have overlooked the multi-objective nature of construction projects. In order to achieve environmentally conscious construction, multi-objectives and their relationships need to be successfully analyzed in the complex construction environment. The complex construction system is composed of changing project conditions that have an impact on the relationship between time, cost and environmental impact (TCEI) of construction operations. Yet, this impact is still unknown by construction professionals. Studying this impact is vital to fulfill multiple project objectives and achieve environmentally conscious construction. This research proposes an analytical framework to analyze the impact of changing project conditions on the relationship of TCEI. This study includes green house gas (GHG) emissions as an environmental impact category. The methodology utilizes multi-agent systems, multi-objective optimization, analytical network process, and system dynamics tools to study the relationships of TCEI and support decision-making under the influence of project conditions. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is applied to the evaluation of environmental impact in terms of GHG. The mixed method approach allowed for the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. Structured interviews of professionals in the highway construction field were conducted to gain their perspectives in decision-making under the influence of certain project conditions, while the quantitative data were collected from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for highway resurfacing projects. The data collected were used to test the framework. The framework yielded statistically significant results in simulating project conditions and optimizing TCEI. The results showed that the change in project conditions had a significant impact on the TCEI optimal solutions. The correlation between TCEI suggested that they affected each other positively, but in different strengths. The findings of the study will assist contractors to visualize the impact of their decision on the relationship of TCEI.

Developments in Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) systems depend on socio-cultural, political, economic, and environmental issues. The ability to assess and evaluate the level and nature of these relationships plays a critical role in measuring the performance level vis-à-vis sustainability of waste management systems. The current criteria adopted for assessing waste management performance do not capture an accurate and comprehensive representation of MSWM scenarios from collection to disposal. Hence the methodologies do not accurately measure the level of impacts resulting from waste management systems or, indirectly, the environmental, economic, social, and cultural costs of MSWM. This research develops a waste management performance assessment protocol that captures all relevant components of waste management processes. The methodology is based on emission as the indicator of choice for assessing the performance of a city-wide or regional waste management system. The study developed a framework, Comprehensive Emission Quantification Model (CEQ-Model), for measuring the sustainability of the MSWM system hinged on process-based emission modelling. This framework incorporated aspects of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines and Life Cycle Thinking (LCT), framed using carefully selected MSWM scenarios in New Zealand. In a ranked cumulative emission quantification assessment of four Territorial Authorities (TA), the research determined the performance level of each TA relative to others. Auckland Council, with a total emission of 4.272x1012 KgCO2-e generated from disposing of 2,425,022 tonnes of waste, was the most unsustainable territory, followed by Rotorua District with total emission of 6.666x10 10 KgCO2-e from 45,000 tonnes of waste, and Waikato District with emission of 5.380x10 10 KgCO2-e from 29,796 tonnes. In comparison, the most sustainable TA is Opotiki District with total emission of 2.314x10 9 KgCO2-e from 1,450 tonnes of waste, giving emission per tonne of waste per year as 1.762 GgCO2-e, 1.806 GgCO2-e, 1.6 GgCO2-e, and 1.481 GgCO2-e for Auckland Council, Waikato District, Opotiki District, and Rotorua District respectively.