lca data availability from an ngo perspective inlca-lcm 2002 rita schenck, iere http: rita@iere.org
Post on 17-Jan-2016
216 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
IEREIERE
LCA Data Availability from an NGO Perspective
InLCA-LCM 2002
Rita Schenck, IERE
http:www.iere.org
Rita@iere.org
IEREIERE
What Do NGO’s Want? While it is a mistake to assume that all
NGO’s are the same, in general, most NGO’s want performance data that is:– Transparent– Accurate– Comparable between and among producers and
products Most NGO’s don’t want compliance data
IEREIERE
What Does Industry Want To protect its intellectual property Not to be compared environmentally with
its competitors (at least if they are not sure that their competitors are not worse than they are)
To have the necessary information for internal process improvement goals
IEREIERE
Most LCA Studies Are Internal Engineering Studies They are based on detailed process knowledge (and
thus imbed business confidential data) Their thought process is linear, starting at the
beginning of the process and following all processed to the end of the life cycle
The focus is on the inventory, not the impact assessment (an inside-out view of the environment).
Studies often are cradle-to gate They are useful for internal use, but difficult to
disclose
IEREIERE
NGO Performed LCA’s Are Impact and Externally Focused They only incorporate as much of the process as
necessary to be comprehensive Unit processes tend to be larger: an entire facility
rather than the classical unit process Studies tend to be performed on finished goods:
cradle to gate studies usually not done. Focus is on impacts rather than inventory (an
outside-in environmental view) The audience is the general public
IEREIERE
Typical Engineering Unit Processes
An NGO LCA might combine all these processes into one unit process: Corn Refining
Corn Refiners Association
IEREIERE
Data Already Available to NGO’s Facility specific data
– Toxic emissions to air, soil and water– Water-borne releases– Hazardous waste production– Permit limitations to air emissions– Utility CO2, SOx and NOx real-time emissions
Industry averages– Published LCA’s for some products– Industry average voluntary reports– Industry total production reports– Engineering estimates
IEREIERE
Challenges with the NGO Approach
Data depends on publicly available information– which is sometimes difficult to obtain because it is stored in local regulators offices
Significant allocation challenges remain: how much of the emissions from a facility come from a particular product at that facility?
Input data are typically not publicly available, e.g. energy use, raw material consumption
IEREIERE
Advantages to the NGO Approach
Responsive to needs of the public Perceived as being unbiased Does not disclose compliance-sensitive data Reduced data requirements over
engineering-type data, thus lower cost
IEREIERE
Disadvantages of NGO Studies
Not useful for engineering applications Publicly available data may not be
comprehensive, or may be outdated Validation by industry is limited
IEREIERE
What Data is Needed
Information on the amount of product made at particular sites
Information on energy and raw materials used to make a product
Industry averages for comparison
IEREIERE
The Opportunity:Comparisons
Producers whose product is environmentally superior have a competitive advantage they are not using
Partnering with NGO’s to produce LCA’s for public consumption can recover that advantage
IEREIERE
Summary
NGO based LCA’s can be useful to industry as well as to the general public
Intellectual property and compliance disclosure issues can be avoided
Comparison among competitors is both the opportunity and the barrier to disclosure of LCI data
Industries that partner with NGO’s will have a competitive advantage
top related