today’s environmental manager’s toolbox: product based risk assessment and life cycle assessment...
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Today’s environmental manager’s toolbox: product based risk assessment and life cycle
assessment
Kate WinnebeckNew York State Pollution Prevention Institute
Evolution of Corporate Environmental Managment
Multidisciplinary Teams • Need for CEMs to support corporate functions • Organizations rely on CEMs to
– Help define key environmental terms such as “environmentally friendly,” “sustainable,” “non-toxic”
– Working knowledge of environmental concepts– Provide up to date knowledge of pending regs,
voluntary restrictions• Marketing functions rely on CEMs to ensure ecomarketing
is accurate and data is available to backup claims• Product design functions rely on CEMs to incorporate
ecodesign concepts into product design decisions
Managing Life Cycle Impacts
• Product based Risk Assessment: assess potential EHS impacts of a product
• Alternatives Assessment: assess potential EHS impacts of multiple products to aid in decision making
• Life Cycle Assessment: quantify & identify sources of environmental impact
Product Based Risk Assessment
• ID & assess potential impacts at each life cycle stage• Results are used to inform the product design team about
potential risks associated with the product• Numerical score is typically used to communicate results• Leading private companies are
developing their own EHS internalrisk assessment tools– SC Johnson Greenlist™– Walmart GreenWERCS
Alternatives Assessment• Assess the EHS risk of multiple products or product
components which perform the same function• Risks are prioritized and alternatives are compared in
order to prioritize them for implementation• Numerical or relative scoring systems are typically
developed to express assessment results
• Hazard data display methods rely on the user to apply decision methods to data on a range of chemical hazards
• Screening/decision methods have decision rules built into the model
Risk & Alternatives Assessment
Winnebeck, KH. An abbreviated alternatives assessment process for product designers: a children’s furniture manufacturing case study, JCleanPro, 19 (2011).
Life Cycle Assessment1. Define scope & boundaries
2. Life cycle inventory: quantify inputs and outputs
3. Impact analysis: inventory is translated to effects
4. Report results
Impact Analysis
Fate analysisExposure &
effect analysisDamage analysis
Normalization & weighting
Mineral & Fossil
Resources
Ecosystem Quality
Human Health
LCA Results - Improvement Opportunities• Quantify contribution of individual materials and processes
to the life cycle impact• Understand relative contribution of processes and products
LCA Results - Product Comparisons
Results comparing environmental impacts of multiple products• Used to support marketing claims• Identify impact categories which products differ
LCA Results - Product Comparisons
Results comparing life cycle stages impact of multiple products• Pinpoint contribution of stages to the life cycle impact• Visualize differences between products
SummaryTool Goals
Risk assessment Identify potential environmental health & safety risks of products Identify processes/materials which contribute the most environmental impact Educate business units about environmental impact
Alternatives assessment
Identify potential environmental health & safety risks of products Compare potential environmental health & safety risks of products Identify opportunities to improve the environmental performance of products at
various points in their life cycle Educate business units about environmental impact
Life cycle assessment Quantify environmental benefits and impacts of products Provide credible evidence for marketing claims Identify opportunities to improve the environmental performance of products at
various points in their life cycle Inform decision-makers in industry, government or non-governmental
organizations Select relevant indicators of environmental performance, including measurement
techniques Instill life cycle thinking within businesses Educate business units about environmental impact
