The foundation for a Life Cycle Assessment

(LCA)
LCA
= A scientific approach to measure quantitatively the environmental
performance of a product or system
= The evaluation of environmental impact of a system over its life
span, from production over use, up to the end-of-life, for each
“impact category”

An “impact category” groups various substance emissions into an

quantified measure on the effect on global or local environment
– For example, the Global Warming Potential, combined emissions of
greenhouse gasses such as CO2, CH4, SF6, …
 The “big 6” impact categories ...

… have some characteristics in common:

• General issues having a fundamental impact on the eco-system

of the earth

• A scientific approach for quantification exists

• Universally applicable
Acidification potential (AP)

• Acidification originates from the emissions of sulphur

dioxide and oxides of nitrogen
• In the atmosphere, these oxides react with water vapour
and form acids which fall down to the earth in the form
of rain or snow, or as dry depositions
• The Acidification Potential (AP) measures the
contribution of an emission substance to acidification
• The AP is measured in SO2 equivalents
Eutrophication Potential (EP)

• Eutrophication originates mainly from nitrogen and phosphorus in sewage

outlets and fertilizers
• Nutrients accelerate the growth of algae and other vegetation in water.
Degradation of this organic material consumes oxygen, resulting in
oxygen deficiency and fish kill.
• The Eutrophication Potential (EP)
quantifies the nutrient enrichment
by the release of substances in
water or into the soil
 Global Warming Potential (GWP)
• Greenhouse gas emissions to the
atmosphere retain heat in the earth’s
ecosystem by absorbing reflected radiation,
resulting in global warming
• The Global Warming Potential (GWP) is an
index to measure the contribution to global
warming of a substance that is released into
the atmosphere
• The GWP is measured in CO2 equivalents
• For example, methane has a GWP of 23 (1 methane molecule has an equal
contribution to global warming as 23 CO2 molecules)
Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)

• The ozone layer in the atmosphere

protects plants and animals from the
sun’s harmful UV-radiation
• Some substances in the atmosphere
make the ozone layer decline, resulting
in an increased UV-radiation level at
ground level
• The Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
is the contribution of a substance, relative to CFC-11, to the depletion of the ozone layer
• Ozone Depletion substances have ODP’s from 0.012 to 10
Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP)

• Photochemical ozone, also called “ground level ozone” or “summer smog”, is

formed by the reaction of a volatile organic compound and nitrogen oxides in the
presence of heat and sunlight
• It is formed mainly in urban regions during hot summer weather
• Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP) is the contribution of a
substance, relative to ethene (ethylene), to the formation of photochemical ozone
Primary energy use
Primary energy is the energy embodied in natural resources, like coal, oil, sunlight, uranium… that has
not (yet) undergone any antropogenic transformation

Usable primary energy is a scarce on earth. Hence the global society can only be durable if primary
energy use is limited

Consequently, primary energy use can be seen as an environmental impact category, even though it is
in principle an environmental inventory value (no characterisation factor)

Primary energy use can be measured in GJ (giga Joule) or t.o.e (tonnes of oil equivalent)
Other impact categories
• Human and aquatic toxicity
– E.g. due to dioxines, heavy metals, hydrochloric acids (benzene) …
– Difficult to draw the line from which quantity those substances are harmful and how to
reflect cumulating effects and long-term reaction effects

• Noise pollution, light pollution, visual pollution

– Difficult to set up criteria that are universally applicable

• For these categories, there is a high level of uncertainty on the methodology for impact
assessment; in addition, impacts tend to be more local
 Better managed through other methods, such as risk assessment
 Round-up
An environmental “impact category” groups various substance emissions into
a quantified measure of effect on global or local environment
The following are called the big 6 impact categories: Primary Energy Use,
Acidification, Eutrophication, Global Warming, Ozone Depletion,
Photochemical Ozone Creation
The contribution of a substance to one of these impacts is called the Impact
Potential and is measured relatively to the impact of a major substance
For instance, the Global Warming Potential is measured in CO 2-equivalents, so
relatively to the global warming potential of CO2 which represents the bulk of
greenhouse gas emissions