DDI8003 – Week 1

Introduction to life cycle assessment, Introduction to the course

 DDI 8003 – LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

2
 Contextual information about the course

• This course will be taught in a dual-mode: it will be

held face-to-face and broadcasted via the zoom web
platform.
• The Moodle platform is used as a repository of
course documents. The access to the Zoom platform
will be accessible on Moodle.
• The courses will also be recorded so that participants
can also follow up in a asynchronous mode.
• The final exam will require a physical presence at
Polytechnique Montreal.

3
 On the agenda today

• Presentation of teachers and students

• Presentation of the syllabus
• Introduction to the LCA project
• High level introducton, familiarisation with the
concept of life cycle
• Why LCA?

4
 Note on the teachers

The teachers come from the

• Réjean Samson (Prof. GCH): Managing director of the

CIRAIG, Full professor and holder of the International
Life Cycle Chair
• Co-responsible of the course

• Manuele Margni (Prof. MAGI): Full professor and

holder of the International Life Cycle Chair
• Co-responsible of the course and teacher

5
 Note on the teachers

The teachers come from the

• François Saunier: Research associate at CIRAIG,

teacher DDI8003

• Laura Debarre and Mohamad Kaddoura

(PhD students at the CIRAIG): Teaching assistant,
corrections and availabilities for answering
questions

6
 Presentation of the students

• Quick round table introductions

• Field of work / background
• Academic program / Institution
• Interests (useful for forming teams)

7
 On the agenda today

• Presentation of teachers and students

• Presentation of the syllabus
• Introduction to the LCA project
• High level introduction, familiarisation with the
concept of life cycle
• Why LCA

8
 Syllabus

GENERAL OBJECTIVES of the course (summary – complete list in the

syllabus)
• Have a theoretical understanding of LCA
• Know how to interpret and critique results of an LCA
• Complete an LCA from A to Z

Pedagogical organisation of the course

• Lectures on LCA theory
• Labs (calculations using software and by hand)
• LCA project in a team of students

9
 Syllabus

See the document on Moodle

10
 Syllabus

Evaluation
1ST PROJECT REPORT = 5 %
ORAL PRESENTATION OF THE 1ST REPORT = 5 %

2ND PROJECT REPORT = 30 %

ORAL PRESENTATION OF THE 2ND REPORT =10 %

FINAL EXAM = 50%

IMPORTANT: A minimum grade of 40% is required on the final exam,

otherwise the accumulated grades for the project will not be taken into
consideration and a grade of « F » will be attributed

11
 Readings

12
LCA textbooks
 LCA textbooks

14
 Readings

And any other document suggested during the

session

15
 Tools

Software: OpenLCA (http://openlca.org/)

Life cycle inventory database: ecoinvent v3.6

Communication tool / document transfer: Moodle

Zoom for video lectures

16
 Support

Questions? Doubts?

Step 1: Ask the question to your colleagues on

Moodle Forum (we also answer)

Step 2: Teaching assistants Laure Debarre and

Mohamad Kaddoura by appointment

Step 3: François Saunier or Manuele Margni

17
 On the agenda today

• Presentation of teachers and students

• Presentation of the syllabus
• Introduction to the LCA project
• High level introduction, familiarisation with the
concept of life cycle
• Why LCA

18
 LCA Project

• Most important part of the course

• Perform an LCA from A to Z

• Teams of 4-5 students

• It’s possible that we impose members to certain teams

19
 Choosing the subject of your LCA project

• Comparison of products / services

• Prioritize subjects…
That you are passionate about
For which you have access to data
That are important to you and on which you already
have some knowledge
• Avoid subjects…
• With obvious conclusions
• That were already studied many times
• That are too complicated or complex

• We will validate the subjects with you

20
 LCA project

• Groups must be formed and project ideas approved by the

end of the class on September 14.

• Submit your project proposal:

• Register your project in the « Admin » section of
Moodle « Project: Groups registration and project identification»
• Ask teachers to validate the project

• Using Moodle forum is recommended to find a group /

suggest a project topic

22
 On the agenda today

• Presentation of teachers and students

• Presentation of the syllabus
• Introduction to the LCA project
• High level introduction, familiarisation with the
concept of life cycle
• Why LCA

23
 Group exploration of LCA concepts

Question 1: Environmental impacts of a product

Choose a random product
What should we consider in the evaluation of the
environmental impacts of that product?

Question 2: Environmental comparison of the products

What product could we compare the first one to?
Repeat exercise 1 for the alternative product.
How could we be sure that the comparison is a valid
one?

24
 Iterative session - exploring LCA of the selected product

25
Conceptual model of LCA
Introduction to life cycle assesment
Manuele Margni
Technosphere and Ecosphere

Technosphere Ecosphere

All human activities (production, The natural environment, including

consumption, processing, etc.) living organisms (biosphere), air,
water, soil, and their natural
resources (renewables or not)

Technosphere Ecosphere
 Elementary flows

• The ecosphere is the source of all raw materials used in the

Technosphere
• The ecosphere is the sink for all the emissions from the
Technosphere
… these links or exchanges between the two spheres are called
Elementary flows (or environmental interventions)

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources
 Technosphere
Elementary processes

air water soil

Emissions

Purchases
Elementary Supplied products
(energy, material,
services…)
process (goods or services)

Resources Intermediate (or

economic) flows

Elementary flows
Product system– Simplified representation

Definition (ISO 14040)

« Set of elementary processes
comprising product flows […],
fulfilling one or more defined
functions, which serve as a
model for the life cycle of the
product»
Product system– Realistic representation

Function
Product system

The product system is an integral part of the Technosphere

• It mobilizes part of the activities of the Technosphere
• It exchanges elementary flows with the ecosphere

Technosphere Emissions
Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources
Conceptual model - summary

In summary, an LCA consists of:

1. Defining the product system (activities linked to a product / service)
2. Calculating all the exchanges between the product system and the
environment (elementary flows)
3. Calculating the potential environmental impacts associated with these
elementary flows

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources
LCA framework according to ISO 14040
Introduction to life cycle assessment
Manuele Margni
International standard ISO14040

LCA framework

Goal and scope definition of

the study Applications
Product development
and improvement
Strategic planning
Life cycle inventory analysis Interpretation
Public policy
Marketing
Others
Life cycle impact assessment
 Reminder: Conceptual model

The world is divided into two sphere which interact through

elementary flows

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources

1 2 3

LCA deals with these elements in three distinct phases

 1. Goal and Scope definition of the study

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources

LCA framework
Gaol and scope definition of
Applications
Within the Technosphere, LCA is the study

interested in a particular product system, Product development

and improvement
which will be defined during the first Life cycle inventory analysis Interpretation
Public policy
phase of LCA
Others
Life cycle impact assessment
1. Goal and Scope definition of the study

A product system is made up of a series of « elementary processes»

→ Basic elements of a product system

• Elementary flows: emissions/resources exchanged directly with the

environment
• Intermediate flows: products and services → links with other elementary
processes OR function under study
 1. Goal and Scope definition of the study

Each elementary process requires the product of other

elementary processes

System
boundaries Function
 2. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources

LCA framework
The life cycle inventory records the Gaol and scope definition of
the study Applications
elementary input and output flows of Product development
the product system and improvement
Life cycle inventory analysis Interpretation
Public policy

Others
Life cycle impact assessment
 2. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)

« Life cycle inventory phase involves the compilation and

quantifications of inputs and outputs , for a given product system
during its life cycle» (ISO 14044)

Elementary flows for an elementary Elementary flows for each

process elementary process
2. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)

LCI = sum of elementary flows of each process

2. Life cycle inventory (LCI)– concrete example
 3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources

« Life cycle impact assessment phase LCA framework

intends to understand and assess the Gaol and scope definition of
the study Applications
magnitude and significance of the Product development
and improvement
potential impacts of a product system Life cycle inventory analysis Interpretation
Public policy
on the environment during its life
Others
cycle» (ISO 14044) Life cycle impact assessment
 3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)

Problem category Damage category

CO2
Climate change
CFC
Photochemical oxidation
SO2
PO43- Ozone depletion
NOx Acidification Human
PM2.5 health

Normalization and
Eutrophication
…

weighting
Human toxicity
Ecosystem
Ecotoxicity quality
Water use

Land use Resources

and sercices
Resource use ecosystem
 4. Interpretation of results

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary
flows
Resources

« The results of an LCI or an LCIA are LCA framework

summarized and discussed to draw Gaol and scope definition of
the study Applications
conclusions, recommendations, and Product development
and improvement
lead to a decision-making in Life cycle inventory analysis Interpretation
Public policy
accordance with the goal and scope
Others
definition of the study» (ISO 14044) Life cycle impact assessment
 4. Interpretation of results

• To get impact scores, we make hundreds of hypotheses,

and lots of calculations

• We need to put things in perspective, understand what

the quantitative results really mean in the context of
decision making and in relationship to the question
asked by the commissioner (goal of the study).

47
Conceptual model and ISO 14040 analysis framework

In summary, an LCA consists of:

1. Defining the product system (activities linked to a product / service)
2. Calculating all the exchanges between the product system and the environment
(elementary flows)
3. Calculating the potential environmental impacts associated with these elementary
flows
4. … without forgetting to interpret the results according to the goal of the study (ISO
14040)

Emissions
Technosphere Ecosphere
Elementary Conceptual
flows model
Resources impacts
globaux,
régionaux,
Goal and scope
Life cycle locaux
Life cycle impact ISO 14040
definition of the
study
inventory assessment framework
 On the agenda today

• Presentation of teachers and students

• Presentation of the syllabus
• Introduction to the LCA project
• High level introduction, familiarisation with the
concept of life cycle
• Why LCA
• IPAT equation
• Hotspot identification and avoid burden shift

50
 IPAT equation
Introduction to life cycle assessment
Manuele Margni
Ehrlich equation (IPAT)

Impacts = Population x Affluence x Technology

[Consumption per
capita]
[Number of
inhabitants] [Impacts to produce
each unit of goods and
services]

(Ehrlich et al., 1971; Chertow, 2000)

IPAT equation

Impacts = Population x Affluence x Technology

The growth of the world population

will necessarily lead to an increase in
environmental impacts
IPAT equation

As compared to today, by how much will environmental

impacts increase by 2060, due to population growth alone?

+ 35% as
compared
to 2010,
on average

Source: UN World Population

https://population.un.org/wpp/
Graphs/Probabilistic/POP/TOT/ 54
900
IPAT equation

Impacts = Population x Affluence x Technology

A represents wealth per capita.

It can be expressed in GDP/capita.

Since our economic system is based

on the principle of growth, we can
predict a consistent increase in impact
 Putting things in context: IPAT Equation: Finding levers: A

Contents of a middle class

family in Mali

Contents of a middle class

family home in California

Photographs by Peter Menzel, Material World (1994)

20% of the population is responsible for 90% of consumption
20% of the population lives with less than 1$ US per day
UN commission on sustainable development, 2002
56
 IPAT equation

Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology

Population PIB / capita Annual increase of PIB

totale en 2010 / capita
Low income countries 817 million 1 980 $ 2.8%
Middle income countries 4 920 million 3 979 $ 4.6%
High income 1 123 million 38 293 $ 1.0%

PIB/ capita
Current Affluence (World Average) 9 358 $ Factor 4
Forecasted affluence in 2060 (World Average) 38 287 $ increase!

57 Source données : World Bank Statistics

Source diapositive : Urs Schenker, Nestlé Research Center
IPAT equation

Impacts = Population x Affluence x Technology

T: Represents the impact per unit of wealth produced

Impacts associated with emissions and consumption of resources

for the production, transportation, use and end-of-life of products or
services

So we can rewrite the equation like this:

Impacts = population x GDP x Impacts

capita GDP
Équation IPAT

Impacts = Population x Affluence x Technology

Impacts = population x GDP x Impacts

capita GDP
+ 35% x4 x 9.5

LCA starts from a premise that a certain amount of “function” must be

delivered; and assess / compare different ways of delivering this
function (different products, different technologies, … etc)
IPAT equation

Impacts = Population x Affluence x Technology

To learn more about the IPAT equation:

Chertow (2000) The IPAT Equation and Its Variants: Changing Views of Technology and
Environmental Impact. Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 4, Number 4, pp 13-29.

Critique of the IPAT equation → I = f(P,A,T)

Alcott, B. (2010). "Impact caps: Why population, affluence and technology strategies should be
abandoned". Journal of Cleaner Production. 18 (6): 552–560. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2009.08.001
 Why LCA?
Identify « hot spots» and avoid impact
shifts
Introduction to life cycle assessment
Manuele Margni
Unexpected impacts

Zero emission? Or rather occurs elsewhere?

Life cycle thinking makes it possible to:

• Identify unexpected impacts
• Avoid shift of environmental problems
 Why LCA?

Journal of Industrial Ecology, Volume 17, Number 1,

(2012)

63
 Global Warming Potential for electric vs. conventional vehicles

Electric Vehicle (EV)

powered by EU
electricity (EURO),
coal (C) and natural
gaz (NG)

Conventional vehicles
poweved by Diesel (D)
and gasoline (G)

64
(Hawkins et al., 2012)
Electric vehicles vs conventional vehicles (QC)

Quebec context (> 95% hydroelectricity)

(CIRAIG, 2016)
https://ciraig.org/index.php/fr/lca-study/comparaison-des-
vehicules-electriques-et-des-vehicules-conventionnels-en-
contexte-quebecois/
 Electric vehicles vs conventional vehicles (QC)

EV more impactful than CV at purchase

(x 1.5 – 2)

Breakeven point ~ 30,000 km

Gap increases with vehicle lifetime

(CIRAIG, 2016)
Electric vehicles vs conventional vehicles (QC)

Similar trend for the « human health », « ecosystem quality » and « resource
depletion – non renewable»

(CIRAIG, 2016)
Electric vehicles vs conventional vehicles (QC)

Trends are reversed for the indicator « depletion of mineral resources»

(CIRAIG, 2016)
Electric vehicles vs conventional vehicles in other context (FR and DE)

Convent Electric vehicle

ional
vehicle

(ADEME, 2013)
The life cycle approach

The life cycle approach makes it possible to anticipate a potential impact shift

Two principles to avoid impact shift:

➢ Global or life cycle approach
➢ Multi-criteria or multi-indicator approach
1st principle to avoid impact shift

Global or life cycle approach

Impacts Impacts

Acquisition Fabrication Distribution Utilisation Gestion en Acquisition Fabrication Distribution Utilisation Gestion en
de fin de vie de fin de vie
ressources ressources

Before After
 2nd principle to avoid impact shift

Multi-criteria or multi-indicator approach

Impact 1 Impact 2 Impact 3 Impact 1 Impact 2 Impact 3

Before After
 Example of impact shift

Refrigeration systems are a concrete example of

impact shift

Chloromethane,
Sulfur dioxide, CFC HCFC
Ammonia

1950 1987
Provide an example of burden shift

Across life cycle stages? Between environmental problems?

Identification of « hotspots »

• Quantify the scores of several types of environmental

impact over the entire life cycle

• Identification of activities and life cycle stages with

the greatest contribution to impacts

http://levistrauss.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Full-
LCA-Results-Deck-FINAL.pdf
Eco-design

« Systematic integration of environmental aspects in the design and

development of products (goods and services, systems) with the
objective of reducing negative environmental impacts throughout
their life cycle for equivalent or superior service […] ».
Norme NF X 30-264
A bad example of design

« Nestlé abandons Cailler packaging: […] sales of the

redesigned chocolate […] dropped by 31% »
Quotidien Le Temps, 27 January 2007

« The Consumers’ Federation of French-speaking Switzerland notes that

they have a five times greater impact on the environment in terms of CO2
when burned »
A good example: eco-design of new packaging

December 2008
Design of a new baby
food packaging
 … and improvement of the new alternative

Plastic pot system with

current logistics has
longer transport
distances

Plastic pot system

used more efficient
UHT stream process

Plastic
…………………………………
has less impacts With “optimized”
to produce
………………… (for weight in logistics network, the
package) plastic would have an
even greater
79 advantage
 On the agenda today

• Presentation of teachers and students

• Presentation of the syllabus
• Introduction to the LCA project
• High level introduction, familiarisation with the
concept of life cycle
• Why LCA
• Concluding remarks

80
 Biggest strength of LCA: holistic dimension

Takes into account « all » economic activities

associated to a product or to a decision.
• Extraction of raw materials
• Transformation
• Transport
• use (consumable, energy)
• End of life (recycling, landfill, incineration)

« From cradle to grave »

81
 Biggest strength of LCA: holistic dimension

Takes into account « all » economic activities

associated to a product or to a decision.
Takes into account many types of environmental
impacts
Reduction of
the ozone
Climate layer
Smog
change

Land Acidification
use

Human
toxicity Eutrophication

82
 Biggest strength of LCA: holistic dimension

Takes into account « all » economic activities

associated to a product or to a decision.
Takes into account many types of environmental
impacts
This allows to avoid burden shifting

83
 Life cycle thinking - Ethical question

• Who is responsible for the pollution?

• Why?
• What does it mean to be « responsible »?

84
 Life cycle thinking - Ethical question

« We produce products and these products are

consumed by other countries, especially the
developed countries. This share of emissions should
be taken by the consumers but not the producers »
Li Gao, Chinas’s chief climate negotiator, 2009

85
 Conclusions
• Environmental issues usually lead to
Emotional reactions
Political speeches
• ➔ A playing field for the dissemination of ideas, prejudice,
power dynamics, etc.
• LCA doesn’t have the answer to these questions and though it
is imperfect, it is:
• Science-based
• Holistic
• Nuanced
• LCA is a diagnostic tool which tries to see things as they are
86 and to put them in perspective.
 Conclusion

• LCA is a tool to help decision-making

LCA does not make a decision
It gives a vision of reality to inform decision-makers
Decisions are based on:
• values;
• Ethical considerations, morals, beliefs (religious or other);
• Political ideology;
• Economics;
• Practical considerations
Science (or LCA) does not have all the answers:
decision-makers must assume their
responsibility
87
 Suggested reading

90 key references on the most important issues in the

development of LCA