Quantitative Life Cycle Tools
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Ecological Footprint are two examples of quantitative assessment methods which identify and quantify significant environmental impacts, highlighting the largest environmental impacts (critical few) worth targeting in order to save money, improve efficiency and minimise environmental impact.
Life Cycle Assessment
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a quantitative assessment tool. Through stages of goal definition, boundary setting, inventory and analysis, LCA uses a systems approach to identify and quantify the environmental impacts of a product or service, from raw materials extraction through to processing, transport, use, reuse, recycling or disposal. For each of these stages, the impact is measured in terms of resource used and environmental impacts caused. Importantly, LCA relates environmental impact to a function.
An internationally approved standards have been developed for LCA, under the ISO 14000 series. The standards achieved political agreement through ISO involving European, North American, Asian and South American and oceanic countries to the methodological approach for LCAs.
When to undertake an LCA
LCA can help business indentify the most effective improvement than can be made in terms of environmental impacts and use of resources. LCA can also be a powerful tool for comparing the environmental credentials of similar products and services and thus, for marketing 'green goods' (source: www.deh.gov.au). LCA is commonly applied to comparatively assess the environmental impact of two (or more) products or services.
Where to go for more help
A number of consultants have expertise in undertaking LCAs. Alternatively, life cycle training courses are run regularly in Melbourne. For further details on consultants or training courses, please send an email or see the "What's on" or the "Resource hub" sections of this site.
Ecological Footprint
The Ecological Footprint tool tracks resource consumption against the amount of resources nature can provide. It measures our impact in terms of the amount of biologically productive land and sea we require, to produce the resources we use and absorb the waste we generate. In essence, it is a measure of our ecological performance. While essentially a consumption based measurement, an ecological footprint can be calculated at any level or for any activity. For example, it can be calculated for the global population, one nation, state or region, a business, a product or a household. EPA has developed calculators for the office activities of a business, along with other calculators.
For more information send an email or see www.epa.vic.gov.au/eco-footprint.
