Mary Ann Curran - Böcker

Life-Cycle Assessment presents a brief overview of the development of the life-cycle assessment process and develops guidelines and principles for implementation of a product life-cycle inventory analysis. The book describes inventory analysis, impact analysis, and improvement analysis-the three components of a product life-cycle assessment. It discusses the major stages in a life cycle, including raw materials acquisition, materials manufacture, final product fabrication, filling/packaging/distribution, and consumer use and disposal.

The first book of its kind, the Life Cycle Assessment Handbook: A Guide for Environmentally Sustainable Products will become an invaluable resource for environmentally progressive manufacturers and suppliers, product and process designers, executives and managers, and government officials who want to learn about this essential component of environmental sustainability.As the last several decades have seen a dramatic rise in the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in decision making, the interest in the life cycle concept as an environmental management and sustainability tool continues to grow. The LCA Handbook offers a look at the role that life cycle information, in the hands of companies, governments, and consumers, may have in improving the environmental performance of products and technologies. It concisely and clearly presents the various aspects of LCA in order to help the reader better understand the subject.The content of the book was designed with a certain flow in mind. After a high-level overview to describe current views and state-of-the-practice of LCA, it presents chapters that address specific LCA methodological issues including creating life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment, and capturing eco-systems services. These are followed by example applications of LCA in the agri-food industry; sustainable supply chain management; solid waste management; mining and mineral extraction; forest products; buildings; product innovation; and sustainable chemistry and engineering.The international success of the sustainability paradigm needs the participation of many stakeholders, including citizens, corporations, academia, and NGOs. The handbook links LCA and responsible decision making and how the life cycle concept is a critical element in environmental sustainability. It covers issues such as building capacity in developing countries and emerging economies so that they are more capable of harnessing the potential in LCA for sustainable development. Governments play a very important role with the leverage they have through procurement, regulation, international treaties, tax incentives, public outreach, and other policy tools. This compilation points to the clear trend for incorporating life cycle information into the design and development processes for products and policies, just as quality and safety concerns are now addressed throughout product design and development.

This student version of the popular bestseller, Life Cycle Assessment Handbook, is not a watered-down version of the original, but retains all of the important information and valuable lessons provided in the first book, along with helpful problems and solutions for the student learning about Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).As the last several decades have seen a dramatic rise in the application of LCA in decision making, the interest in the life cycle concept as an environmental management and sustainability tool continues to grow. The LCA Student Handbook offers a look at the role that life cycle information, in the hands of companies, governments and consumers, may have in improving the environmental performance of products and technologies. It concisely and clearly presents the various aspects of LCA in order to help the reader better understand the subject.The international success of the sustainability paradigm needs the participation of many stakeholders, including citizens, corporations, academia, and NGOs. The handbook links LCA and responsible decision making and how the life cycle concept is a critical element in environmental sustainability. It covers issues such as building capacity in developing countries and emerging economies so that they are more capable of harnessing the potential in LCA for sustainable development. Governments play a very important role with the leverage they have through procurement, regulation, international treaties, tax incentives, public outreach, and other policy tools. This compilation of points to the clear trend for incorporating life cycle information into the design and development processes for products and policies, just as quality and safety concerns are now addressed throughout product design and development.The Life Cycle Assessment Student Handbook is not just for students. It is also a valuable resource for practitioners looking for a desktop reference on LCA or for any engineer, manager, or policy-maker wishing to learn about LCA.

Life-Cycle Assessment presents a brief overview of the development of the life-cycle assessment process and develops guidelines and principles for implementation of a product life-cycle inventory analysis. The book describes inventory analysis, impact analysis, and improvement analysis-the three components of a product life-cycle assessment. It discusses the major stages in a life cycle, including raw materials acquisition, materials manufacture, final product fabrication, filling/packaging/distribution, and consumer use and disposal.

in practice, the performance of a critical review can be made much easier if the preparers of a life cycle assessment study very carefully follow the requirements that are specifically placed on the interpretation.Because the critical review is the independent quality control of an LCA, the results improve the credibility of reporting.

in practice, the performance of a critical review can be made much easier if the preparers of a life cycle assessment study very carefully follow the requirements that are specifically placed on the interpretation.Because the critical review is the independent quality control of an LCA, the results improve the credibility of reporting.

This book describes the importance of the goal and scope phase for the entire LCA study. In this first phase of the LCA framework (ISO standardized), the purpose of the assessment is defined and decisions are made about the details of the industrial system being studied and how the study will be conducted. Selecting impact categories, category indicators, characterization models, and peer review is decided during goal and scope definition. The book provides practical guidance and an overview of LCIA methods available in LCA software. Although not specified in the ISO standards, Attributional LCA and Consequential LCA are presented in order to appropriately determine the goal and scope of an assessment. The book closes with the interconnection between goal and scope definition and the interpretation phase. Example goal and scope documents for attributional and consequential LCAs are provided in the annexes.