A decision inventory approach for improving decision support for climate change impact assessment and adaptation

Assessing and adapting to the impacts of climate change requires balancing social, economic, and environmental factors in the context of an ever-expanding range of objectives, uncertainties, and management options. The term decision support describes a diverse class of resources designed to help manage this complexity and assist decision makers in understanding impacts and evaluating management options. Most climate-related decision support resources implicitly assume that decision making is primarily limited by the quantity and quality of available information. However, a wide variety of evidence suggests that institutional, political, and communication processes are also integral to organizational decision making. Decision support resources designed to address these processes are underrepresented in existing tools. These persistent biases in the design and delivery of decision support may undermine efforts to move decision support from research to practice. The development of new approaches to decision support that consider a wider range of relevant issues is limited by the lack of information about the characteristics, context, and alternatives associated with climate-related decisions. We propose a new approach called a decision assessment and decision inventory that will provide systematic information describing the relevant attributes of climate-related decisions. This information can be used to improve the design of decision support resources, as well as to prioritize research and development investments. Application of this approach will help provide more effective decision support based on a balanced foundation of analytical tools, environmental data, and relevant information about decisions and decision makers.     

The application of life cycle assessment to design

This paper explores the practical application of life cycle assessment (LCA) to product system development. While life cycle assessment methods have been studied and demonstrated extensively over the last two decades, their application to product design and development has not been critically addressed. Many organizational and operational factors limit the integration of the three LCA components (inventory analysis, impact assessment and improvement assessment) with product development. Design of the product system can be considered a synthesis of individual decisions and choices made by the design team, which ultimately shape the system's environmental profile. The environmental goal of life cycle design is to minimize the aggregate environmental impacts associated with the product system. Appropriate environmental information must be supplied to decision makers throughout each stage of the development process to achieve this goal. LCA can serve as a source of this information, but informational requirements can vary as the design moves from its conceptual phase, where many design choices are possible, to its detailed design and implementation. Streamlined approaches and other tools, such as design checklists, are essential. The practical use of this tool in product development also depends on the nature and complexity of the product system (e.g. new vs. established), the product development cycle (time-to-market constraints), availability of technical and financial resources, and the design approach (integrated vs. serial). These factors will influence the role and scope of LCA in product development. Effective communication and evaluation of environmental information and the integration of this information with cost, performance, cultural and legal criteria will also be critical to the success of design initiatives based on the life cycle framework. An overview of several of these design initiatives will be presented.     

Measurement of green productivity and its improvement

The measurement framework of the green productivity (GP) of a product system, or process, and its improvement are discussed. Two types of GP indicators are developed to help understand the practical concept and executive approaches of GP, using environmental management tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and total cost assessment (TCA). GP index is defined as the ratio of productivity of a system to its environmental impacts. This index is intended for estimating the GP performance of an existing product or process and comparing it with other equivalents. Specifically, the GP index is a measure of the GP performance of a product system throughout its entire life cycle. The “overall” GP index can be divided into a “direct” GP index and an “indirect” GP index which are intended to analyze the GP performances of direct production processes and indirect upstream processes, respectively. For internal managerial decision, GP ratio is developed to select one alternative out of a list of contenders in order to improve the GP performance of an existing system. In addition, GP portfolio is drawn up to check the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives. A case study of a petrochemical company in Korea is provided as an example for illustrating the feasibility of the indicators developed here (GP index and GP ratio) for the measurement of GP and its improvement.     

Environmental decision making in multi-stakeholder contexts: applicability of life cycle thinking in development planning and implementation

According to the targets set for sustainability, integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs is one of the main goals for development projects. A major challenge in the development field is cross-sectoral integrated planning and achieving multi-stakeholder consensus for collaborative joint projects, especially when sustainability is a goal. This increases the complexity of the multi-stakeholder interaction in decision making and requires enhanced mechanisms for stakeholder participation, coordination, and commitment beyond narrow self-interest. A critical aspect in the decision making process is to enable stakeholders to not only interpret and make decisions based on expert judgments, but also to appropriately involve the relevant parties in the research and decision making process. Therefore, scientific analyses in multi-stakeholder contexts have to be more transparent, participatory, and stakeholder-based in order to provide useful information to assist responsible decision making.This paper presents an outline of a stakeholder-based life cycle assessment approach that can be used to support sustainable decision making in multi-stakeholder contexts. The framework is discussed and compared to other common methods used to support environmental decision making in development projects. We argue that the fundamental concept of life cycle thinking can be effectively used to incorporate stakeholders in the research and decision making process, which can lead to more comprehensive, yet achievable assessments in collaboration with stakeholders. Life cycle thinking is not just a way to examine environmental impacts of activities, but also a way to comprehend and visualize a broader set of upstream and downstream consequences of decisions in development planning and implementation. A life cycle framework including the mapping of stakeholder involvement at each activity in upstream and downstream stages would give stakeholders a holistic view that they otherwise may not have.     

The effect of modelling expert knowledge and uncertainty on multicriteria decision making: a river management case study

To support decision making on complex environmental issues, models are often used to explore the potential impacts of different management alternatives on the environmental system. We explored how different model outcomes affect decision making. Two topics have our particular interest, namely (1) the influence of quantification of qualitative information on decision making, and (2) the influence of reflecting uncertainty in the model outcomes on decision making. We set up a survey, in which we use a case study describing a decision making situation in strategic river management. The survey was disseminated through the Internet. From the results we conclude that the quantification of information in itself does not necessarily change preferences, although the outcomes suggest that preferences converge when based on quantified information. When confronted with uncertainty information, respondents show a preference for the alternative with the smallest chance of negative impacts. The study shows that, whereas the modelling community often strives to provide the policy process with as good, and as detailed information as is possible, their assumption that this will automatically lead to ‘better’ decision making is not self-evident.     

Simulation and life cycle assessment of process design alternatives for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oils

This study uses the process simulator ASPEN Plus^® and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare three process design alternatives for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oils that are: the conventional alkali-catalyzed process including a free fatty acids (FFAs) pre-treatment, the acid-catalyzed process, and the supercritical methanol process using propane as co-solvent. Results show that the supercritical methanol process using propane as co-solvent is the most environmentally favorable alternative. Its smaller steam consumption in comparison with the other process design alternatives leads to a lower contribution to the potential environmental impacts (PEI’s). The acid-catalyzed process generally shows the highest PEI’s, in particular due to the high energy requirements associated with methanol recovery operations.     

A strategic decision framework for green supply chain management

The number of organizations contemplating the integration of environmental practices into their strategic plans and daily operations is continuously increasing. Numerous initiatives have provided incentives for organizations to become more environmentally benign. Some of these regulation driven programs are mandatory, but increasingly numerous voluntary environmental programs are also introduced by organizations. Organizations view many of these environmental programs, which may include technological and organizational development projects, as possible alternatives for gaining or maintaining a competitive advantage. One environmental program area that continues to gain in importance is one that focuses on the external relationships among organizations. To help evaluate alternatives that will effect this relationship we present a strategic decision framework that will aid managerial decision-making. This decision framework is based on literature and practice in the area of environmentally conscious business practices. The focus of this paper will be on the components and elements of green supply chain management and how they serve as a foundation for the decision framework. We shall explore the applicability of a dynamic non-linear multiattribute decision model, defined as the analytical network process, for decision making within the green supply chain. Issues facing the modeling approach are also discussed.     

Manufacturing actor’s LCA

Modern industrial environmental management encompasses life-cycle thinking. This entails considering not only the emissions and resource use of the company’s production processes, but also the environmental consequences of all processes related to a product’s life cycle. However, no single actor can influence the whole life cycle of a product. To be effective, analysis methods intended to support improvement actions should therefore also consider the decision makers’ power to influence.Regarding the life cycle of a product, there are at least as many perspectives on life-cycle thinking as there are actors. This paper presents an approach with which manufacturing decision makers can sharpen the focus in life-cycle assessment (LCA) from a conventional ‘products or services’ emphasis to a company’s manufacturing processes. The method has been developed by combining knowledge gained from earlier LCA studies with new empirical findings from an LCA study of an SKF manufacturing line.We demonstrate how system boundaries and functional units in an LCA can be defined when adding the perspective of a manufacturing decision maker to the product life-cycle perspective. Such analysis helps manufacturing decision makers identify improvement potentials in their spheres of influence, by focusing on the environmental consequences of energy and material losses in manufacturing rather than merely accounting for the contributions of individual stages of the life cycle to the overall environmental impact. The method identifies and directly relates the environmental consequences of emissions or raw material inputs in the product life cycle to manufacturing processes. In doing so, the holistic systems perspective in LCA is somewhat diminished in favor of the relevance of results to manufacturing decision makers.     

Handling trade-offs in Ecodesign tools for sustainable product development and procurement

Trade-off situations often occur in the product development and procurement processes when alternative solutions emphasize different aspects that have to be balanced against each other. Ecodesign tools can be used in both product development and purchasing, for example to prescribe design alternatives, assess environmental impacts or to compare environmental improvement alternatives. However, it is not always clear what should be chosen in trade-off situations. In this study, 15 different Ecodesign tools were analyzed to ascertain whether a valuation is included in the tools, in what way the tools give support in different types of trade-off situations and whether the tools provide support from a sustainability perspective.Nine of the 15 tools analyzed included a valuation and were able to provide support in a trade-off situation, but the support was not sufficient. The valuation should include a life cycle perspective and a framework for sustainability. Otherwise, it can lead to strategically incorrect decisions from a sustainability perspective with concomitant risks of sub-optimized investment paths and blind alleys. However, all the analyzed tools can be complemented with other tools and methods based on strategic planning towards sustainability in order to include a framework for sustainability.     

A fuzzy linear programming extension of the general matrix-based life cycle model

A fuzzy linear programming extension of the general life cycle model is described. The model is suitable for applications involving system design and optimization wherein fuzzy target levels for environmental flows or impacts are specified, and wherein multiple technological alternatives capable of providing equivalent products or services are present within the life cycle boundaries. Solving the model results in an optimal mix of technologies that embodies the best compromise of the fuzzy environmental targets specified. The model formulation is concise and consistent with the generalized matrix-based LCA model; its linearity also makes identification of the optimal solution straightforward. Applications of the model to two illustrative case studies are also given.     

Application of a Life Cycle Impact Assessment framework to evaluate and compare environmental performances with economic values of supplied coal products

The South African economy is strongly based on coal as a mined resource, and various grades of coal are supplied to local and international customers. However, the environmental impacts associated with the preparation and production of different coal grades from Run of Mine (RoM) or raw coal are variable; specifically, the different mining methods used for coal extraction – opencast or underground mining – have different environmental impacts. The entire life cycles of the grades of coal must therefore be evaluated in order to compare environmental performances with supplied economic values. In this paper, a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methodology, based on the ISO 14040 standard, is applied for this purpose. Four cases are considered in South Africa: typical high-grade and low-grade coals from opencast and underground mines.     

Life cycle assessment of spray dried soluble coffee and comparison with alternatives (drip filter and capsule espresso)

This paper aims to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with spray dried soluble coffee over its entire life cycle and compare it with drip filter coffee and capsule espresso coffee. It particularly aims to identify critical environmental issues and responsibilities along the whole life cycle chain of spray dried coffee. This life cycle assessment (LCA) specifically uses foreground data obtained directly from coffee manufacturers and suppliers. Aside from energy consumption and greenhouse gases emissions, water footprint is also studied in detail, including regionalization of water impacts based on the ecological scarcity method 2006. Other impact categories are screened using the IMPACT 2002+ impact assessment method.The overall LCA results for a 1 dl cup of spray dried soluble coffee amounts approximately to 1 MJ of primary non-renewable energy consumption, to emissions of 0.07 kg of CO_2-eq, and between 3 and 10 l of non-turbined water use, depending on whether or not the coffee cultivation is irrigated and wet treated. When considering turbined water, use can be up to 400 l of water per cup. Pouch – and to a lesser extent metal can packaging alternatives – show lower environmental burdens than glass or sticks.On average, about one half of the environmental footprint occurs at a life cycle stage under the control of the coffee producer or its suppliers (i.e., during cultivation, treatment, processing, packaging up to distribution, along with advertising) and the other half at a stage controlled by the user (shopping, appliances manufacturing, use and waste disposal). Key environmental parameters of spray dried soluble coffee are the amount of extra water boiled and the efficiency of cup cleaning during use phase, whether the coffee is irrigated or not, as well as the type and amount of fertilizer used in the coffee field. The packaging contributes to 10% of the overall life cycle impacts.Compared to other coffee alternatives, spray dried soluble coffee uses less energy and has a lower environmental footprint than capsule espresso coffee or drip filter coffee, the latter having the highest environmental impacts on a per cup basis. This study shows that a broad LCA approach is needed to help industry to minimize the environmental burdens directly related to their products. Including all processes of the entire system is necessary i) to get a comprehensive environmental footprint of the product system with respect to sustainable production and consumption, ii) to share stakeholders responsibility along the entire product life cycle, and iii) to avoid problem shifting between different life cycle stages.     

Monetization of health damages from road noise with implications for monetizing health impacts in life cycle assessment

There are decision situations where environmental impacts need to be compared with other costs or benefits that by their nature are expressed in terms of money. Supporting these decisions may require the expression of environmental impacts in monetary units. Using the example of health impacts from road noise we apply five different monetization approaches and quantify the monetary values of one year of sleep disturbance (CHF 2500–16 000) and interference with communication (1500–10 000). In Life Cycle Assessment many health endpoints need to be evaluated at the same time. Therefore, we illustrate here the transferability problem between health impacts measured in disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and monetized health impacts, using the example of health impacts due to 1000 truck kilometres. It is concluded that available monetization methods need careful adaptation for their use to monetize environmental health impacts, that the DALY accounting system may support the systematic monetization and the selection of relevant health endpoints, and that it may well be justified for LCA purposes to perform some novel primary willingness to pay studies.     

Safer alternatives assessment: the Massachusetts process as a model for state governments

In 2006 the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute conducted a study to determine if states could identify safer alternatives to five chemicals of concern. The chemicals investigated included di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), formaldehyde, hexavalent chromium, lead and perchloroethylene. First, the Institute developed a methodology for assessing alternatives to these five chemicals that allowed it to quickly determine priority uses and alternatives to assess and to research the pertinent decision criteria, which included performance, technical, financial environmental and human health parameters. The methodology included important feedback from stakeholders in the state, which helped to focus and enhance the value of the work. Second, the Institute implemented the methodology over a ten month period. Based on the activities conducted by the Institute, safer alternatives were identified for each of the priority uses associated with the five chemicals studied. This report summarizes the methodology employed and provides examples of the results for one of the five chemicals, namely DEHP. The experience of the Institute and the information contained in this report indicates that alternatives assessment was a useful approach to organizing and evaluating information about chemicals and alternatives.     

生命周期评价在工农业生产中的应用研究

生命周期评价是指产品在整个生命周期中对环境的影响、对物质和能源的投入、产出进行汇集、测定的系统方法。从产品生命周期评价的发展过程和技术框架入手,对生命周期评价的意义以及工农业生产中的应用进行探讨,着重阐述了生命周期评价在农业生产、环保工艺、节能减排、清洁生产和环境管理中的应用。并认为生命周期评价应广泛用于环境治理领域,这是解决社会生产发展和环境污染之间矛盾的主要手段。     

Implications of choices and interpretation in LCA for multi-criteria process design: de-inked pulp capacity and cogeneration at a paper mill case study

Retrofit process design can be seen as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem aiming at selecting the best alternative for improving the performance of a chemical process. There is a growing consensus that environmental considerations, including the environmental impact associated with all life cycle stages of materials, should be integrated in chemical process design. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a technique that allows quantification of those impacts. However, implementing this technique would increase the decision-making complexity and thus would necessitate systematic tools and methods. The analogy between LCA and MCDM has been recognized, but the systematic evaluation of LCA methodological choices and interpretation in this context is rarely discussed. The importance of those is demonstrated in this paper using a case study involving the implementation of de-inked pulp capacity and cogeneration and an integrated newsprint mill.     

欧洲战略环境影响评价工作程序与特点分析研究

战略环境影响评价是指对法律、政策、计划或规划及其替代方案的环境影响进行正式的、系统的和综合的评价。欧洲战略环境影响评价的理论和实践在国际上具有领先的地位。本文介绍了战略环境影响评价的发展历程,特别对欧洲发达国家的战略环境影响评价的工作程序做了深入的分析,从战略的筛选、确定范围、环境影响评价、决策和批准、执行和监督、咨询与公众参与等方面,总结了欧洲战略环境影响评价的工作特点,对于中国战略环评工作的推动具有一定的借鉴意义。     

塑料牛奶包装及处置方式生命周期环境影响研究

采用生命周期评价(LCA)法研究了塑料牛奶包装的全生命周期环境影响,并在处置阶段对不同处置方式的环境影响进行比较.通过现场和资料调研的方式,获得所有生命周期阶段能量物质的输入/输出和环境外排数据.结果表明:塑料牛奶包装生命周期阶段中环境影响比重最大的是原料获取阶段,占90%以上.其全生命周期环境影响主要集中在化石燃料、无机物对人体损害和气候变化3个方面,在致癌、酸化富营养化和生态毒性方面影响稍小.3种处置方式对环境影响由大到小依次为填埋>焚烧>再生,其中填埋和焚烧处置分别比塑料包装处置阶段前的环境影响增加16.1%和5.3%,再生可降低75.9%.     

食用油聚酯包装的生命周期评价

采用生命周期评价法研究了食用油聚酯(PET)包装的生命周期环境影响,并对不同处置方式的环境影响进行比较评价. 通过现场和资料调研的方式获得所有生命周期阶段的能量物质的输入、输出和环境外排数据. 结果表明:PET包装原料获取阶段的环境影响潜值在全生命周期环境影响潜值中所占比例极高,占处置前环境影响潜值的81.8%. PET包装的全生命周期环境影响类别主要集中在化石燃料、无机物对人体损害和气候变化3个方面;在致癌、生态毒性和酸化/富营养化等方面的影响较小. 3种主要处置方式的环境影响潜值为焚烧＞填埋＞再生,其中焚烧和填埋分别增加PET包装处置阶段前环境影响潜值的5.1%和3.6%,而再生可降低63.9%.      

Agricultural application of life cycle iNdeX (LInX) for effective decision making

Mechanisms for evaluating system sustainability should allow for the consideration of three main parameters: social, economic and environmental. While, there are methods for comparing processes, projects or systems on the basis of environmental impact or cost, few incorporate all three parameters into the decision process. Life cycle index (LInX) is an indexing system that is meant to simplify the decision making process by incorporating a life cycle based approach with components of sustainability and safety. Although LInX was designed for large industrial systems, this paper presents the application on a small anaerobic digestion (AD) unit on a dairy farm in Clymer, New York. An AD unit can be used to generate electricity from the combustion of biogas produced from organic waste. From the analysis, the AD unit performed well on environmental and cost parameters, but not as well on risk and social parameters. However, the AD unit performed similar to natural gas and biomass-based production. One recommendation for the method is that consideration be given to modifying parameters and weightings to suit agriculture and location specific needs.