Life Cycle Assessment Experts Research Articles

Mastering complexity in Life Cycle Assessment for product development: Evaluating the impacts of adaptive façades

Adaptive façades, which can manipulate the physical properties of buildings, represent a promising approach to reducing the environmental impacts of buildings, which are usually assessed using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. However, the inclusion of additional fields of engineering with their corresponding simulation tools and inclusion of additional adaptive components in building designs leads to an increased number of possible design configurations – in the order of several millions – as well as stronger dependencies between the design and the use phase. This paper proposes a workflow to automatically generating, analysing and evaluating LCA results of all potential configurations within a defined parameter space. It combines and processes data from multiple sources, including process-based LCA models, generic LCA databases, and simulation tools. Various methods for combining and analysing the data are provided in the form of parameter sensitivity and statistical evaluations as well as visualisations. Depending on the area of interest, dynamic benchmarks can be derived and visualised. The results can be structured according to the life cycle phases and exported in common spreadsheet formats. This enables comparison to other LCA results and ensures seamless integration in existing reporting structures. The primary beneficiaries are LCA experts who require ex-ante evaluations for (building) products with a large number of potential configurations and complex interactions between the design and use phases. Identifying hotspots and assessing the sensitivity of parameters at an early stage of product development enables product designers to consider environmental aspects and optimise the product in this respect.

Flamingo: Environmental Impact Factor Matching for Life Cycle Assessment with Zero-shot Machine Learning

Consumer products contribute to more than 75% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, primarily through indirect contributions from the supply chain. Measurement of GHG emissions associated with products is a crucial step toward quantifying the impact of GHG emission abatement actions. Life cycle assessment (LCA), the scientific discipline for measuring GHG emissions, estimates the environmental impact associated with each stage of a product from raw material extraction to its disposal. Scaling LCA to millions of products is challenging as it requires extensive manual analysis by domain experts. To avoid repetitive analysis, environmental impact factors (EIFs) of common materials and products are published for use by LCA experts. However, finding appropriate EIFs for even a single product under study can require hundreds of hours of manual work, especially for complex products. We present Flamingo, an algorithm that leverages natural language machine learning (ML) models to automatically identify an appropriate EIF given a text description. A key challenge in automation is that EIF databases are incomplete. Flamingo uses industry sector classification as an intermediate layer to identify when there are no good matches in the database. On a dataset of 664 products, our method achieves an EIF matching precision of 75%.

Overcoming challenges in life cycle assessment of smart energy systems – A map of solution approaches

Current research underlines the benefits of digitalization to integrate renewable energy sources (RES) efficiently and to coordinate generation and supply. This development towards smart energy systems (SES) includes emerging use cases at the distribution grid level, e.g., smart charging strategies for electric vehicles or energy management systems in buildings. An environmental assessment of such, however, is challenging. The standardized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approaches seem insufficient since SES are emerging systems at the interface of digitalization and energy with multiple intended and unintended environmental effects. This article aims to derive solution approaches for LCA professionals that investigate use cases enabled by information and communication technology (ICT), specifically in SES. To identify challenges during the first two phases of an LCA and solution approaches, we examine seven recent research projects and conduct a real-time Delphi workshop with LCA experts in the field of SES. As a result, the article provides approaches on setting up an LCA, filling data gaps, and methods to draw upon the long-term impacts of use cases in SES. Key findings include a modified taxonomy of potential environmental effects. Results show that systemic effects in SES have potentially the highest impact on the LCA, followed by effects caused by user behavior. Assessing these effects of ‘higher-order’ poses an increased complexity. Determined solution approaches include combining the standardized LCA with energy system modeling or surveys on user behavior. Overall, this article reveals orientation strategies and recommendations to guide LCA professionals toward a holistic environmental assessment of use cases in SES.

Comparative Cradle-to-Grave Carbon Footprint of a CFRP-Grid Reinforced Concrete Façade Panel

Due to climate change and current efforts to reduce emissions in the construction sector, this study evaluates and discusses the results of a comparative cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), with a main focus on Global Warming Potential for functionally equivalent carbon-reinforced concrete (CRC) and steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) façade panels for the first time. The novelty of this study is the focus on construction waste and, in particular, the worst-case application of non-recycled construction waste. The use of CRC requires a lower concrete thickness than SRC because the carbon fiber reinforcement does not corrode, in contrast to steel reinforcement. Façade panels of the same geometrical dimensions and structural performance were defined as functional units (FU). Assuming an End-of-Life (EoL) scenario of 50% landfill and 50% recycling, the Global Warming Potential (GWP, given in CO2 equivalent (CO2e)) of the CRC façade (411–496 kg CO2e) is shown to perform better than or equal to the SRC façade (492 kg CO2e). Changing the assumption of CRC to a worst-case scenario, going fully to landfill and not being recycled (single life cycle), turns the GWP results in favor of the SRC façade. Assuming a 50-year service life for the SRC façade panel and relativizing the emissions to the years, the more durable CRC façade performs much better. Finally, depending on the system boundary, the assumed EoL and lifetime, CRC can represent a lower-emission alternative to a functionally equivalent component made of SRC. The most important and “novel” result in this study, which also leads to future research opportunities, is that delicate adjustments (especially concerning EoL scenarios and expected service life) can lead to completely different recommendations for decision-makers. Only by combining the knowledge of LCA experts, structural engineers, and builders optimal decisions can be made regarding sustainable materials and building components.

The role of digital technologies for the LCA empowerment towards circular economy goals: a scenario analysis for the agri-food system

PurposeThis paper aims to develop a scenario analysis on the experts’ perceptions of benefits and barriers related to adopting digital technologies for the life cycle assessment (LCA) to catalyse a circular economy transition in the agri-food system.MethodsA literature review was performed to identify LCA’s digital technologies that can be implemented within the agri-food system. Furthermore, an in-depth interview with a panel of senior researchers was conducted to establish a set of items and assess the perceived benefits and barriers associated with an “empowered LCA”, i.e. a future-oriented LCA based on digital technologies. To this end, a two-stage exploratory factor analysis relying on the principal component analysis technique was carried out to refine the set of items. Finally, a covariance-based structural equation model was performed, built on a confirmatory factor analysis, to test the measurement model.Results and discussionThe study’s findings provide five constructs to explore the potential benefits and barriers related to adopting a digital technologies-based LCA (empowered LCA) for a circular economy transition in the agri-food system. More specifically, the benefits can be assessed using the following constructs: “benefits for the data collection and analysis”, “benefits for the LCA analysts”, “benefits for the management” and “benefits for traceability”. In addition, the barriers have been evaluated using a single construct labelled “general barriers”.ConclusionsThe study highlights the relevance of digital technologies for a circular economy transition to develop a more reliable LCA, enhancing legislative compliance and supporting the traceability processes in the agri-food system. The associated implications for LCA experts, agri-food managers and policymakers are presented. Furthermore, limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

Towards sustainable business models with a novel life cycle assessment method

AbstractBusiness model (BM) innovation for sustainability is hampered by a lack of tools for environmental assessment and guidance at the BM level. Conventional life cycle assessment (LCA) neglects the economic and socio‐technical mechanisms within a BM, and tools based on the BM canvas (BMC) cannot provide recommendations substantiated by environmental data. Here, a new method, BM‐LCA, is applied to a case comparing the selling and renting of jackets, using profit as basis of comparison. Results identify how business parameters influence environmental performance, permitting analysis for decoupling within a business practice. This is made possible by the unique way the method links physical life cycle and the monetary flows of a BM. Usefulness of BM‐LCA is discussed relative to BM innovation, business strategy and similar tools. BM‐LCA provides insights into a broad range of BM elements and emerges as useful for business strategy. By measuring BM environmental performance, it helps determine what BM to compete with and support critical analysis of business against greenwashing. BM‐LCA also enables identification of BM elements in greatest need of environmental innovation. BM‐LCA appears as a promising tool for guiding business companies towards sustainability, filling a space between LCA and BMC. The method offers a practical way for business and LCA experts to merge their respective knowledge.

Perceived uncertainties of characterization in LCA: a survey

Uncertainty analyses in life cycle assessment (LCA) literature have focused primarily on the life cycle inventory (LCI) phase, but LCA experts generally agree that the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase is likely to contribute even more to the overall uncertainty of an LCA result. The magnitude of perceived uncertainties in characterization relative to that in LCI, however, has not been examined in the literature. Here, we use the pedigree approach to gauge the perceived uncertainty in the characterization phase relative to the LCI phase. In addition, we evaluate the level of approval on the pedigree approach as a means to characterize uncertainty in LCA. Applying the Numeral Unit Spread Assessment Pedigree (NUSAP) approach to environmental risk assessment literature, we extracted the criteria for evaluating the uncertainty in the characterization phase. We used expert elicitation to identify a pool of experts and conducted a survey, to which 47 LCA practitioners from 12 countries responded. In order to reduce personal biases in perceived geometric standard deviation (GSD) values, we used two reference questions on weight and life expectancy at birth for calibration. Nearly half (49%) of respondents expressed their approval to the pedigree matrix approach as a means of characterizing uncertainties in LCA, and responses were highly sensitive to the respondent’s familiarity with the pedigree matrix. For instance, respondents who are highly familiar with the pedigree matrix were more polarized, with 15% and 19% of them expressing either strong approval or strong disapproval, respectively. Respondents less familiar with the pedigree approach were generally more favorable to its use. Compared with LCI, variability in characterization factors was influenced more strongly by geographical correlation and reliability of the underlying model, which showed 11 to 16% larger average GSDs when compared with the comparable criteria for LCI. Conversely, temporal correlation criterion was a less significant factor in characterization than in LCI. Overall, survey respondents viewed LCIA characterization as only marginally more uncertain than LCI, but with a wider variability in responses on characterization than LCI. This finding indicates the need for additional research to develop more thorough methods for characterizing uncertainties in life cycle impact assessment that are compatible with the uncertainty measures in LCI.

Evaluation of BIM based LCA in early design phase (low LOD) of buildings

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a convenient tool that is capable of collecting information throughout the whole life cycle of a building in one platform. The evolution in the digital BIM model in early design stages is not standardized, but Level of Development (LOD) is a concept that systematically structures the design processes divided into five levels. LOD is assessed in this paper as an opportunity to enhance the calculation of the environmental impacts in different early design stages more efficiently, using the methodology Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Enlightening the building elements that contribute to highest release of CO2, permits early building material selection. This facilitates a pathway towards sustainable and environmentally friendly buildings. This study evaluates BIM based LCA in early design stages (low LOD) through literature reviews and a case study. This papers’ case study executes LCAs at different LOD levels using the LCA software One Click LCA (OCL). Assessments in LOD 200, LOD 300, LOD 350 and an additional LOD 350 were utilized. The additional LOD 350 was deployed when LCA experts had implemented changes within OCL. Moreover, a concretized suggestion where today’s unpredictable development of BIM becomes part of a LOD framework is proposed.

Application of analytic hierarchy process to develop a weighting scheme for life cycle assessment of agricultural production

The Impact Assessment (IA) step in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies is classified into three steps of characterization, normalization and weighting. In this research, various impact categories were weighted using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), as a multi criteria decision making tool. Iranian tobacco production system was the example of agricultural system. The data for LCA analysis were collected from 225 farms. The data for AHP analysis were gathered by surveying 12 LCA experts. The results indicated that on-farm emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O, NH3, NOx and SO2 were accounted for 25, 96, 93, 99, 21 and 2% of the total emissions (cradle to farm gate), respectively. The characterization indices for the impact categories of acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, global warming, phosphate resources depletion, potash resources depletion and fossil resources depletion for one ton tobacco production were calculated to be 13.87 kgSO2eq, 19.69 kgNOxeq, 1883.90 kgCO2eq, 19.69 kgNOxeq, 4.19 kgP2O5, 6.14 kgK2O, and 59,659.23 MJ, respectively. The LCA + AHP showed that the weighted factors of global warming, terrestrial eutrophication, acidification, fossil resources depletion, phosphate resources depletion and potash resources depletion were 1, 0.790, 0.518, 0.681, 0.422, and 0.263, respectively. Many agricultural systems could benefit from using the developed weighting factors for LCA studies in the agricultural sector. Based on the new developed weighted factors, the weighted indices of aforementioned impact categories for Iranian tobacco production were 0.24, 0.41, 0.19, 1.04, 0.23, and 0.20, respectively. This implies that fossil resources depletion impact category was attributed the highest negative environmental impacts of tobacco production followed by terrestrial eutrophication.

Developing Adequate Communication of Waste Footprints of Products for a Circular Economy—A Stakeholder Consultation

Relatively few consumers are conscious of the waste generated in the course of producing the goods that they consume, although most are aware of the amount of waste they dispose of. This article reports on a small-scale survey (N = 28) among stakeholders aimed at developing adequate communication of preconsumer waste footprints of consumer goods in the context of the circular economy. Life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners and consumers assessed five methodological details of an approach for calculating and communicating a product waste footprint (PWF). Most of the respondents expressed that the guidelines described in the proposed PWF methodology are good enough for the purposes of differentiating waste and byproducts, and defining which material flow shall be accounted for. Some LCA practitioners declared that the proposed streamlined method may not be adequate for conveying the environmental significance of waste types. The respondents also expressed that the PWF concept would be primarily useful and/or needed for consumers and government, and in the contexts of improving environmental awareness of consumers, environmental policy making, visualizing waste flows in a circular economy, and improving resource efficiency in industry, and less useful/needed in a business-to-business context. The PWF has been successfully used by diverse stakeholder groups in Sweden mostly to promote sustainable production and consumption across society. A notable example is the ‘invisible waste’ (#invisiblewaste) campaign of the Swedish Waste Management Association (Avfall Sverige). The concerns of the LCA experts have therefore not held true. The symbolic power and parsimony of the PWF concept appears to be effective in sensitizing consumers towards waste issues so that circular economy strategies beyond recycling are possible to be fully realized.

Green Building Rating Systems and Whole-Building Life Cycle Assessment: Comparative Study of the Existing Assessment Tools

AbstractThere is a growing interest in integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) into building design decision making due to LCA’s comprehensive and systemic approach to environmental evaluation. Many green building rating systems (GBRSs) use LCA to various degrees. In this paper, a comparative study was performed to evaluate the LCA software tools available to building designers. A whole-building LCA was performed for a large building using three software LCA tools. The software tools vary in key aspects, such as intended users (e.g., LCA experts or novices), design stage in which they can be used, and time. The evaluated LCA tools varied significantly in the possibility of their use in early design and decision making. Some of the applications rely on a bill of materials that changes constantly in design alterations. However, others showed a greater advantage in that they can be integrated from the beginning of the design process. The comparative LCA results indicated that the impact of LCA software is de...

Analysis of Potential Relationships between Functional Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment

The design of products with environmental considerations is a global strategy based on life cycle thinking. All stages of the design process should take into account environmental considerations in order to face the environmental challenge. Unfortunately, designers encounter difficulties in the case of brand new products due to the absence of environmental impacts feedback. The designers need assistance early in the design process to acquire environmental knowledge. In order to solve this problem, the paper argues that the functional analysis of products (early stage in the design process) and Life Cycle Assessment (late stage in the design process) can benefit each other in a collaborative process. A comparative analysis is first proposed between Functional Analysis (FA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to highlight propositions that could assist both FA practitioners and LCA experts. A strategy is then proposed to create a win-win situation to enhance environmental knowledge early in the design process.

Life cycle assessment of manufactured nanomaterials: inventory modelling rules and application example

Nanotechnology—sometimes designated as a ‘defining technology for the twenty-first century’—was first mentioned as a new field at the end of the 1950s in the famous speech by Richard P. Feynman (Feynman 1959). Two key characteristics of nanomaterials show up in the various developments in this area: the scale of the material and, related to this, its changes in properties and functionalities, but despite all these opportunities and the growing importance of nanotechnology, knowledge about the potential risks and hazards that may be linked to the various facets of this new technology is still incomplete. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool to address potential impacts on the natural environment and human health is a natural application of this methodology, both for the evaluation of manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) and the products they are used in. However, so far, LCA has not been completely adopted for such a use. In fact, none of the public LCI databases contain a single data set for any type of MNM, despite the conclusions from an international workshop of LCA experts who consider LCA to be a suitable tool for an application in the area of nanotechnology (Klopffer et al. 2006). There have been a few examples of LCA studies published, but most of these studies are far from being comprehensive and complete LCA studies. These weak points, such as the lack of inventory data and missing characterisation factors, are at least partly due to a lack of clear modelling rules for a LCA of MNM, an issue that a recently finished PhD thesis of ETH in Zurich (Hischier 2013c) has taken up. The objective of this PhD work is the provision of the foundation for a clear guidance for coherent and comprehensive inventory modelling of nanomaterials along their complete life cycle. In order to achieve this objective, the thesis work consists of the following elements:

Background and Reflections on the Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization Project

Despite the ever-growing body of life cycle assessment (LCA) literature on electricity generation technologies, inconsistent methods and assumptions hamper comparison across studies and pooling of published results. Synthesis of the body of previous research is necessary to generate robust results to assess and compare environmental performance of different energy technologies for the benefit of policy makers, managers, investors, and citizens. With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory initiated the LCA Harmonization Project in an effort to rigorously leverage the numerous individual studies to develop collective insights. The goals of this project were to: (1) understand the range of published results of LCAs of electricity generation technologies, (2) reduce the variability in published results that stem from inconsistent methods and assumptions, and (3) clarify the central tendency of published estimates to make the collective results of LCAs available to decision makers in the near term. The LCA Harmonization Project's initial focus was evaluating life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity generation technologies. Six articles from this first phase of the project are presented in a special supplemental issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology on Meta-Analysis of LCA: coal (Whitaker et al. 2012), concentratingmore » solar power (Burkhardt et al. 2012), crystalline silicon photovoltaics (PVs) (Hsu et al. 2012), thin-film PVs (Kim et al. 2012), nuclear (Warner and Heath 2012), and wind (Dolan and Heath 2012). Harmonization is a meta-analytical approach that addresses inconsistency in methods and assumptions of previously published life cycle impact estimates. It has been applied in a rigorous manner to estimates of life cycle GHG emissions from many categories of electricity generation technologies in articles that appear in this special supplemental supplemental issue, reducing the variability and clarifying the central tendency of those estimates in ways useful for decision makers and analysts. Each article took a slightly different approach, demonstrating the flexibility of the harmonization approach. Each article also discusses limitations of the current research, and the state of knowledge and of harmonization, pointing toward a path of extending and improving the meta-analysis of LCAs.« less

The formulation of life cycle impact assessment framework for Malaysia using Eco-indicator

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an emerging supporting tool designed to help practitioner in systematically assessing the environmental performance of selected product’s life cycle. A product’s life cycle includes the extraction of raw materials, production, and usage, and ends with waste treatment or disposal. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) as a part of LCA is a method used to derive the environmental burdens from selected product’s stages. LCIA is structured in classification, characterization, normalization and weighting. Presently most of the LCIA practices use European database to establish the characterization, normalization and weighting value. However, using these values for local LCA practice might not be able to reflect the actual Malaysian’s environmental scenario. The aim of this study is to create a Malaysian version of normalization and weighting value using the pollution database within Malaysia. This research work used the LCIA top-down approach of the Eco-indicator 99 impact assessment methodology as a guide for the formulation of normalization and weighting value. Normalization values were formulated based on Malaysia’s pollutant emission rate while the weighting values were formulated using the results of questionnaire survey that was distributed among local LCA practitioner and experts. The results from the studies showed that the normalization values for Malaysia in average are four times higher compared to European value while the weighting values for Malaysia are almost similar to the reference European value. In this study, an attempt was made to formulate Malaysian normalization and weighting values of the LCIA step using the Eco-indicator methodology. By adopting these values, the LCA study conducted will be more accurate and meaningful in evaluating Malaysian environmental impact. As a recommendation, this study can be further expanded by using different type of software and different type of method in formulating the normalization and weighting values. Besides that, a better collection with more recent data should be use for estimation of the normalization values. While in the weighting values estimation, a bigger size and different social background of panel should be used in the questionnaire survey approach to indicate different perception of average Malaysian citizen on environmental concerns.

Life cycle assessment in buildings: The ENSLIC simplified method and guidelines

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is currently used to a very limited extent in the building sector, for several reasons. Firstly, making an LCA evaluation of a building demands a specific tool to handle the large dataset needed and this tool has to be adaptable to the different decisions taken throughout the life cycle of the building. Such tools have been developed in a few countries, but they are exceptions. However, useful experience has been gained in these countries, providing a valuable source of data for developing guidelines for application in other countries. Since the results of a building LCA may contain complex information, the great challenge is to devise efficient ways for communication of the results to users and clients. The simplified methodology presented in this paper adopt a systematic approach guiding the user through the Life Cycle process and clarifying key issues that usually cause difficulty, e.g. choice of assessment tool, definition of system boundaries, options for simplifying the process, etc. The guidelines were developed within the framework of the ENSLIC Building Project, which was co-funded by the European Commission Intelligent Energy for Europe Programme and by nine European organisations that included more than 15 LCA experts and architects.

Life cycle assessment of two baby food packaging alternatives: glass jars vs. plastic pots

This paper compares the life cycle assessment (LCA) of two packaging alternatives used for baby food produced by Nestlé: plastic pot and glass jar. The study considers the environmental impacts associated with packaging systems used to provide one baby food meal in France, Spain, and Germany in 2007. In addition, alternate logistical scenarios are considered which are independent of the two packaging options. The 200-g packaging size is selected as the basis for this study. Two other packaging sizes are assessed in the sensitivity analysis. Because results are intended to be disclosed to the public, this study underwent a critical review by an external panel of LCA experts. The LCA is performed in accordance to the international standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. The packaging systems include the packaging production, the product assembly, the preservation process, the distribution, and the packaging end-of-life. The production of the content (before preservation process), as well as the use phase are not taken into account as they are considered not to change when changing packaging. The inventory is based on data obtained from the baby food producer and the suppliers, data from the scientific literature, and data from the ecoinvent database. Special care is taken to implement a system expansion approach for end-of-life open and closed loop recycling and energy production (ISO 14044). A comprehensive impact assessment is performed using two life cycle impact assessment methodologies: IMPACT 2002+ and CML 2001. An extensive uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo as well as an extensive sensitivity study are performed on the inventory and the reference flows, respectively. When looking at the impacts due to preservation process and packaging (considering identical distribution distances), we observe a small but significant environmental benefit of the plastic pot system over the glass jar system. Depending on the country, the impact is reduced by 14% to 27% for primary energy, 28% to 31% for global warming, 31% to 34% for respiratory inorganics, and 28% to 31% for terrestrial acidification/nutrification. The environmental benefit associated with the change in packaging mainly results from (a) production of plastic pot (including its end-of-life; 43% to 51% of total benefit), (b) lighter weight of packaging positively impacting transportation (20% to 35% of total benefit), and (c) new preservation process permitted by the plastic system (23% to 34% of total benefit). The jar or pot (including cap or lid, cluster, stretch film, and label) represents approximately half of the life cycle impacts, the logistics approximately one fourth, and the rest (especially on-site energy, tray, and hood) one fourth. The sensitivity analysis shows that assumptions made in the basic scenarios are rather conservative for plastic pots and that the conclusions for the 200-g packaging size also apply to other packaging sizes. The uncertainty analysis performed on the inventory for the German market situation shows that the plastic pot system has less impact than the glass jar system while considering similar distribution distances with a confidence level above 97% for most impact categories. There is opportunity for further improvement independent of the type of packaging used, such as by reducing distribution distances while still optimizing lot size. The validity of the main conclusions presented in this study is confirmed by results of both impact assessment methodologies IMPACT 2002+ and CML 2001. For identical transportation distances, the plastic pot system shows a small but significant reduction in environmental burden compared to the glass jar system. As food distribution plays an important role in the overall life cycle burdens and may vary between scenarios, it is important to avoid additional transportation of the packaged food in order to maintain or even improve the advantage of the plastic pot system. The present study focuses on the comparison of packaging systems and directly related consequences. It is recommended that further environmental optimization of the product also includes food manufacturing (before preservation process) and the supply chain of raw materials.

Ecological behavior and its environmental consequences: a life cycle assessment of a self-report measure

The environmental impact of individuals, namely, how much they pollute and what resources they consume, is of paramount importance. However, even environmental psychologists rarely study levels of pollution or resource and energy savings. The present paper aims to ecologically validate 52 behaviors of a well-established self-report measure of ecological conduct (i.e. the General Ecological Behavior scale; Kaiser, J. Appl. Social Phychol. 28 (1998) 395, using the items’ environmental consequences. Our objective is to contrast a behavior's environmental consequences with the comparable effect of a reasonable alternative. By means of applying data from available Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) literature and databases, two LCA experts were able to compare each of 52 performance pairs’ overall environmental impact. None of the 30 presumably ecological behaviors of the scale turned out to be less environmentally effective than its alternative, and none of the 22 unecological behaviors turned out to be more environmentally effective than its alternative. The correspondence between a behavior's environmental consequences and its scale-incorporated, presumed, impact falls between 79% and 100%, both being statistically significant.

LCA activities in Thailand

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been introduced to Thai industries in 1997 as one of the ISO 14000 series. The concept of LCA is being gradually accepted. However, there are few formal LCA studies in Thailand so far due to a limited number of LCA experts and a lack of sufficient databases relevant to domestic conditions. The LCA activities in Thailand can be divided into 3 areas, which are (1) Workshops and seminars (2) Use of LCA studies in Ecolabelling and (3) Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and LCA studies. The first LCI study was to develop LCI data for Thailand Electricity Grid Mixes. There are a few LCA thesis studies in some universities, but these studies used databases from commercial software programs. The study and use of LCA may increase in the future only if domestic background database will be provided by research institutes and the government, and if industry understands LCA methodology through periodical workshops and seminars. INTRODUCTION Life Cycle Assessment has been introduced to Thai industries in 1997 as one of the ISO 14000 series. The concept of LCA is being gradually accepted. However, there are few formal LCA studies in Thailand so far due to a limited number of LCA experts and a lack of sufficient databases relevant to domestic conditions. ACTIVITIES The LCA activities in Thailand can be divided into 3 areas including (1) Workshops and seminars (2) Use of LCA studies in Ecolabelling and (3) Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and LCA studies. 1. Workshop and Seminar To introduce the LCA concept to Thai Industries, the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), in cooperation with many organizations, organized LCA seminars/workshops in Thailand annually between 1997-2002. All seminars successfully gained attention from Thai industry and educational institutes. The Thailand LCA Forum (http://doi.eng.cmu.ac.th/Thailca) has been launched by TEI in January of 2002. 2. Use of LCA studies in Ecolabelling The Green Label project was initiated in October 1993 by the Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development (TBCSD) in association with the Ministry of Industry. This project is supported by the Secretariat, which is formed by a partnership between the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) and TEI. The objectives of the project are to establish the product criteria and award certification to specific products that are shown to have less impact on the environment, when compared with other products serving the same function (not including foods, drinks, and pharmaceuticals). The project came about from the idea that the green label can stimulate market choice thus encouraging producers to improve the environmental quality of their products and services in response to consumer demand. Award of the Thai Green label is based on the product criteria developed by a technical subcommittee. The subcommittee consists of representatives from the scientific, business and environmental groups and others if appropriate and available. A new subcommittee is established for each selected product category. At present, there are 29 product categories that are eligible for the Thai Green Label, and up to the end of November 2001, 227 individual products have received the Green Label award. Being aware of the high cost involved and time consumed in developing product criteria through format LCA, the Thai Green Label scheme has decided that a full quantitative LCA is not applicable for setting criteria for all products, especially in developing countries. The development of award criteria for the scheme has followed different methodologies. It will take into account not only significant environmental impact during the life cycle of the products (Life Cycle Consideration: LCC), but also capability to meet proposed criteria with reasonable process modification and/or improvement. The availability of testing institutes and the ability to perform tests are considered carefully, while setting the criteria. Results from existing LCA studies have been used as a scientific tool in the Thai Green Label Scheme for the development of environmental criteria for a few product categories. 3. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and LCA Studies