Goal and Scope Definition

The first step is to define fhe goals and scope of the LCA. The overarching goal of an LCA is to choose the best product or process with the least effect on human health and the environment. The assessor may also have other, secondary goals for the work related to business or policy objechves or to the audience for the results (e.g., whether the work will inform decision makers in a corporation or is intended for other stakeholders). The scope must describe the work to be done to meet these goals. It specifies, among ofher things  

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Life cycle assessment is defined by ISO 14040 as compilation and evalu ation of inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The ISO standards regulate the procedural aspects of LCA. They do not, however, provide all the information required for carrying out an LCA study. The main phases of LCA are goal and scope definition, inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation. The various applications of LCA are not regulated by the standard (Fig. 15.1). 

The goal and scope definitions inform the reader of the intended use of the study, including... 

ISO, F.nvironmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment—Goal and Scope Definition and Inventory Analysis (ISO 14041). 

Goal and Scope Definition. This phase deals with the selection of system boundaries and the setting of the functional unit which describes the primary function(s) fulfilled by a (product) system and can be used as a basis for the comparison of alternative systems. ... 

Life Cycle Interpretation. The results obtained within the Life Cycle Inventory and/or the Life Cycle Impact Assessment are interpreted in the light of the Goal and Scope Definition (e.g., by means of sensitivity or uncertainty analyses) in order to draw conclusions and make recommendations. ... 

ISO 14041 1998 (1998) Environmental Management - Life Cycle Assessment - Goal and Scope Definition and Life Cycle Inventory Analysis. European Commitee for Standardisation, Brussels, Belgium. 

In the first stage of the LCA analysis, it is necessary to define the objective and the scope of the paper before the actual start [35]. The study goal and scope definition determine the next procedure character and the circumstances in which the study outputs are valid [32]. [36] requires to establish a study goal and scope while the study scope means to determine the product system, the functional unit and system boundaries, to determine allocation rules, the assessment methodology, hypothesis and limits and data quality. 

Rebitzer G, Ekvall T, Frischknecht R, Hunkeler D, Norris G, Rydberg T, Schmidt WP, Suh S, Weidema BP, Pennington DW. Life Cycle Assessment Part 1 Framework, Goal and Scope Definition, Inventory Analysis, and Applications. Environment International. 2004 30(5) 701-720. DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2003.11.005... 

Goal and scope definition, where the goal of the study is defined, the eventual alternatives that will be considered are given, the system boundary is determined and the processes within the product- or service-system are defined. 

ISO (1998) ISO 14041 Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Goal and scope definition and inventory analysis. International Organisation for Standardisation, Geneva... 

An LCA typically starts by defining the goal and scope of the study. The goal and scope definitions are important since they define the level of detail in the study. The exact question to be answered using the LCA method is... 

The goal-and-scope definition process is an integral part of any LCA study. At the outset of an LCA, before any data are collected, key decisions must be made regarding the scope and boundaries of the system being studied. These decisions are mainly determined by the goal, i.e., the defined reasons for conducting the study, its intended applications, and the target audience. 

This step is difficult since the results have to be interpreted, and the interpretation will be subjective. For example, what is more important—the environmental burden of acidification or global warming To answer these questions, the goal and scope definition must have been given proper care. 

ISO International Standard 14041, 1999E. Environmental management—life cycle assessment—goal and scope, definition and inventory analysis. International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Geneva. 

ISO ISO/TR 14049 Environmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment—Examples of Application of ISO 14041 to Goal and Scope Definition and Inventory Analysis ISO/TR 14049 International Organization for Standardization Geneva, March 15, 2000, 2000. 

In the goal and scope definition of an LCA, the practitioner defines the product system in terms of the system boundaries of the study and a functional... 

The ISO 14040 standard determines four basic stages for LCA studies, schematically represented in Figure 5.9. Goal and scope definition is the first stage of the study and one of the most important, since the elements defined here, such as... 

An LCA is organized into the following phases goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment, and interpretation as shown in Fig. 5. The figure identifies the reciprocal influences of the individual phases and therefore shows the iterative character of an LCA. The application and the framework of the LCA have been separated to show that an application or a decision is not... 

ISO14040 describes LCA as a four-step process as shown in Figure 1.1. Goal and scope definition is a process for making clear the intent, audience and... 

ISO/TR 14049 2012 Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Illustrative examples on how to apply ISO 14044 to goal and scope definition and inventory analysis... 

Rebitzer, G., Ekvall, T., Frischknecht, R., Hunkeler, D., Norris, G., Rydberg, T., Schmidt, W.-P., Sub, S., Weidema, B.P., Pennington, D.W., 2004. Life cycle assessment Part 1 framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications. Environment International 30, 701—720. 

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