Life-cycle assessment basics

For a full life cycle assessment, the basic principle is that each material and energy input into the system should be traced back to natural resources obtained from the environment, or to releases into the environment. These are termed elementary flows , and they represent inputs into or outputs from the system being analysed. In an analysis of this type, it may be relatively straightforward to assign a material value to a flow of (for example) water effluent into the environment, but what may be less certain is the environmental impact of such a flow in a quantitative sense. 

The ISO 14000 series of standards, known informally as Environmental ISO, is a set of generic standards developed by the ISO to provide organizations with a framework for managing the environmental impact of their activities. Environmental disciplines including the basic environmental management system, product labeling, criteria for auditing, and life-cycle assessment are included. 

Rossi, B., Marique, A.F., Glaumann, M., Reiter, S., 2012. Life-cycle assessment of residential buildings in three different European locations, basic tool. Building and Environment 51, 395-401. 

It is worth mentioning the link between our environment-related index and commonly used approaches such as life cycle assessment. According to our scope of research (see explanatory caveat in section 1.4) we limit our contribution to the design and operational space in the process life span. Thus, our focus is exclusively on the sustainability aspects that are under the control of the design and operational phases. In this regard, we aim at an operational efficiency, which means basically an effective utilization of resources in the process operation. Similar to life cycle assessment, we quantify the... 

The security life cycle The life cycle is focused on the security level of the system over time. A change in asset will trigger changes in security level or a change of vulnerability or an asset may trigger changes in a physical asset. There are a few basic steps for the security development life cycle assessment (SDLA), which are detailed in Clause 4.3.5. 

A wide range of sustainability-assessment methods have been developed in recent years. Some well-known and commonly used tools for sustainability assessment are Criteria and Indicators (C I), Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and Cost—Benefit Analysis (CB A) (Buytaert et al., 2011). This section focuses on LCA, aiming to present its basic stages. 

The extraction of raw materials, manufacturing processes, use/reuse, and disposal represent the basic stages of a solvent s life cycle. Each stage of a solvent s life cycle generates a variety of environmental burdens. Environmental-impact evaluation qualitatively assesses the life-cycle stages for chemical solvents. The goal of this evaluation is to select environmentally preferable solvents that can best minimize these life-cycle impacts. 

Figure 12 shows the basic framework for compiling an inventory of wastes, emissions, and energy use associated with the manufacture, use, and disposal of a product (SETAC, 1991). Compiling an inventory is just the first step in a life cycle analysis, however. After the inventory is compiled, the impacts of raw material use, waste generation, and emission generation must be assessed. Finally, after the life cycle impacts are assessed, mechanisms for reducing adverse environmental impacts can be... 

Challenges for Model-Based Life Cycle Inventories and Impact Assessment in Early to Basic Process Design Stages... 

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