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Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework

Published on: July 24, 2016

Life cycle assessment: past, present, and future.

Jeroen B Guinée¹, Reinout Heijungs, Gjalt Huppes

¹Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands. guinee@cml.leidenuniv.nl

Environmental Science & Technology

|September 4, 2010

Summary

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has evolved into Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LCSA), integrating various models for comprehensive sustainability questions. The main challenge is structuring and selecting appropriate models for practical application.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Sustainability Science
Industrial Ecology

Background:

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has evolved significantly over three decades, expanding from energy analysis to environmental burden analysis.
Recent developments include Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC), Social LCA (S-LCA), and Consequential LCA (C-LCA).
These advancements aim to broaden traditional LCA into a more comprehensive Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LCSA).

Purpose of the Study:

To present a framework for LCSA that links sustainability questions to knowledge requirements.
To identify existing knowledge, models, and research gaps within the LCSA domain.
To guide the development of research programs for advancing LCSA.

Main Methods:

The study proposes a framework for LCSA, emphasizing its role as an integration framework.
It involves linking specific life cycle sustainability questions to the necessary knowledge base.
The framework guides the identification of available knowledge, models, and research gaps.

Main Results:

LCA is transitioning into LCSA, functioning as a transdisciplinary integration framework rather than a standalone model.
LCSA utilizes a wide array of disciplinary models, guiding their selection based on specific sustainability questions.
A key challenge lies in organizing, selecting, and practically applying these diverse models to address various life cycle sustainability issues.

Conclusions:

LCSA represents the evolution of LCA towards a more holistic sustainability assessment.
The framework facilitates a structured approach to addressing complex sustainability challenges.
Effective implementation of LCSA hinges on overcoming the challenge of model selection and integration.