Improvements to Emergy evaluations by using Life Cycle Assessment

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Sustainability Assessment
• Resource Management

Background:

• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized environmental evaluation tool.
• Emergy assessment is a novel method for evaluating embodied resources but faces methodological challenges.
• Current emergy assessment lacks accuracy, reproducibility, and completeness, hindering stakeholder adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify fundamental requirements for improving emergy evaluation using LCA.
• To bridge methodological gaps between emergy assessment and LCA.
• To enhance the accuracy and acceptance of environmental resource accounting.

Main Methods:

• Integrating emergy algebra into Life Cycle Inventory (LCI).
• Selecting consistent Unit Emergy Values (UEVs) for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA).
• Expanding LCI system boundaries to include supporting systems like ecosystem services and human labor.

Main Results:

• Proposed technical implementation of emergy algebra within LCI.
• Suggested use of consistent UEVs as LCIA characterization factors.
• Advocated for broader LCI system boundaries to incorporate emergy-relevant supporting systems.

Conclusions:

• Adapting emergy rules to life-cycle structures is necessary.
• LCA's inventory scope needs expansion for a comprehensive emergy framework.
• Matrix inversion principle offers a consistent method for accounting numerous UEVs.