Towards integrating the ecosystem services cascade framework within the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) cause-effect...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Ecosystem Services Assessment
• Life Cycle Assessment

Background:

• Current environmental decision support tools, including Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), assess supply chain impacts fragmentedly.
• The Life Cycle Initiative aims to standardize life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) indicators globally.
• A subtask force focused on consolidating ecosystem services (ES) evaluation within LCA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To build consensus in the LCA domain for assessing anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems and their services.
• To expand the traditional LCIA structure using the ES cascade model.
• To integrate the concept of ES benefits into LCA.

Main Methods:

• Re-casting and expanding the traditional LCIA cause-effect chain with the ES cascade model.
• Linking ecosystem structure/function changes to human well-being.
• Connecting human impacts on ecosystems to changes in ES supply and demand.

Main Results:

• The proposed framework complements traditional LCIA by incorporating ES supply and demand externalities.
• It introduces the notion of "benefit" (ES supply flows and ecosystem capacity) into LCA.
• The framework balances quantified environmental intervention flows with ES demands.

Conclusions:

• The integrated cascade modelling framework enhances LCA by including ES benefits and demands.
• This approach provides a more comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts and benefits.
• Recommendations are provided to address remaining gaps in ES analysis within LCA.