Life cycle assessment (LCA), in simplified definition, is a task that uncovers all environmental effects a process or a product creates. It is a difficult task and one that is complex. Why is it so complex? Mainly...
Tag - LCA
Success factor for Life Cycle Assessment: data, data, data
When deciding to get started with Life Cycle Assessment you probably have come across the quote: “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”. Therefore, your aim is to quantify the environmental impacts of your company or...
Photovoltaking the future.
You might have noticed that the world is currently undergoing an energy transition – from fossil fuels to renewables. Despite great resistance to this shift from the traditional purveyors of energy, the trend seems...
A taste of Velo-efficiency
I once read that a human being on a bicycle is the most efficient means by which any animal has ever moved through space. Indeed, it is a claim often made. Forty years ago Ivan Illich wrote that: “The bicycle is the...
The greening of construction (Part III): Buildings Ratings tools in international context
In the first article in this series a couple of weeks ago, I suggested that the trend towards sustainability in the construction sector was being driven by demand as the business case for green buildings becomes more...
The greening of construction (Part II): International development of EPDs
Unless you have been living under a rock, or on the wrong side of the digital divide in a slum, you will be aware that last week I introduced the idea of EPDs, or type III environmental declarations, in the construction...
The greening of construction (Part I): Overview
In recent years humankind reached a significant milestone when we became a predominantly urban species. This trend towards urbanization is part of the transition from agrarian to industrial society that is radically...
A New Development Paradigm?
‘Development’ might be a fuzzy concept, but it is essentially concerned with fostering conditions that are socially desirable. Despite the interventions of such scholars as Amartya Sen, with his focus on human...
Making an LCA in 1 Hour – How to Get Going with Umberto
SimaPro and GaBi are the most commonly used software tools to conduct a professional life cycle assessment. There is, however, a third solution in this field, one that is capable of not only calculating product life...
Top-Notch Sustainability Practitioner Gathering: Umberto User Workshop in Essen, Sept 11/12, 2013
When the only way to implement a satisfactory future in human development is holistic thinking about sustainability, why is it that we so rarely happen to come across aids for realizing this mindset? Well, it’s a...