• An internationally coordinated and harmonized ILCD Handbook of technical guidance documents for LCA
• The International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD)
• The European Life Cycle Database (ELCD)
• The International LCA Resources Directory
• LCT forum - an email discussion forum

Context

The European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment supports the implementation of the following European Union policies:

• Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste
• Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
• Integrated Product Policy (IPP) Communication
• Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Action Plan
• Europe 2020 - Flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe

Links and publications

• European Platform on LCA flyer - general information about the project
• Press release from the launch of the ILCD Handbook [12.03.2010]

Further information

If you would like to be informed about the Platform activities and deliverables via a regular newsletter, please send request to lca[@]jrc.ec.europa.eu

Public consultation

The public consultation on the framework, methodology, data basis and updating procedures for the life cycle based indicators has ended.

We would like to thank all the respondents for taking their time and expressing their opinions. We will publish online the Explanatory Memorandum which will address the feedback received. All respondents will be notified when the Explanatory Memorandum will be available.

Goals

Life cycle based monitoring indicators are developed to support the progress towards sustainable development of European Union. Following an evaluation of available approaches, a framework for life cycle based indicators has been established and it will include:

• Decoupling indicators (resource efficiency indicators). The main focus is on the overall EU eco-efficiency indicator, which provides insights into decopling environmental impacts from economic growth.
• Basket-of-products indicators. They reflects the environmental impact and the resources used that are associated with the final consumption of an average citizen in the EU27 over the entire life cycle of goods and services.
• Waste management indicators . They assess the environmental impacts related to the management of the—environmentally—most important waste streams.

Context

Macro-level monitoring indicators are required in the following policy areas:

• Sustainable use of natural resources without environmental burden shifting in a globalised economy as stressed in the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources (COM(2005) 670)
• Goods and services (products) and their environmental impacts within and outside European Union over their entire life cycle as emphasized in Integrated Product Policy Communication (COM(2003) 302)
• End-of-life of products as a leverage for a higher material and energy resource efficiency and reduced environmental pressure of waste management as addressed in the Thematic Strategy on the Prevention and Recycling of Waste (COM(2005) 666)
• Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan (COM(2008) 397)

The need for such indicators was recognized in the 3rd International Life Cycle Thinking Workshop, organized by the JRC in January 2007. This workshop also defined the necessity for robust and consistent underlying life cycle data and methods.

Methodology

Indicators supporting modern policies have to take the life cycle view of the links between consumption and production on the one hand, and resource use, environmental impacts and waste generation on the other. This life cycle perspective is also a global perspective; therefore, it is not enough to consider domestic activities only. In the indicators’ framework it means including environmental impacts occurring abroad, but driven by national or European demand for imported goods.

Weighting of environmental impacts is required to provide an indicator of the total environmental impact and present it as the overall single score, following the environmental mechanism. This is complemented always by the sub-indicators for specific impact categories and/or areas of protection.

Publications

Recommendations for life cycle-based Indicators for Sustainable Consumption and Production in the European Union

Further information

For more information please contact us at lca-indicators[@]jrc.ec.europa.eu

Introduction

The waste hierarchy, as defined in the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), establishes a legally binding priority order for waste management which reads: prevention, preparing for re-use, recycling, other recovery, and disposal.

The guidelines developed are based on Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and can be used to complement the waste hierarchy. They help quantify the environmental and health benefits, as well as the trade-offs, that are associated with waste management options along the waste hierarchy.

This is a response to the need for consistently applying Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and quantitative LCT-based methods such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the waste management sector; a need which has been highlighted by the European Council and the European Parliament.

Goals

The goals are to provide guidance for integration of LCT and LCA into waste management policies in a coherent and quality-assured manner, in order to:

• Contribute to improving understanding that policy-makers have of LCT/LCA and help to develop trust in their use in waste policy
• Provide general guidance on the use of LCT/LCA for the formulation of European, national and sub-national waste policies and thereby support the uptake of LCT/LCA
• Provide technical guidance documents on LCT-based waste management, both for their direct use and to illustrate the use of the general guidance

Publications

 

You can find the guidelines concerning waste management at our publications page, or by directly following these links:

• Supporting environmentally sound decisions for waste management – A technical guide to Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for waste experts and LCA practitioners
• Supporting environmentally sound decisions for bio-waste management - A practical guide to Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• Supporting environmentally sound decisions for Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste management - A practical guide to Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Further information and publications

 

• Brochure on Life Cycle Thinking and Assessment for Waste Management
• Evaluation of environmental life cycle approaches for policy and decision making support in micro and macro level applications
• Inventory of Existing Studies Applying Life Cycle Thinking to Biowaste Management
• Environmental Assessment of Municipal Waste Management Scenarios: Part I – Data collection and preliminary assessments for life cycle thinking pilot studies
• Environmental Assessment of Municipal Waste Management Scenarios: Part II – Detailed Life Cycle Assessments
• Directorate General Environment (DG ENV) - waste related website

Introduction

Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact that our activities (by a person, organisation, event or product) have on the environment, and in particular climate change.

Climate change impacts are a major concern associated with sustainable consumption and production. Life cycle assessment provides the existing and internationally agreed basis for calculating carbon footprints of goods and services in a robust way.

Pros and cons of Carbon Footprint

In recent years, the carbon footprint has gained recognition as an indicator of the contribution of goods and services to climate change. It is often based on a life cycle approach, but focuses only on the emissions linked to a product that contribute to climate change.

Data are generally collected throughout the entire life cycle at a consistent level of detail as in an ISO LCA, although not all emissions, resources consumed, and impact categories are evaluated. This limitation in scope raises the prospect of burden shifting – solving one problem while creating another. This can unfairly promote products that do not necessarily have a better overall environmental performance, or environmental footprint.

Carbon Footprint initiatives

Retailers are becoming increasingly aware of the opportunities to improve the environmental performance of products and influence purchasing decisions. There are currently various activities to capture and record life cycle data on a range of household products and pass this information on to customers. This offers consumers a better understanding of the environmental impacts of their purchasing choices.

Some initiatives display carbon footprinting information on a wide range of products from potatoes to lightbulbs. Retailers are beginning to present this kind of information on product labels. Some carbon labels are directly linked to the commitment of actively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to reducing their own carbon footprint, the benefit to retailers is that they are being seen as national and international leaders in engaging consumers on climate issues and helping them reduce their carbon footprint. In the case of one multi-national retailer, more than 500 product lines have been, or are in the process of being footprinted.

Links and publications

• Carbon Footprint - what it is and how to measure it
• Assessing Temporary Carbon Storage in Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprinting: outcomes of an expert workshop

Goals

The overall purpose of this project is to conduct scientific research and development in support of EU policy in a life cycle impact assessment context. This is to be achieved through the use of case studies, contribute to the development of methodologies for how land use impacts on ecosystems can be better included in Life Cycle (Impact) Assessment. This will include interaction with scientific experts, with public administrations of member states and other related stakeholders, as well as land use and ecosystem impact assessment experts. In particular, cross-comparison with other tools and approaches used in AGRIENV, including geospatial differentiation, is to be explored.

Context

This research project is aimed at supporting EU policy and decision-making by developing the LCA methodology in order to include land use impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. This is particularly relevant for those policy areas promoting the use of bio-based renewable energy and products, in particular biomass and biofuels, as well as those areas related to agriculture and forestry.

Similarly, increased demand for consistent life-cycle based tools for the integrated assessment of the environmental impact of other bioproducts (biochemicals, etc) that are produced in biorefineries exists so that the relative advantages, or otherwise of producing bio-based materials, products and fuels, are ascertained.

This demand comes from different actors in the supply chain of these products that need their claims supported by LCA, but especially from EU policy-makers who want to verify claims that those products decrease the sustainability impacts of our consumption. Of particular relevance is climate change mitigation, due to the importance and priority it is being given in policy circles.

Geospatial differentiation is one other aspect that is generally omitted in LCA. Despite the 'general' scope of LCA, there is no reason not to make the assessment more specific (and, thus, more accurate) if data and information on both the cause-effect chain and the location of the environmental interventions are available. One aspect of this project is the assessment of the potential to integrate LCA with other environmental assessment tools and models that are more site-specific in their scope, and that have been developed within our Unit. This assessment is to be done on specific bio-based products (e.g. food and biofuels) with a given supply chain, demonstrating how geospatially differentiated land use can be taken into account in LCA.
Methodological issues related to the consideration of land use in the LCA of bio-based products, where the whole supply chain is taken into account.

Guidance in terms of assessment of food, biofuels and bio-waste (compost), is envisaged under the ILCD.

Publications

• Brandão M and ter Horst E, (2009): Soils and Climate Change: implications for the “carbon footprint” of biofuels. SEESOIL.
• Mueller-Wenk R, Brandão M, (accepted): Climatic impact of land use in LCA  -  Carbon transfers between vegetation/soil and air. Int J LCA.
• Brandão, M, Milà I Canals L, Clift R. (forthcoming). Modelling characterization factors for ecosystem services: Biotic Production Potential. Int J LCA.
• Edwards R, Marelli L, Leip A, Koeble R, Brandão M, Scarlat N (2009) Modelling Indirect Land Use Change Effects of Biofuels Policy. Interim Report to DGTREN.
• Brandão M, Mila I Canals L, Clift R (2010) Soil Organic Carbon changes in the cultivation of energy crops: implications for GHG balances and soil quality for use in LCA. Biomass & Bioenergy.
• Brandão M, Mila I Canals L, Basson L, Clift R (2010) Integrated Environmental and Economic Assessment of Multifunctional Land Use: A Life Cycle Approach to Characterizing Agricultural, Silvicultural and Bioenergy Systems for the provision of ecosystem services and for their carbon footprint. Ecology & Society.

Introduction

The European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Round Table is an initiative that is co-chaired by the European Commission and food supply chain partners and supported by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and European Environment Agency. There are several member organisations representing the European food supply chain. Participation in the European Food SCP Round Table is also open to consumer representative organisations and environmental/nature conservation NGOs.

Goals

The general aim of the European Food SCP Round Table is to establish the food chain as a major contributor to progress towards sustainable consumption and production in Europe.

To this end, the European Food SCP Round Table has developed principles on the voluntary environmental assessment of the entire life cycle of food and drink products. The guiding principles are formulated with the aim to promote a coherent way to assess and communicate on a voluntary basis the environmental performance of food and drink products taking a life cycle approach.

The document identifies ten Guiding Principles that will underpin the development of a harmonised framework methodology for the environmental assessment of food and drink products (aimed to be completed by 2011). The methodology will build on international standards and existing and emerging methodological developments at national and EU level, including the ILCD Handbook.

Context

The European Food SCP Round Table's activities will support EU policy objectives, notably those outlined in the European Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and Sustainable Industrial Policy. The European Food SCP Round Table is also taking into account the global SCP agenda, including the initiatives facilitated by UNEP and other organisations to advance resource efficiency, sustainable value chains and social responsibility.

Links and publications

• De Camillis, C., Pennington, D. and Wolf, M.-A. (2010), Towards the EU framework methodology for the environmental assessment of food and drink products. VII International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment in the agri-food sector, Bari, Italy
• Food SCP Round Table
• Food SCP Round Table, Guiding principles