Page 228 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

212 4 Life Cycle Impact Assessment

In view of the state of the art of LCA, the second approach is not applicable
with consistency in an entire life cycle. In what follows the impact assessment will
85)
therefore be mainly discussed starting from the CML approach , also applied by
86)
the Danish EDIP method which has subsequently been modified and rearranged
for the UBA, Berlin. 87) Further approaches at the stage of research and testing
are discussed in the context. The development of impact assessment in SETAC
Europe working group Impact Assessment 2 (1998–2001), 88) in the context of the
UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, did not provide fundamentally new categories.
89)
It did provide a thorough valuation of the status quo and a partial harmonisation of
the existing methods and a careful opening to endpoint methods. The most recent
evaluation of LCIA categories has been performed by the EC. 90)

4.5
Impact Categories, Impact Indicators and Characterisation Factors

In numerous LCA software tools the mandatory phases of the impact assessment
‘selection of the impact categories, classification and characterisation’ are integrated
to a point where their background is not apparent. However, already within the
first phase of an LCA ‘definition of goal and scope’ it has to be indicated how these
mandatory elements are to be elaborated. These definitions have an influence on
the data to be procured in the inventory. An adequate selection of impact categories,
classification and characterisation regarding the goal of the study requires an exact
knowledge of the background of the selected impact indicators and characterisation
models.
In this section the impact categories used at present in LCAs are presented and
the scientific background for the selection of impact indicators and characterisation
models is described. There are impact categories with an existing broad consensus
with regard to useful indicators and models and others with a multiplicity of
competitive approaches. Besides, the two schools of thoughts often choose different
impact indicators and characterisation factors with respect to the goals of the impact
assessment (precautionary principle versus polluter pays principle).

4.5.1
Input-Related Impact Categories

4.5.1.1 Overview
This group of impact categories aims at the preservation and sparing use of natural
resources. Not all human activities that contribute to resource consumption actually
imply an irreversible destruction of appropriate resources (as with incineration of

85) Heijungs et al. (1992), Udo de Haes (1996) and Guin´ ee et al. (2002).
86) Hauschild and Wenzel (1998).
87) Kl¨ opffer and Renner (1995).
88) Udo de Haes et al. (1999a,b, 2002).
89) T¨ opfer (2002) and Jolliet et al. (2003, 2004), http://lcinitiaitve.unep.fr
90) EC (2010)