Page 25 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

1.2 History 9

Impact analysis assessment Impact assessment scope Improvement assessment

Goal
Life cycle
and
Improvement analysis

Inventory Inventory analysis
SETAC 1990/1991 SETAC 1993

Figure 1.2 The SETAC-triangle in LCA guidelines (‘code of practice’). 35)
PLA therefore comprises all three aspects of sustainability according to the
37)
Brundtland Commission (see Chapter 6) and Agenda 21, which was adopted at
36)
the UNO World Conference in Rio de Janeiro, 1992.
1.2.5
The Role of SETAC

A strong upswing in the interest in LCA in Europe and North America – where
the terms ‘life cycle analysis’ and ‘life cycle assessment’, originated – led to two
international conferences that can be considered as the starting point for the newer
38)
development :
In 1990, a workshop was organised by SETAC in Smugglers Notch, Vermont,
on A Technical Framework for Life Cycle Assessment. One month later, a European
workshop took place on the same topic in Leuven. 39)
In Smugglers Notch, the famous LCA triangle was conceptualised, and later
persiflaged as ‘holy triangle’ (Figure 1.2). From 1990 to 1993 SETAC and SETAC
Europe were leading agents in the development, harmonisation and early standard-
isation of LCA. Their reports 40) are part of the most important information sources
concerning the development of the methodology. In the German-speaking part they
were only equalled by the Swiss Ecobalance of Packaging Materials 1990, 41) updated
in 1996 and 1998. 42) The UBA (Umweltbundesamt) (Berlin) study in 1992 also had
a great influence. 43) A French adoption of history and methodology, L’Ecobilan,
was published at about the same time. 44) The development of LCA in the United

35) SETAC (1993a).
36) World Commission on Environment and Development (1987).
37) UNO (1992).
38) Kl¨ opffer (2006).
39) Leuven (1990).
40) SETAC (1991, 1993a,b, 1994), and SETAC Europe (1992).
41) BUWAL (1991).
42) BUWAL (1996, 1998).
43) UBA (1992).
44) Blouet and Rivoire (1995).