Page 316 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

300 4 Life Cycle Impact Assessment

The following applies for the calculation of the ROE:
ROE = ∑ (m × ROE )
i
i
i
4.6.1.5.2 Land Use

Considering the ecological capacity of an area implies taking all area-related
environmental impacts into account like, for example, the decrease of
biological diversity, land erosion, impairment of the landscape, and so on.
In contrast to the terms area or surface it seems to be appropriate to
circumscribe with ‘natural space’ all its inherent natural correlations.
For this purpose, a method for the impact assessment was developed in
an LCA on graphic papers on behalf of the UBA 378) which is based on a
description of ‘grades of naturalness’ (hemerobic levels) of natural space. 379)
In the present study hemerobic levels II–VI are considered.

It is particularly stressed in the study that the impact assessment is not a risk
analysis (see also Section 4.4.3.2):

It is explicitly pointed out that the impact assessment represents an analysis
instrument in the context of an LCA. The results are partly based on model
assumptions and previous knowledge of certain impact relations and they
are to be regarded in the general context. Under no circumstances are
forecasts, for example, of concrete impacts, threshold values or dangers,
which are caused by the examined product systems, being made or provided.

4.6.2
Classification

In Section 3.7 the inventory of the packaging ‘1-l-cardboard with closure’ for fruit
juices was presented as an example. Data were already marked, which were later
transferred into impact categories based on definitions presented in Section 4.6.1.
This is the phase of classification.

4.6.3
Characterisation

Using characterisation factors specified for the study, the classified data are
transferred into impact indicator values.
Classification and characterisation are integrated into the most relevant Software
tools. A plausibility check is however always recommended, as designations of the

378) UBA (1998).
379) Kl¨ opffer and Renner (1995).