Page 52 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

34 M. Owsianiak et al.

4.2.1 Policy Formulation

As an example of LCA used for policy formulation, the European Commission has
promoted Integrated Product Policy (IPP) to minimize environmental impacts of
products by considering all stages of their life cycle, from the cradle to grave
(Mudgal 2008). The IPP comprises various instruments and tools, ranging from soft
instruments that act through influencing the market (like environmental labelling or
green taxation), through subsidies to industries (e.g. financial support to pioneers),
to hard regulation such as the Eco-design Directive for Energy-related Products
(ErP), which establishes a regulatory framework for eco-design of products that use
energy and products that allow for generation, transfer and measurement of energy
(Directive 2009/125/EC). This directive is an example of how life cycle thinking
has guided policymaking within the EU, where the focus has shifted from manu-
facturing processes, to a focus on the use of products and their disposal (Wenzel
et al. 1997; Azapagic and Perdan 2000). Many other examples of the use of LCA in
policy formulation are given in Chap. 18.
A major challenge to the applicationof LCA in these contexts is the commu-
nication of environmental performance of products. It is often done using different
approaches to life cycle inventory modelling and life cycle impact assessment,
which may lead to inconsistent and sometimes misleading results. To facilitate the
communication of reliable and reproducible information about the environmental
performance of products and organizations, the European Commission has elabo-
rated LCA-based methods for product environmental footprint (PEF), and organi-
zation environmental footprint (OEF) (Finkbeiner 2014; Galatola and Pant 2014)
(see also Chap. 24).

4.2.2 Policy Implementation and Evaluation

Governments may use LCA as decision support to advice the introduction of novel
technologies in the market (e.g. the use of biofuels, or introduction of electric cars) or
the selection of waste management systems (e.g. EU Waste Framework Directive
2008/98/EC imposing “to handle waste in a way that does not have a negative impact
on the environment or human health” and requiring the need for life cycle thinking in
waste management) (European Parliament and Council 2008; Meylan et al. 2014). In
Denmark, LCA was used in the 1990s to guide the development of the current
Danish collection system for beverage containers (glass and plastic bottles and
aluminium cans) and it has been used for assessment of recycling strategies for
various waste fractions. The country has also operated with panels of key actors
along the product life cycle who were consulted in the development of
product-oriented policy initiatives. In Switzerland, findings from an LCA study were
used to justify compensation rates to municipalities according to how waste glass
packaging is collected and what disposal option is chosen by the municipality