Page 65 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

L1644_C02.fm Page 42 Tuesday, October 21, 2003 3:07 PM

Goal and Scope
Definition
(ISO 14041)

Inventory
Analysis Interpretation
(ISO 14041) (ISO 14043)

Impact
Assessment
(ISO 14042)

FIGURE 2.1 The phases of LCA according to ISO 14040 (1997) (available at www.afnor.fr).

2.2.1 GOAL AND SCOPE DEFINITION
The goal and scope definition is designed to obtain the required specifications for
the LCA study. During this step, the strategic aspects concerning questions to be
answered and identifying the intended audience are defined. To carry out the goal
and scope of an LCA study, the practitioner must follow some procedures:
1. Define the purpose of the LCA study, ending with the definition of the
functional unit, which is the quantitative reference for the study.
2. Define the scope of the study, which embraces two main tasks:
• Establish the spatial limits between the product system under study
and its neighborhood that will be generally called “environment.”
• Detail the system through drawing up its unit processes flowchart,
taking into account a first estimation of inputs from and outputs to the
environment (the elementary flows or burdens to the environment).
3. Define the data required, which includes a specification of the data nec-
essary for the inventory analysis and for the subsequent impact assessment
phase.

2.2.2 INVENTORY ANALYSIS
The inventory analysis collects all the data of the unit processes within a product
system and relates them to the functional unit of the study. In this case, the following
steps must be considered:

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