Page 156 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Accelerating life cycle assessment uptake: life cycle management and ‘quick’ LCA tools

Figure 11.1 All functions have an important role in life cycle management (Remmen et al. 2007). 143
CSR, corporate social responsibility.

11.3 Stakeholders and the development of ‘quick’ LCA tools
Some ‘quick’ LCA tools have enjoyed popularity as online check points for greenhouse gas
emissions, attracting thousands of visitors, while others have been the subject of considerable
investment in development but with limited uptake upon completion. In any case, the design,
production, marketing, consumption and end-of-life waste management of modern products
and services typically involves dozens of stakeholders, each with different interests and influ-
ences on the system and its outcomes. From financiers, marketers, brand-owners and retailers
to manufacturers and designers, consumers and consumer organisations, public policy makers
and regulators, there is a considerable and complex set of interrelationships in any given
product provision or consumption system. These groups, organisations and individuals are
important not just as a ‘context’ for ‘quick’ LCA tools, but as key actors determining the system
itself, and therefore determining the environmental impact of the resulting products and
services. The key stakeholders are grouped as:
s designers and manufacturers
s consumers, purchasers and specifiers
s policy makers and regulators.

11.3.1 Designers and manufacturers
Designers often report that they would like to incorporate LCA into their design processes.
This sometimes proves difficult or simply does not eventuate due to a lack of time to obtain the
information (or an apparent lack of information); a lack of training or capacity to source and
use LCA information; and/or a lack of interest from clients (Lewis and Gertsakis 2001). Clearly,
there is a prima facie case here for ‘quick’ LCA tools, since they could potentially facilitate the
provision of LCA information in a timely manner. A lack of interest from clients may be related
to lack of markets or a perceived lack of market drivers, with inertia having a role in the latter.

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