Page 43 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Life Cycle Assessment: Principles, Practice and Prospects
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3.7 Future directions for LCA practice
There are at least two possible directions for the future development of LCA practice, reflect-
ing the essential tension in LCA between the need for greater detail and better data, and the
need for quicker, more usable tools and straightforward solutions. Accordingly, two basic
directions for LCA are:
s more detailed and complicated methods
s simplified and streamlined methods.

These directions are not mutually exclusive, and indeed it is most likely that both will be
pursued for different purposes. In addition, sector-specific tool integrations will become
increasingly widespread in the form of assessment-tools and design-tools for specific applica-
tions. Examples where this is already happening exist in packaging design, solid waste man-
agement and building assessment (see elsewhere in this book). Typically, the tools model the
technical system under consideration such as a product, building or technology configuration
so that the material requirements and operational energy can be predicted and interpreted by
the LCA. There is more potential to develop LCA in this way in the following sectors:
s water services planning
s product design specialties
s purchasing tools.

The scope of impacts covered under the category of ‘LCA’ is also continuing to expand. Inte-
grated assessment and associated techniques will continue to extend LCA beyond the tradi-
tional functional unit approach. Currently, a pan-European project called Calcas (Coordination
Action for innovation in Life Cycle Analysis for Sustainability) is looking to broaden the appli-
cability of LCA and improve the assessment of options, particularly in relation to sustainability
assessment and the science of supply and demand relationships (Calcas Project/UNEP 2007).
The integration of additional social impacts in LCA (beyond the assessment of human
health which is already common) is progressing. The United Nations Environment Pro-
gramme/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (UNEP/SETAC) working group
on social indicators recently proposed that social indicators should include: child labour, living
wages, freedom of association, working hours, forced labour, equal opportunity, health and
safety, social benefits and security (UNEP/SETAC 2007). Although the consideration of social
impacts in LCA can extend its scope, some of the quantitative approaches in environmental
impact assessment can also be applied to social impact assessment. Weidema describes the use
of the conceptual structure and approach in life cycle impact assessment to link inventory
items along a causal pathway to end-point damages (Weidema 2006). Clearly there is still some
way to go in both the development of the indicators and the data, and the building of consen-
sus around how such assessment can be used.
Open source and internet-based LCA tools will also continue to develop and expand in
usage, reflecting the growth of the Internet and the multitude of needs for environmental data
arising through energy, water, greenhouse and pollution reporting schemes, including volun-
tary reporting using LCA data by businesses. Further discussion of this and the aforemen-
tioned future directions for LCA practice are examined in more detail in Chapter 12.

3.8 References
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2001) 1996–97 5215.0 Input-output tables, product
details. Australian national accounts. Canberra.

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