Page 22 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

Importance of Life Cycle Assessment 7

Economic
Cost effective
Energy security
Self sufficiency
Financing

Sustainable
Renewable
Energy
Source

Environmental Social
GHG emission Employment, Land
Carbon stocks changes issues, Food security
Air, water and soil Small holder
Quality, Water use Integration, Impact
Biodiversity on communities

Fig. 2 Economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainable renewable energy sources
(Adapted from IEA 2011; Singh and Olsen 2012)

through the optimal use of any available source within a production system.
Energy conversion, utilization, and access underlie many of the great challenges
associated with sustainability, environmental quality, security, and poverty (Korres
et al. 2010, 2011). Sustainability assessment of products or technologies is nor-
mally seen as encompassing impacts in three dimensions, i.e., social, environ-
mental, and economic (Elkington 1998). These three dimensions form the
backbone of sustainability standards. To replace the fossil fuels with biofuels,
there is a need to maximize the environmental and social value of biofuels that is
also important for the future of biofuels industry and market potential depends on
being cost competitive with fossil fuels (Fig. 2). The environmental dimension
comprises amongst others the GHG emissions, global ecological performance,
conservation of energy resources, rational life cycle water use, effect on soil
quality, conservation of biodiversity, use of chemicals, and the practice of slash
and burn and the socioeconomic dimensions includes competition with food and
feed, contribution to local well being, impact on communities and the quality of
working conditions. These three interrelated goals must stay in balance for bio-
fuels to remain sustainable.
Environmental impacts occur in all stages of the energy production system: the
transformation of the land needed, production and application of chemicals and
other input, cultivation of energy crops, production of the biofuel, transportation to