Page 76 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

4.3 Pathway to standardization: The role of LCI/SETAC/UNEP in framework definition 71
practical implementation by some actions oriented to implement a national hotspots analysis
tool, working with certification schemes, and to develop data and methods on life cycle cost-
ing supporting sustainable public procurement. The initiative is also working on life cycle
capacity development, aiming at generating the necessary skills and capacity for the global
application of life cycle approaches and on a life cycle knowledge consensus and platform
definition to ensure science-based global consensus building and to promote an access to life
cycle knowledge as a public good.

4.3.3 Organization life cycle assessment (OLCA) promoting LCSA
Towards standardization over the long term, the development of a standard set of social
indicator life cycle thinking at the organizational level is relevant, meaningful, and feasible
using a similar framework to product LCA standards (OLCA). In the UNEP-LCI document
Towards a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, they highlight “the need to provide a method-
ological framework for LCSAs and the urgency of addressing increasingly complex systems
are acknowledged globally.” In addition, a particularly interesting perspective is in terms of
“organizational LCA,” proposed by LCI-UNEP as well (UNEP, 2015).
Some guidelines and standards can contribute to achieve a useful standardization also in
LCSA. For instance, the “Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) Guide” (European
Commission, 2013), ISO/TR 14069 or the “Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting
and Reporting Standard” (WRI and WBCSD, 2011) can be usefully applied, not only for an
OLCA, but also as standardization supporting LCSA.
In this context, once again, the principles of a holistic perspective and whole life cycle are
applied, considering all life cycle stages for organization, the complete supply or value chains,
from raw material and resources supply, through energy, material production, and
manufacturing, to use and end-of-life treatment, and final disposal. Potential trade-offs
can be considered and identified, taking into account all environmental, economic and social
issues according with an LCSA, with a cross-media and multidimensional perspective. As
already suggested from a general point of view, also in the case of OLCA, to support
decision-making and management process, environmental life cycle indicator scores, eco-
nomic and social criteria can be assessed thanks to a multicriteria decision analysis method-
ology, effectively supporting scores’ weighting phase.
Organizational life cycle assessment (O-LCA) has significant potential to help corpora-
tions, authorities, institutions, and other organizations improve their environmental perfor-
mance by providing the necessary, credible information for decision-making. Considerable
efforts are underway to build global knowledge and capacity for understanding, developing,
and promoting more sustainable products and services. One key effort is to increase the avail-
ability of foundational data on energy, materials, land, and water consumption, and on
related emissions into water, air, and soil, so that we have comprehensive information on ma-
terials and products over their life cycle. This comprehensive information is obtained by the
use of LCSA. As the technical basis for the practice of LCSA becomes more standardized and
as more decisions are supported by this methodology, the demand for high quality
documented, transparent, and independently reviewed data has increased tremendously
(UNEP, 2014).