Request for Candidates: Life Cycle Analyst Position (Boston Area)
Request for Candidates: Life Cycle Analyst Position
Salem, Massachusetts
Quantis seeks to recruit a highly motivated and dynamic Life Cycle Analyst. The Analyst will be a member of the US Quantis team and will interact with the other team members based in Canada and Europe. The Analyst will be in charge of conducting and delivering Life Cycle Assessment projects for clients with the goal of improving their understanding of their environmental impact and helping them make key decisions and take action to improve environmental performance.
Job duties and accountabilities:
Reporting to the US Director of Quantis, the Analyst will be responsible for:
- Conducting life cycle assessments
- Assessing corporate environmental sustainability metrics
- Consulting with clients to assist them in their understanding and implementation
- Collecting critical data from clients as well as from other available sources
- Preparing reports and presentations
- Developing unique solutions
- Supporting software customers
Critical Qualifications and Competences:
- One to ten years experience in performing, managing, interpreting and/or communicating of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and/or related topics whether from an academic, industry or other background
- Ability to structure own work and self-motivated
- Sound problem solving skills
- Scientific expertise
- Ability to communicate effectively and build relationships with clients
Preferred qualifications
- Previous experience in the consulting business
About Quantis
Quantis offers comprehensive, high impact solutions for organizations that are socially responsible, environmentally accountable, and understand the stakes at hand. With a team of dedicated analysts and with expertise ranging from life cycle assessment studies to consulting and business software, Quantis helps today’s and tomorrow’s sustainability leaders walk the talk. Quantis works with companies, governments and others to identify decisions and actions that promote a more sustainable world. Our focus is on a quantitative approach to measuring and managing environmental performance, believing that the best science is a necessary to support today’s crucial decisions regarding environmental sustainability. Quantis’ global team of 30 LCA experts mixes a background of leading scientific work with approaches that meet the needs of today’s key decision makers.
Quantis offers a dynamic work environment and opportunities for professional growth. Salaries will be determined based on levels of experience, for which a wide range of options will be considered. Competitive salary, health, dental and optical insurance, retirement plan and a generous holiday schedule are offered. Work will primarily take place at the Salem, Massachusetts office, with occasional travel.
Candidates should submit a résumé or CV and any other materials by email to info.usa@quantis-intl.com. Candidates will be evaluated and/or interviewed on an ongoing basis.
2-day technical seminar on USEtox model
Expert LCIA developers are holding a 2-day technical seminar on toxicity aspects in LCA and specifically the USEtox model on 8-9 April 2010 on the campus of the Technical University of Denmark in northern Copenhagen. Participation is completely free of charge.
Synopsis:
Impacts from chemicals that are applied or formed and emitted during the life cycle of a product or service still constitute a weak point in LCIA. Compared to other impacts covered in LCA, chemical impacts are associated with large uncertainties and omissions both in the inventory analysis and in the modelling of both indoor and outdoor emissions to impacts on human health and ecosystems. The graduate school 3R (Residual Resources Research) at the Technical University of Denmark is organising a two-day seminar on toxicity aspects in LCA. The event will include a technical seminar on day 1, and a short course introducing the UNEP-SETAC toxicity model “USEtox” on day 2. The seminar will be given by experts in the field (see below in the programme) and is targeted to any stakeholder concerned with or interested in toxicity LCIA, ranging from Ph.D. students to LCA practitioners, decision-makers, method developers, and experts from related fields. Please find below some practical information and the programme for the seminar.
Practical information:
- Cost: Free of charge!
- When: 8-9 April 2010
- Where: Technical University of Denmark in Kgs. Lyngby (northern Copenhagen area)
- Registration: until 2nd April via email to 3R@env.dtu.dk
- Website with program details: http://www.3r.env.dtu.dk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=8
Bridgestone Tire LCA – demonstrating environmental performance improvement
Press release – March 3, 2010
Bridgestone’s takes a global view of the environmental impact of tires – the so called “cradle to grave” approach – covering the whole product life cycle from raw materials, production and distribution to tyre usage and end-of-life disposal.
All research, and particularly the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study conducted by the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association, shows that the tire usage phase has the largest impact on the environment. While Bridgestone is taking important steps to minimize environmental impact in all tyre life stages (documented in the Bridgestone Europe “Environmental Commitment and Performance” brochure and elsewhere), the company is currently engaged in a major development programme in the tire usage stage.
Tire manufacturers working within the BLIC (European Association of the Rubber Industry) carried out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in 2000/2001 for a standard size passenger car tire (195/65 R15, speed index H, summer) representative of the European market. The referenced tire LCA study clearly showed that the impact of tires on the environment and human health is mostly due to fuel consumption, and thus to rolling resistance and not to the tire production phase or end-of-life collection and management.
The press release can be found here:
http://www.bridgestone.eu/press/press-releases/all/2010/safety-or-environmental-benefits
Numbers around the world
The experience of conducting an LCA study is like fishing in a sea abundant with numbers, it’s just a matter of knowing where to look and having the right net to capture them. Here’s a website full of numbers for you to browse: http://www.worldometers.info/
Streamlined Life Cycle Analysis (SLCA) and The Natural Step (TNS)
The Natural Step (TNS) and Forum for the Future have developed an SLCA tool based on the TNS system conditions for sustainability set against the life cycle stages of a product. As a rapid, but arguably not a rigorous alternative to LCA, the SLCA tool provides very high level directional information. Caution is warranted when using this approach as an external communication tool.
It identifies the major issues in relation to a product or process in a qualitative manner, allowing key aspects identified to be strategically explored in greater quantified detail as necessary using a more traditional LCA approach. The authors of the tool claim that it is:
- Quicker and cheaper than a full life cycle analysis (LCA).
- Reveals approximately 80% of the impacts over the complete life cycle of any product within an afternoon’s workshop.
- Causes product teams to think systemically about a product and provides a way to judge whether or not an innovation is truly more sustainable or not.
- Communicates sustainability impacts to non-experts.
- Benchmarks progress towards full sustainability.
All true, however the SLCA method is neither ISO compliant, nor a substitute for more rigorous traditional LCA approach. It may provide directional information for designers and environmental professionals to assess the possibility of a more truly sustainable product innovation, however the process is highly subjective.
More information on the methodology can be found here: http://www.forumforthefuture.org/projects/streamlined-life-cycle-analysis
Ecobalance 2010 Abstract Submission Deadline
The EcoBalance 2010 (the 9th International Conference on EcoBalance) to be held from 9th to 12th November at Tokyo, Japan deadline for abstract submission is approaching: 15th April 2010.
For details of your abstract submission, please visit the following site: http://www.sntt.or.jp/EcoBalance2010/
Should you have any question, please feel free to contact the secretariat.
FTC Warns 78 Retailers, Including Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart, to Stop Labeling and Advertising Rayon Textile Products as “Bamboo”
Seventy-eight companies nationwide have received Federal Trade Commission letters warning that they may be breaking the law by selling clothing and other textile products that are labeled and advertised as “bamboo,” but actually are made of manufactured rayon fiber. The letters, which the agency’s staff sent last week, make the retailers aware of the FTC’s concerns about possible mislabeling of rayon products as “bamboo,” so the companies can take corrective steps to avoid Commission action.
The full press release can be found HERE
The companies that received the warning letter from the FTC can be found HERE
CDP releases 2010 supply chain report
The Carbon Disclosure Project just released their 2010 supply chain report. They report favorable news as CDP Members are eager to collaborate with their Suppliers, and are taking steps to move forward and overcome obstacles: 89% already have a strategy in place to engage with Suppliers on GHG emissions and climate change. Within the next 12 months, the use of supplier relationship management processes will increase significantly, and the importance of carbon versus classic procurement targets is expected to triple during the next five years.
In the future, it will become common for Members to adjust their supply base according to lowcarbon criteria: 56% of Members state that in the future they expect to deselect Suppliers for failing to meet formal carbon management criteria, compared to just 6% today. It is clear that Suppliers are going to need to start to perform detailed assessments about their current capabilities in terms of climate change and carbon emissions management. They will also need to set ambitious targets for reducing their emissions in order to remain competitive. Details of the supply chain report can be found on the CDP website here: https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Programmes/Pages/CDP-Supply-Chain.aspx
EPA finalizes new regulations for the Renewable Fuel Standard Program for 2010 and beyond
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized revisions to the National Renewable Fuel Standard program (commonly known as the RFS program). This rule makes changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard program as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). The revised statutory requirements establish new specific annual volume standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that must be used in transportation fuel. The revised statutory requirements also include new definitions and criteria for both renewable fuels and the feedstocks used to produce them, including new greenhouse gas emission (GHG) thresholds as determined by lifecycle analysis. The regulatory requirements for RFS will apply to domestic and foreign producers and importers of renewable fuel used in the U.S.
PRESS RELEASE KEY ISSUES (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/420f10007.htm)
This final action lays the foundation for achieving significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from the use of renewable fuels, reductions of imported petroleum and further development and expansion of our nation’s renewable fuels sector.
This action is also setting the 2010 RFS volume standard at 12.95 billion gallons (bg). Further, for the first time, EPA is setting volume standards for specific categories of renewable fuels including cellulosic, biomass-based diesel, and total advanced renewable fuels. For 2010, the cellulosic standard is being set at 6.5 million gallons (mg); biomass based diesel standard is being set at 1.15 bg, (combining the 2009 and 2010 standards as proposed).
In order to qualify for these new volume categories, fuels must demonstrate that they meet certain minimum greenhouse gas reduction standards, based on a lifecycle assessment, in comparison to the petroleum fuels they displace.
For its final determinations, EPA used the best available models and has incorporated updated information based on:
- significant new scientific data available to the agency
- rigorous independent peer review
- extensive public comments
For the fuel pathways modeled, the following meet or exceed the respective required minimum GHG reduction standards:
- corn based ethanol plants using new efficient technologies,
- soy based biodiesel,
- biodiesel made from waste grease, oils, and fats,
- sugarcane based ethanol
Fuels derived from cellulosic materials meet, and generally significantly exceed, the minimum GHG reduction standard.
COMPLIANCE BASED ON LCA
Compliance with each threshold requires a comprehensive evaluation of renewable fuels, as well as the baseline for gasoline and diesel, on the basis of their lifecycle emissions. As mandated by EISA, the greenhouse gas emissions assessments must evaluate the aggregate quantity of greenhouse gas emissions (including direct emissions and significant indirect emissions such as significant emissions from land use changes) related to the full lifecycle, including all stages of fuel and feedstock production, distribution and use by the ultimate consumer.
EPA’s lifecycle methodology required breaking new scientific ground and using analytical tools in new ways. Throughout the development of EPA’s lifecycle analysis, the Agency employed a collaborative, transparent, and science-based approach. EPA recognizes that as the state of scientific knowledge continues to evolve in this area, the lifecycle GHG assessments for a variety of fuel pathways are likely to be updated.
Therefore, while EPA is using its current lifecycle assessments to inform the regulatory determinations for fuel pathways in this final rule, as required by the statute, the Agency is also committing to further reassess these determinations and lifecycle estimates.
Based on the Agency’s current modeling of specific fuel pathways, which incorporated comments received through the third-party peer review process, and data and information from new studies and public comments, EPA has determined that:
- Ethanol produced from corn starch at a new (or expanded capacity from an existing) natural gas-fired facility using advanced efficient technologies that will be most typical of new production facilities complies with the 20% GHG emission reduction threshold
- Biobutanol from corn starch complies with the 20% GHG threshold
- Ethanol produced from sugarcane complies with the applicable 50% GHG reduction threshold for the advanced fuel category
- Biodiesel from soy oil and renewable diesel from waste oils, fats, and greases complies with the 50% GHG threshold for the biomass-based diesel category
- Diesel produced from algal oils complies with the 50% GHG threshold for the biomass-based diesel category
- Cellulosic ethanol and cellulosic diesel (based on currently modeled pathways) comply with the 60% GHG reduction threshold applicable to cellulosic biofuels
In addition to finalizing a threshold compliance determination for those pathways shown above that were specifically modeled, the EPA’s technical judgment indicates certain other pathways are likely to be similar enough to modeled pathways that they are also assured these similar pathways qualify. Further, for other fuels, the EPA is establishing a process whereby a biofuel producer can petition the Agency to consider whether their product would be eligible for use in complying with an EISA standard. For additional information on the lifecycle GHG emissions methodology and results for renewable fuel pathways, and details on the petition process, please refer to the Lifecycle GHG Analysis Fact Sheet, EPA420-F-10-006 or the RFS2 preamble on the EPA website here: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/renewablefuels/index.htm
Better eco-efficiency of formates in gas drilling
Press Release from BASF January, 28th, 2010: http://www.basf.com/group/pressrelease/P-10-137
Eco-efficiency analysis confirms that formic acid salts are cost efficient and easy on the environment
Using cesium and potassium formates in completion fluids that stabilize boreholes in gas production is more eco-efficient than the application of brines based on zinc bromide, calcium bromide and calcium chloride. This is the result of an eco-efficiency analysis performed by BASF. Formates are salts of formic acid, a BASF intermediate.
The scientific study compared which of the products is better suited from the economic and ecological point of view to be used in completion fluids for stabilizing boreholes. In a life-cycle assessment, formates outperformed the bromides named above as well as calcium chloride as a lower-cost, environmentally more benign alternative. Formates achieved superior results also with respect to waste disposal: while waste bromide brine needs to be disposed of at considerable cost, formate brines are biologically degradable, which allows on-site disposal.
Completion fluids are used in gas production after the initial drilling operation to stabilize the well. Pressure in the well may exceed 1,000 bar. Special-purpose liquids are used to balance this pressure to prevent uncontrolled blowout of water or gas and a breakdown of the well bore. To achieve this the fluid must be of exceptionally high density – water-soluble salts like potassium and cesium formates have this density.
BASF Eco-Efficiency analysis background:
The BASF eco-efficiency analysis is a strategic tool for examining the cost and environmental impact of products, processes and entire system solutions. This method allows BASF to optimize its product portfolio for the requirements of a development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Sustainable Development). To date, BASF experts have completed more than 400 eco-efficiency analyses, including third-party projects in which they shared BASF expertise with others. The eco-efficiency analysis developed by BASF and certified by German technical surveillance association TÜV seeks to compare products or processes that target identical customer benefits. This involves an overall study of alternative solutions. In a life-cycle assessment, the total cost and the ecological impact are determined, a special process is then applied to aggregate the findings and visualize them clearly. The eco-efficiency analysis as an overall process was certified in 2002 by “TÜV Rheinland,” the Rhineland technical surveillance association. The ecological assessment underlying the eco-efficiency analysis is based on DIN EN ISO 14040 and 14044.
Formic acid – an all-rounder
BASF’s customers use formic acid in a wide range of applications. The acid helps to keep certain feeds fresh and free of salmonellae, removes paints and rust from metallic surfaces and descales kettles and boilers. In breweries and wineries it disinfects kegs, casks and barrels; applied as an auxiliary in the pharmaceutical and crop protection industry it regulates pH values and acts as a dirt remover and disinfectant. Formic acid salts, the so-called formates, serve as high-class deicing agents and valuable auxiliaries in oil production.