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LCA Links!

Links to LCA topics found on the web

Today's New York Times reports on the life cycle efforts of Levi Strauss & Company that was based on its seminal work back in 2007 which focused on the the life cycle of jean.  The times article reports that LS&Co. estimates that a typical pair of blue jeans consumes "919 gallons of water during its life cycle", or enough to "fill 15 spa-sized bathtubs".  

The company continues to use the knowledge and insights that it has learned from its life cycle assessment to support further activities, such their water finishing campaign to reduce water during finishing and working with the Better Cotton Initiative, an effort ot make global cotton production "better for the people who produce it, better for the environment it grows in and better for the sector's future."

Windchill LCA capabilities is a scalable solution for manufacturers to assess environmental performance of products across the entire enterprise. This solution integrates with existing enterprise systems for real-time bill-of-material (BOM) and product data. With Windchill LCA, you can assess the environmental impact of any product or product component throughout the development process and compare it to design alternatives to optimize environmental performance.

 

 

Hansgrohe AG is claiming the world's first environmental life cycle assessment for hand showers that is then the basis for their environmental product declaration (EPD) according to ISO 14025.  The EPDs provide detailed information about what impact the showers from their Croma 100 and Crometta 85 product ranges have on the consumption of resources and the greenhouse effect. All data relating to raw material extraction and energy production, manufacture, utilization and disposal have been analyzed with this in mind. Any transportation that took place has even been taken into consideration. The analyses were carried out by the Institute Bauen und Umwelt e. V. (Construction and Environment) (Freiburg).

Background on LCA efforts at Hansgrohe can be found here: http://www.hansgrohe-int.com/11633.htm

The full EPD is also downloadable from their website here: 

http://www.hansgrohe-int.com/assets/global/hg_umwelt-produktdeklaration_handbrausen_kurz.pdf

 

 

2 PhD Stipends, Local Sustainability and the Physical Environment

1 PhD Stipend, Faculty for Social Sciences and Technology Management

1 PhD Stipend, Faculty for Engineering Sciences and Technology

The research projects of the PhD candidates focus on how significant reductions in environmental impacts and resource use can be achieved through changes in infrastructure and durable goods that form the local physical environment within which the daily live of inhabitant happens. The two PhD stipends are connected to NTNU’s successful Industrial Ecology Program (IndEcol) and are expected to contribute to and make use of the growing body of work at IndEcol.

 

Following list of departments is relevant:

SVT 967 Social Sciences and Technology Management:

  • Economics
  • Industrial Economics and Technology Management
  • Political Science
  • Psychology

IVT 72/11Engineering Sciences and Technology position:

  • Building and Transport Engineering
  • Energy and Process Engineering
  • Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering
  • Product Design

 

For further information on IVT 72/11, please contact: Ottar Michelsen, telephone +47 73 59 87 19, e-mail: ottar.michelsen@ntnu.no

For further information on SVT 967, please contact: Lucie Kathrine Sunde-Eidem, telephone +47 73 59 04 88, e-mail: Lucie.Eidem@svt.ntnu.no

This is an absolute must see video.

Greg Norris meets with with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a dialogue moderated by Dan Goleman.  The overall session was between contemplative scholars, activists and ecological scientists that will discuss the interconnection between individual choices and environmental consequences.

The complete session can be see here: Ecology, Ethics and Interdependence – Mind and Life XXIII

 

The WPO has posted a position paper on the use of Life Cycle Assessment to assess the sustainability performance of packaging systems.

 

"WPO welcomes environmental measuring of different delivery systems including packaging on a LCA basis. The studies made should be scientifically sound and compare equivalent systems. Studies on packaging alone are misleading and should not be supported. Environmental labelling and claims should have a LCA base. Eco efficiency and tools including the social element should in the future be developed to assess the performance of whole product delivery systems."

http://www.worldpackaging.org/uploads/paperpublished/11_pdf.pdf

 

Cascades released the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results of its Rolland Enviro 100 and Rolland Opaque50 fine papers. The results demonstrate that Rolland Enviro100 has the smallest environmental footprint, followed by Rolland Opaque50 which has a smaller footprint than the average for virgin and 100% recycled papers. The study was third-party validated to ensure transparency and adherence to rigorous standards.  See the video below.  Access to the executive summary of the LCA report can be found on their website: http://www.cascades.com/papers/env_life-cycle-assessment.php

 

 

There's a new website available for searching LCA studies available on the web.

Seeds4Green has a limited but growing collection of studies searchable and segmented by category.

Seeds4Green can be accessed at www.seeds4green.net

 

 

 

 

JOB POSTING:

Consultant specialized in economic approach of environmental externalities,located in Lyon – France

for more information please contact s.lepochat@evea-conseil.com or m.huet@evea-conseil.com

Organization and position overview

EVEA is a growing French environmental consultancy specialized in environmental impact assessment and ecodesign.

Our offices are located in Lyon, Nantes and Troyes with a multidisciplinary team of 30 consultants. www.evea-conseil.com

Based in EVEA Lyon’s office and reporting to the R&D Program Manager, the candidate will be involved in an applied research project for a non-profit organization.

This project belongs to EVEA’s development initiatives aiming at delivering new business models for sustainable and profitable innovation.

The consultant will thrive in EVEA’s entrepreneurial culture, and work with a diverse array of subjects, in direct contact with the customer supporting this project.

RESPONSABILITIES

The consultant will be responsible for realizing a synthesis, comparison and critical review of existing methodologies to monetize environmental externalities. This work aims at identifying missing areas to investigate and contributing to develop tools for the private institutions.

Specific tasks may include:

·         Analyzing and comparing the different methodologies to monetize environmental externalities

·         Reviewing and completing the existing bibliography, ranking sources

·         Mapping of worldwide key experts

·         Analyzing case studies, conducting interviews

·         Designing the specifications of the dedicated Electronic Document Management

·         Software

·         Contributing to writing a synthesis and analysis of existing state-of-art methodologies

·         Contributing to developing and testing tools for transcribing into economic terms identified environmental impacts

·         Identifying new areas to investigate

APPLICATION

Beginning as soon as possible / Duration: 6 months. Can be extended

Applicants are invited to send a CV and a short cover letter, detailing their interest for the position and their relevant experiences / Please mention earliest start date.

Applications (cover letter and CV) should be sent to v.tardieux@evea-conseil.com and cc. m.huet@evea-conseil.com with “re: L2111012” in the email subject line. 

 

 

 

 

 

INVITATION AND CALL FOR PAPERS: DEADLINE NOVEMBER 15, 2011

Nantes (France) July 10-12, 2012

Numerous research activities about LCA applied to buildings and more recently to civil engineering, have risen over the past decades.

Environmental stakes are particularly important in construction because any initial decision always has long term consequences. In addition, the construction sector both generates and recycles huge amounts of wastes, it is generally considered as an important contributor to climate change and induces irreversible changes in local environments. To face these stakes, industries invest into so-called “green innovations”, and national or local public authorities are demanding scientifically based decision support such as LCA.

At present, this LCA research appears to be fragmented between LCA practitioners in various construction fields, and LCA methodologists.

However, LCA practitioners in the construction sector share identical methodological questions. For example, drastic variations that inevitably occur between the early and operational stages of construction projects, have conducted many research institutions to develop their own dedicated LCA software tools. These tools are however rarely comparable because they generally use different databases and assumptions. Only close cooperation between LCA methodologists and construction scientists, can lead to relevant methodological developments and harmonized assessments.

The symposium aims at grouping disparate research communities to create a forum for the exchange of recent developments and research results amongst researchers. It also aims at providing an insight into societal demands in the civil engineering and buildings sectors. The symposium will thus be organized over three days. The two first days will be devoted to scientific presentations; the last day will deal with public policies and standardization in the field, on the base of invited presentations.

In that context, IFSTTAR (resulting from the merger of LCPC and INRETS) and CSTB, in partnership with the International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM), the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE), and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) invite you to participate and submit a paper to the International Symposium on LCA and Construction 2012.

Publications

Papers will be selected using a rigorous peer review system. Accepted papers will be presented at the meeting during the first two days or presented in posters sessions. All accepted papers selected for oral presentation will be published in the proceedings of the symposium. The papers will be registered in the Web of Science (WoS), through RILEM publication.

Official language of the symposium is English.

Organizing committee

Anne Ventura (IFSTTAR), Sébastien Lasvaux (CSTB), Chantal de la Roche (IFSTTAR), Kristel Hermel (IFSTTAR), Emmanuelle Pichot (IFSTTAR), Annick Lalloret (IFSTTAR), Adélaïde Feraille (IFSTTAR, Ecole des Ponts Paristech), Guillaume Habert (IFSTTAR), Yannick Tardivel (SETRA), Christian Tessier (IFSTTAR)

Key dates Beware : No call for abstracts – Direct call for papers

November 15, 2011 Deadline for paper submission (8 pages)

March 1, 2012 Review results from the Scientific Committee

March 15, 2012 Opening of the Registration process

April 1, 2012 Final version of accepted papers

June 1, 2012 End of early bird registration

July 10-12, 2012 Symposium

Contact information

Website http://lca-construction2012.ifsttar.fr

Instructions to authors and templates will be available on the website.

E-mail lcaconstruction2012@ifsttar.fr

Postal mail

LCA&construction 2012

IFSTTAR, centre de Nantes, point 65

Route de Bouaye CS4

F-44344 Bouguenais cedex