LCA Links!

The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) inked an agreement to launch Singapore’s and South East Asia’s first carbon label.

This Carbon Label is a Singapore initiative to support the country’s transition to a recognised low carbon economy by measuring and communicating the carbon content of the products and services we consume and produce, raising the carbon consciousness of governments, businesses and consumers. The carbon label in quantifying and declaring the carbon content is an advancement of the Singapore Green Label.

With a formal launch planned for the fourth quarter of 2010, the Singapore Carbon Label will provide a unique set of tools to evaluate, quantify and report for the first time on the carbon footprint of products and services based on rigorous lifecycle analysis, from raw materials to production, from distribution to use.

The principal aims of the Singapore Carbon Label are to differentiate Singapore products and services and provide a new, compelling source of competitive advantage to industry and the economy. A “Singapore solution”, the label builds on international standards and best practices, including the UK’s PAS 2050 and the draft standard ISO 14067. The scheme partners will make available a stringent methodology and standards alongside ready-made tools that will deliver both immediate impacts and longer term emissions reductions for businesses. This will help local enterprises to boost the competitiveness of Singapore’s exports globally.

For more information visit the SEC website: http://www.sec.org.sg/

The British Standard Institute’s (BSI’s) Carbon Neutrality conference purpose is for attendees to understand how to become carbon neutral, run a carbon neutral event, or develop carbon neutral products or services. Hear all about the new specification published by British Standards on carbon neutrality and understand how to make immediate improvements in order to reduce your greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This conference provides an opportunity to hear how organizations from a wide range of industry sectors are tackling carbon neutrality using PAS 2060 (Publicly Available Specification). 

Download conference brochure

Key features and benefits:

• Gain a clear understanding of the steps involved in becoming carbon neutral and how this improves your competitive advantage
• Hear how to maximize the advantages of reducing your carbon emissions and becoming carbon neutral
• Listen to a full explanation of the new PAS 2060 with case study examples of implementation; challenges faced and benefits delivered
• Understand the new Government guidance document on the definition of carbon neutrality – its implications for your organization and relationship with PAS 2060
• Update your knowledge of the UK Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and understand what your organization needs to be doing to meet CRC targets
• Discuss the specification with key industry experts who have participated in its development
• Network with industry experts and peers.

What is a Publicly Available Specification (PAS)?

REMINDER: Call for Abstracts for Going Green – CARE INNOVATION 2010, Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna (Austria, Europe), November 8 – 11, 2010. The deadline for submitting your abstracts is coming up in only 2 weeks (May 31, 2010).  

Speaker opportunities are still available.  For more information visit the conference website HERE.

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology has an open position of researcher for two years in the area of input-output modeling for climate mitigation analysis. The position is at the Industrial Ecology Programme.

The position is connected to the EU Integrated Project PROSUITE (Development and application of a standardized methodology for the PROspective SUstaInability assessment of TEchnologies) and related work on modeling the penetration of new energy (production and use) technologies throughout the economy.

NTNU’s role in the project is to develop a model for the change of economic activity and structure in response to the wide-spread adoption of emerging technologies, such as nano-technology, biorefineries and clean energy technologies. Areas of interest include changes in employment and resource use/emissions. A multiregional input-output model with a good representation of environmentally relevant sectors developed in another EU project (EXIOPOL) will be applied in this research. Technology information comes from physically-based models. The development of a methodology for scenario analysis and evaluation of economic effects is at the core of this work.

Core collaboration partners are Utrecht University, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, and the Autonomous University of Barcelona. The candidate may also become involved in another project working on environmental effects of the penetration of electric cars in Norway/Europe.

The Industrial Ecology program (IndEcol) is an interdisciplinary research and teaching program managing its own International MSc program and PhD program. IndEcol has a high reputation within the field as evidenced by a high-profile international evaluation. We are quite active in the areas of life-cycle assessment, material flow analysis, and the use of input-output analysis for environmental assessments, as evidenced by numerous publications, international prizes and consultations for global actors such as WWF and IKEA. A specific recent interest is the combination of these tools and the use for country-level and more aggregate analysis, as well as the linkage to sustainable consumption and production. The Industrial Ecology Programme is well integrated in the international research community through the participation in EU projects, the participation in ISIE and IIOA working groups and the UNEP International Panel on Sustainable Resource Management.

The candidate must have experience in life-cycle assessment, input-output analysis or technology assessment, either through research and consulting or in the form of a PhD. A proficiency in data gathering and manipulation is important. A proven ability to produce scientific work as evidenced by peer-reviewed publications is desired. Knowledge of a MatLab or related software or programming language is a prerequisite.

Further information is available on their website www.ntnu.no/indecol/