LCA Links!

PRESS RELEASE: PU Europe presented on May 20th, 2010, a generic Environmental Product Declaration for Polyurethane (PU) insulation boards to increase the transparency of construction products markets.

Background:An environmental product declaration (EPD) is a communication tool that provides quantified information on the potential environmental impacts of a product or process based on information from a life cycle assessment (LCA) over its entire lifetime or a part of it. An important advantage of using EPDs is the possibility to add LCA-based information in the supply chain. This feature makes EPDs particularly valuable for the building sector where the final building is based on a large number of materials, construction products, semi-manufactured products and processes. The EPD for PU was established through a third-party verified system based on the future CEN standard prEN 15804 and covers the cradle-to-gate phase of the product.

On behalf of PU Europe, Shpresa Kotaji (Huntsman Polyurethanes and PU Europe Life Cycle Assessment expert) commented, “With the publication of our EPD, we do not only respond to an increasing market need, we also want to pro-actively increase market transparency and facilitate sustainable material choices at the building level.”

It is indeed important to know that EPDs for construction products cannot simply be compared on the basis of a weight unit. Comparisons can only be performed at the level of the building so as to establish how much of a product is needed to meet certain design requirements and how material choices affect the overall building design in terms of ancillary materials, component weight and thickness, building footprint etc.

The PU industry will further step up its efforts to optimise production technologies and processes. “We can expect these efforts to lead to significant improvements in the overall environmental balance of PU insulation products over the next few years”, Kotaji concluded.

The environmental product declaration is available HERE

There are some really excellent special session proposals in process. Many of them are aimed at the policy theme of the conference, but others will address emerging issues such as quality validation, carbon footprinting and EPDs.

The rest of the conference will be determined by your abstracts. As always, your new ideas for research and implementation is what make this an exciting conference. Please submit abstracts through the account system: http://iere.org/account

Not a member, visit the Institute for Environmental Research and Education:http://www.iere.org/

LCA X will be held in Portland, Oregon, from 2 to 4 November 2010.  The SETAC North America Conference will be in Portland the following week.  The ACLCA is planning bridging events between the two conferences. Watch our website for details.

 The conference web site is at: http://lcacenter.org/LCAX/

Please direct questions and comments to: LCAX “at” LCAcenter.org

The Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) is leading an initiative to raise awareness of those water efficient bathroom products which are the very best in reducing the consumption of water in homes and public buildings. This initiative– The Water Efficient Product Labelling Scheme (WEPLS) – supports Water Saving Week and is pushing forward the sustainability agenda in the water sector.

Details of the program can be found on the program website here:http://www.water-efficiencylabel.org.uk/default.asp

May 26, 2010 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CDT

This free one-hour webinar introduces UL Environment’s services related to: Environmental Claims Validation, Sustainable Product Certification and Energy Efficiency Certification.   The webinar will assist customers with identifying the new and existing market drivers including regulations surrounding energy efficiency programs, recent consumer and market research in the green building environment, and coming trends.  It will also review the value of third-party certification.  The webinar is a sales pitch but should be of key interest to those looking for verification services related to the green marketing claims.

 The topics covered in this webinar are:

• An overview of key market drivers, including:
  • green building codes,
  • requirements to use green building programs,
  • shifts in the marketplace towards standards and key energy efficiency regulations in North America for High Tech,
  • Lighting,
  • HVAC and
  • Appliance Products
• How UL Environment’s services will streamline compliance with these regulations
• How to obtain the various, ECV, SPC and EEC Marks, and differences between them
• Bundling the new Marks with other UL and ULE Services
• The value of third-party certification

Objectives

• Identify UL Environment service offerings
• Recognize changes in energy efficiency regulations
• Analyze key trends in the sustainability marketplace
• Recognize the value of third-party certification

Target Audience -  Customers selling the following product types in North America:

• Roofing
• Insulation
• Suspended Ceiling Materials
• Drywall, Mineral board, Fiberboard
• Fenestration
• Masonry Products
• CFLs
• Dishwashers
• Refrigerators and Freezers
• TVs/Monitors
• Computers
• Servers
• External power supplies

To sign up for the webinar, visit the UL University Website HERE

As many know, freshwater is an important natural resource.  Access to clean and affordable water is quickly becoming a global issue.  Internationally accepted management tools  are urgently needed to meet the needs of a variety stakeholders- national, regional and local governments; NGOs; and commercial entities alike.
As such, a working group has been launch by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) with the objective to develop a standard (ISO 14046) on principles and guidelines for water footprinting of products, processes and organizations. This standard aims to be consistent and coherent with ISO14000 series, and with environmental metrics such as carbon footprint, LCA (ISO14040 and ISO 14044), GHG accounting (ISO 14064-1,-2,-3 and ISO 14067-1), and with environmental communication (ISO 14020, ISO 14067-2).
Sebastian Humbert, UC Berkeley, will be presenting at the upcoming SETAC Europe Conference outlining the ongoing process that started in 2009 and planned to last 3 years, aiming at creating such an ISO standard on water footprinting. The abstract of the presentation can be found HERE

Stratos and Industry Canada are pleased to announce the release of a study exploring innovative practices in communicating sustainability with consumers at the point of purchase.  The study demonstrates how innovators are linking performance and communication, engaging consumers to reduce lifecycle impacts, and ensuring the accuracy of sustainability claims.  

The research is based on the insights of seven innovators – Aveda, Boots, Canadian Tire, Marks & Spencer, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Procter & Gamble and Timberland.  A tool for companies reporting sustainability claims can be founds as well: – Green Marketing Gets Real helps companies with the “Why”, “What” and the “How” of sustainability communication.

The full report, case studies and the tool can be found here: http://www.stratos-sts.com/insights/sustainability-reporting-and-communication.html

LCA Analyst

UL Environment, Northbrook, IL, USA

Designs, develops, executes and implements environmental research utilizing Life Cycle Assessment methodologies in a wide range of industries. This position will provide the necessary project support, research and data to inform standards development and will assist in the assessment of product certification when expertise is needed.

The major responsibilities of this role include:

• Performs Life Cycle Assessments on a wide range of products and in a wide range of industries.
• Research existing LCA reports and data to provide a deeper understand of relevant environmental issues for decision making and standards informing.
• Collaborate with Industries and Associations to gather necessary knowledge and data to utilize in assessments.
• Develop and maintain scientific knowledge of current and new technologies related to products for which Life Cycle Assessments have been or will be performed.
• Develop and maintain extensive knowledge in Life Cycle Assessment best practices for software, methods and communication by reading journals and scientific publications, attending academic conferences, and delivering presentations on relevant topics in the field.
• Participate in industry standard technical committees and/or provide support to standard technical panels.
• Draft technical criteria for standards development utilizing knowledge gained from Life Cycle Assessments.
• Collaborate with external consultants on model development, data research/development and report creation.
• Performs other duties as directed.

Required Experience/Education:

• Detailed knowledge of the technical vocabulary common to the appropriate discipline.
• Working knowledge of industry issues, needs, and problems.
• University Degree (Bachelor’s degree), preferably in an Environmental or Engineering discipline.
• 1-3 years of industry experience in performing and analyzing Life Cycle Assessments – preferably across different products/industries.
• Knowledge and expertise in performing Life Cycle Inventories, LCA modeling, and an understanding of environmental impacts and impact methodologies.
• Experience in application of LCA principles to standards development is a plus.
• Proficiency using LCA software (preferably GaBi 4) and practical knowledge of the various life cycle databases.
• Must be able to communicate technical concepts to a non-technical audience.
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Ability and willingness to make sound, scientific decisions in challenging environments.

Posting of the position can be found HERE

Press Release: The Wildegg-Brugg power plant is the first run-of-river power plant in Switzerland to receive an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certified according to ISO 14025. The EPD is based on an environmental audit which identifies the full environmental impact of the power generation process for the entire lifecycle of the plant, including its construction and all the associated installed systems, the annual operations and its eventual dismantling.

The results of the environmental audit at the Wildegg-Brugg hydroelectric power plant were excellent. The plant produces greenhouse gas emissions of only 3.1g/CO2-equivalents per kWh, making it one of the most environmentally friendly energy systems yet. The average emissions value for the Swiss power mix is approximately 20g per kWh. This means that the Wildegg-Brugg power plant makes a significant contribution to climate friendly power production in Switzerland.

However, this energy system is not entirely CO2-free. Most CO2 emissions at the Wildegg-Brugg plant are the result of the construction process, especially the production of the cement used, but another factor was the transportation of materials by coal-fired steam engines. But the high initial input of materials and energy is paying dividends today. The Wildegg-Brugg hydroelectric power plant produces approximately 300 GWh of power annually, making it extremely efficient because most of the environmental impact factors measured per kWh are lower than for other power generation technologies.

The press release and original EPD can be found HERE

At this May 11th meeting, representatives of the French Government, US Government, UNEP and international retailers, and various industry experts will be in attendance.  

France plans to better inform the consumers about the carbon and environmental footprint of the products they buy. The goal is both to change the purchasing behaviours of consumers and to develop the producers eco-design approach. Key issues discussed and debated include: political ramifications, potential commerce barriers, and implementation hurdles.  

Speakers at this event include:  

Michèle Pappalardo, General Commissioner for Sustainable Development, France 

Pongvipa Lohsomboon, Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization, Thailand 

Rita Schenck, American Center for Life Cycle Assessment, USA 

Philippe Imbert, Retailer Group Casino (France) 

The common objective is that the consumer becomes a better informed and therefore more responsible player.

The American Center for Life Cycle Assessment is seeking regular abstracts and special session proposals for the the Life Cycle Assessment X Conference in Portland (2-4 November 2010).  The theme this year is “Bridging Science, Policy, and the Public” and the conference is open to all areas of Life Cycle thinking.

Regular abstracts are due by June 1st.  If you would like to organize a special session, note that the pre-proposal deadline has been extended to May 7th. 

The general conference website can be found here: http://lcacenter.org/LCAX

Guidance on abstract preparation is available here:

http://lcacenter.org/LCAX/abstract-how-to.pdf

Information on special sessions is available here:

http://lcacenter.org/LCAX/special-session-how-to.pdf