LCA Links!

A launching event of the USEtox ^TM model will be held at the SETAC Europe conference on Tuesday, May 25th in Seville, Spain.

This model has been developed by a team of international scientists for assessment of human and ecotoxic impacts from chemicals in life cycle impact assessment and for ranking of chemicals according to their inherent hazard characteristics. At the launch, a representative from the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and a representative from the USEtox ^TM team will give a brief welcome and presentation of the USEtox ^TM model (15 min). The remaining time is allocated to informal talks with members of the USEtox ^TM Team and demonstration of the USEtox ^TM model, and for networking with LCA and chemical assessment colleagues. There will be posters and hand-out material about the model.

LCA-software companies that have integrated the USEtox ^TM characterization factors for human toxic and ecotoxic impacts into their software have been invited to demonstrate these facilities at the event.

If you wish to attend, please confirm your participation usetox@usetox.org

The UNEP/SETAC Database Registry: A global repository for finding and offering LC-related datasets of high quality, is finally available in a draft website with search and upload capabilities, here:

http://lca-data.org.

An advisory council has been formed, and several well-known, important institutes and personalities agreed to join.  A workshop will be held in conjunction with the upcoming SETAC congress in Seville, Spain (http://seville.setac.eu), on May 25th, 2010.

Room “Italica” Time: May 25th, 17:15 – 18:45; The meeting room is within the SETAC Europe conference; if you will not be attending the conference, visitor badges will be made available.

Aim of this workshop is to show and fine-tune the current capabilities of the Registry, and to plan a long term maintenance. There will be internet access in the room, and the Registry and website functionality will be demonstrated live. The workshop will be free of charge.

The following agenda is proposed:

The UNEP/SETAC Database Registry: A global repository for finding and offering LC-related datasets of high quality

• Welcome and introduction
• Status
  • - website and search engine
  • - advisory board
• Development points
  • a) Interaction
    • - user interaction (what should users be allowed to do, and what do they expect)
    • - data provider interaction (ditto)
  • b) Presentation of results, how?
    • - search engine results
    • - any other results (user input, …)
  • c) the “open source” section of the Registry
  • d) Continuing with the Registry
    • - funds
    • - community: Moderators, data providers, …
• The Registry in light of other developments
  • - global database harmonisation workshop
  • - ELCD
  • - format converter
• Summary and outlook

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.

APRIL 8-9, 2010

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. 

Register by sending an email to: 3R@env.dtu.dk This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it.

If you want to register to the live streaming, you need to send an email, you will be provided with web address by return (Note that no registration will be accepted after April 7th, 2010).

Speakers include:

• Michael Hauschild, DTU
• Alexis Laurent, DTU
• Morten Birkved, DTU
• Ralph Rosenbaum, DTU
• Mark Huijbregts, Radboud University
• Stefanie Hellweg, ETH Zürich

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

ISSF-2010: An Event on Innovative Research and Action in Energy and Environment Sectors

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai-400065, INDIA, January 11-13, 2010

The issues of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development are of critical importance, particularly, in developing economies. Energy needs of development, throughout the world, are facing an unprecedented challenge. It is estimated that the global energy demand will grow by more than sixty percent in the year 2030, from its level at the beginning of this century, and almost eighty percent of this demand will be in non-OECD countries. Rising socio-economic and environmental concerns of energy use have resulted in search for the new and renewable energy forms such as biomass energy, solar energy, wind energy, etc.  Similarly, the burgeoning environmental problems, both local and global, are posing a serious threat to the mankind and urgent measures are needed to tackle them. The emphasis for ISSF-2010 on Life Cycle Thinking provides the opportunity to address these issues with a holistic scientific approach.

Details on the Symposium can be found here: http://www.igidr.ac.in/ISSF-2010/