introduction to LCA

pollution

uncontrolled/unaccounted chemicals in the environment

corporate responsibility

the company which provides an end-product to the consumer must always source responsibility - supply chain sourcing

all chemical companies must provide publicly the following data

• Materials used

• Qualities produced

• Distribution statistics

• Associated hazards

• Product warnings

• Disposal information

• Customer support

• Recycling information

ISO14040

a globally credited protocol for performing and registration for LCA - done before product is sold

flow of materials

the quantity of depleted resources is well known - however, future capacity is strong debated and often overestimated

how can economies become unbalanced

if a resource becomes restricted

planetary interconnections

the movement of resources across the planet is extremely streamlined and efficiency, but costly in terms of energy

aim of circular economy

to make regions more independent

material flows, processes and waste

as our products become more complicated, more energy/material inputs are required - the amount of waste dramatically increases

what are drug companies now required to do

extensive life cycle analysis, including supply chain control, distribution studies, end user habits, and environmental impact after use

phase one of designing an LCA process

Goals and planning - define analysis steps and data collection, NGOs need to define/understand local infrastructure/laws

phase two of designing an LCA process

Inventory analysis - understand energy and material flows, understand possible routes of loss (pollution entries) to the environment. Identify environmentally sensitive areas where chemicals end up

phase three of designing an LCA process

Impact assessments - now companies (by law) must provide information (statistics)

phase four of designing an LCA process

interpretation phase - final and most important phase, used to ban potential product to market - especially important for chemicals

interpretation phase of LCA

Identifying parts of the LCA which have the greatest environmental impact. Very debatable/subjective and dependent on continuously updated data

what does phase 4 involve

ranking or valuation of which impact should be limited. Is the product too hazardous for use/outright ban?

what is cotton

a natural product derived from a shrub that produce long fibres of cellulose wrapped into balls

cotton’s negative environmental impacts

• the significant expansion of natural cotton clothing

• requires significant amounts of fertiliser and pesticides to keep high yields

• Vast amount of transportation is required

• cheap pesticides are used - unregulated

pesticide impact on local population

has 4 to 5 times higher exposure to damaging pesticides - ground water now unsuitable for human/animals

the Arial sea

almost entire loss of the Arial sea in Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan - now 10% of its original size

how much water is needed for 1kg of cotton

10,000 litres

where LCAs are employed to solve the sustainability problem

the solution to the sustainability problem must be approached from the engineering side, also through resource control, social changes and government/global restrictions