Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5. Cradle-to-gate approach to LCA.
Inventory analysis involves data collection and calculation procedures to quantify
relevant inputs and outputs of a product system. These inputs and outputs may include the use
of resources and releases to air, water and land associated with the system. Interpretations
may be drawn from these data, depending on the goals and scope of the LCA. These data also
constitute the input to the life cycle impact assessment.
National or regional databases, which evolved from publicly funded projects, provide
inventory data on a variety of products and basic services that are needed in every LCA, such
as raw materials, electricity generation, transport processes, and waste services as well as
sometimes complex products. Several national and international public databases have been
released in the past, among them the Swedish SPINE@CPM database (CPM, 2007), the
German PROBAS database (UBA, 2007), the Japanese JEMAI database (JEMAI, 2007), the
US NREL database (NREL, 2004), the Australian LCI database (RMIT, 2007), the Swiss
eco-invent database (Eco-invent, 2007), and the European Reference Life Cycle Database
(ELCD) (European Commission, 2007).
The purpose of the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) is to provide additional
information to help assess the results from the Inventory Analysis in order to better
understand their environmental significance. The impact assessment phase consists of
different steps: assigning of inventory data to impact categories (classification), modeling of
the inventory data within impact categories (characterization), the contribution of the
analyzed system to the total extent of the environmental effects in Europe is analyzed
(normalization), possibly aggregating the results in very specific cases and only when
meaningful (weighting).
Interpretation is the phase of LCA in which the findings from the inventory analysis and
the impact assessment are combined together, or, in the case of life cycle inventory studies,
the findings of the inventory analysis only, consistent with the defined goal and scope in order
to reach conclusions and recommendations. The findings of this interpretation may take the
form of conclusions and recommendations to decision-makers, consistent with the goal and
scope of the study.
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