Urbanization and the Geoenvironment - Sustainable Practices in Geoenvironmental Engineering - page 236

Raw materials for
processing and
production

Air emissions

Production and use of
buildings, materials
and other products
for urban uses

Energy
input

Liquid and solid wastes s

FIGURE 7.8
Elements of a life cycle assessment.

launched in 2002 and was formed to promote the development of standard methods
and exchange of information (UNEP, 2004). For example, waste management experts
can determine which wastes are causing problems and inform the public on alterna-
tives or methods for waste reduction; however, most of the current information for
LCA methods has been in regard to energy analysis (Hertwich, 2005). In Phase III
(2012-2016), one of the main objectives is toward mainstreaming the use of life cycle
approaches.
Some currently available tools are

• BilanProduit : helps to assess and reduce the environmental impact of a product
• Carbonostics : an online, carbon accounting and product life cycle assessment for
the food sector
• OGIP : a tool to achieve an architecturally and ecologically optimized overall proj-
ect within a budget.
• ECODESIGN +: a tool for supporting Product Carbon Footprint (PCF)
• WRATE (Waste and Resources Assessment Tool for the Environment) software:
determines the environmental impact of different municipal waste management
systems.
• Eco-Bat4.0 : a tool for quickly performing a thorough life cycle impact assessment
of a building