B oosting Life Cycle Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises

Boosting Life Cycle Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises

LCA to go E-Learning course for Machine tools – V1.6

17.04.2014Authors: Antonio Dobon, Sebastian Glaser, Karsten Schischke, Jan Schneider, Jude Sherry

Editors: Florian Krautzer, Rainer Pamminger, Wolfgang Wimmer

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Lower your impact on the environment, heighten the impact of your businessImproving the environmental performance across your product’s life cycle can pave the way to a successful business. Using LCA to go can provide you with the information you need to inform better decision making within your business. Lower your impact on the environment and reap the benefits:

1. Cost reductions Cut down on wastage during manufacturing and save costs by maximising efficiency

2. Secure supply chain Identify supply risks of rare raw materials and reduce the use of rare raw materials in your products

3. Comply with legislation Manage your environmental legal responsibilities and avoid costly changes to comply with new regulations

4. Increase sales and diversify Reach new audiences in a fast-expanding conscious market and gain competitor advantage

5. Achieve brand loyalty Build trust and relationships with your customers with a brand that cares

Dominique Lyons

Again, delete 'substeps'

Introduction

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What is LCA to go?

LCA to go is an online tool that measures a product’s environmental performance based on the principles of a simplified Life Cycle Based Assessment (LCA). This simplification has been developed by LCA experts since the start of the project in 2011. They have defined the most relevant boundaries, data and impact categories across seven sectors: photovoltaics, industrial machines, sensors, electronics, printed circuit boards, smart textiles and bio-based plastics. This pre-identification greatly reduces the complexity involved in undertaking a Life Cycle Based Environmental Assessment.LCA to go will enable:• planners, installers or designers of photovoltaic systems to assess and

communicate the environmental benefits of their systems• manufacturingrs of plastic products to assess the environmental and financial

performance of bio-based plastics in comparison to conventional petroleum based plastics

• designers and producers of smart textiles to assess the environmental performance of their products

• designers, assemblers or producers of computer like devices to assess and communicate the environmental benefits of reliable and long-lasting products

• machine tool manufacturings to identify potential environmental improvement options

• industrial sensor providers to quantify the environmental and financial benefits of installing a sensor system

• designers and producers of printed circuit boards (PCBs) to assess and improve the environmental performance of PCBs

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What is a Product’s Life Cycle?

Every product interacts with the natural environment across its full life cycle, which includes material extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use and end of life. Energy, water and materials are taken from the natural environment while air and water pollutants and solid waste is emitted back into the environment. The most significant extractions from and emissions into the environment are measured and analysed through a life cycle based assessment to determine a products environmental performance.Understanding your product’s life cycle environmental performance can enable you to identify and priorities environmental improvements opportunities.

E-learning course on environmental assessment of machine tools with the LCA to go online tool

Step by step e-learning: <sector> home1. Define the scope2. Collect data3. Model the Life Cycle4. Enter data5. Review the result6. Interpret the result & derive

improvements

Machine tools Case Study

Introduction

Definitions

1. Definition of the product & scope

Substeps:a. Define the goal of the studyb. Define the functional unitc. Define the reference flowd. Define the product system and the unit processese. Draw a process treef. Define the system boundaries of all 5 life cycle

stages g. Define other requirements

Sector specific course / Step 1

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Step 1

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1.a. Define the goal of the study

i. Why do I need to define a goal for my study?Defining a goal helps you identify the objectives, applications and target audience of your study and will allow you to easily keep track of these very important factors throughout the study.

ii. How can I define a goal & what should be included in my goal definition?A goal definition should have three parts. It should identify:•the reason for undertaking the study (Why?);•the target audience (Who?);•the potential areas of application for the study (What?)

iii. Can the goal be modified during the study?The goal should not be modified during the study. If changes occur during the study, a new goal should be defined and a new study (which can take the current study as a basis) should be made.An example would be, if you conduct a study for the engineering department and the marketing department would like to use the study for communication purposes. In this case you should formulate a new goal, if possible, use the existing study as a basis, to carry out a more detailed study, focusing on the newly defined goal and the different target audience.

Machine tools example

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1.b. Define a Functional UnitWhat is a Functional unit?

• The functional unit is the amount of product/material and energy required to accomplish a certain function.

• example for packaging: Delivery of 1000 l of orange juice to the supermarket with 1L beverage carton, 1.5L HDPE bottle, and 0,75L glass bottle. The Functional unit here would be 1000 l of orange juice.

• example for energy consuming product: Provide 7500 h of internet service with a modem type A, modem type B and modem type C

• example for machinery: convert 1000 kg of pellets by extrusion machine A and extrusion machine B

Why do I need to define a Functional unit and what is it used for?• The functional unit is used as a basis for comparisons between products,

materials and equipment. This will ensure that all studied systems are fully comparable.

How can I define a functional unit?• The easiest way for define a functional unit is to identify clearly the function/s

provided by the product to be analysed and then assess if the products to be analysed can either accomplish the same function or not.

Paint

Functional unit: 1m²Main function:

Having painted a wall


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1.c. Define a Reference FlowWhat is a Reference flow?

• A reference flow is the basis for calculation required to accomplish a certain function provided by a product service.

• Paint example: amount of paint required to having painted 1 m2 of wall.Why do I need to define a Reference flow and what is used for?

• This is essential in every life cycle assessment, since it is used as a basis for comparisons.

• LCA users ensure with their use that systems under analysis are fully comparableHow can I define a Reference flow?

• Let’s see with an example: if the function is to having painted 1 m² of wall with water-based paint with a yield of 5 m²/L vs. a solvent-based paint with a yield of 2.5 m²/L, therefore different amount of paint will be used to paint the same wall surface. This is called reference flow and it is an essential part for comparison

Amount of water-based paint required for the functional unit

Amount of solvent-based paint required for the functional unit

1 m2

Functional unit 1 m2/(5m2/L) = 0,2 L

1 m2/(2.5m2/L) = 0,4 L


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1.d Define a Product System and the Unit ProcessesWhat is a product system?A product systems is the set of unitary processes necessary to perform the function specified in the functional unit. All inflows and outflows shall be defined. In practice, this is the whole life cycle diagram. See an example for a PLA-based carrier bag below.What is a unit process?A unit process is the minimum element for which life cycle data on inputs and outputs is availableWhat information do I need to define the product system and the unit processes?You will just need a clear idea on the main inflows and outflows to a certain product system

Corn growing and

harvesting (materials)

PLA pellet processing

Film extrusion PLA film

Printing and die-

cut

Transport and

deliveryUse

End of life

Input of raw materialsInput of water

Input of energy

Output of emissions to soil, water or air, solid waste, etc.

Outflows between unitary processes

Unit process


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1.e.i Draw a process tree

Why do I need to draw a process tree for my product system and how can I use it?Visualizing the single processes and their relation may help you understand what exactly you have to consider when collecting data for your life cycle assessment. Furthermore the development of the process tree usually helps to “not forget” parts of the product system and enables you to structure the following steps such as data collection and life cycle modeling.

Where does a product life start, where does it end?Again – this depends on the product that you’re about to evaluate. But in general, the “start” is where the raw materials or the energy needed for the manufacturing of your product come from. This is important at it also shows the “coverage” of decisions that you make during the design of the product. The end of life of your product usually falls together with its disposal and / or recycling. That does not automatically mean that you have the possibility to influence what exactly happens at this stage.


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1.e.ii Draw a process tree

What is a process tree?A process tree is a special flowchart. In this flowchart, all relevant material flows, energy flows, emissions and other streams are depicted. If possible, they are assigned to a special process or step within the life cycle stages of the product.The process tree should represent all life cycle stages needed to properly model the product. An example is used in Step 1.d. and another is shown on the right – please be aware that there is no “defined” structure as the extent and quantity of single processes depends on the modeled product.

The process tree should refer to a known quantity of product – if possible, to the functional unit.

- 1.5 kg copper- 13 kWh electricity- 15 l tap water- 0.3 m³ argon

- 4 MJ heat- 30 g copper scrap- 15 l wastewater

Process 1, e.g. casing

- 0.7 kg LDPE- 3 MJ process heat- 2 l distilled water- 2.5 g additives

- 2 l wastewater- 0.05 kg LDPE

Process 2, e.g. plastic parts

molding

- 0.2 m³ argon- 0.7 kWh electricity- 3 l tap water

- 2 MJ heat- 3 l wastewater

Process 3, e.g.

assembling

- …Process 4, …

- …


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Why is it important to define the system boundary for all 5 life cycle stages?You should define clearly which are the boundaries of your product system. This should be done for all 5 life cycle stages, namely Materials, Manufacturing, Distribution, Use and End of life. Let‘s see some examples:

• Should the packaging materials be included? Yes, if relevant per unit of product (usually for big products or when a reduced amount of products are delivered).

• Should the impact to produce and maintain the equipment be included? Yes, if the production is small and repair/maintenance operations are often required.

How can I define the system boundary for all 5 life cycle stages?The easiest way for doing that is to create a table to register which aspects have been either considered or not. This will allow you to track the processes included in your system and easily move to your life cycle diagram. An example is shown on the following slide:

1.f.i Define the system boundary for all 5 life cycle stages


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1.f.ii Define the system boundary for all 5 life cycle stagesMaterials Manufacturing Distribution Use End of life

Following the logic of the Process tree, please include all relevant raw materials included in the product. Please take into account that even small quantities of some raw materials (e.g. precious metals, rare earths, etc.) can have a large effect on the environment.

Most likely, this stage may be under your direct control and it will be easy to obtain data. Depending on the product, the Manufacturing can have a significant impact. Make sure to include all relevant energy and raw material flows in this stage, including the manufacturing waste, as it may be relevant for the products Life Cycle.

Depending on the product and the packaging needed, the Distribution stage can have an impact. Make sure to include the shipment method as well as the packaging. Step 3. b. shows an example on what to do with multiple shipping destinations.

Use your process tree to determine where to set your boundary in this stage. As an example, for a car, the use stage is very important and the boundary should not only include fuel consumption but also maintenance needs such as tires, spare parts, oil, etc. Looking for example at office furniture, the use stage and the maintenance therein becomes negligible.

Depending on your product, the contained raw materials, the need for disassembly or the need for a long transport before disposal, may all be factors that should be included in the End of life Stage.

For some products, Product Category Rules (PCR) exist, defining the exact system boundary to be applied. This enables transparency and comparability between different environmental assessments, based on the same PCR. Check whether your product is included at: http://www.environdec.com/en/Product-Category-Rules/


http://www.environdec.com/en/Product-Category-Rules/

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What other requirements are there for the system boundary?Appart from defining you product system and drawing your process tree it is also important to define your Temporal, Geographical and Technological requirements. This means that you should define first, how old the data that you intend to use shall be, which geographical boundaries you intend to set, especially for the manufacturing site and place of use for your product and finally whether you want to investigate one specific technology or do an assessment for a representative family of products.

Why do I need to define other requirements?Defining these additional requirements helps you set a perimeter for your study area and validates your results, helping you reach your study goal and enabling you to communicate the results more clearly.

1.g. Define other requirements for the system boundary


2. Collect data

Substeps:a. Identify necessary datab. Define the depth and quality of data

neededc. Identify & keep track of data sourced. Identify and track the data quality


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2.a.i Identify necessary data

What data needs to be collected and how can this be done?Data will be needed throughout all life cycle stages to model the product life cycle properly. Some data needs to be compiled by yourself, which defines your product or system, but your data will be complemented by some background data on e.g. electricity generation or upstream raw materials production. If required for your sector, you might need to collect data as follows:•For the Materials stage, identify the materials used; data might come from the specification or experts•For the Manufacturing stage, collect data on•Electricity consumption for manufacturing of parts and assembly of the final product. This can be done by:•measuring the energy consumption directly at the production line•deviding the electricity consumption of the entire production line through the number of units produced

•Waste generated in the manufacturing of parts and assembly of the final product.•For the Distribution stage, collect data on shipping distances as well as packaging materials used•For the Use stage, estimate lifetime and use patterns, determine the country / region where the product or system is used•For the End of life stage, collect data on current disposal and recycling practice and estimate, which end of life route might be taken by your product.


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Materials contained in machine tool

Weight (g)

%wt

Cast iron 13000 66,5%Steel 3120 82,5%Cooling & Lubrication Unit

250095,3%

Electronics for Control Unit

50097,9%

Electric motor 150 98,6%Aluminium 120 99,3%Copper 60 99,6%Polypropylene 40 99,8%Transformer 20 99,9%Flat glass 10 99,9%Polycarbonate 10 100,0%Full PC Set 5 100,0%Estimated total mass 19535

2.a.ii. Identify necessary data:Materials and ManufacturingWhat is a decision rule for mass inclusion? Why do I need it? How can be defined?A decision rule is a very easy rule aimed at exclude certain materials/ manufacturing processes for which the contribution to the global environmental impact is assumed as negligible. Let‘s see an example for a grinding machine.

Decision rule: Exclude all materials, contributing less than 1 % of the total weight of the final product.These components can be excluded as they do not represent more than 1% of total materials to the product system, reducing substantially the efforts for data collection!!! Be careful not to exclude small amounts of high impact materials such as rare earth metals.


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2.a.iii Identify necessary data:Distribution, Use, End of life: Multiple clientsI have a number of different clients, how do I account for this and what data do I need? Clients can be in a range of different locations, using and disposing of the product in different ways.To deal with these differences, LCAs use scenarios as shown in Step 3.The data you require will depend on the scenario you are investigating. As an example, if you know where you ship a certain product by market share, then you may develop a table as shown below:

You can then develop one scenario as an average for your product, ie. assuming that you are theoretically selling one product unit 50% to Poland, 40% to France and 10% to Sweden. Alternatively you can specific scenarios for specific clients. The required information remains the same.Often, if you cannot find specific information such as the exact transport distance, start with a conservative estimate and identify whether it is a relevant part of the LCA before spending too much time on getting very detailed and accurate figures.

Country (Clients)Market share

[%]

Distribution(all by truck)

[km]

Use(Use profiles may vary

depending on the client)[kWh / Year]

End of life(may vary depending

on client)

Poland 50% 1000 7,000 IncinerationFrance 40% 500 9,000 LandfillSweden 10% 2000 4,000 Recycling


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2.b.i Define the depth and quality of data neededTo what level of detail and to what accuracy should the data be collected?The required level of detail depends on the importance of a certain dataset: If the overall result is known to depend largely on one entry, the data should meet a high level of accuracy. For example, this is extremely important when certain entered values are multiplied by a very large factor. In these cases the accuracy of entered value has to be very high whereas for less important data it is not required to invest large amounts of time to achieve a high level of detail. Frequently only 10-15 data entries determine 80% or more of the result, so efforts should be made to get these 10-15 data entries right.Some examples:• As electricity in use, is frequently highly relevant, it is important to enter the correct

location and the corresponding electricity grid mix. If a product is used over long periods of time over its lifetime, this becomes even more relevant.

• Precious metals are mined and processed with high environmental impacts and occassionaly dominate the whole assessment. Getting the amount of precious metals right, even if it is only milligrams, is of high importance in these cases.

• The amount of washing detergent needed in a single cycle becomes very important if the product is designed to carry out thousands of washing cycles over its lifetime.


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2.b.ii Define the depth and quality of data neededCan I first gather rough data to gain an understanding of the product‘s environmental impact and add more detailed data later?Yes, get a first impression of the ecoprofile of your product before deciding which data should be improved. If you are not sure at the outset of the analysis, which environmental hot spots to expect, go through the assessment with some default data or worst case assessments. Check the results. Refine data entries. Get a feeling for most sensitive data entries. Refine the assessment step by step. Some typical environmental profiles:

A TV set consumes much more energy in use than in production. Modelling the use stage is most important

A mobile phone is optimised for energy efficiency and battery lifetime, but constitutes of a high share of electronics parts. Modelling of the electronics components is important.

Manufacturing

Materials End of life

A sensor system, which monitors industrial processes might reduce the power consumption of a process line, which by far outweighs its own environmental footprint. Modelling the secondary effects properly is key.

Materials Manufacturing

End of life

Manufacturing

Materials End of life


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2.c.i Identify & keep track of data source

Where can I find the data I am looking for?Good data sources are:• Product specifications• Supplier data, although environmental data is rarely covered by any supply chain

data management• Bill of materials, which however frequently lacks relevant environmental data• Material Safety Data Sheets• Complementary life cycle data in case the tool you are using does not feature the

background datasets you are looking for; free public available data sources include:• ProBas (German): Input-output data for a couple of materials and

processes, compiled by German Umweltbundesamt as an „LCA library“www.probas.umweltbundesamt.de

• CPM: Life Cycle Inventory data from projects at Chalmers Universityhttp://cpmdatabase.cpm.chalmers.se/

• Databases hosted andupdated by industry associations:• Plastics Europe: http://

www.plasticseurope.org/plasticssustainability/eco-profiles.aspx• Worldsteel: http://

www.worldsteel.org/publications/position-papers/lca.html


http://www.probas.umweltbundesamt.de/

http://cpmdatabase.cpm.chalmers.se/

http://cpmdatabase.cpm.chalmers.se/

http://www.plasticseurope.org/plasticssustainability/eco-profiles.aspx

http://www.plasticseurope.org/plasticssustainability/eco-profiles.aspx

http://www.worldsteel.org/publications/position-papers/lca.html

http://www.worldsteel.org/publications/position-papers/lca.html

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2.c.ii Identify & keep track of data source

How to deal with data gaps?Be prepared to fill data gaps by means of estimates and assumptions. Engineers, designers, procurement staff and other technical experts in your company will be able to provide you with good estimates to fill data gaps. Note any datagaps and try to revisit them if they turn out to be relevant in the results.

Even large enterprises do not have readily available data on environmental issues throughout the whole product life cycle.

Even environmental data from tier 1 suppliers is rarely available and suppliers are not prepared to provide any such data consistently. There is no standard for suppliers how to calculate and report life cycle data.


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2.c.iii Identify & keep track of data source

How to inquire for supplier data?

A real life example….e-mail product manager to his supplier contact:


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2.c.iv Identify & keep track of data source


A real life example….

Reply 4 months later:


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2.c.v Identify & keep track of data source


A real life example….What is the problem:• Delayed reply• As the inquiry was not very precise it is not clear at all, which methodological

assumptions where made by the supplier (which processes are included, are upstream processes included and how are they accounted?)

• Ranges stated: Which value to calculate with? Recommended approach is “worst case”, but check sensitivity whether result changes significantly with average / best case values, then further clarification would be worthwhile

• Values are way too high for the production of semiconductors; further communication unveiled, that carbon footprint data includes power consumption in use, not only manufacturing

Recommendations:Communicate closely with your supplier. Make clear your requirements and expectations. Provide clear guidance.Given the intensive communication required until you might get hold of robust data don’t target at a full supplier coverage with your inquiries. Ask only for the most important parts, components and materials.


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2.d.i Identify and track the data quality

What is meant by data quality?For an engineer it might be hard to understand, that environmental life cycle data is subject to numerous assumptions, approximations, partly guess-work and thus uncertainty.Data quality essentially is an indicator of how good a given dataset and the related results of modelling represent the „real“ life cycle of a product or system.As long as data comes directly from your product and production line, data quality will be high, but frequently you will have to source data for processes and life cycle stages, which are not under your direct control. Then data quality comes into play as a crucial issue.


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2.d.ii Identify and track the data quality

How is data quality defined and what is the Data Quality Indicator?Typically data quality has five dimensions:(1) Reliability

Is the data based on measurements, verified by anybody or only estimated? (2) Completeness

How large is the sample the data is based on? Is it representative?(3) Correlations in Time

How old is the data?(4) Correlations in Geography

Does the data stem from the region, where my components are produced or does the data refer to some other locations?

(5) Correlations in TechnologyAre components and raw materials processed with the same technology as for the system to be assessed?

Keep in mind: The Data Quality Indicator in the „LCA to go“ tool is meant to assess the quality of YOUR data entries, not of the background data in the tool. The user has to judge, whether a background dataset is appropriate for the intended use! Even a high quality background dataset applied to the wrong raw material yields a wrong result.


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2.d.iii Identify and track the data quality

How is data quality defined and what is the Data Quality Indicator? continued…In a simplified version, the assessment of the data quality is aggregated in one of three possible Data Quality Indicator scores:

ReliabilityCompleteness Correlations in TimeCorrelations in

Geography Correlations in

Technology

Robust

Indicative

Illustrative

high

Data qualit

y

low

DQIscor

e


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2.d.iv Identify and track the data quality

Why is data quality and keeping track of data quality important?Assessing the data quality helps you• to get an impression, how reliable your overall assessment result is, and• to improve your data collection strategy to enhance the overall quality of the

assessmentexamples:

Data quality

Robust

Indicative

Illustrative

Data quality

Robust

Indicative

Illustrative

Mat

eria

ls

Man

ufac

turin

g

Distrib

utio

nUse

End-

of-L

ife

Environmental impact

Mat

eria

ls

Man

ufac

turin

g

Distrib

utio

nUse

End-

of-L

ife

Environmental impact

ok, life cycle stages with highest impact feature high data quality

Indicative data for Distribution is „nice to have“ but „indicative“ level for Manufacturing is critical and should be improved!


3. Model the Life Cycle

Substeps:a. Review available data and bring it into a useful

format, making assumptions where necessaryb. Develop Scenarios for the Distribution stagec. Develop Scenarios for the Use staged. Develop Scenarios for the End of life stage


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Step 3

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3.a.i Review available data and bring it into a useful format, making assumptions where necessary

How can I best review the data and identify data gaps? Use a table to track data gaps is the easiest solution for doing that. Put there which data is necessary and optional as well as the assumptions you made.

Life cycle stage

raw material/substance

Amount

Unit Datagap

Data needed?

Assumption Source

Materials

Copper 58 g No Yes My company

ABS resin 220 g No Yes Literature

Glass fibre 125 g No Yes Literature

Materials - preprocesses

Injection moulding of ABS

195 g Yes Yes I do not know the precise figures to estimate the processing of the ABS Shell, so I will assume a general injection moulding process to estimate the impacts related to the processing of ABS resin to produce the internet modem shell

Literature


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3.a.ii Review available data and bring it into a useful format, making assumptions where necessaryCan I make assumptions to fill these data gaps with estimates? Yes, of course. Assumptions are needed to reduce data collection efforts and must be clearly stated for a proper interpreation of results.How can I relate the data to my functional unit?Using the reference flow. Please see Step 1.c

I cannot find suitable LCA data regarding the production of an ABS shell for an internet modem!!!!!!

Assumption: consider the total weight of the ABS shell and calculate the processing by assuming a general injection moulding process

What’s better?

A final result which does not consider the impacts of producing the ABS shell

Achieving a more complete total result which includes a conservative estimate for the process


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3.b.i Develop Scenarios for Distribution

What is a scenario in the context of an environmental assessment with the LCA to go tool?A scenario represents a possible situation applicable to the product in distribution, use and/or disposal.

Why are scenarios useful and when are they used? Scenarios are useful because they allow for the comparison of different possible situations the product may be found in and to allow for an environmental assessment, even if the exact distribution path, or use intensity or disposal method is unknown. Each scenario essentially models what happens when a product may be distributed to a range of different destinations and/or used in different intensities (e.g.: distribute your PCB to Austria or Mexico, used intensively or sparingly, landfill of carrier bag vs. incineration, etc.).

How many scenarios should I define for the distribution stage?This depends greatly on the relative importance of the distribution stage compared to other stages in the life cycle of your product as well as the difference between the individual scenarios. We recommend that you start with a worst case scenario to identify the relative importance of the distribution stage. If it is relevant in the product life cycle, it is best to develop several scenarios based on the market share or actual distribution data. The LCA goal may also play a role, maybe you would like to develop a scenario for a specific customer or market.


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3.b.ii Develop Scenarios for Distribution

How can I define a scenario for the distribution stage?Collect as much information as feasible on the weight of the product, the location that your product is shipped to, the method of transport and the packaging used. Combine the information with assumptions and estimates to build a ‚complete‘ picture for the distribution of your product.

<insert sector> example

National (Spain)

Manufacturing plant in Spain

Europe (Sweden)

Overseas (Brazil)

500 km

1270 km 780 km

6900 km 1120 km

+

+

Market share 40%

Market share 5%

Market share 55%


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3.c.i Develop Scenarios for Use

Why are scenarios needed and when are they used?There are several factors that influence the impact at the Use stage.• Typically you have no control on how

the product is used and different clients may use the product in different ways

• You may not have information on the actual use

• The impact from the same use intensity may be different in different countries.

That is why you need to set up scenarios with due care and communicate your assumptions transparently.As shown on the right, the environmental burden of electricity consumption depends on the type and efficiency of power plants in the country. Several scenarios can be developed, depending on the location of the client.

46 g CO2-eq./kWh

Sweden

681 g CO2-eq./kWh

Poland96 g CO2-eq./kWh

France

CO2 emission factors of electricity generation (UK DEFRA 2012)


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3.c.ii Develop Scenarios for the Use stage

Why are scenarios needed and when are they used?See an example of Fujitsu and how they depict the results of a computer LCA. Depending on the location of use, the overall carbon footprint changes significantly:


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3.d. Develop Scenarios for the End of life stage

How can I define a scenario for the End of life stage?Try to define the most common scenarios for end of life as function of the geography as well as the user preferences and build the scenarios according to your specified goal for the LCA. A Scenario may consist of one path (e.g. Incineration) for the entire product or of different paths for each raw material (e.g. Copper->Recycling, PVC casing->Incineration, Steel->Landfill)

How many scenarios should I define for the End of life stage?Commonly, three scenarios are distinguished in the End of life stage: Recycling, Incineration and Landfill. As always, check the impact of the life cycle stage relative to other life cycle stages before investing a lot of time and effort on building scenarios.Please find an example for plastic packaging (2010 from Eurostat):

Country Recycling Incineration Landfill

Spain 29% 22% 49%

France 24% 37% 39%

Finland 26% 19% 65%


4. Enter data

Substeps:a. Enter data in the LCA to go online toolb. Understand why the data is needed and what

happens with the entered data


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4.a.i Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

Where can I find the tool?You can access the tool from the project website http://tool.lca2go.eu/users/sign_in . You will need to register and create an account first before entering data.

Watch a demonstration video


http://tool.lca2go.eu/users/sign_in


http://youtu.be/Bmk1AVp-hzo

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4.a.ii Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

How can I enter data into the LCA to go tool?1)Create a new product

Customized life cycle for each sector


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4.a.iii Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

How can I enter data into the LCA to go tool?1)Create a new product2)Go to „Introduction“ for further sectoral guidance or directly to „Data entry“

Sectoral guidance on data entries

Model your

product life cycle

Self-assessment

of the quality of your data

entries

Calculate results; will show results only, if you

have entered a complete dataset


Step 4

Definitions

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4.a.iv Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

How can I enter data into the LCA to go tool?1)Create a new product2)Go to „Introduction“ for further sectoral guidance or directly to „Data entry“3)„Data entry“: Make entries for yourproduct life cycle

Comprehensive data entry templates to

model the life cycle stages one by one


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Definitions

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4.a.v Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

How can I enter data into the LCA to go tool?1)Create a new product2)Go to „Introduction“ for further sectoral guidance or directly to „Data entry“3)„Data entry“: Make entries for yourproduct life cycle

4)Click „Next step“ to move to the nextlife cycle stage

Calculate results; will

show results only, if you

have entered a complete

dataset


Step 4

Definitions

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4.a.vi Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

Can I save the data and return to finish the data entry at a later time?All your entered data is saved under your account, once you click

or

You will find your products listed under „My Products“ in the top right corner

online trainee


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4.a.vii Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

Can I save the data and return to finish the data entry at a later time?

Just click on the „status“button to return to your data entries any time


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4.a.viii Enter data in the LCA to go online tool

Can I save the data and return to finish the data entry at a later time?

Click on the duplicateicon to make a copy of your product entries for calculating a variant

Can the data be seen by a third party?No. Your data is stored on the web server of the online tool, but it is only accessible with your account details.The user password is encrypted and even the host is not able to read it. Therefore, only the user can access their own data.


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Results

4.b.i Understand why the data is needed and what happens with the entered dataWhat happens with the entered data?Your entered data is used as input parameters for a mathematical model. This model links your entered data with background datasets to calculate the results for your product.

data entry 1data entry 2data entry 3data entry 4

Internal data model

dataset 1

dataset 2

dataset 3

Internal database


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4.b.ii Understand why the data is needed and what happens with the entered dataWhere does the internal data model come from?The data models for each sector individually have been developed in the “LCA to go” project. These data models provide the link between technical terms and the environmental data in the background.


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4.b.iii Understand why the data is needed and what happens with the entered dataWhere does the internal data model come from?example from a machine tool:1) The user is asked to enter the use scenario and the life time of the machine tool.

Use scenario

Life time


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4.b.iv Understand why the data is needed and what happens with the entered dataWhere does the internal data model come from?example from the application of sensors in energy-intensive industries:1) The user is asked to enter the use scenario and the life time of the machine tool.2) Based on these data entries the tool calculates the total times in the three different

states, Processing, Ready for operation, and Stand by.

Use scenario

Life time


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4.b.v Understand why the data is needed and what happens with the entered dataWhere does the internal data model come from?example from the application of sensors in energy-intensive industries:1) The user is asked to enter the use scenario and the life time of the machine tool.2) Based on these data entries the tool calculates the total times in the three different

states, Processing, Ready for operation, and Stand by.3) These are linked with the entered consumption data on energy, operating resources

and additional energy flows in the three states to calculate consumption of those different scenarios.

Use scenario

Life timeResultsMJ / tool machine

MJ/ tool machineEnergy use

Media use


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4.b.vi Understand why the data is needed and what happens with the entered dataWhat background datasets are used and why?The tool comes with some background datasets to ease your work: The datasets comprise environmental data related to some consumption metrics.The most typical example are the country specific emission factors for electricity:

• kg of greenhouse gas emissions of power generation in a given country, aggregated as CO2-equivalents per kWh electricity consumed by a product or process

This data stems from broadly accepted and publicly available sources, such as the International Energy Agency.

Further data sets allow to link your consumption data or design data with the anticipated environmental impacts. This is meant to help you: Instead of inquiring throughout the supply chain the “real” environmental impacts of your product, you are provided with ready-made data as a sound approximation of “your” reality.


http://www.iea.org/

5. Review the result

Substeps:a. Understand the first result & the available

impact categoriesb. Identify major environmental

hotspots and the robustness of the resultc. Collect and enter additional data where necessa

ry


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5.a.i Understand the result

How is the result displayed?Results are displayed in the LCA to go tool in three different ways:

1) Data table („Detailed Results“)

2) Bar charts (“Graphic Results”)

3) pdf report


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5.a.ii Understand the result

What are Environmental impact categories, how are they defined and why are they used?Environmental impacts are any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization’s or product’s environmental aspects. The environment is complex, and so is the range of environmental impacts. A non-exhaustive list of environmental impacts frequently seen in conjunction with Life Cycle Assessments are:

• Global Warming• Resource Depletion• Human Toxicity• Ecotoxicity• Acidification• Eutrophication• (Loss of) Biodiversity• Ozone Depletion• Summer Smog

If you want to know more about any of these impact categories, follow the links to the wikipedia entries.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_depletion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrophication

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion

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5.a.iii Understand the result

How to compare environmental impact categories against each other?The challenge is, that it is hardly possible to value one kind of impact against another. There are some approaches to normalize and weigh environmental impacts with some kind of environmental “points”, but that doesn’t help laymen to understand the environmental issue behind the assessment.The “LCA to go” consortium screened the relevancy of individual impact categories for individual sectors and the tool simplifies things by neglecting the less relevant ones. You should keep in mind, that there is some (minor) risk to overlook an important impact.


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5.a.iv Understand the result

What is a Key Environmental Performance Indicator and why is it used?Key Environmental Performance Indicators (KEPIs) quantify potential environmental impacts, benefits or metrics of high relevancy for a given sector. KEPIs are the environmental result of an assessment, which allow a benchmarking or a comparison of scenarios. examples are:

• energy-break-even-point (payback of energy invested in production of photovoltaic systems)

• environmental-break-even-point (after which operation time are the production related global warming gas emissions set off by saved CO2 emissions)

• (positive) carbon footprint of a photovoltaic system over full lifetime• carbon emissions of a computer life cycle per year of usage• Cumlative Energy Demand (CED) of a machine tool over ist entire lifetime


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5.b.i Identify major environmental hotspots and the robustness of the underlying dataWhat is an environmental hotspot?If you want to use the assessment for design improvements, for discussing a project with a client or to implement a sustainable business strategy, you might need to know more than just a carbon footprint figure. You should know, where it comes from to initiate improvements.Following again the 80:20 principle you should target at the 20% input parameters, which drive 80% of your impacts. These are your environmental hotspots.

Some examples:• For a mobile electronics product it is not the package, although recycled

cardboard is very popular, it is the electronics: Printed circuit board and semiconductors

• For a PV system it is the overall system efficiency and solar cell production

• For a sensor system used in energy-intensive industries don‘t bother for too long about the production of the sensor system, pay attention to the positive use stage impact

• For a machine tool, do not worry too much about the assembly and welding together of the parts, the important hotspot is the energy used in the 15-25 years that it is in use to produce goods.


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5.b.ii Identify major environmental hotspots and the robustness of the underlying dataHow to deal with environmental hotspots?When developing the tool, we had in mind already the hot spots, but check for your product, how sensitive the result is to the entered data:

• What drives your impacts? • How to minimise overall impacts?

Try to find out, what are the three most important factors and check: Have you got the power to make a change?


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5.c. Collect and enter additional data where necessaryHaving identified environmental hotspots and the robustness of the result, how do I decide what data I need to improve?Make sure that you have the most robust data for the most important life cycle stages. If you have identified an environmental hotspot but the data is only “Indicative”, try to collect further data. If you only have “Illustrative” data for a life cycle stage that might be relevant or who’s importance depends strongly on the chosen scenario, try to collect and integrate further data. What can I do if I do not have access to more robust data?Try to expand on the existing data by asking experts within your company for their estimates. Check the feasibility of the data against published figures from other manufacturingrs.Can I follow the same step by step process when collecting and entering more detailed data?In principle, yes, though the second round of data collection should be much quicker and less intensive because you can concentrate on a few data gaps. Make sure you save the current result to see what changes the improved data has brought about and whether it would be useful to go back and ask for further data. You may use the “Duplicate” function in the tool for this.When is my study “finished”, how do I know when to stop collecting and entering data?Once you are happy that you have achieved the goal of your study. It is clear that in an iterative process, results can always be improved. Once you are confident that the results are robust enough to meet the goal of the study, stop collecting data and concentrate on interpreting and communicating your result.


6. Interpret the result & derive improvements

Substeps:a. Draw conclusions from the resultb. Derive appropriate improvement measuresc. Prepare the result for distribution /

communication


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Home Definitions

6.a.i Draw conclusions from the result

What conclusions can I draw from the result?This brings us back to the initial point: What was the goal of the assessment?Now you can interpret the assessment result in the light of your goal:

• If an rough environmental assessment was your goal, you are basically done. Latest now you should think about your communication strategy with respect to green credentials of your product or service.

• If a product improvement was your goal, you can now focus on the hotspots, and check with the product designers, which ideas they have for improvement, assess technical feasibility and economics of related measures.

• If the assessment was meant to inform a sales talk, extract major findings and benefits identified, complement the environmental assessment with a cost analysis. Some sectoral tools cover such a cost calculation feature.


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6.a.ii Draw conclusions from the result

What have I learned from the process of carrying out the environmental assessment?Besides the plain calculations there is more, that you presumably have learnt from this exercise:

• Thinking about your product from a new perspective, which might even bring you to creative ideas, how to improve in your business

• Reflecting on life cycle stages you have not thought of before, getting insights on these

• Being prepared to talk about environmental aspects of your productAlso large enterprises do not only undertake LCAs for “green washing”, they draw internal lessons from the findings.


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Which basic product types exists and how can I identify the basic product type of my product?In general, five different basic product types are distinguished: (Two examples are shown)

1.Material intensive2.Manufacturing intensive3.Distribution intensive4.Use intensive5.End of life intensive

example

example

6.b.i Derive appropriate improvement measures

Materials Manufacturing Distribution Use End of Life

Life Cycle for a Use intensive product

Materials Manufacturing Distribution Use End of Life

Life Cycle for a Raw material intensive product


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6.b.ii Derive appropriate improvement measuresWhat is the general improvement strategy for each basic product type?It is important to identify the basic product type to identify the appropriate improvement strategy. Several tools exist to help you define an improvement strategy for your product. The improvement strategy focuses on the major improvement options which in turn consist of several measures, which may or may not be applicable to your product. As an example for a use intensive product, the following improvement strategy has been taken from the ECODESIGN Pilot, one such tool:

Source: www.ecodesign.at/pilot/


http://www.ecodesign.at/pilot/

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6.b.iii Derive appropriate improvement measuresWhat improvement options can I derive from the result?Once the basic product type and the improvement strategy has been identified, a checklist of measures can be used to identify their contribution to the improvement of the product.Depending on the tool used, a set of measures can be identified and their implementation can be logged, to determine which further measures can be implemented, what their benefits would be or why certain measures are not feasible. As an example, this is an extract from the ECODESIGN Pilot:

Source: www.ecodesign.at/pilot/

The life cycle perspective always insures that the implementation of improvement measures does not simply shift environmental impacts from one life cycle stage to another, but that measures actually improve the environmental performance of the product as a whole.


http://www.ecodesign.at/pilot/

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6.c.i Prepare the result for communication

For what purposes can I use the result provided by the LCA to go tool?You can use the results to make environmental claims, preferably stating that calculations have been made with the LCA to go tool. Then it is clear, how you calculated the environmental assessment. The LCA to go tool provides you with a pdf report of the major results. Any additional claims on e.g. absence of hazardous raw materials, information about a dedicated take-back service, or the technical specification have to be provided as a complementary piece of information.If you want to have your assessment being verified by an external to enhance credibility or just to be sure, please contact the LCA to go consortium for assistance.As LCA to go is meant to provide a swift access to life cycle thinking it does not provide an LCA result in conformity with the standards ISO 14.040 and ISO 14.044. If you want to go for a full-size LCA study you should use your experience with LCA to go as a starter, but you will have to change over to any of the professional LCA tools presumably.


http://www.cen.eu/CEN/Sectors/TechnicalCommitteesWorkshops/CENTechnicalCommittees/Pages/Standards.aspx?param=6339&title=CEN/SS+S26

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6.c.ii Prepare the result for communication

What information do I need to provide to make the result understandable to my audience?Depends on your audience! There are some companies, which make a pretty good job to explain environmental issues on a very consumer-friendly level. It is rather educating than communicating environmental credentials. Others publish summaries of LCA studies. For your inspiration, here are 4 examples what other small and large companies communicate in the IT business…


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6.c.iii Prepare the result for communication

How can I best highlight the main conclusions?So what is on your “want-to-have” list now?We shrunk the assessment down to some scientifically highly relevant KEPIs, but you have to consider, what are the expectations of your target audience, internally and externally.

Target audience:

Client, information to

be used in sales talk,

plus a reference case

study for my system to

be published on the

website and as trade

fair hand-out

Information:

Carbon savings along

with cost savings,

showing a comparison

to the status-quo

Target audience:End-consumers (LOHAS)

Information:Explain a broad range of environmental issues and how our product can help to make a change,

topics:- toxicity /

emissions- global warming / energy- waste reduction

Target audience:

Public procurement

Information:

Comprehensive

environmental facts

(as much as

possible, but carbon

footprint is

minimum), verified

by third party


Definitions

• Cradle to Gate• Data Quality Indicator• Environmental aspect• Environmental hotspot(s)• Environmental impact• Environmental management system (EMS)• Environmental performance• Impact category• LCA to go• Life Cycle• Life Cycle Thinking• Life Cycle stages• Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises-SME• Robustness• Scenario

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Definition: Cradle-to-gate

The cradle-to-gate concept is one variant of the Life Cycle Assessment. The special thing is that not all five stages are included but only the raw material extraction, production and distribution until a certain point – the “factory gate”. It does not take into account certain stages – most likely the “use” and “end of life / disposal”. It may be used to enable future users of an LCA (downstream in the supply chain) to include your assessment in theirs and adjust the “use” and “end of life” stage according to their scope.

Definitions

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Definition: Data Quality Indicator

The Data Quality Indicator, short DQI, uses the origin, preciseness and reliability of the input data to define its robustness and describes it in three categories, Illustrative, Indicative or Robust. Learn more…

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Definition: Environmental aspect

Element of an organization’s activities, products or services that can interact with the environment

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Definition: Environmental hotspots

The Environmental hotspots are those areas of the life cycle, 20% of the input parameters, drive 80% of your impacts.

Definitions

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Definition: Environmental impact

Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organization`s environmental aspect.

Definitions

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Definition: Environmental management system (EMS)

Part of an organization’s management system used to develop and implement its environmental policy and manage its environmental aspects

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Definition: Environmental performance

Measurable results of an organizations management of its environmental aspects

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Definition: Impact category

Class representing environmental issues of concern to which life cycle inventory analysis results may be assigned

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Definition: LCA to go

LCA to go is an online tool that measures a product’s environmental performance based on the principles of a simplified Life Cycle Based Assessment (LCA). This simplification has been developed by LCA experts since the start of the LCA to go project in 2011.


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Definition: Life Cycle

Consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to the end of life

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Definition: Life Cycle Thinking

According to the European Platform on LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), Life Cycle Thinking (or LCT) is defined as:

„The concept of Life Cycle Thinking integrates existing consumption and production strategies towards a more coherent policy making and in industry, employing a bundle of life cycle based approaches and tools. By considering

the whole life cycle, the shifting of problems from one life cycle stage to another, from one geographic area to another and from one environmental

medium or protection target to another is avoided.”

In other words, Life Cycle Thinking means that even if you‘re only responsible for one step in the supply chain (maybe product design), all related Life cycle stages should be taken into account when it comes to environmental performance of your product. That prevents from creating new (and maybe bigger) problems by eliminating one and enables you to make sustainable decisions.

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Definition: Life cycle stages

In general, „Materials“, „Manufacturing“, „Distribution“, „Use“ and „End of life“ are defined as the five life cycle stages of a product. Keep in mind that depending on your product, it may be that not all of these are „transparent“ for you.If – for example – one produces screws or nails, the „Use“ stage will be completely in the dark. On the other hand, deciding on the used materials influences the recyclability at the “End of life” and efforts related to “Raw Materials” extraction.The life cycle built from the five stages is shown on the right.

Definitions

Materials

Manufacturing

DistributionUse

End of life

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Definition: Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises-SME

“The category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is made up of enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding 43 million euro.” [EC 2005]Next figure shows an overview about the thresholds of SMEs defined by the European Commission.

Source: EC 2005

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Definition: Robustness

Robustness describes the reliability and overall applicability of the results. Robust results are results where the areas with the highest impact are supported by the highest quality data possible.

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Definition: Scenario

A scenario represents a possible situation applicable to the product in distribution, use and/or disposal. Scenarios are useful because they allow for the comparison of different possible situations the product may be found in and to allow for an environmental assessment, even if the exact distribution path, or use intensity or disposal method is unknown. Learn more…

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenario

M. Case study: Machine tools (M)

Step by step guide to environmental assessment with the LCA to go tool:

1. Define the scope for the env. ass. of the Machine tool2. Collect data on the LC of the Machine tool3. Model the Life cycle of the Machine tool4. Enter data of the Machine tool into the online LCA to go

tool5. Review the result for the Machine tool6. Interpret the result & derive improvements for the

Machine tool

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Case study: Machine tools (M)M.1. Define the scope

Substeps:a. Define the goal of the studyb. Define the functional unitc. Define the reference flowd. Define the product system and the unit processese. Draw a process treef. Define the system boundaries of all 5 life cycle stages g. Define other requirements

Case Study Machine tool

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M.1.a. Defining the Goal for an environmental assessment of the Machine tool

Why: To generate an environmental profile of the machine tool and identify the key environmental issues. Who: Designers and engineers working on the upgrade of the current & development of future models of the machine tool.What: Use the results to derive product improvements and compare different generations of the machine tool with respect to their environmental performance.


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M.1.b. Defining a Functional unit for an environmental assessment of the Machine toolThe product function of the Machine tool is to machine materials. There are a wide range of machine tools such as grinding, drilling, milling, (laser) cutting or electro discharge machining tools.Since all fashion different workpieces, the only relevant functional unit they all share is the operation of the machine in a specified shift regime over the lifetime of the machine. A shift regime defines the amount of time the machine tool spends in the three main operating states, „Production“, Ready“ and „Standby“ in a fixed period.The Functional unit is therefore defined as:One machine tool over the entire machine lifetime, in a declared shift regime, specifying the number of shifts over the lifetime and the amount of time spent in the three main operating states „Production“, „Ready“ and „Standby“ in a shift.


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M.1.c. Defining a Reference flow for an environmental assessment of the Machine toolThe reference flow is a measure of the amount of product needed to realize the function as indicated in the functional unit. Since the functional unit is the operation of the machine tool over one hour in a specified shift regime, the reference flow contains all the materials, energy and processes necessary for this.Materials contained in the machine tool, Energy and materials needed for manufacturing of the machine tool, Transport of the machine tool and the packaging needed, the electricity consumption while the machine tool is in use.


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M.1.d.Defining the Product system and Unit processes for the Machine toolDefine the individual processes involved in the machine tool over its lifetime• Material: Components of the machine tool and the contained materials

• Foot: Cast iron, Sand• Housing: Al, Flat glas, Polycarbonate• Workpiece-holder: Steel, Electric motor• Tool-holder: Steel, Electric motor• Electronic control unit: Cu, Electronics, PP

• Manufacture: Energy used and waste generated• Electricity used in production• Steel and Iron shavings as waste

• Distribution: Method and packaging• Transoceanic freight ship and truck• Wood crate for shipping

• Use: Energy use and material consumption in the use stage• Electricity required in use stage

• End of life: Recycling possible• Recycling of the materials declared in the Materials stage


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M.1.e. Drawing the process tree for the Machine tool

Foot

Sand

Cast Iron

Housing

Polycarbonat

e

Glass

Al

Workpiece holder

Electric

motor

Steel

Tool holder

Electric

motor

Steel

Electronic control unit

PP

Cu

Electronic

s

End of Life*(incl. energy)

Use*(incl. energy)

Distribution*(incl. transport & packaging)

Manufacturing*(incl. energy & manufacturing waste)

*It is customary not to show Energy and Transport processes in the process tree. Data collection must include these processes.

Materials


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M.1.f. System boundary of the 5 life cycle stages for the Machine tool• Materials

• Includes natural resource extraction and pre-processing of raw materials used in the machine tool.

• Excludes the transport & packaging of the raw materials from pre-processing to the manufacturing plant due to data gaps.

• Manufacture• Includes the energy needed for processing of the materials as delivered to the

manufacturer and the assembly of the machine tool at the manufacturing plant. (e.g. Drilling, welding, …)

• Includes the waste generated in the manufacturing process.• Includes the resource consumption needed in manufacturing (e.g. oil, welding gases, etc.)

• Distribution• Includes the shipment from the manufacturer to the customer as well as packaging.• Excludes the energy needed for packaging or the setup at the customer site.

• Use• Includes the electrical energy and the operating resources during the entire lifetime of the

machine tool. Several shift regime scenarios are considered.• End-of-Life

• Includes energy and consumables needed for recycling. Benefits are included in the materials stage through the choice of recycled materials as input.

• Excludes energy needed for disassembly and transport of materials to recycling facility.


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M.1.g. Other requirements for the System boundary for the Machine tool• Temporal boundary:

• Latest available data• Geographical boundary:

• Material sourcing and Manufacture in Europe. Global Distribution and Use. Representative data to be used.

• Technological boundary:• Focus on one technology / specific type of machine tool only

Case study: Machine tools (M)M.2. Collect Data

Substeps:a. Identify necessary datab. Define the depth and quality of data neededc. Identify & keep track of data sourced. Identify and track the data quality


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M.2.a.i. Identify necessary data for the environmental assessment of the Machine tool

Materials Manufacture Distribution Use End-of-Life

Necessary

data

Type and amount of material included in the machine tool

Energy needed for manufacture

Amount and type of waste generated

Point of manufacture and point of delivery (Geographical distribution of sales)

Transport mode

Packaging

Electricity consumption in the use stage

Recyclability


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M.2.a.ii. Defining the rule for mass inclusion for the Machine tool

Materials contained in machine tool

Respective mass

[kg]

Cumulative mass as a

percentage of total mass

[%]Cast iron 13000 66,5%Steel 3120 82,5%Cooling & Lubrication Unit

250095,3%

Electronics for Control Unit

50097,9%

Electric motor 150 98,6%Aluminium 120 99,3%Copper 60 99,6%Polypropylene 40 99,8%Transformer 20 99,9%Flat glass 10 99,9%Polycarbonate 10 100,0%Full PC Set 5 100,0%Estimated total mass 19535

Decision rule for mass inclusion:

99% of total weight


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M.2.b. Define the depth and quality of data needed for the environmental assessment of the Machine tool

Materials Manufacture

Distribution Use End-of-Life

Depth

and quality of

data necessary

Heavier parts more relevant, Electronic parts relevant, Cut-off criteria 99% cumulative weight

Rough sum of total electricity for manufacturing, divided by the number of machine tools produced

Estimate of shavings waste (material and amount) per machine tool

Location of production facility and rough geographical distribution of customers

Typical mode of transport (can vary depending on geographical location of customer)

Typical packaging (can vary depending on mode of transport or geographical location)

Energy consumption needs to be divided into three operating states: Production, Ready, Stand-by (incl. an indication of the time spent in each operating state in an average shift regime)

Is the machine tool easily recyclable?


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M.2.c. & M.2.d. Identify & keep track of the data source and the data quality for the environmental assessment of the Machine tool


Data

source

Engineering department


Marketing and Sales department



Data

quality

(DQI)

Robust Indicative Illustrative Robust Indicative

Case study: Machine tools (M)M.3. Model the Life Cycle

Substeps:a. Review available data and bring it into a useful format, ma

king assumptions where necessaryb. Develop Scenarios for the Distribution stagec. Develop Scenarios for the Use staged. Develop Scenarios for the End-of-Life stage


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M.3.a. Review available data and bring it into a useful format, making assumptions where necessary for the Machine toolMaterials Manufacture

Distribution

Use End-of-Life

The data obtained from the bill of materials is grouped by material in a list

The information on the total yearly electricity consumption of the production facility is divided by the total number of machine tools produced in one year to obtain the energy consumption per machine tool.

The total waste generated in the manufacturing process in one month is also divided by the total number of machine tools produced in one month to obtain the waste production per machine tool.

Information on the geographical distribution of sales is used to build a distribution scenario.

Electricity consumption figures are collected separately for each general operating state and used to calculate the total consumption in the use scenarios.

Information on the recyclability of the machine is used to chose the End-of-Life scenario


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M.3.b. Distribution scenario development for the environmental assessment of the Machine tool

A single distribution scenario is developed:In this example, the machine tool is produced in Germany, and delivered to Sweden. The machine tool was transported from Germany to Sweden. The transport distance is assumed to be 1000km by road transport.


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M.3.c. Use scenario development for the environmental assessment of the Machine tool

To evaluate the entire life cycle of the machine tool, one must assume certain use scenarios. In this case study, a common scenario for a production site in Sweden is assumed. In the LCA to go tool, you can add up to 3 different scenarios.2 Shift regime, Sweden: Production 12 h/d, Ready 4 h/d, Standby 2 h/d, Off 6 h/d

Hours spent in different operating states according to use scenario1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Production Ready Standby Off

ProductionReadyStandbyOff


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• Iron, Steel, Aluminium, Copper

• Electric motor, Electronic control unit,…

Recycling

• Polycarbonate, Polypropylene,…

Incineration

• Sand...

Landfill

This Scenario consists of different paths for each raw material. Usually the big components of the machine tool such as most metal parts and electronic components are easy to recycle. In contrast to these parts, Plastics will usually go to incineration, and some inert materials will be disposed on landfills.

M.3.d. End-of-Life scenario development for the environmental assessment of the Machine tool

Case study: Machine tools (M)M.4. Enter data

Substeps:a. Enter data for all 5 life cycle stages and define data qualit

yb. Understand why the data is needed and what happens wit

h the entered data


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M.4.a. Enter data for all 5 life cycle stages for the Machine toolA video tutorial on how to enter data into the online tool for machine tools is available at:

Watch a demonstration video(External link: http://youtu.be/Bmk1AVp-hzo)

The following slides will give you a short overview on the rough and detailed assessment. Based on this case study you will see how to enter the data for the 5 Life Cycle Stages: Materials, Manufacturing, Distribution, Use, and End-of-life.

http://youtu.be/Bmk1AVp-hzo


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M.4.a.i. Rough assessment / Detailed assessmentThe LCA to go tool works as a two step iterative process. The first step is to do the rough assessment, through which we can identify the major environmental impacts. The second step is the Detailed assessment where we will focus on the environmental hotspots. Following the results or improvements, the Detailed assessment can be repeated.

Rough assessment Results Analysis

Detailed assessment Results Improvemen

ts


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M.4.a.ii. Rough assessment It only takes 10 minutes.

The rough assessment will give us a first impression of the environmental profile of the machine tool. Thereafter we can decide which data should be improved in the detailed assessment later.

Before enterign the data, we have to register and log in to the web tool. We create an new product, and indicate the main specifications of the machine tool. In this case study, we investigate a grinding machine. We select the industrial sector “machine tools”, define the machine tool: “Grinding Machine” and choose the option “Rough assessment”.


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M.4.a.iii. Life Cycle Stage 1: Materials

The main materials and supplier parts of our example are shown in the list above. We add all the main materials in the “LCA to go” tool. For example, in this case study, the parts of the machine tool, such as the Workpiece-holder, the Tool -holder, and the Machine-foot contain approximately 13.000kg iron.

Main materials & Parts:- Cast iron: 13.000kg- Steel:3.120kg- Aluminium: 120kg- Electronics: 500kg- Electric motor: 150kg


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M.4.a.iv. Life Cycle Stage 1: Materials

We add the supplier parts into the “LCA to go” tool.

Main materials & Parts:- Cast iron: 13.000kg- Steel:3.120kg- Aluminium: 120kg- Electronics: 500kg- Electric motor: 150kg


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M.4.a.v. Life Cycle Stage 2: Manufacturing

In this example there are 2.000 kg waste from manufacturing in the form of metal chippings.

The machine tool is produced in Germany. 25.000 kWh are consumed in manufacturing for diverse metal working processes and for assembly.


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M.4.a.vi. Life Cycle Stage 3: Distribution

The machine tool is delivered to Sweden by truck, we select the option “Overland”. In the rough assessment a distance estimate is made by the tool.For delivery, the machine tool is packed into PE-foil. We enter the approximate amount of packaging material used.


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M.4.a.vii. Life Cycle Stage 4: Use

The electrical power consumption is taken from the product data sheet for the three different operating states.

The manufacturer use the machine tool 250 working days per year and produces on average 6 parts per hour.

The exact modelling of the use stage is important for the robustness of the results. As previous investigations have shown, the major environmental impact of machine tools comes from the use stage.


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M.4.a.viii. Life Cycle Stage 4: Use

12 hours per day the machine tool is "Processing”, 4 hours per day it is “Ready for operation”, 2 hour per day on “Standby”, and 6 hours it is switched “Off”.


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M.4.a.ix. Life Cycle Stage 5: End-of-Life

We assume a realistic End-of-life scenario. It is safe to assume for machine tools that the great majority of contained materials can easily be recycled, we select the option “Recycling”.

Data Quality: The Data Quality Indicator

We enter the Data Quality Indicator for each life cycle stage and define whether the data is “Robust”, “Indicative”, or “Illustrative”.


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M.4.a.x. Analysis, Results: Rough assessment

It can be clearly seen that the major environmental impact comes from the Use Stage. Typically a machine tool is a use intensive product.

We have to be sure that we have the most robust data for the most important life cycle stages. In this case study we have identified the environmental hotspot, but the data is only “Indicative”, so we will try to collect further data and improve the level of detail and robustness of the result, through the Detailed assessment.


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M.4.a.xi. Detailed assessment

We create a new product and choose the option “Detailed assessment”.

In this model we use more detailed data and focus on the stages with the biggest environmental impacts identified in the rough assessment to achieve a more detailed and robust environmental profile. The results will enable us to draw the right conclusions and identify the fitting improvement options.


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M.4.a.xii. Life Cycle Stage 1: Materials

We define the main components and the contained materials of the machine tool. The machine tool consists of 9 components: the Workpiece-holder, the Tool-holder, the Machine-foot, the Housing, the Control cabinet, 3 predefined supplier parts and the Oil mist extractor.Below you can see the materials contained in the Workpiece-holder and 3 predefined supplier parts.


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M.4.a.xiii. Life Cycle Stage 1: Materials

The Oil mist extractor is not a predefined supplier part, therefore we have to define it in the tool.

In this case, the transport distance from the manufacturer to our plant is 1 000 km.Once the transport distance has been defined, the oil mist extractor will appear in the list of user-defined supplier parts, and we add the materials and the processes that are required to produce it.


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M.4.a.xiv. Life Cycle Stage 2: Manufacturing

We add the main manufacturing processes that are used at our own manufacturing plant and the weight of material that is removed in chipping processes such as Milling, Drilling, and Turning, as well as the amount of material that is processed in non-chipping processes such as Sheet rolling or Wire drawing.


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M.4.a.xv. Life Cycle Stage 2: Manufacturing

Additionally, 1000 kWh manufacturing energy is required to assemble the machine tool.

200 kWh overhead energy per machine tool are estimated for Air Conditioning, Lighting, Heating the manufacturing line,...


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M.4.a.xvi. Life Cycle Stage 2: Manufacturing

In this case, 9.3% of the material input is wasted in manufacturing.


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M.4.a.xvii. Life Cycle Stage 3: Distribution

The machine tool is distributed to Sweden by truck, the transport distance is assumed to be 1000 km.

For distribution the machine tool is packed into 150 kg PE foil. The End of life scenario here refers to the packaging material. It can either be Recycled, Incinerated or sent to Landfill


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M.4.a.xviii. Life Cycle Stage 4: Use

We enter the correct location and the corresponding electricity grid mix.

As seen in the rough assessment, the use stage is the most important life cycle stage. Inaccuracies will have a huge impact on the results.

From measurement according to ISO 14955 we derive that the machine tool needs 30 kW electrical power in “Processing”, 10kW in “Ready for operation” and 0.3 kW in “Standby” modes.


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M.4.a.xix. Life Cycle Stage 4: Use

A Shift regime scenario describes the use of the machine tool. In the Ddetailed assessment, three scenarios can be defined to investigate different use intensities, create a better understanding of the impact over the lifetime and customize the result to specific conditions.


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M.4.a.xx. Life Cycle Stage 4: Use

The machine tool needs 1 m3/h compressed air in the operating state “Processing” and 0.5 m3/h in “Ready for operation”. Further the machine tool consumes 0.001 kg/h lubrication oil for lubrication. The impact of these inputs also flows into the overall impact over the life cycle.


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M.4.a.xxi. Life Cycle Stage 4: Use

To derive improvement measures, the electrical power consumption has to be split up into the different sub-systems.


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M.4.a.xxii. Life Cycle stage 5: End-of-Life

As described in the End-of-Life scenario, the metal parts and electronic components of the machine tool are recycled at the end of its life, the plastics will get incinerated, and some inert materials may be disposed on a landfill.


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M.4.a.xxiii. Life Cycle stage 5: End-of-Life

We note the parts that are recycled, incinerated, ore disposed of in a landfill. Commonly, the majority of machine tool components are recycled. For each part, we can define an own end of life scenario.


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M.4.b. What happens with the data entered for the Machine tool

The data that is entered is multiplied with the corresponding Datasets from the Life Cycle Inventory Database to give the Environmental impact for this specific part of the life cycle. The total impacts can be summed over the life cycle stages to give the overall environmental load of the product.In the case of the machine tool, the Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) is used to describe the environmental load.

M.5. Case study: Machine tools (M)M.5. Review the results

Substeps:a. Understand the first result & the available impact categori

esb. Identify major environmental hotspots and the robustness

of the underlying datac. Collect and enter additional data where necessary


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M.5.a. Understand the first result & the available impact categories for the Machine tool

For the machine tools, the KEPI of Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) is used to describe the environmental impact of the product. Having entered much more detailed data, we have a greater depth and level of detail in the results, compared to the rough assessment.


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M.5.b. Identify major environmental hotspots and the robustness of the underlying data for the Machine toolThe major environmental hotspot is the electricity consumption in the Use stage, followed by the raw materials used in the Materials stage. The data used to calculate the environmental impacts of these stages is robust. The result can therefore be considered as robust.


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M.5.c. Collect and enter additional data where necessary for the Machine tool

The below table describes the improved data. In contrast to the Rough assessment, it was necessary to collect additional data for the Use stage.


Data source

Bill of materials, Designers, Engineering department

Electricity bill, Production facility manager

Marketing and Sales department

Measurement by Engineering department (preferably following ISO 14955)

Designers, Engineering department

Waste management system, Production facility manager

Logistics department

Data quality

(DQI)

Robust Indicative Indicative Robust Illustrative

M.6. Case study: Machine tools (M)M.6. Review the results

Substeps:a. Draw conclusions from the resultb. Derive appropriate improvement measuresc. Prepare the result for distribution / communication


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M.6.a.i. Draw conclusions from the result for the Machine tool

It can clearly be seen that the use stage accounts over 96% of the impact over the lifecycle of the machine tool.


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M.6.a.ii. Detailed results –Use stageThe first figure shows the breakdown of the CED in the Use stage. It can clearly be seen that most of the impact is in the state “Processing”. Followed by a figure showing the breakdown of energy consumption in the various subsystems. The three components with the greatest impact are the Lubrication Pump, the E/R module supply, and the Fluid system. Appropriate improvements can be found in the next step.


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M.6.a.iii. Detailed results –Use stage

This figure shows the three use scenarios. You can clearly see the difference between a one shift regime, a two shift regime, and a three shift regime.


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Improvement Guidelines

Depending on the results, we find improvement guidelines to the different subsystems.The suggested improvement measures are in line with ISO14955. Improvement measures should first focus on the most relevant components in the most relevant life cycle stages.

M.6.b.i. Derive appropriate improvement measures from the environmental assessment of the Machine tool


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M.6.b.ii. Derive appropriate improvement measures from the environmental assessment of the Machine toolAs an example, the following three General improvement options were identified•Minimisation of moved massesMoved masses have to be accelerated and the energy required for acceleration is depending on the mass (W = 1/2*m*v²). Even if some part of the energy is recovered during braking, this recovery is with an efficiency factor below 1. The best way reducing energy needed for acceleration is mass reduction.

•Reduction of frictionAvoidance of friction means less mechanical wear, higher quality and also should lead to energy reduction; various types of bearing possible (rolling bearing, sliding bearing, hydrostatic bearing, magnet bearing); ecological aspect has to be considered by choose of bearing as well. Reduction of speed dependent friction must be optimized in respect to the characteristic of choosen drive technology.

•Optimization of the overall machine designCheck, if the machine tool has been designed according to customer requirements; operational range been specified close to optimal working point; avoiding adding up spare capacities (over sizing)


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M.6.c. Prepare the result for distribution / communicationof the environmental assessment of the Machine toolYou can export the findings into Excel or use the provided PDF report for internal and external communication.

Documents

B oosting Life Cycle Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises