Conduct your LCAs with ease using EIME
Conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) consists of modeling all stages of the life cycle (raw material extraction, manufacturing, distribution, installation, use and end-of-life).
The objective: quantify environmental impacts and determine the elements that contribute most to them!
The methodology for conducting a Life Cycle Assessment, standardized internationally by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, follows 4 major steps:
ISO 14040, ISO 14044
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1. Definition of objectives
After describing the context and intended application of your LCA, you will need to describe the system being studied.
To do this, you will define a
Quantified performance of a product system intended to be used as a reference unit in a life cycle assessment.
Measure of the outputs of processes in a given product system, necessary to fulfill the function as expressed by the functional unit.
In order to define the scope of your study, you will determine the system boundaries, as well as the impact indicators being studied.
If assumptions are made, you must list them as well as their limitations.
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2. Inventory
The second step is to identify and quantify the relevant inputs and outputs of the system being studied : Energy inputs, raw materials, waste, emissions to air, water and soil etc...
A distinction between
Data collected in the field, specific to a manufacturer.
Generic data from bibliography or research work. They represent an average.
The cut-off criterion of your LCA study, set at 5% of the total mass of the reference flow, must be respected.
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3. Environmental impact assessment
The LCA impact assessment phase consists of associating inventory data with EIME data to reconstruct the life cycle of your product or service.
The objective is to quantify potential environmental impacts.
EIME supports you in this step :
EIME software guides you step by step in modeling the life cycle of your products and services.
EIME has so-called "configurable" data that allows you to adapt the electricity mix of a data set to a specific geographic area. These configurable data are available for manufacturing processes.
It is possible to copy/paste a folder or component from one case study to another. It is also possible to convert a case study into a system. Systems are then visible from the data library and can be added with one click to your modeling.
Modeling can introduce subjectivity in the impact category assessment phase. Therefore, assumptions must be clearly described and reported in a EPD report.
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4. Interpretation of results
Finally, you must provide a understandable, complete and consistent presentation of LCA results, in accordance with the objectives and scope of the study in an EPD report.
The objectives are:
- to identify significant environmental aspects,
- to identify improvement opportunities,
- to formulate recommendations to decision-makers (sensitivity analysis).
Possibly, the interpretation phase may lead to a revision of the nature and quality of the data collected.
EIME supports you in this step :
All analysis results are exportable in a single Excel file. You will find all calculated indicators (impacts, resources, waste, etc.), the various material balances as well as the life cycle inventory (LCI).
Each result table can also be downloaded individually while preserving the display settings defined in the software.
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1. Definition of objectives
After describing the context and intended application of your LCA, you will need to describe the system being studied.
To do this, you will define a
Quantified performance of a product system intended to be used as a reference unit in a life cycle assessment.
Measure of the outputs of processes in a given product system, necessary to fulfill the function as expressed by the functional unit.
In order to define the scope of your study, you will determine the system boundaries, as well as the impact indicators being studied.
If assumptions are made, you must list them as well as their limitations.
-
2. Inventory
The second step is to identify and quantify the relevant inputs and outputs of the system being studied : Energy inputs, raw materials, waste, emissions to air, water and soil etc...
A distinction between
Data collected in the field, specific to a manufacturer.
Generic data from bibliography or research work. They represent an average.
The cut-off criterion of your LCA study, set at 5% of the total mass of the reference flow, must be respected.
-
3. Environmental impact assessment
The LCA impact assessment phase consists of associating inventory data with EIME data to reconstruct the life cycle of your product or service.
The objective is to quantify potential environmental impacts.
EIME supports you in this step :
EIME software guides you step by step in modeling the life cycle of your products and services.
EIME has so-called "configurable" data that allows you to adapt the electricity mix of a data set to a specific geographic area. These configurable data are available for manufacturing processes.
It is possible to copy/paste a folder or component from one case study to another. It is also possible to convert a case study into a system. Systems are then visible from the data library and can be added with one click to your modeling.
Modeling can introduce subjectivity in the impact category assessment phase. Therefore, assumptions must be clearly described and reported in a EPD report.
-
4. Interpretation of results
Finally, you must provide a understandable, complete and consistent presentation of LCA results, in accordance with the objectives and scope of the study in an EPD report.
The objectives are:
- to identify significant environmental aspects,
- to identify improvement opportunities,
- to formulate recommendations to decision-makers (sensitivity analysis).
Possibly, the interpretation phase may lead to a revision of the nature and quality of the data collected.
EIME supports you in this step :
All analysis results are exportable in a single Excel file. You will find all calculated indicators (impacts, resources, waste, etc.), the various material balances as well as the life cycle inventory (LCI).
Each result table can also be downloaded individually while preserving the display settings defined in the software.
