Broadening GHG accounting with LCA : application to a waste management business unit
In an effort to obtain the most accurate climate change impact assessment, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting is evolving to include life-cycle thinking. This study (1) identifies similarities and key differences between GHG accounting and life-cycle assessment (LCA), (2) compares them on a consistent...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA. - 1991. - 27(2009), 9 vom: 01. Nov., Seite 885-93 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Weitere Verfasser: | , , , , , |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2009
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA |
| Schlagworte: | Comparative Study Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Waste Products Carbon Dioxide 142M471B3J |
| Zusammenfassung: | In an effort to obtain the most accurate climate change impact assessment, greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting is evolving to include life-cycle thinking. This study (1) identifies similarities and key differences between GHG accounting and life-cycle assessment (LCA), (2) compares them on a consistent basis through a case study on a waste management business unit. First, GHG accounting is performed. According to the GHG Protocol, annual emissions are categorized into three scopes: direct GHG emissions (scope 1), indirect emissions related to electricity, heat and steam production (scope 2) and other indirect emissions (scope 3). The LCA is then structured into a comparable framework: each LCA process is disaggregated into these three scopes, the annual operating activities are assessed, and the environmental impacts are determined using the IMPACT2002+ method. By comparing these two approaches it is concluded that both LCA and GHG accounting provide similar climate change impact results as the same major GHG contributors are determined for scope 1 emissions. The emissions from scope 2 appear negligible whereas emissions from scope 3 cannot be neglected since they contribute to around 10% of the climate change impact of the waste management business unit. This statement is strengthened by the fact that scope 3 generates 75% of the resource use damage and 30% of the ecosystem quality damage categories. The study also shows that LCA can help in setting up the framework for a annual GHG accounting by determining the major climate change contributors |
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| Beschreibung: | Date Completed 17.02.2010 Date Revised 21.09.2015 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1096-3669 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/0734242X09352505 |