The data quality matrix for product life cycle inventory data proposed in Weidema & Wesnæs (J. Cleaner Prod. (1996), 4: 167-174) was subjected to a multi-user test, in which 7 persons scored the same 10 datasets representing 10 different processes. Deviations among scores were listed, and the causes for deviations were determined and grouped into a limited number of well-defined classes. For the majority of the scores, the different test persons arrived at the same score. Deviations occur most often among neighbouring scores. Only a smaller number of the deviations (less than 10% of all scores) affect the overall assessment of the data quality and/or uncertainty of the corresponding dataset. Based on the analysis of the causes of the deviations, improvements to the matrix and its accompanying explanations were suggested and implemented (reported in the appendix to this paper). The average time consumption for the scoring by the different test persons was less than 10 minutes per data set. It is concluded that the time consumption and the number of deviating scores can be kept at an acceptable level for the pedigree matrix to be recommended for internal data quality management and for comprehensive communication of quality assessments of large amounts of data.
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Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) can be used to support the selection of environmentally preferable building materials. But the dominance of the usage phase in the life cycle of building materials represents a special challenge for two reasons. First, many aspects of a building material's usage phase can be context specific. Second, the LCA outcome may rest on a building material's service life, a parameter for which there is typically insufficient information for proper determination. For example, in the selection of a window, important usagephase, context-specific factors that could be determinant include lo-cation/climate, heating-system characteristics (efficiency and fuel), and product durability. A prototype software tool, the Life Cycle Explorer, has been developed that enables decision makers to assess the relative importance of literally dozens of such influential parameters in determining the outcomes of LCA evaluations for building components. The software employed by the Life Cycle Explorer permits extensive layering while maintaining ease of browsing, with the intent of accessibility to both the layperson and the expert. An initial application of the tool addressed residential window selection; the design principles of the software are relevant to the communication phase of a wide variety of LCA and industrial-ecologyrelated modeling projects.
This is the final report from the sub-project “Quantitative environmental assessment of land use in relation to the product life cycle” of the EUREKA project EU-1296 entitled “Development and application of major missing elements in the existing detailed Life Cycle Assessment methodology (LCAGAPS),” which was funded by the Danish EUREKA- secretariat at the Danish Agency for Industry and Trade. Through the Danish funding it was possible to involve a Dutch expert in the field, Erwin Lindeijer, to participate in the work.
The original concepts upon which this report is based were presented to the international scientific community in 1996 (Weidema & Mortensen 1996, Blonk et al. 1996), and within the field of biodiversity assessment some key ideas were developed in the report by Schmidt (1997). Several of the scientific topics related to environmental assessment of land use have been in rapid development during the scheduled period of the LCAGAPS project, especially in the fields of assessment of biodiversity and biogeochemical substance cycles. The finalisation of the project was postponed to take advantage of this concurrent and still ongoing development, and in the following years we focused on contributing to the conceptual development, especially in the SETAC working group on impact assessment (as documented e.g. in Lindeijer et al. 1998). In view of the rapid advancement in modelling and data availability, we have placed emphasis on assessment indicators that can function at the current level of available information, while being amenable for refinement as more data become available. For the same reason, not all aspects of the topic have been treated in equal detail. The final results of the project are presented with the present report.
This paper presents a model for prioritisation within the integrated product policy. The description of the model contains more precise technical details, but is relatively brief and therefore requires prior understanding of the fundamental concepts of environmental life cycle assessment and input-output analysis, such as presented in the Nielsen & Weidema (2001).
The model description serves as a specification of the model development during phase 2 of the project “Prioritisation within the integrated product policy” funded by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
We have analysed the main consumer demands on environmental declarations as well as consumer concerns on EPDs, structured under four headings:
The analysis results in a number of recommendations for consumer demands on standardisation for each of these items.
Ten example EPDs have been produced to demonstrate how the recommendations can work in practice.
