| 1. |
- Nordelöf, Anders, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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Less or different environmental impact?
- 2013
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Ingår i: Systems Perspectives on Electromobility 2013. - 9789198097313 ; , s. 60-75
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Electric and hybrid drivetrains are currently regarded as a promising technology forvehicle propulsion. They can reduce greenhouse and other exhaust gas emissionsfrom road transport. Electric drivetrains are more efficient than conventional internalcombustion engines fuelled by petrol or diesel (Chapter 5), and fully electrifiedvehicles does not give any tailpipe emissions. In addition, electric drivetrains canalso assist in decoupling the transport sector from its heavy reliance on fossilfuels. On the other hand, electric vehicles will require that more electricity isproduced and this can be done from several different energy sources with diverseenvironmental impacts. Furthermore, electric drivetrains require new advancedcomponents (Chapter 3) that result in additional, or at least different, environmentalimpacts compared to conventional vehicles.The trade-off between the benefits when operating of the vehicle and possiblenegative impacts from the production and from energy supply can be analysedusing life cycle assessment (LCA). However, LCA studies come in many shapesand diverging arguments on the utility of technology are based on them. Someadvocate the technology (using for example the well-to-wheels approach to guidegovernment promotion policies on different types of drivetrains and alternative fuel options)1 and others claim that the prospective for electric cars to reduce theenvironmental impacts of mobility is “substantially overrated”2 or that there will be“significant increases in human toxicity“.3This chapter provides an overview of the life cycle impacts of electric vehicles,with general conclusions and examples of results. We review existing researchand sort studies found in literature into categories by asking what we can learnfrom different LCA approaches. More specifically, which answers do we get fromwell-to-wheels (WTW) studies in comparison to complete LCA studies, and whatdifference does it make if a study includes a narrow or broad set of environmentalimpacts. We conclude by summarising these learnings and discuss implicationsfor a set of stakeholders identified in the area of vehicle electrification, such aspolicy makers and various branches of industry.
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| 2. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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A crustal scarcity indicator for long-term global elemental resource assessment in LCA
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:9, s. 1805-1817
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: How to assess impacts of mineral resources is much discussed in life cycle assessment (LCA). We see a need for, and a lack of, a mineral resource impact assessment method that captures the perspective of long-term global scarcity of elements. Method: A midpoint-level mineral resource impact assessment method matching this perspective is proposed, called the crustal scarcity indicator (CSI), with characterization factors called crustal scarcity potentials (CSPs) measured as kg silicon equivalents per kg element. They are based on crustal concentrations, which have been suggested to correlate with several important resource metrics (reserves, reserve base, reserves plus cumulative production, and ore deposits), thereby constituting proxies for long-term global elemental scarcity. Results and discussion: Ready-to-use CSPs are provided for 76 elements, through which the CSI can be calculated by multiplying with the respective masses of elements extracted from Earth’s crust for a certain product. As follows from their crustal concentrations, the three platinum-group metals iridium, osmium, and rhodium have the highest CSPs, whereas silicon, aluminum, and iron have the lowest CSPs. Conclusion: An evaluation of the CSPs and the characterization factors of four other mineral resource impact assessment methods in LCA (the abiotic depletion, the surplus ore, the cumulative exergy demand, and the EPS methods) were conducted. It showed that the CSPs are temporally reliable, calculated in a consistent way, and have a high coverage of elements in comparison. Furthermore, a quantitative comparison with the characterization factors of the four other methods showed that the CSPs reflect long-term global elemental scarcity comparatively well while requiring a minimum of assumptions and input parameters. Recommendations: We recommend using the CSI for assessments of long-term global elemental scarcity in LCA. Since the CSI is at the midpoint level, it can be complemented by other mineral resource impact assessment methods (both existing and to be developed) to provide a more comprehensive view of mineral resource impacts in an LCA.
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| 3. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental Assessment of Emerging Technologies: Recommendations for Prospective LCA
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 22:6, s. 1286-1294
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The challenge of assessing emerging technologies with life cycle assessment (LCA) has been increasingly discussed in the LCA field. In this article, we propose a definition of prospective LCA: An LCA is prospective when the (emerging) technology studied is in an early phase of development (e.g., small-scale production), but the technology is modeled at a future, more-developed phase (e.g., large-scale production). Methodological choices in prospective LCA must be adapted to reflect this goal of assessing environmental impacts of emerging technologies, which deviates from the typical goals of conventional LCA studies. The aim of the article is to provide a number of recommendations for how to conduct such prospective assessments in a relevant manner. The recommendations are based on a detailed review of selected prospective LCA case studies, mainly from the areas of nanomaterials, biomaterials, and energy technologies. We find that it is important to include technology alternatives that are relevant for the future in prospective LCA studies. Predictive scenarios and scenario ranges are two general approaches to prospective inventory modeling of both foreground and background systems. Many different data sources are available for prospective modeling of the foreground system: scientific articles; patents; expert interviews; unpublished experimental data; and process modeling. However, we caution against temporal mismatches between foreground and background systems, and recommend that foreground and background system impacts be reported separately in order to increase the usefulness of the results in other prospective studies.
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| 4. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Det specifika med miljösystemanalysen
- 1999
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sammanfattning av diskussion om vad forskning i ämnet miljösystemanalys innebär och innefattar.
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| 5. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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LCA i ett nötskal
- 2014
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 6. |
- Böckin, Daniel, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Business model life cycle assessment: A method for analysing the environmental performance of business
- 2022
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Ingår i: Sustainable Production and Consumption. - : Elsevier. - 2352-5509. ; 32, s. 112-124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper introduces business model life cycle assessment (BM-LCA), a new method for quantifying the environmental impacts of business models. Such a method is needed to guide business decisions towards decoupling economic activity from environmental impact. BM-LCA takes the business model itself as the unit of analysis and its economic performance as the basis of comparison. It can be applied to any type of business model involving material or resource use. In BM-LCA, monetary flows are coupled to material and energy flows. The methodology expands on conventional life cycle assessment (LCA) by elaborating the goal and scope definition and dividing it into two phases. The first descriptive phase details the business models to be compared. It includes a mapping of product chain actors and identifying business operations and transactions related to the product. The second coupling phase defines a profit-based functional unit and sets up the coupling equations expressing the economic relations to the product. Thereafter, conventional LCA procedures are followed to assess environmental impacts. The key innovation on LCA methodology is the development of a functional unit that captures the economic performance of a business model and links it to a product system. BM-LCA provides thus an important link between LCA and business competitive advantage.
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| 7. |
- Böckin, Daniel, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental assessment of two business models - a life cycle comparison between a sales and a rental business model in the apparel sector in Sweden
- 2020
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This report presents and applies a new method for environmentally assessing business models from a life cycle perspective. The method is meant to be useful for companies to guide their business decisions toward decoupling of economic activity from environmental impact. The basis of the method is an integrated economic and environmental perspective and a functional unit based on profit is employed, after which Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is carried out. This Business Model LCA is applied on a Swedish company and their current business model (sales) compared to an alternative business model (rental). Jackets are chosen as the products to represent the business of the company. Results indicate that a company can achieve more decoupling by renting jackets instead of selling them, although the results are sensitive to some economic parameters (like rental efficiency and rental price) and to customer habits, which can significantly compromise the overall performance of the rental model. The central feature of the developed method is that, by coupling the economic and physical flows of a business model, it allows a company to directly see the impact of business decisions on their environmental performance and plan their activities accordingly.
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| 8. |
- Diener, Derek, 1977, et al.
(författare)
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Lessons Learned from Conducting a Company-level, Downstream MFA
- 2013
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Ingår i: Nee, Andrew Y C, Song, Bin, Ong, Soh-Khim (Eds). Re-engineering Manufacturing for Sustainability. Proceedings of the 20th CIRP International Conference on Life Cycle Engineering, Singapore 17-19 April, 2013.. - Singapore : Springer Singapore. - 9789814451475 ; 2013, s. pp 559-564
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Material Flow Analysis (MFA) has been widely used to assess national and regional material flows. The use of MFA at the organizational level is less established. This paper presents research that uses MFA to examine the end-of-use (EoU) product management for an international steel component manufacturer and offers lessons learned from the process. It is found that MFA is useful for mapping product flows and material losses. Also, dividing the initial product flow into sub-flows helps indicate feasibility of improved company-level EoU product management. Finally, results indicate that some material losses can be delayed while others can be avoided altogether.
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| 9. |
- Kaddoura, Mohamad, 1993, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of the environmental and cost improvements from extending the use phase of passive durable products
- 2019
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In a world governed by an intensive product usage habits, shifting to a circular economy becomes a necessity to achieve sustainable production and consumption. Extending the use phase of products by altering the business model, such as leasing products and offering refurbishment services, is one method to accomplish that. To assess the viability of such a method, environmental and economic implications should be assessed at the same time. The present study uses Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to quantify the environmental and economic benefits of extending the use of five durable and passive products (event tent, beach flag, recycling bin, lockers and waste inlet). A suggested method to perform LCA and LCC at the same time, in a circular economy context, and present results in comparable way is presented. Raw material extraction and the production of the durable components in the products caused the highest cost and the greatest environmental impact of the selected products. Thus, extending the life of these components through repair or refurbishment reduced the environmental impact of most products (measured as Global Warming Potential) by 45%-72%, and the cost from a manufacturer’s perspective by 8%-37%. Another objective of the study is to discuss the degree and level of complementarity and competition between LCA and the manufacturer’s LCC. Although the two tools complement each other in most activities, there exist some exceptions where they compete. This occurs mostly when LCC describes labour costs, while labour is not accounted for in LCA.
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| 10. |
- Kimita, Koji, et al.
(författare)
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Failure analysis method for enhancing circularity through systems perspective
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 25:3, s. 544-562
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recently, a circular economy has attracted global attention as an approach for addressing material security and resource-efficiency issues. As our societies shift toward a circular economy, manufacturers need to not only produce environmentally conscious products but to also realize reliable systems that will ensure the closure of the loops of the products, components, and materials. To do so, early-stage design is crucial to effectively and efficiently detect possible failures and then take adequate countermeasures against them. Although a few methods of failure analysis have been proposed to address environmental issues, these methods have failed to consider the cause–effect relationships among failures. This will hinder manufacturers from identifying core problems that should be addressed in a given system. Therefore, this study extends failure mode and effect analysis, which is an engineering technique used to address potential failures, by addressing the entire system reliability in relation to circularity. As a result of a case study of a manufacturer aiming to increase circularity with their products on the market, we revealed that the proposed method is useful in the early stage of design to (a) identify failure modes where effects are largely given to or received from other failures, (b) develop countermeasures effectively by addressing root causes of failures, and (c) find an opportunity to collaborate with external actors.
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