| 1. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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A sociomaterial conceptualization of flows in industrial ecology
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1530-9290 .- 1088-1980. ; 26:2, s. 655-666
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A major starting point in industrial ecology (IE) is that reaching ecological sustainability requires understanding relations between human actions and material (tangible) flows. IE studies have enabled assessments of different technical and sociotechnical configurations but only to a limited degree provided concepts that support the design of interventions for industrial ecologies. We contribute by proposing a sociomaterial flow approach, here applied to life cycle thinking. After problematizing some common concepts in IE, the key concepts, a procedure, and some applied variants of the proposed sociomaterial approach are presented. The approach is theoretically grounded in related sociomaterial research. This body of theories underpins our conceptualization of how flows in, for example, a product life cycle can be related to nets of human actions within one rather than several analytical frames. The sociomaterial interaction point (SMIP) is a key concept in our approach for the sociomaterial connection between material flows and actor networks. A SMIP can be described as the interactions where humans come closest to the flows. The conceptualization of the methodology provides a framework for exploring actor and action networks shaping material flows and a basis for a relational analysis of governance, organization, and management of the flows in industrial ecologies. A sociomaterial approach to flow studies can therefore help in designing more concrete sustainability interventions in industrial ecologies.
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| 2. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond a Corporate Social Responsibility Context Towards Methodological Pluralism in Social Life Cycle Assessment: Exploring Alternative Social Theoretical Perspectives
- 2020
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Ingår i: Perspectives on Social LCA : Contributions from the 6th International Conference. - 9783030065645 ; , s. 53-64
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The UNEP/SETAC guidelines have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the underpinning theoretical perspective. However, studies on CSR suggest that the companies have benefitted more than society. We explore two alternative theoretical perspectives: the theory of ecologically unequal exchange (TEUE) and the actor-network-theory (ANT). By analysing case studies informed by TEUE and ANT, we identify their contribution to social life cycle assessment. The analysis shows that the perspectives enable description and identification of issues otherwise uncovered by the UNEP/SETAC approach: the unequal balance of health effects over a production and a consumption system and the presence of multiple and sometimes conflicting interests across actors in a production and consumption system, respectively. We point out characteristic methodological differences and conclude that S-LCA would benefit from greater pluralism.
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| 3. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964
(författare)
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Evaluating business model environmental impact with Business Model Life Cycle Assessment (BM-LCA): Learnings from five case studies
- 2023
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Ingår i: New Business Models Conference Proceedings 2023.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Business model life cycle assessment (BM-LCA) is a novel LCA methodology that has been adapted for analyzing business model environmental performance. In principle, BM-LCA can be applied to any type of business model involving material or resource use and be used for validating sustainable business models, within business model innovation for sustainability and analysis for decoupling within a business practice. Here, findings and experiences from a handful of case studies with BM-LCA will be presented. The cases have been conducted in collaboration with companies in Sweden and represent a variety of business models and product types. The business models have different levels of complexity to put the applicability of BM-LCA to the test. Learnings about environmental performance of business models, the methodology, and its usefulness in practice will be covered. Moreover, to better understand the contribution of BM-LCA, the method is compared with published frameworks for sustainable business model assessment and circular business model innovation.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Baumann, Henrikke, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Switching the focus from product function to business profit: Introducing Business Model LCA (BM-LCA)
- 2022
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Ingår i: Proceedings of LCM 2021. - : EDP Sciences. ; 349
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent years have seen much interest in business models as vehicles towards sustainability, cf. [1]. Conventional LCA, however, fails to properly capture the environmental impacts of a business model. Here, we introduce the background and the principles of Business Model LCA, a new LCA methodology for the assessment of environmental performance of business models. Methodological innovations are based on an understanding of the difference and relatedness between product and business. The key innovation is that BM-LCA centres its analysis on the ’business model’ instead of the ’product function’ as in conventional LCA. This requires the functional unit to represent the business (e.g., as ‘profit per time unit’) and the need to couple the monetary flows of the business to the material and energy flows of the product system via a set of ’coupling’ equations. BM-LCA contributes to environmental business analysis and could open up a new avenue of research where LCA and business analysts collaborate on business model innovation for sustainability.
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| 6. |
- Beemsterboer, Sjouke, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Bridging the gap between assessment and action: recommendations for the effective use of LCA in the building process
- 2020
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Ingår i: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. - : IOP Publishing. - 1755-1307 .- 1755-1315. ; 588:2
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) witnesses increasing popularity in the built environment. LCA stimulates among others an efficient use of natural resources and a reduction of carbon emissions through quantification of material and energy inputs and emissions in the building life cycle. Thereby, LCA aspires to contribute to SDG12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. Despite high ambitions, the actual influence of LCA in construction projects is often modest. The mere application of LCA methodology in a building project is insufficient to produce a more environmentally friendly building. To better understand the practical conditions under which an LCA may induce change in a building project, we propose to analyse the use of LCA from a processual perspective. This paper presents a case study of a building product development project in which a processual perspective is applied on LCA. Using a longitudinal ethnographic methodology, key actors are followed through environmentally relevant episodes as the building project matures. A progressive LCA quantifies the potential environmental impact of the project as it progresses through different stages of the building process. Based on the learnings from this study, recommendations are presented to support the effective use of LCA in sustainable building practices, and contribute to SDG12 on sustainable consumption and production patterns.
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| 7. |
- Beemsterboer, Sjouke, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Ways to get work done: a review and systematisation of simplification practices in the LCA literature
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1614-7502 .- 0948-3349. ; 25:11, s. 2154-2168
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose Within the field of life cycle assessment (LCA), simplifications are a response to the practical restrictions in the context of a study. In the 1990s, simplifications were part of a debate on streamlining within LCA. Since then, many studies have been published on simplifying LCA but with little attention to systematise the approaches available. Also, despite being pervasive during the making of LCA studies, simplifications remain often invisible in the final results. This paper therefore reviews the literature on simplification in LCA in order to systematise the approaches found today. Methods A review of the LCA simplification literature was conducted. The systematic search and selection process led to a sample of 166 publications. During the review phase, the conceptual contributions to the simplification discourse were evaluated. A dataset of 163 entries was created, listing the conceptual contributions to the simplification debate. An empirically grounded analysis led to the generative development of a systematisation of simplifications according to their underlying simplifying logic. Results and discussion Five simplifying logics were identified: exclusion, inventory data substitution, qualitative expert judgment, standardisation and automation. Together, these simplifying logics inform 13 simplification strategies. The identified logics represent approaches to handle the complexities of product systems and expectations of the users of LCA results with the resources available to the analyst. Each simplification strategy is discussed with regard to its main applications and challenges. Conclusions This paper provides a first systematisation of the different simplification logics frequently applied in LCA since the original streamlining discussion. The presented terminology can help making communication about simplification more explicit and transparent, thus important for the credibility of LCA. Despite the pervasiveness of simplification in LCA, there is a relative lack of research on simplification per se, making further research describing simplification as a practice and analysing simplifications methodologically desirable.
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| 8. |
- 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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| 9. |
- 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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| 10. |
- Chakraborty, Anwesha, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Science Communication and Social LCA: Can the twain meet? Initial findings from an Oatly study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Collection FruiTrop Thema Social LCA. - 2426-9654. ; 5, s. 206-209
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This contribution aims to propose a possible integration of science communication debates, on deficit, dialogue and participation between different actors, experts and non-experts, in the study of social LCA. The purpose of such an integration stems from the understanding that through the product chain, there are a wide variety of actors that enable the material product to "flow" and that are working with scientific and sustainability-relevant information. This abstract first discusses the key arguments that evolved in science communication debates especially in the last decades leading up to the more recent deliberations on participation, and then proposes reasons why it could be worthwhile to combine these arguments in the growing literature on social LCA. It uses Oatly, the Swedish oat milk company, and the types of communication in its product chain, as the case study to argue the relevance of science communication scholarly frameworks in social LCA.
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