12th
LINK RELATED
for background/explanation, I’m reposting a note I sent to my lab:
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Until recently, I had a much more simple understanding of consequential LCA, which in it’s literal definition is the study of how changes in a production system affect impact results. I’m sure all of us have modeled or considered modeling how changes in the design of a product change impact results, and have taken the approach of modeling how changing product attributes such as material choice affect impact results. This is one definition of consequential LCA. However, newer work is this area has expanded the approach to include market activities, and the need to understand how changes in demand are met by marginal increases production… and how that affects impacts. It’s pretty interesting stuff and the attached is just a sample of work in this emerging area.
Apparently this more detailed definition of the approach is making its way into major LCA standards: PAS 2050 already encourages the use of the “new” consequential LCA, and ISO 14067, which is slated to come out in 2012, will endorse this advanced definition of consequential LCA. CLCA is becoming more mainstream in Europe, but sadly LCA practicioners and academics in the US are not catching on to it yet.
In short, check out these and other papers on CLCA…. “this is not your father’s” consequential LCA.
