Economic Input-Output Based Life-Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA)

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POLLUTION PREVENTION RESEARCH PROJECTS DATABASE

Project Title: Economic Input-Output Based Life-Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA)

Date Last Updated: 9/99

Project Summary:
Effective environmental decision making requires information on the consequences of alternative designs. To make informed choices, businesses, consumers and regulators must know the environmental consequences of available materials, designs, manufacturing processes, product use patterns and disposal. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a systematic tool to provide this information. LCA attempts to trace out the major stages and processes involved over the entire life cycle of a product from raw material extraction to ultimate disposal, quantifying environmental burdens at each stage.

Current LCA methods are subject to several major limitations. One of the most serious difficulties is the choice of an appropriate problem boundary, considering that each industry is dependent, directly or indirectly, on all other industries. For example, cars are made from steel, which is made from coal and iron ore, which need automobiles for transportation and so on. Hence it is impossible to trace out all the direct and indirect interactions and the environmental burdens.

Input-output analysis is a technique for capturing all the economy-wide interdependencies. It is used to estimate additional production required in all the sectors of the economy to support increases in output of any given sector. Our economic input-output analysis-based life-cycle analysis (EIO-LCA) method involves augmenting conventional economic input-output tables with appropriate sectoral environmental impact indices which can then be used to analyze economy-wide environmental impacts of changes in the output of selected industrial sectors.

By using only the published input-output tables, EIO-LCA has the advantage of tracing out full direct and indirect environmental impacts of outputs of industry sectors. In cooperation with IKP from the University of Stuttgart, we are developing hybrid LCA models that eliminate the limitations of using the process analysis-based LCA and the EIO-LCA separately. The hybrid models provide desired detail and economy-wide coverage while giving comprehensive LCA answers. We have also created a software to perform life-cycle assessment using economic input-output techniques.

Project Keywords: input-output analysis, assessment, economic effects

Organization Performing Research: Carnegie Mellon University, Green Design Initiative

Research Contacts:
Lester Lave
Green Design Initiative
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
phone: 412-268-8837
e-mail: ll01@andrew.cmu.edu
web: http://www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign/index.html http://www.eiolca.net

Chris T. Hendrickson
phone: 412-268-2941
e-mail: cth@cmu.edu
All other information same as above

Date Research Started/Completed: Not available

Publications Based on Research: "A Comparison of the Environmental Implications of Asphalt and Steel-Reinforced Concrete Pavements," A. Horvath and C. Hendrickson, Transportation Research Board Conference, Washington, DC, January 1998, and Transportation Research Record, 1998.

"A Software Tool for Economic Input-Output-Life-Cycle Assessment," Octavio J. Espinosa, James H. Garrett and Chris T. Hendrickson, 1997 ASME Symposium on Life Cycle Engineering, Dallas, TX, November 1997.

"Comparing Two Life Cycle Assessment Approaches: A Process Model- vs. Economic Input-Output-Based Approach," C. Hendrickson, A. Horvath, S. Joshi, M. Klausner, L. B. Lave and F. C. McMichael, IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, San Francisco, CA, May 1997.

"Comprehensive Product Life Cycle Assessment Using Input-Output Techniques," Satish Joshi, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Carnegie Mellon University, May 1998.

"Economic Input/Output Analysis to Aid Life Cycle Assessment of Electronics Products", Elisa Cobas, Chris Hendrickson, Lester Lave and Francis McMichael, 1995 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, Orlando, FL, May 1995.

"Environmental Input-Output Life Cycle Analysis: A Summary of Results Including a Comparison with the SETAC Approach," Lester B. Lave, Satish Joshi, Heather MacLean, Arpad Horvath, Chris T. Hendrickson and Francis C. McMichael, Proceedings of the 1998 SAE Total Life Cycle Conference, Graz, Austria, December 1998.

"Life Cycle Analysis of Batteries Using Economic Input-Output Analysis", Elisa Cobas, Chris Hendrickson, Lester Lave and Francis McMichael, 1996 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, Dallas, TX, May 1996.

"Life Cycle Assessment Using Input-Output Analysis," Elisa Cobas Flores, Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, April 1996.

"Measuring the Environmental Impacts and Sustainability of Automobiles," Lester B. Lave, Elisa Cobas Flores, Francis C. McMichael, Chris T. Hendrickson, Arpad Horvath and Satish Joshi, Sustainable Individual Mobility - Critical Choices for Government and Industry Conference, Zurich, Switzerland, November 4-5, 1996.

"Motor Vehicles and Passenger Car Bodies Sector: Life Cycle Assessment Using Economic Input-Output Analysis," Elisa Cobas-Flores, Lester B. Lave, Chris T. Hendrickson, and Francis C. McMichael, paper # 980475, 1998 SAE Congress, Detroit, MI, February 1998.

"Use of Economic Input-Output Models for Environmental Life Cycle Assessment," C. Hendrickson, A. Horvath, S. Joshi and L. B. Lave, Environmental Science & Technology, April 1998.

"Using Input-Output Analysis to Estimate Economy-Wide Discharges," L. Lave, E. Cobas, C. Hendrickson and F. McMichael, Environmental Sci. & Technology, 9/1995.

Approximate Project Budget: Approximately $130,000 per year

Primary Project Funder: Carnegie Mellon University, Green Design Initiative

Funder Contact:
Noellette Conway-Schempf, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Green Design Initiative
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
phone: 412-268-2299
e-mail: nc0y@andrew.cmu.edu
web: http://www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign/index.html