(28c) Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessments

Sustainability can be defined as the ongoing achievement of desired states, for instance through meeting ?the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? (Brundtland Commission, 1987). While the desired (social, economic, and environmental) states of individuals and cultures can conflict with each other there are some environmental impacts upon which people generally agree. These environmental impacts include acidification, smog formation, climate change, toxicity, etc. To study these impacts in systems requires tools that are capable of panoramic views. One such tool is life cycle assessment. Aspects of LCA will be described in this presentation with a view towards differences in hot spot versus consequential analyses, whether inventory and impact assessment methods are sufficient for analyses, and how system boundaries, allocation and value choices can influence results. LCA helps bridge a gap between our perceived worries (perhaps the above listed environmental impacts) and a systems analysis of one or more issues. While LCA doesn't resolve the normative issues associated with conflicting desires, it can present a scientific representation of such issues.