Systematic Analysis of Environmental Effects

“So, is juice from a Tetra Pak or a glass bottle more environmentally friendly?” We have all asked this or similar questions at some time when buying a product. To be able to comparatively describe the environmental effects of a product, one uses a lifecycle assessment or an eco-balance according to ISO 14040. In the first step, the consumption of raw materials and energy as well as the type and quantity of all pollutants released into the air, water and ground are investigated. In addition, the resulting quantities of waste are ascertained and the environmental effect of using the product or systems is investigated.

Life Cycle Assessment as per ISO 14040

A life cycle assessment as performed according to the ISO 14040 standard includes a definition of the goal and the investigation framework, a lifecycle inventory analysis, an impact assessment, and a final assessment. The impact assessment classifies the environmental effects into different categories such as, for example:  “harm to human health”, “harm to the quality of the ecosystem”, and “consumption of resources”.

Environmental Effects of Different Products as a Comparison

Lifecycle assessments are mostly used to compare the environmental effects of different products. However, only products or systems that serve the same purpose or have the same functional unit can be compared seriously.  For example, in the HYVOLUTION project, the biological production of 1 kg of hydrogen is compared to natural gas reforming to 1 kg of hydrogen.