1. Sustainability Business Simulation
Life Cycle Assessment Exercise
Step 1: Goal and Scope Definition
Based on the decision to be made by your company, define the goal and scope of the
life cycle assessment.
1) Define the functional unit of the product systems to be compared. In the
companion spreadsheet, enter the number of products for each option in
order to create an equivalent basis for comparison, and the period of
performance (typically this is one year for most LCA studies but your study
may have a longer time horizon).
2) Draw a high level diagram indicating the boundary of the two product
systems.
3) Determine the relevant impact categories you would like to investigate. For
the exercise you have a choice of 5 categories. Choose at least two
categories:
a. Energy
b. Water take (use)
c. Global warming potential
d. Human health toxicity
e. Ecological toxicity

2. Step 2: Data Gathering (Life Cycle Inventory)
Using your spreadsheet tool, collect the following information to complete your life
cycle inventory.
Upstream Materials: For the materials in your product determine the amount of
materials need to make one unit of product. The cradle-to-gate data (all of the
energy, materials and emissions associated with that material) are provided.
Facility Level Product Production: From spreadsheets provided collect the facility
level data (energy use and emissions released associated with making the two
products over the period of a year). You may have to allocate a portion of the
facility energy data to the products under study. Also, there may be wastes
associated with production. Use your professional judgment to determine the
allocation.
Transport: Enter the distance for the appropriate shipping mode for the
manufactured product. The transport data will be converted to a weight-distance
metric based on the weight of the materials specified for the product.
Use Phase: Collect the necessary use phase information. The product systems
examined may or may not have use phase impacts. If there is energy or material
consumed during use, add them to the inventory.
End-of-life: Determine how much of your product ends up directly in a landfill, or
is incinerated and then placed in a landfill. If incinerated take a credit for
displacing the energy that would have been produced, but make sure to add in the
emissions associated with incineration. If a portion of your product is recycled take
a credit for the production of virgin material displaced by recycling.

3. Step 3: Impact Assessment
From the life-cycle impact assessment categories selected as relevant to your
study, calculate the resulting impacts for the two product systems. List them in
the table below.
Impact Assessment Results Impact Assessment Results
Product System 1 Product System 2
Step 4: Final interpretive statement
From the assessment you have just completed, craft a short statement (2 to 3
sentences) that is both technically accurate, as well as readily understood to upper
management.
Marketing is very pleased with the innovative LCA study that you have done. Craft
a marketing statement appropriate for a consumer audience. Remember, the
consumer audience may include a very knowledgeable NGO –watch out for green
washing.

4. Step 5: Limitations to the study
Now that you are an LCA expert, list areas of the study that you feel need further
improvement or are shortcomings – just in case that NGO comes knocking at your
door.

5. Good Snacks, Inc.
Background:
You work for a snack food company (primarily corn and potato chips) that sits on
the outskirts of town. Good Snacks is a division of a Fortune 100, publicly traded
company that emphasizes branding of products. Your plant employs 900 people and
has corporate goals to grow by 10% per year over the next two years.
The plant manager, who really cares about quality of work-life issues, recently read
an article about sustainability and is now convinced that this is something your
company should pursue. You have been asked by the plant manager to head up the
“sustainability effort,” even though you have no experience; she just knew you’re
just very interested in environmental issues.
Recently, Wal-Mart has asked you to begin reporting on life-cycle based
information of the packaging of your most popular slightly burnt potato chip
product, “Nicely Done”. Currently you are shipping your product in 6 oz. snack bags
consisting of Mylar film (97% polyethylene with a thin layer of aluminum). You are
interested in investigating an alternative packaging solution using a bio-material
plastic film made of poly lactic acid (PLA) polymers made from corn. The
manufacturer of PLA has told you that there are no harmful environmental impacts
associated with PLA. Because your Nicely Done product is your best selling brand
(you sell 1,000,000 units*, representing 33% of sales), you need to investigate
which packaging solution is best to use from an environmental life cycle perspective
– just to make sure.
Hint: This is your functional unit.

6. After doing a preliminary data collection assessment you know the following:
Option 1: Mylar Option 2: PLA
Weight of packaging 100 gm 150 gm
Material make-up 97% PET, 3% Aluminum 100 gm PLA, 50gm PET
packaging
Facility Electricity 300,000 kWh annual ? no data
Facility Heat 10,000,000 MJ natural gas ? no data
Manufacturing discards 1% of PET 13% (new process, so discard
due to inferior quality rate is higher)
10% of Aluminum
Shipping Nicely Done 99.9% Long Haul Truck – Assume same market
Western US (avg. 500 km)
0.1% Air Shipped – France
(~10,000 km)
Recyclability of 100% PET, 100% Aluminum 0% PLA, 100% PET
packaging
Make any assumption needed to complete the study and indicate them here:

7. Renaissance Lighting
Background:
You are the owner and president of Renaissance Lighting; you have always tried to
run a socially responsible company. You’ve recently learned about sustainability and
really like the idea because it seems to provide clearer end-points, at least from
the environmental perspective. You sell your products to retail lighting stores in a
three state region. You employ 180 people and expect to grow by 10% over the
next two years. At this time you are shipping 5,000 lamps per year*.
The local municipal recycling center has been collecting plastic soda bottles by the
ton. By making your products out of recycled polypropylene (PP) you think you can
close the material loop from a local source. Being a hands-on president who has
problems delegating tasks, you’ve decided to conduct the life cycle assessment
yourself so that you can get the rest of your organization to adopt sustainability as
a strategic business issue.
Hint: This is the basis of your comparison but you need to assess the future
production levels at 10% growth; however a brass lamp lasts longer than a plastic
lamp. You need to make the comparison equivalent.

8. After doing a preliminary data collection assessment you know the following:
Option 1: Traditional Option 2: Recycled PP
Brass Lamp green lamp
Lifespan of Lamp 30 Years 10 Years
Weight of lamp 2 Kg 1.7 kg
Facility electricity 30,000 kWh annual to ? no data
requirements for this produce 5,000 lamps
past year
Facility heat 10,000 MJ natural gas ? no data
requirements for this annual to produce 5,000
past year
lamps
Manufacturing discards 1% 2%
due to inferior quality
Shipping Continental US ? no data
There are two destinations:
#1: 80% of the time by
Long haul truck, with avg.
distance of 500km.
#2: 20% of the time by
intermodal rail/short haul
truck with avg. distance
1200km by train, 50km by
truck.
Material make-up 75% Brass, 10% Virgin PP
25% Aluminum 75% Recycled PP
15% Brass
Use Phase The traditional brass lamp Uses innovative LED lights that
uses an incandescent, 60 consume 10 watts used 8 hours
watt bulb, used 8 hours a a day, 300 days a year over the
day, 300 days a year over life of the lamp (10 years).
the life of the lamp (30
years).
Recyclability 100% for brass 100% for PP and recycled PP
100% for aluminum 100% for Brass

9. Make any assumptions needed to complete the study.
Think Geo, Inc.
Background:
You are the marketing manager for a geothermal technology startup. You would like
to make a splash in the competitive residential renewable energy market, however,
your state has instituted a $25,000 tax rebate on solar panels, making your
technology costlier to install, but cheaper to use in the long run. You believe that
the geothermal technology is the way to go not only financially, but also
environmentally and want to conduct an LCA study to prove you’re right.
Based on a 2,000 square foot home, you need a system that provides 625,000
btu’s/day. A 4x10 solar panel generates 40,000 btu’s / day. Additional details are
provided on the opposite page.

10. After doing a preliminary data collection assessment you know the following:
Option 1: Geothermal Option 2: One 4x10 Solar
Unit Panel system
Materials 2000 kg steel pipe 5 kg Aluminum parts
20 kg brass fittings 2 kg Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
parts
0.5 kg brass fittings
Energy output 500,000 Btu/day 75,000 Btu/day average
Life of the system 30 year lifespan 20 year lifespan
Mfg. Facility 50 MWh electricity and 500,000 kWh electricity and
40,000 MJ of NG annually 40,000 MJ of NG annually to
to produce 16 geothermal manufacture 1000 – 4’x10”
units panels
Manufacturing discards 5% 1%
due to inferior quality
Location of Mfg. source 50 km from market 50 km from Market
Installation & Use 50 gallons of diesel fuel to 10 kWh of electricity to install
Energy drill well for piping 60 watts per day per panel to
10 kWh of electricity to operate
install
2400 watts per day to
operate
Water use 0.5 m3 year to recharge and 0.02 m3 year to recharge and
flush flush
Recyclability 90% for steel 80% for aluminum
90% for brass 90% for brass
25% for PVC
Make any assumptions needed to complete the study and indicate them here:

11. Disposable Diaper Example
Background:
In this example you will compare a disposable diaper versus a cloth diaper.
After doing a preliminary data collection assessment you know the following:
Option 1:Cotton Diaper Option 2:Disposable Diaper
Weight of diaper 0.2 Kg Cotton diaper 0.10 kg Polypropylene (PP)
0.10 kg Cellulosic wood fiber
Life diaper 2 year lifespan for the 1 use only
cotton diaper
Mfg. Facility Energy 10,000 kWh of electricity 500,000 kWh of electricity and
5,000 MJ Natural Gas 50,000 MJ Natural Gas
annually to weave and sew annually to manufacture
10,000 cotton diapers 10,000,000 disposable diapers
Manufacturing discards 10% for cotton diaper 1% for PP and Cellulosic Wood
due to inferior quality fiber
Shipping 10,000 km from Mfg. in 1000km from Mfg. to store
China to store
Use 8 times a day with double up 4 times a day
for overnight
Laundry electricity 10 kWh to wash a cotton n/a
diaper
Laundry water use 0.01 (m3) to wash a cotton n/a
diaper
Laundry drying 1000 MJ natural gas to dry n/a
a diaper
Recyclability 100% for cotton 100% for PP
100% for cellulosic wood fiber