Dr Steve Allen, Sustain Ltd and Dr Marcelle McManus of the University of Bath set out the thinking and research behind conducting Life Cycle Assessment and the business benefits of carrying it out.

1. Dr Marcelle McManus, Uni. of Bath
Dr Stephen Allen, Sustain Ltd
The business
case for life cycle
assessment
Low Carbon Business Breakfast
20 May 2014

2. Contents
Presenter Details
Both Introductions
Marcelle Introduction to LCA:
Historical perspective
Key current developments
Steve The business case for LCA
Example applications
Q&A
Discussion
Networking with coffee and pastries
Close

3. Introduction to
LCA
Dr Marcelle McManus
University of Bath

5. McManus & Taylor, In Press

6. Goal and scope
definition
Inventory
analysis
Impact
assessment
Interpretation
Four different phases of LCA can be distinguished:
Direct application:
• product development
and improvement
• Strategic planning
• Public policy making
• Marketing
• Other
Source: ISO 14040

7. Decision making
reporting
Historic/current
data
LCA
Some current trends
Attributional Life Cycle Assessment

8. Decision making
reporting
Historic/current
data
LCA
Some current trends
Decision making
reporting
Historic/current
data
LCA
Historic/current
data
LCA
Legislation and
policy

9. Design Build Use
Incremental
Re-design UseBuild
Dispose
/
Recycle
LCA often done here
(although often re-design stage left out)
LCA would make
most difference
here, although the
data is least
certain
Where/when to do LCA?

10. Some current trends
Decision making
reporting
Historic/current
data
aLCA
Data from lab
scale
LCA
Improvement in
design

11. Component Production Assembley of Product Use of Product Disposal of Product
Energy and
raw material
Requirements
emissions
to air, water
and soil
Energy and
raw material
Requirements
Energy and
raw material
Requirements
Energy and
raw material
Requirements
emissions
to air, water
and soil
emissions
to air, water
and soil
emissions
to air, water
and soil
Consequences
of using in
wider system
Consequential Life Cycle Assessment

12. Some current trends
Decision making
reporting
Historic/current
data
aLCA
Historic/current
data
aLCA & cLCA
Legislation and
policy

13. LCA and policy shape each other
Taylor & McManus, 2013

14. Where LCA is heading
– Retrospective
– Used for product and
process improvement
– Attributional LCA
– Compliance
– promotion
– Forward facing
– predictive
– Policy and scene setting
– Consequential LCA
– GHG as proxy for resource use
– Indirect effects
– Social implications
Traditional Current/moving towards

15. • Data quality and quantity is often not sufficient for a
comprehensive LCA
• A possible consequence of discrepancies in the data is that
two independent studies analysing the same products
may generate very different results
• Ostensibly comparable LCA's may therefore be
incomparable
• Differing data used in the characterisation stage may
mean that LCAs are incomparable.
• Use of alternative methodologies for the impact
assessment stage can yield different results
Problems with LCA

16. The business
case for LCA
Dr Stephen Allen
Sustain Ltd

17. The business case for LCA and related methods
• Reveal “hotspots” throughout value chain and avoid burden shifting
 effective improvement strategy
• Cost savings
• Innovation, e.g. in product design and supply chain mgt.
• Robust comms & marketing with investors, clients, consumers
• Competitive advantage, improve reputation
• Regulatory compliance
• Scarcity risks to resource supplies and their prices

18. Example 1: LCA of solar hot water (SHW) system
Organisation SHW panel manufacturer
Motivation • Gain competitive advantage
• Answer customer questions
• Improve design
Scope • LCA of production and use of panel

19. Production of SHW system
Source: Allen SR, Hammond GP, Harajli H, McManus MC, Winnett AB, (2010) 'Integrated
appraisal of a solar hot water system’, Energy, 35 (3)

20. Design advice
• Use recycled aluminium where possible. The use of
50% recycled components would give 10-45%
reduction of impacts
• Use alternative to lead for roof fittings

21. Carbon payback period of the SHW system
Source: Allen SR, Hammond GP, Harajli H, McManus MC, Winnett AB, (2010) 'Integrated
appraisal of a solar hot water system’, Energy, 35 (3)

22. Benefits for company
• Published energy and carbon payback with independent source
• Improved environmental performance: removed lead flashing from 90%
of installations
• Won green accreditation award: good for reputation and competitive
advantage

23. Example 2: LCA of novel washing machine
Organisation Xeros Ltd
Motivations • Robust and credible stats for marketing
Scope • Full LCA of domestic washing machine and
conventional counterpart, with ISO-compliant
peer review

24. System boundary
Source: Allen SR and Jones CI, 2014, Life Cycle Assessment of the Xeros domestic
bead cleaning system: Final Report (unpublished)

25. Headline results for key impact categories
Source: Allen SR and Jones CI, 2014, Life Cycle Assessment of the Xeros domestic
bead cleaning system: Final Report (unpublished)

26. Carbon footprint over the life cycle
Source: Allen SR and Jones CI, 2014, Life Cycle Assessment of the Xeros domestic
bead cleaning system: Final Report (unpublished)

27. Headline results for key impact categories
Source: Allen SR and Jones CI, 2014, Life Cycle Assessment of the Xeros domestic
bead cleaning system: Final Report (unpublished)
• Carbon footprint saving:
• over 700 kgCO2eq of GHG emissions
• equivalent to the emissions caused by operating a
32” LED TV for 32000 hours
• further info on next slide
• Water saving:
• 1.2 million litres of water
• equivalent to ten years’ worth of direct water use
by an average UK household.

28. Benefits for company
• Robust (peer reviewed) assessment of environmental performance
• Credible, headline results for marketing purpose

29. Example 3: “capital carbon” of water transfer scheme
Organisation Anglian Water
Motivations • Cost saving
• Carbon saving
Scope • Cradle to construction (“capital carbon”) of 60km
pipeline construction from Covenham reservoir
and water treatment works to Boston, Lincolnshire

30. Context
• In 2009 water industry regulator Ofwat required all water companies to
assess the capital and operational carbon footprint of their proposed
2010-15 investment programme
• Anglian Water has been demonstrating the link between carbon and
cost for eight years; their data showing correlation between reduced
carbon and reduced cost

31. A direct link between carbon and cost
Cost of energy to emit 1 tonne (t) of carbon from electricity:
Purchase of electricity for 1t of carbon (1,862kWh at 12p/kWh) £223
Cost of Climate Change Levy (1,842kWh at 0.470p/kWh) £10
Cost of CRC carbon credit £16
£249
Cost of energy to emit 1 t of carbon from gas:
Purchase of gas for 1 t of carbon (5,446kWh at 4.5p/kWh) £245
Cost of Climate Change Levy (5,446kWh at 0.164p/kWh) £10
Cost of CRC carbon credit £16
£271

32. • £13 million cost saving, 12,000 tonne carbon saving, achieved by:
• “Building less and building clever”
• For the Covenham to Boston scheme, detailed network modelling
found that 40% of the 15Ml/d flow could be transferred through existing
assets, reducing pipeline requirement and eliminating an intermediate
pumping station
• Further gains from use of standard products and supply chain
efficiencies through early contractor involvement
Benefits for company
Source: HM Treasury, Infrastructure UK and BIS, 2013, Infrastructure Carbon Review

33. Further information
• Web: www.sustain.co.uk
• Twitter: s_r_allen
• Email: stephen.allen@sustain.co.uk

34. Q & A
Dr Marcelle McManus
University of Bath
Dr Stephen Allen
Sustain Ltd