The aim of the study is to provide an overview of the various types of carbon sinks currently used and that could be used by companies to ‘offset their emissions’ within their scope, and to propose methodologies for calculating the emissions captured by these different types of carbon sinks.

When modelling steel, the data in the Ecoinvent database is rather simplistic. If we try to characterise steel more accurately, it immediately becomes very complicated and it is not always easy to choose the right alloy and surface treatment from the databases. The aim is to help practitioners model steels and cast irons in an LCA. The workshop will draw up a typology of steels used in the technosphere and propose an analysis of their environmental performance. We will compare the various existing databases on steels and cast irons: What are the existing ICVs? What allocations are considered, how are the databases constructed? How are they used and selected? What are the recommendations and limitations?

Land use is emerging as a major environmental issue because it has an impact on:

– Above-ground and below-ground biodiversity, through changes to species’ immediate environment and the fragmentation of habitats, which limit population recovery;

– Climate change, through the sequestration and release of carbon contained in above-ground biomass (deforestation through burning) and carbon contained in soils;

– Ecosystem services provided by the soil, such as agricultural and forestry production, water purification and the mitigation of physical risks (landslides, flooding) through the soil’s contribution to the water cycle.

The LCA tools currently available consider only certain environmental impacts of land use and are often complex for practitioners to use. Results therefore vary significantly depending on whether the selected method measures the impact on biodiversity or on the amount of soil organic matter loss, and depending on the data set selected. Furthermore, LCA practitioners often find it difficult to interpret the impacts measured by the various methods.

The aim of this study is to provide recommendations on the use of land-use impact indicators in LCA and on the allocation of impacts to the various functions of a given area, in order to take better account of land resources.

An example of the application of the LANCA indicator was implemented in this study, enabling practitioners to apply it more effectively in their LCAs.

An analysis was also carried out to shed light on the multifunctional view of land and to determine how to allocate ‘land use’ in this context.

The study, carried out by RDC, has thus resulted in a guide to good practice providing recommendations on the use of impact indicators relating to land use and land conversion, and on the allocation of impacts across different, competing and multiple land uses.

– Who is driving the need for a quantitative analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals? (organisations, NGOs, institutions, etc.)

– Which impacts are most closely monitored (by regulators, the financial sector, the international community)?

– Which metrics are used by regulators to quantify this ‘sustainability’?

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of integrated ‘Sustainable Development’ approaches – incorporating all three pillars within a ‘life cycle’ perspective: environmental, economic and social – and to take a critical look at these practices.

– How can the accounting of natural capital benefit from the concepts, procedures and tools of LCA?

– How can LCA broaden its scope by addressing its shortcomings in the valuation of ecosystem services?

WS 34: Allocation Method and Transparency, delivered over two sessions:

– a theoretical session focusing on Amendment 2 to ISO 14044.
– a practical workshop session involving group exercises.

WS 34: Allocation Method and Transparency, delivered over two sessions:

– a theoretical session focusing on Amendment 2 to ISO 14044.
– a practical workshop session involving group exercises.

Do you find that incorporating the impact of electric vehicle battery recycling into LCA assessments is difficult due to recycling streams that are not yet widely industrialised on a large scale and the lack of input data sharing in a highly competitive sector?

Given the significant stakes for the roll-out of electric mobility and the issues surrounding resource availability, SCORE LCA has launched a study on the production of Life Cycle Assessments for lithium-ion battery recycling processes (No. 2020-04): it is now available on the website!

The processes studied are as follows:

– High-temperature treatment (pyrometallurgy)

– Mechanical treatment (crushing)

– Chemical treatment (hydrometallurgy)

– Biomass from various sources is increasingly being used to generate energy (heat and electricity).
– How environmentally acceptable is the use of biomass?
– How should this use of biomass be accounted for in an LCA?
– How can an LCA be carried out for energy production from biomass?

The purpose of this workshop is to update the elements of study 2016-01:
o What exists today?
o What are the proposals for integrating resources?
o What are the proposals for a method of weighting by planetary boundaries?
o Where and by whom are planetary boundaries used?

The programme for this workshop is as follows:
1) Planetary boundaries and LCA: where are we now? (presented by Anders BJØRN, Concordia University, Montreal)
2) Integrating planetary boundaries into LCA decision-making: case study in LCA: case study (presented by Marcial VARGAS GONZALEZ, Quantis)