A new study released by the University of Manchester claims that microwave usage across the EU alone emits as much carbon dioxide as nearly seven million cars. The study used life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate the impacts of microwaves, taking into account their manufacture, use and end-of-life waste management and found that they emit 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 6.8 million cars. The research team inves

In the “Forest-based bioeconomy – benefits for climate, jobs and growth” event held in Brussels last November, the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and LUKE Natural Resources Institute Finland called for an increased role and identification of research needs of forest-based circular bioeconomy to address climate change. Specifically, the event highlighted the role that LCA plays to meet Europe’s need for research on management of forest ecosystems, the impact of forest man

ALCAS member Fibercon won the award for Sustainability and Environment at the recent Concrete Awards in Queensland. The award was given for their Emesh 100% Recycled Macro Poly used for concrete reinforcing. Fibercon has a devotion to sustainability and is a strong proponent of Life Cycle Assessment as a credible way of measuring environmental impacts. “LCA is a rigorous and replicable system that is recognised worldwide,” said Fibercon CEO Mark Combe. “Tony Collister and

An LCA recently published in the journal Fuel compares three production methods of butanol. Oxo synthesis ABE fermentation using corn ABE fermentation using wheat The ABE fermentation using corn as substrate presents the highest environmental impact and the ABE fermentation using wheat straw is the one that presents the lowest environmental impact, when the allocation method was based on mass. Read the Abstract & Download the Report #LCA #butanol

The following article was originally published in Steel Australia (March 2017) and is republished here with the kind permission of the Australian Steel Institute. OneSteel has proven its commitment to sustainability by becoming the first Australian manufacturer of steel long products to release Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). OneSteel has released five EPDs in a bid to provide greater transparency about the sustainability credentials of its supply chain and product

A new strategy for Life Cycle Initiative, the public-private partnership Life Cycle Initiative, the public-private partnership hosted by UN Environment and tasked with enabling global use of credible life cycle knowledge, has developed a new strategy for its 2017-2022 phase. The International Life Cycle Board endorsed the draft strategy in May and steps are underway to begin implementing. The strategy calls for scaling up from current activities and more effectively bringing

The Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association, which represents US and Canadian manufacturers of PVC pipes, has published the first comprehensive environmental and performance review of water and sewer pipes in North America. The study used LCA methodology to evaluate a cradle-to-grave sustainability of commonly used drinking water and sewer pipe materials, including polyvinylchloride (PVC), concret, ductile iron and high density polyethylene pipes over a 100 year service period. The LCA

The Supply Chain Sustainability School ran a free event in Western Sydney on 18 August, 2016. It was a very informative event with an array of brief, but interesting presentations. If you missed out, why not take 15 minutes to catch up on any one of the wide range of topics discussed. Hear Edge Environment's Jonas Bengtsson share the importance of Life Cycle Assessment and better material choices Watch John Holland Group's Renuka Sabaratnam explain how business is making mor

A recent study by University of Michigan Energy Institute scientist has estimated that using ethanol made from corn to power a car, will cause more carbon pollution that using gasoline. This contradicts years of work by other scientists relying on life-cycle analysis to prove the positive impacts of biofuels. The new study was published by Climatic Change and financially supported by the American Petroleum Institute. Professor John DeCicco, who led the work, had harsh words

Two recent publications will be helpful for analysts who need to understand nutrient modeling in LCA. Marieke ten Hoeve from the University of Copenhagen completed her doctoral thesis looking at the management of pig manure using LCA. Her final paper is "A life cycle perspective of slurry acidification strategies under different nitrogen regulations" (J Cleaner Production, 127:591-599). Acidification can substantially reduce the environmental impacts of manure. Sara Heimers

The largest LCA team at Chalmers, the Environmental Systems Analysis group, is expanding. The Chemical Environmental Science group led by expat Greg Peters and Magdalena Svanström switched faculties in September to join the group. This strengthens the chemical engineering competency of ESA and gives researchers in CES more interactivity with colleagues in the same field. CES was formed 30 years ago in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, with a focus on en