Top-down characterization of resource use in LCA

from problem definition of resource use to operational characterization factors for dissipation of elements to the environment

Authors:
Lauran van Oers, Jeroen B. Guinée, Reinout Heijungs, Rita Schulze, Rodrigo A. F. Alvarenga, Jo Dewulf, Johannes Drielsma, David Sanjuan-Delmás, Tobias C. Kampmann, Glenn Bark, Ainara Garcia Uriarte, Pierre Menger, Mats Lindblom, Lucas Alcon, Manuel Sevilla Ramos, Juan Manuel Escobar Torres
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,

Published: 11 September 2020

Purpose
The methods for assessing the impact of using abiotic resources in life cycle assessment (LCA) have always been heavily debated. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of a common understanding of the problem related to resource use. This article reports the results of an effort to reach such common understanding between different stakeholder groups and the LCA community. For this, a top-down approach was applied.