In an environmental life cycle assessment of products (LCA), an
unambiguous, scientifically based, objective attribution of
material and energy flows to a product is pure fiction. This is due
to the fundamental epistemological conditions of LCA as a modelling
process under the complexity of our socio-economic system. Instead,
various mental models and values guide this attribution. This leads
to a functional model in a specific decision situation.
This book shows for the first time how mental models and values
influence this attribution in the life cycle inventory step of LCA.
One of the key findings is that the different management rules for
a sustainable use of materials must be taken into account for the
attribution of material and energy flows to a product. Otherwise,
improvement options recommended by an LCA might turn out to even
worsen the environmental situation if reassessed from a
meta-perspective.
As a consequence of this book, the claim of unambiguitiy (
objectivity ) of the life cycle inventory must be abandoned. A
group-model building process for LCA is developed that allows one
to grasp the decision makers' mental models and values in the
inventory analysis on a case- and situation-specific basis. Only by
this, LCA results will become relevant in a decision-making
process.
Two case studies on the modelling of recycling and other
end-of-life options of aluminium windows and beech wood railway
sleepers in LCA complement the methodological part.
This book is a must have for researchers, consultants and
practitioners in the fields of decision-oriented life cycle
assessment as well as product-related environmental management,
modelling and decision-making."
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