Life Cycle Jobs, Events, Announcements and more • LC Net SETAC-Barcelona Special Edition • May/June 2015

LC Net • Newsletter of the Life Cycle Initiative

SETAC-Barcelona Special Edition Contents • May/June 2015

• LC Net Focus

• Our Calendar

• A Look Inside

• Flagship Activity Feedback

• Flashback: Our recent activities

• Life Cycle Jobs

• Announcements

Contact us:

[email protected]
www.lifecycleinitiative.org

LC Net Focus

Meet us at Booth 46 at #SETACBarcelona

The Life Cycle Initiative will be present and active at the SETAC Europe 25th Annual Meeting (Barcelona, Spain, 3-7 May 2015). Follow our #SETACBarcelona tweets on Twitter and:

- join us at our booth!

• Ask questions and give feedback to Flagship activity leaders, who will be on-site to invite you to contribute to our activities;

• Discover our latest publication “Guidance on Organizational Life Cycle Assessment” and learn how your organization can contribute to the road testing of this milestone document;

• Give your feedback on the Life Cycle Initiative website, through a survey that you will be able to fill in on-site or online;

• Check out our interactive Life Cycle Maps – put yourself or your organization on the map!

• Browse our latest publications and upload electronic versions to your USB keys.

- attend our presentations!

• TUESDAY

• ‘Land use impacts on biodiversity: Results from the consensus-building procedure sponsored by UNEP/SETAC's Life Cycle Initiative’ in Room 120/121 (8:15 am)

• 'Setting targets on the environmental footprint of nations using planetary boundaries' in Room 120/121 (11:30 am)

• 'Single score methods and midpoint indicators: a dream team for an effective environmental policy' in Room 122/123 (11:50 am)

• WEDNESDAY

• ‘Global Principles and Practices for Hotspots Analysis’ in Room 122/123 (8:15 am)

• Participation in the open session on ‘International cooperation in LCA databases’ in Room 114 (2:15 pm to 5:15 pm)

- participate in one additional Life Cycle Initiative session following SETAC Barcelona:

• A stakeholder meeting has been organized as part of a multi-year global process to provide guidance on harmonized Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), back-to-back with the SETAC conference. The meeting will feature presentations on task force recommendations for Climate Change, Respiratory Organics, Land use, Water use, crosscutting issues, and guidance for Life Cycle based footprint indicators. The floor will then be open to provide feedback and discuss with the Task Force representatives. Please contact us if a) you are interested and available to join the stakeholder meeting in-person on Thursday, May 7, 2015 or b) if you would be interested to join virtually via gotomeeting.

• Meeting details: Thursday May 7th, 2015, 4:30-8:00pm at the Escola Superior de Comerç Internacional (ESCI) Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Passeig Pujades, 1, E-08003 Barcelona - (45 minutes from SETAC venue in downtown Barcelona).

back to contents

Flagship Activity Feedback - A selection

New report: ‘Guidance on Organizational Life Cycle Assessment’ published; road-testing phase to begin

LCA of Organizations • Co-chairs Matthias Finkbeiner and Atsushi Inaba

The Life Cycle Initiative’s long-anticipated report “Guidance on Organizational Life Cycle Assessment” has been published and is now available for download.

Organizational life cycle assessment (O-LCA) uses a life cycle perspective to compile and evaluate the inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of the activities associated with an organization. It is envisioned for organizations of all sizes, in all sectors, and all over the world. This publication provides an overview and the needed guidance to support the application of O-LCA and specific directions according to the experience of the organization with environmental tools. Eleven case studies further illustrate the process and benefits of applying this methodology. Furthermore, a road testing in real case studies will start very soon (see Announcement 1 below). We encourage you to apply the guidance document and to explore the potential of O-LCA. We hope for your support in promoting and empowering this new member of the LCA family.

Download the publication from the flagship activity web page!

back to contents

Announcements

Including abstract deadlines, publications, and other interesting news

1) Call for road testers of the 'Guidance on Organizational Life Cycle Assessment'

LCA has been primarily applied to products, but in the last few years, several initiatives have promoted the use of LCA within an organizational scope, which consists of evaluating the inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of the activities associated with an organization. The Life Cycle Initiative has just published the “Guidance on Organizational Life Cycle Assessment” (see article "New Report" above).

The next step is road testing the guidance document in about 10 real organizations. Applying Organizational LCA to these organizations will prove the potential of the methodology, add more experience, promote its further use, and test the clarity of the document. A representative set of organizations (i.e., in terms of region, sector, size, and experience with environmental tools) will be selected. The willingness of the organization to participate and the availability of resources (e.g., staff and economic) is also a key selection factor. The secretariat is particularly concerned about the participation of SMEs and developing countries, thus we will closely support the application of a limited number of these organizations.

The call for road testers is open until the 31st of May 2015. More information and application form are available from the flagship activity web page.

2) Consultation on the LCM CMM Workbook

The UNEP / SETAC Life Cycle Initiative’s project "Life Cycle Management Capability Maturity Model (LCM CMM)” supports capacity building in small to medium sized enterprises at lower tiers of global supply chains. It seeks to help companies develop more rigorous methods based on life cycle thinking that provide both improved environmental performance and competitive advantage.

A draft workbook based on the experiences of eight pilot projects gives a broad overview of the LCM CMM approach for companies with limited understanding of, or experience with, life cycle management.

The Initiative is seeking feedback on the workbook to assess how well the objectives have been achieved -- to get involved, consult the workbook and download feedback form. Please provide your comments and suggestions using the provided feedback template by 24 May 2015. Results of the feedback will be summarized and presented at LCM 2015 in Bordeaux, France in early September 2015.

back to contents

A Look Inside - Profiling Our Sponsors & Partners

Our sponsor PE International is now thinkstep!

“thinkstep” (formerly PE International) has the mission to enable companies to recalibrate their strategies and operations for long-term sustainability success with professional data, technology, and services. thinkstep is helping 2,500 companies – including 40% of the Fortune 500 – to create business value through sustainability. A core aspects of thinkstep’s engagement into the Initiative is to foster capacity building and lowering hurdles for regions, countries and organisations to enter the topic. Further, thinkstep is aiming to bridge activities between political, academic and industry organisations to contribute towards a global networking of supply chains and stakeholders. Visit the thinkstep website.

back to contents

Our Calendar: Where we and our partners will be in the coming months

For a full calendar of life cycle events, see our Events page on our website.

1) Training at CICLA 2015 • Lima, Peru • 13-14 July 2015

The Initiative is collaborating with the organisers of the next CILCA 2015 to deliver a training on Global Guidance Principles on LCA Database Management.

2) Technical Meetings on LCA in Public Policy • Santiago, Chile • 17 July 2015

Meetings with Ministry of Environment of Chile and Fundación Chile, on the use of LCA in public Policy.

3) Events at LCM 2015 • Bordeaux, France • 30 August-2 September 2015

Several Life Cycle Initiative events are being planned around the LCM 2015 Conference in Bordeaux, France (e.g., see Announcement 2 above).

4) ISO TC 207 Plenary Meeting • New Delhi, India • 4-12 September 2015

Organized back-to-back with the Indian LCM 2015, 14-15 September 2015.

5) LCA XV • Vancouver, Canada • 6-8 October 2015

6) Expo 2015 • Milan, Italy • 6-8 October 2015

See the rest of the year’s events on our Upcoming Events page!

back to contents

Flashback: Recent Life Cycle Initiative Events & Activity

Click 'Learn more' for more information and photos.

1) LCA and LCA in Policy meetings in South East Asia • Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia • March 2015

The LC Initiative participated in a series of meetings in South East Asia in early March. LCA in Policy Dialogue in Thailand; the 4th International Forum on LCA Cooperation in Malaysia, and the LCA in Policy Dialogue in Malaysia; and last, the “Introduction of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) in Indonesia” workshop. In addition, the Global Network of Interoperable LCA Databases was launched on 11th March Malaysia. Learn more.

2) Workshop on Life Cycle Thinking • Bhutan • 7-10 April 2015

This workshop on Life Cycle Thinking co-organised by Bhutan National Environment Commission (NEC) and FICCI, aimed at raising awareness and promoting an understanding of Life Cycle Approaches.

The first half-day targeted high-level government officials and was chaired by Bhutanese Minister of Finance, Lyonpo Namgay Dorji. Shri Neeraj Kumar Gupta, from the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, India, gave the keynote address. Further training was given over 3 days to civil servants and industry representatives. Learn more.

back to contents

Life Cycle Jobs

Two PhD Student openings at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology

The Department of Energy and Process Engineering in Trondheim is advertising two positions:

• Development of life cycle impact assessment methodologies for impacts on ecosystems from (onshore) wind power production (IVT-65/15).

• Development of life cycle impact assessment methodologies for impacts on ecosystems from hydropower production (IVT-64/15)

back to contents

Secretariat of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative

For more information, please visit our website, or feel free to contact us by email.