How Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is aiding Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in results interpretation

Zanghelini, Guilherme Marcelo; Cherubini, Edivan; Soares, Sebastião Roberto

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.230

Cited by 153 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In order to provide multiple perspectives in the impact assessment and facilitate exploring trade‐offs between different impacts, several efforts have been taken to couple LCA with a multicriteria decision analytic approach (MCDA) (Linkov & Seager, ; Seager & Linkov, ; Tsang, Bates, Madison, & Linkov, ; Zanghelini, Cherubini, & Soares, ). MCDA refers to a group of methods used to expand understanding of a complex or uncertain decision making process such as assessing best options among emerging technologies (e.g., nanomaterials).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: A review

Moni

Mahmud

High

et al. 2019

J of Industrial Ecology

199

118

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent literature, prospective application of life cycle assessment (LCA) at low technology readiness levels (TRL) has gained immense interest for its potential to enable development of emerging technologies with improved environmental performances. However, limited data, uncertain functionality, scale up issues and uncertainties make it very challenging for the standard LCA guidelines to evaluate emerging technologies and requires methodological advances in the current LCA framework. In this paper, we review published literature to identify major methodological challenges and key research efforts to resolve these issues with a focus on recent developments in five major areas: cross-study comparability, data availability and quality, scale-up issues, uncertainty and uncertainty communication, and assessment time. We also provide a number of recommendations for future research to support the evaluation of emerging technologies at low technology readiness levels: (a) the development of a consistent framework and reporting methods for LCA of emerging technologies; (b) the integration of other tools with LCA, such as multicriteria decision analysis, risk analysis, technoeconomic analysis; and (c) the development of a data repository for emerging materials, processes, and technologies. K E Y W O R D S emerging technology, ex ante LCA, industrial ecology, life cycle assessment (LCA), technoeconomic analysis (TEA), technology readiness level (TRL)

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: A review

Moni

Mahmud

High

et al. 2019

J of Industrial Ecology

199

118

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, the adopted methodology can be applied to other studies in order to analyze different road projects and facilitate knowledge-based comparative assertions. Although the LCA results are quantitative, however in a (green) public procurement procedure, a decision process should identify the least environmentally damaging choice from a multidimensional perspective [45]. Comparison of all indicators against each other, which is possible only when all the adopted rules and procedures coincide, is not simple because the quantity of data, the multiple unit of measures, the various media to which substances outflow, therefore, a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) needs to interpret the results [46] and solve the trade-off between environmental impacts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Analysis of Road Construction and Use

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Both the construction and use of roads have a range of environmental impacts; therefore, it is important to assess the sources of their burdens to adopt correct mitigation policies. Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a useful method to obtain demonstrable, accurate and non-misleading information for decision-making experts. The study presents a "cradle to gate with options" LCA of a provincial road during 60 year-service life. Input data derive from the bill of quantity of the project and their impacts have been evaluated according to the European standard EN 15804. The study considers the impacts of the construction and maintenance stages, lighting, and use of the vehicles on the built road. The results obtained from a SimaPro model highlight that the almost half of impacts took place during the construction stage rather than the use stage. Therefore, the adoption of environmentally friendly road planning procedures, the use of low-impact procedures in the production of materials, and the use of secondary raw materials could have the largest potential for reducing environmental impacts.

show abstract

“…Seager and Linkov () emphasized the benefit of coupling LCA with MCDA to better understand tradeoffs and multiple perspectives. Zanghelini, Cherubini, and Soares () stated that MCDA is specifically useful to integrate social, economic, and environmental aspects. Other factors usually included in MCDA are cost, comfort, structural, and thermal performance, with varying focus on different indicators, service life, or appropriateness for local context (Chantrelle, Lahmidi, Keilholz, Mankibi, & Michel, ).…”

Section: Methods and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Using anticipatory life cycle assessment to enable future sustainable construction

Göswein

Rodrigues

Silvestre

et al. 2019

J of Industrial Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The built environment is the largest single emitter of CO2 and an important consumer of energy. Much research has gone into the improved efficiency of building operation and construction products. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is commonly used to assess existing buildings or building products. Classic LCA, however, is not suited for evaluating the environmental performance of developing technologies. A new approach, anticipatory LCA (a‐LCA), promises various advantages and can be used as a design constraint during the product development stage. It helps overcome four challenges: (i) data availability, (ii) stakeholder inclusion, (iii) risk assessment, and (iv) multi‐criteria problems. This article's contribution to the line of research is twofold: first, it adapts the a‐LCA approach for construction‐specific purposes in theoretical terms for the four challenges. Second, it applies the method to an innovative prefabricated modular envelope system, the CleanTechBlock (CTB), focusing on challenge (i). Thirty‐six CTB designs are tested and compared to conventional walls. Inclusion of technology foresight is achieved through structured scenario analysis. Moreover, challenge (iv) is tackled through the analysis of different environmental impact categories, transport‐related impacts, and thickness of the wall assemblies of the CTB. The case study results show that optimized material choice and product design is needed to reach the lowest environmental impact. Methodological findings highlight the importance of context‐specific solutions and the need for benchmarking new products.

show abstract

How Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is aiding Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in results interpretation

Cited by 153 publications

References 79 publications

Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: A review

Life cycle assessment of emerging technologies: A review

Life Cycle Analysis of Road Construction and Use

Using anticipatory life cycle assessment to enable future sustainable construction

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About