Ways to get work done: a review and systematisation of simplification practices in the LCA literature

PurposeWithin the field of life cycle assessment (LCA), simplifications are a response to the practical restrictions in the context of a study. In the 1990s, simplifications were part of a debate on streamlining within LCA. Since then, many studies have been published on simplifying LCA but with little attention to systematise the approaches available. Also, despite being pervasive during the making of LCA studies, simplifications remain often invisible in the final results. This paper therefore reviews the literature on simplification in LCA in order to systematise the approaches found today.MethodsA review of the LCA simplification literature was conducted. The systematic search and selection process led to a sample of 166 publications. During the review phase, the conceptual contributions to the simplification discourse were evaluated. A dataset of 163 entries was created, listing the conceptual contributions to the simplification debate. An empirically grounded analysis led to the generative development of a systematisation of simplifications according to their underlying simplifying logic.Results and discussionFive simplifying logics were identified: exclusion, inventory data substitution, qualitative expert judgment, standardisation and automation. Together, these simplifying logics inform 13 simplification strategies. The identified logics represent approaches to handle the complexities of product systems and expectations of the users of LCA results with the resources available to the analyst. Each simplification strategy is discussed with regard to its main applications and challenges.ConclusionsThis paper provides a first systematisation of the different simplification logics frequently applied in LCA since the original streamlining discussion. The presented terminology can help making communication about simplification more explicit and transparent, thus important for the credibility of LCA. Despite the pervasiveness of simplification in LCA, there is a relative lack of research on simplification per se, making further research describing simplification as a practice and analysing simplifications methodologically desirable

Bridging the gap between assessment and action: recommendations for the effective use of LCA in the building process

Environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) witnesses increasing popularity in the built environment. LCA stimulates among others an efficient use of natural resources and a reduction of carbon emissions through quantification of material and energy inputs and emissions in the building life cycle. Thereby, LCA aspires to contribute to SDG12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. Despite high ambitions, the actual influence of LCA in construction projects is often modest. The mere application of LCA methodology in a building project is insufficient to produce a more environmentally friendly building. To better understand the practical conditions under which an LCA may induce change in a building project, we propose to analyse the use of LCA from a processual perspective. This paper presents a case study of a building product development project in which a processual perspective is applied on LCA. Using a longitudinal ethnographic methodology, key actors are followed through environmentally relevant episodes as the building project matures. A progressive LCA quantifies the potential environmental impact of the project as it progresses through different stages of the building process. Based on the learnings from this study, recommendations are presented to support the effective use of LCA in sustainable building practices, and contribute to SDG12 on sustainable consumption and production patterns

Simplifying LCA use in the life cycle of residential buildings in Sweden

This thesis discusses the use of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) in the building life cycle. While the life cycle of a residential building is an important source of environmental concern, knowledge about LCA remains scarce and sporadic in most construction companies. In anticipation of a regulatory requirement for LCA-based climate declarations, construction companies in Sweden are expressing increasing interest in applying LCA to residential buildings. However, despite this interest, many companies experience difficulties making effective use of the potential that LCA may have to shape environmental action in the building process. The aim of this licentiate is to clarify the conditions that hinder a more effective use of LCA. It addresses whether LCA is too complex to be used effectively, and whether there are other conditions that may require attention. In addition, it examines whether simplification of LCA may be a meaningful way to stimulate LCA use in the building life cycle. A literature-based exploration of LCA use in the building context was conducted. The results of this exploration identify central problems with LCA use for residential buildings and focus specifically on the complexity of building LCA. In addition, this licentiate provides an empirically informed account of the experiences and perceived problems with residential building LCA in Swedish construction companies. Perceptions of LCA analysts and environmental managers were explored in an interview-based study. In addition, nine LCA studies were conducted on multifamily residential buildings using data from these construction companies. The findings in this licentiate indicate that while complexity should not be discounted, it cannot explain the ineffective use of LCA in the building life cycle. Even if LCA may be difficult to understand, the types of complexity involved are not essentially different from those tackled successfully elsewhere in the building process. In addition, there are several other reasons that explain why LCA is considered difficult to use. Problems with demand, resources, data availability, and competence all contribute to an environment in which performing LCA is more difficult than necessary. A review of available LCA simplification strategies is presented to tackle complexity in building LCA. A systematic search and review was conducted using the simplification literature. The results suggest a wide variety of established simplification techniques, following five central simplifying logics: exclusion, data-substitution, expert judgement, standardisation, and automation. These simplification strategies can be used to more easily apply LCA in a building context.In 2022, the use of LCA-based climate declarations will become a state requirement in the Swedish building sector. In order to make more effective use of LCA in the building life cycle, it is not enough to merely apply LCA to calculate the greenhouse gas emission of a finished building design. If the ambition is to make use of the full potential of LCA for industry and ecology, it is necessary to more actively integrate LCA in the planning, design, and construction of residential buildings

Islamitisch basisonderwijs in Nederland

Al sinds de oprichting in 1988 is het islamitisch basisonderwijs in Nederland een bron van discussie. De ontwikkeling ervan heeft de afgelopen dertig jaar niet stilgestaan en geeft aanleiding tot nieuwe inzichten. Toch worden in de discussie al jarenlang dezelfde argumenten gebruikt.Hoe geven de verschillende islamitische basisscholen vandaag de dag vorm aan hun identiteit? En hoe wegen zij de verschillende maatschappelijkedebatten over de islam daarin af?Dit boek laat – met een focus op de identiteitsvorming - de leerkrachten en directieleden zelf aan het woord en probeert de verschillen in waarden, normen en gewoonten van binnenuit te duiden.Islamitische basisscholen blijken steeds meer aandacht te hebben voor de maatschappelijke context. Ook wordt inzichtelijk dat islamitische basisscholen zich van andere basisscholen onderscheiden vanwege hun interne diversiteit en de continue dialoog met die maatschappelijke context.Dit boek is een pleidooi voor genuanceerder denken over en handelen rond het islamitisch basisonderwijs in Nederland. De totstandkoming van dit proefschrift werd financieel mogelijk gemaakt door de Promotiebeurs voor Leraren (projectnummer 023.002.043) van de Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO).Religious Studie

Optimizing make-to-stock policies through a robust lot-sizing model

In this paper we consider a practical lot-sizing problem faced by an industrial company. The company plans the production for a set of products following a Make-To-Order policy. When the productive capacity is not fully used, the remaining capacity is devoted to the production of those products whose orders are typically quite below the established minimum production level. For these products the company follows a Make-To-Stock (MTS) policy since part of the production is to fulfill future estimated orders. This yields a particular lot-sizing problem aiming to decide which products should be produced and the corresponding batch sizes. These lot-sizing problems typically face uncertain demands, which we address here through the lens of robust optimization. First we provide a mixed integer formulation assuming the future demands are deterministic and we tighten the model with valid inequalities. Then, in order to account for uncertainty of the demands, we propose a robust approach where demands are assumed to belong to given intervals and the number of deviations to the nominal estimated value is limited. As the number of products can be large and some instances may not be solved to optimality, we propose two heuristics. Computational tests are conducted on a set of instances generated from real data provided by our industrial partner. The heuristics proposed are fast and provide good quality solutions for the tested instances. Moreover, since they are based on the mathematical model and use simple strategies to reduce the instances size, these heuristics could be extended to solve other multi-item lot-sizing problems where demands are uncertain.publishe