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PEOPLE@HES-SO – Annuaire et Répertoire des compétences
PEOPLE@HES-SO – Annuaire et Répertoire des compétences

PEOPLE@HES-SO
Annuaire et Répertoire des compétences

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Margni Manuele

Margni Manuele

Professeur-e HES Ordinaire

Compétences principales

Métriques de soutenabilité

Analyse du Cycle de Vie

Analyse des Flux de Matière

Modélisation environnementale

Production durable

Ecologie Industrielle

  • Contact

  • Enseignement

  • Publications

  • Conférences

Contrat principal

Professeur-e HES Ordinaire

Téléphone: +41 58 606 88 51

Bureau: ENP.23.N401/EPFL

HES-SO Valais-Wallis - Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie
Rue de l'Industrie 23, 1950 Sion, CH
HEI - VS
Domaine
Technique et IT
Filière principale
Energie et techniques environnementales
Institut
Institut Energie et environnement
BSc HES-SO en Energie et techniques environnementales - HES-SO Valais-Wallis - Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie
  • Gestion environnementale
Energy Science and Technology - EPFL
  • Life Cycle Assessment

2024

Comparative life cycle analysis of electrolyzer technologies for hydrogen production :
Article scientifique ArODES
manufacturing and operations

Xinyi Wei, Shivom Sharma, Arthur Waeber, Du Wen, Suhas Nuggehalli Sampathkumar, Manuele Margni, François Maréchal, Jan Van Herle

Joule,  2024, 8, 12, 3347-3372

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Résumé:

This study conducts a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of four electrolyzer technologies: alkaline electrolyzer (AEL), proton-exchange membrane (PEM), anion-exchange membrane (AEM), and solid oxide electrolyzer (SOE). It evaluates their environmental impacts across four main categories: climate change (CC), human health (HH), ecosystem quality (EQ), and abiotic stock resources (ASRs). In order to highlight the critical raw materials (CRMs) used in their manufacturing processes, the research identifies potential material replacements and reveals distinct environmental impacts associated with material choices, such as steel in AEL and AEM, platinum in PEM, and nickel in both SOE and AEL. Additionally, we examine the integration of diverse electrolyzer technologies under various scenarios of renewable electricity sources. Together with a sensitivity analysis of regional electricity mixes and the degradation of stacks across different years, the study provides insights into significant opportunities for performance enhancements in emerging electrolyzer technologies.

Power shift :
Article scientifique ArODES
quantifying the role of actors in the multi-actor Swiss energy system decentralization

Jonas Schnidrig, Arthur Chuat, Julia Granacher, Cédric Terrier, François Maréchal, Manuele Margni

Frontiers in Energy Research,  2024, 12

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Résumé:

The global transition to decentralized energy systems signifies a fundamental transformation toward sustainable energy paradigms. This study specifically focuses on the Swiss energy system, analyzing how dynamic pricing influences the strategic decisions of different actors. The main contributions include 1) a detailed examination of pricing models tailored to the Swiss context, 2) an exploration of strategic financial burden shifts among end-users, TSOs, and DSOs, and 3) a comparison of decentralized versus centralized energy models, highlighting their respective efficiencies and resilience. This research differentiates from existing literature by providing an in-depth actor-based analysis within a Swiss context, offering valuable insights into decentralized energy system optimization. This study tackles the problem of how pricing influences strategic decisions across different actors in Switzerland’s evolving decentralized energy landscape. Here we show that a carefully tailored pricing model, designed for the Swiss context, enables optimized strategies that balance local efficiencies with systemic equity and resilience. The analysis reveals that decentralized approaches, in contrast to centralized models, not only accommodate diverse stakeholder preferences but also enhance system robustness against market and operational disruptions. Moreover, the study illustrates the strategic financial burden shifting where end-users compensate for cost shifts, with observed additional costs up to 5200 CHF/year cap when service providers are prioritized as objective actors. Notably, the most frequently selected system configuration in the primal problem, which optimizes the total system costs, aligns with the preferences of TSO and DSO for a 47.1 GW PV deployment. However, end-users demonstrate a preference for increased PV installations, constrained by urban grid capacities. Additionally, the study highlights significant regional disparities across Switzerland, necessitating tailored pricing approaches that reflect varied urban forms. The emergence of prosumers catalyzes new business models, redistributing investments across TSOs (256–261 CHF/cap/year), DSOs (244–413 CHF/cap/year), and prosumers (556–764 CHF/cap/year), showcasing the evolving dynamics of energy system economics.

What drives companies’ progress on their emission reduction targets ?
Article scientifique ArODES

Anne-France Bolay, Anders Bjorn, Laure Patouillard, Olaf Weber, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2024, 468, 143124

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Résumé:

As the importance of non-state mitigation actions in the transition to a low-carbon economy becomes firmly established, a rapidly growing number of companies are setting corporate climate mitigation targets. Shareholders increasingly value these commitments, conveying the impression of good future carbon performance. However, a critical question emerges: why do some companies progress better than others toward their climate mitigation targets? There is currently a lack of empirical literature assessing companies’ progress against their mitigation targets. Using a new indicator to evaluate the progress against individual corporate climate mitigation targets in a comparable manner, this study presents an explanatory analysis of 120 determinants applied to 4341 climate mitigation targets (scope 1 and 2 emissions) of 2975 companies reporting to the 2020 CDP questionnaire. The target progress assessment shows that 30% of targets have increased emissions since their base year, 15% have reduced their emissions but not at a sufficient pace, while 55% were on track to achieving or had already achieved their targets. In addition, 18% of targets were already achieved the year the target was set, which may be due to choosing a base year with unusually high emissions. The findings reveal 19 key determinants significantly associated with the progress against corporate targets and highlight future research orientation. Our results indicate better progression by companies having absolute targets with longer timeframes and disclosing additional, as well as remuneration links to climate-related issues. Companies with more ambitious targets progress less than others, except when the ambitious targets are approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative. The latter implies ambitious targets from some firms may only be symbolic, and that investors should consider both target ambition and progress. Clear guidance and regulations should be implemented by policymakers to prevent misleading target information. Future research should address limitations related to reliance on self-reported data and exclusion of scope 3 emissions targets, along with the research directions suggested by the findings.

Estimating and reducing dissipative losses in thermal spray :
Article scientifique ArODES
a parametrized material flow analysis approach

Mohamad Kaddoura, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Ben Amor, Dominique Poirier, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2024, 450, 141978

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Résumé:

Thermal spray is a family of surface engineering technologies necessary to meet technical functionalities of components under harsh environmental conditions. Those technologies come at the expense of dissipative losses of coating materials throughout the life cycle of components. Measuring these material losses has so far retained little attention in the field. This research provides a framework to estimate material dissipative losses in surface engineering applications based on specific parameters, mainly deposition efficiencies. We applied material flow analysis to quantify dissipative losses for the main metals used in thermal spray (Cr, Co, Mo, Ni, Si, W, Y and Zr). Results show that the coating process is the most contributing life cycle stage (up to 39% of the losses). Improving the deposition efficiency, recovering the unadhered and stripping the components at their end-of-life are key material efficiency strategies to reduce the material losses (up to 50%).

Power to the people :
Article scientifique ArODES
on the role of districts in decentralized energy systems

Jonas Schnidrig, Arthur Chuat, Cédric Terrier, François Maréchal, Manuele Margni

Energies,  2024, 17, 7, 1718

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Résumé:

The transition towards renewable and decentralized energy systems is propelled by the urgent need to address climate concerns and advance sustainable development globally. This transformation requires innovative methods to integrate stochastic renewable sources such as solar and wind power and challenging traditional energy paradigms rooted in centralized and continuous energy production. The present study focuses on the Swiss energy system to explore the optimization of energy planning strategies that incorporate decentralized energy production within a centralized framework. Here, we show that a strategic approach to decentralization can significantly reduce annual system costs by 10% to CHF 1230 per capita and increase self-consumption to 68% of the decentralized PV production, emphasizing the need for a hybrid energy-planning model that balances centralized and decentralized models for enhanced system resilience, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. This research underscores the strategic importance of diversifying energy sources, enhancing energy storage, improving grid flexibility, and laying a foundational framework for policy making and strategic planning. It encourages further investigation into climate impacts, technology synergy, and the integration of district heating, aiming to establish a resilient, sustainable, and autonomous energy future.

Optimization of the end-of-life tire repartition within the European treatment system to minimize its environmental impacts
Article scientifique ArODES

Lisa Duval, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, François Saunier, François Maréchal, Manuele Margni

Journal of Industrial Ecology,  2024, 28, 3, 512-526

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Résumé:

This study contrasts two different approaches to inform European-scale decision-making to mitigate the environmental impacts of the end-of-life tires (ELT) management system. The first analysis is a traditional life cycle assessment (LCA) that compares the environmental performances of the 12 main available European end-of-life (EOL) technologies in ELT processing while restricting the boundaries to the EOL stage. The second analysis has a broader scope, addressing the optimization of the ELT distribution within the 12 considered pathways to minimize the environmental impacts of the total tire use in Europe under present capacity and constraints. The results of the traditional LCA show that, except for landfill, all the tested EOL routes present environmental benefits. Material recovery pathways bring the most environmental credits, whereas civil engineering pathways are the least promising. The LCA results that emerged from the optimization of ELT management technologies yield two optimal technological mixes that maximize the quantity of ELT recycled in molded objects production: such results represent a hypothetical case with no constraints. When considering constraints, that is, limitations on maximum quantities of ELT that can undergo retreading, pyrolysis, or recycling in synthetic turfs, in molded objects and in production, the number of optimal technology mixes increases to five. The type of technologies favored depends on the minimized impact categories (climate change, fossil and nuclear energy use, human health, and ecosystem quality). A comparison between constrained and unconstrained scenarios shows that achieving the best environmental performances is conditional to the accessibility of the EOL technologies as well as their individual environmental impacts.

2023

Postpandemic evaluation of the eco-efficiency of personal protective equipment against COVID-19 in emergency departments :
Article scientifique ArODES
proposal for a mixed methods study

Simon Berthelot, Yves Longtin, Manuele Margni

JMIR Research Protocols,  12, e50682

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Résumé:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on emergency department (ED) care in Canada and around the world. To prevent transmission of COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE) was required for all ED care providers in contact with suspected cases. With mass vaccination and improvements in several infection prevention components, our hypothesis is that the risks of transmission of COVID-19 will be significantly reduced and that current PPE use will have economic and ecological consequences that exceed its anticipated benefits. Evidence is needed to evaluate PPE use so that recommendations can ensure the clinical, economic, and environmental efficiency (ie, eco-efficiency) of its use. To support the development of recommendations for the eco-efficient use of PPE, our research objectives are to (1) estimate the clinical effectiveness (reduced transmission, hospitalizations, mortality, and work absenteeism) of PPE against COVID-19 for health care workers; (2) estimate the financial cost of using PPE in the ED for the management of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients; and (3) estimate the ecological footprint of PPE use against COVID-19 in the ED. We will conduct a mixed method study to evaluate the eco-efficiency of PPE use in the 5 EDs of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval (Québec, Canada). To achieve our goals, the project will include four phases: systematic review of the literature to assess the clinical effectiveness of PPE (objective 1; phase 1); cost estimation of PPE use in the ED using a time-driven activity-based costing method (objective 2; phase 2); ecological footprint estimation of PPE use using a life cycle assessment approach (objective 3; phase 3); and cost-consequence analysis and focus groups (integration of objectives 1 to 3; phase 4). The first 3 phases have started. The results of these phases will be available in 2023. Phase 4 will begin in 2023 and results will be available in 2024. While the benefits of PPE use are likely to diminish as health care workers’ immunity increases, it is important to assess its economic and ecological impacts to develop recommendations to guide its eco-efficient use.

Differentiation of greenhouse gases in corporate science-based targets improves alignment with Paris temperature goal
Article scientifique ArODES

Anders Bjorn, Shannon Lloyd, Urs Schenker, Manuele Margni, Annie Levasseur, Maxime Agez, H. Damon Matthews

Environmental Research Letters,  18, 8, 084007

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Résumé:

Companies are increasingly setting greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets to align with the 1.5 °C goal of the Paris Agreement. Currently, companies set these science-based targets (SBTs) for aggregate GHGs expressed in CO2-equivalent emissions. This approach does not specify which gases will be reduced and risk misalignment with ambitious mitigation scenarios in which individual gas emissions are mitigated at different rates. We propose that companies instead set reduction targets for separate baskets of GHGs, defined according to the atmospheric lifetimes and global mitigation potentials of GHGs. We use a sector-level analysis to approximate the average impact of this proposal on company SBTs. We apply a multiregional environmentally extended input output model and a range of 1.5 °C emissions scenarios to compare 1-, 2- and 3-basket approaches for calculating sector-level SBTs for direct (scope 1) and indirect (scope 2 and upstream scope 3) emissions for all major global sectors. The multi-basket approaches lead to higher reduction requirements for scope 1 and 2 emissions than the current single-basket approach for most sectors, because these emission sources are usually dominated by CO2, which is typically mitigated faster than other gases in 1.5 °C scenarios. Exceptions are scope 1 emissions for fossil and biological raw material production and waste management, which are dominated by other GHGs (mainly CH4 and N2O). On the other hand, upstream scope 3 reduction targets at the sector level often become less ambitious with a multi-basket approach, owing mainly to substantial shares of CH4 and, in some cases, non-CO2 long-lived emissions. Our results indicate that a shift to a multi-basket approach would improve the alignment of SBTs with the Paris temperature goal and would require most of the current set of companies with approved SBTs to increase the ambition of their scope 1 and scope 2 targets. More research on the implications of a multi-basket approach on company-level SBTs for all scope 3 activities (downstream, as well as upstream) is needed.

On the role of energy infrastructure in the energy transition. Case study of an energy independent and CO2 neutral energy system for Switzerland
Article scientifique ArODES

Jonas Schnidrig, Rachid Cherkaoui, Yasmine Calisesi, Manuele Margni, François Maréchal

Frontiers in Energy Research,  11

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Résumé:

The transition towards renewable energy is leading to an important strain on the energy grids. The question of designing and deploying renewable energy technologies in symbiosis with existing grids and infrastructure is arising. While current energy system models mainly focus on the energy transformation system or only investigate the effect on one energy vector grid, we present a methodology to characterize different energy vector grids and storage, integrated into the multi-energy and multi-sector modeling framework EnergyScope. The characterization of energy grids is achieved through a traditional energy technology and grid modeling approach, integrating economic and technical parameters. The methodology has been applied to the case study of a country with a high existing transmission infrastructure density, e.g., Switzerland, switching from a fossil fuel-based system to a high share of renewable energy deployment. The results show that the economic optimum with high shares of renewable energy requires the electric distribution grid reinforcement with 2.439 GW (+61%) Low Voltage (LV) and 4.626 GW (+82%) Medium Voltage (MV), with no reinforcement required at transmission level [High Voltage (HV) and Extra High Voltage (EHV)]. The reinforcement is due to high shares of LV-Photovoltaic (PV) (15.4 GW) and MV-wind (20 GW) deployment. Without reinforcement, additional biomass is required for methane production, which is stored in 4.8–5.95 TWh methane storage tanks to compensate for seasonal intermittency using the existing gas infrastructure. In contrast, hydro storage capacity is used at a maximum of 8.9 TWh. Furthermore, the choice of less efficient technologies to avoid reinforcement results in a 8.5%–9.3% cost penalty compared to the cost of the reinforced system. This study considers a geographically averaged and aggregated model, assuming all production and consumption are made in one single spot, not considering the role of future decentralization of the energy system, leading to a possible overestimation of grid reinforcement needs.

How much sorting is required for a circular low carbon aluminum economy?
Article scientifique ArODES

Julien Pedneault, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Manuele Margni

Journal of Industrial Ecology,  27, 3, 977-992

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Résumé:

Aluminum recycling follows a downcycling dynamic where wrought alloys are transformed into cast alloys, accumulating tramp elements at every cycle. With the saturation of stocks of aluminum and the reduction of the demand for cast alloy due to electrification of transport, improvement in the recycling system must be made to avoid a surplus of unused recycled aluminum, reduce the overall environmental impacts of the industry, and move toward a circular economy. We aim to evaluate the potential environmental benefits of improving sorting efforts by combining operations research, prospective material flow analysis, and life cycle assessment. An optimization defines the optimal sorting to minimize climate change impacts according to different sorting efforts, dismantling conditions, and collection rates. Results show how the improvement of sorting can reduce by around 30% the greenhouse gas emissions of the industry, notably by reducing unused scrap generation and increasing the recycled content of the flows that supply the demand of aluminum. The best performance is achievable with four different sorting pathways. Further improvements occur with a better dismantling and an increase of collection rates, but it requires more sorting pathways. Results point to different closed-loop recycling initiatives that should be promoted on priority in specific sectors, like the building and construction sector and the aluminum cans industry. To implement a better material circularity, the mobilization of different stakeholders is needed. From a wider perspective, the article shows how operations research can be used to project a circular future in a specific industry. This article met the requirements for a Gold–Gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges.

Planning sustainable carbon neutrality pathways :
Article scientifique ArODES
accounting challenges experienced by organizations and solutions from industrial ecology

Anne de Bortoli, Anders Bjorn, François Saunier, Manuele Margni

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  28, 7, 746-770

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Résumé:

Purpose : Planning a transition towards sustainable carbon neutrality at the organization level raises several accounting challenges. This paper aims to shed light on key challenges, highlight answers from current accounting standards and guidance, point out potential inconsistencies or limits, and outline potential solutions from the industrial ecology community through systemic environmental assessment tools, such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmentally-extended input–output (EEIO) analysis. Method : The study is based on the accounting difficulties related to GHG emissions as well as other sustainability concerns (environmental, social, and financial), reported to the authors by multiple organizations in developing carbon neutrality plans. The study then draws on a literature review of carbon neutrality-related standards and guidelines, as well as industrial ecology studies, to identify answers to these reported challenges. Results and discussion : We propose a “Measure-Reduce-Neutralize-Control” sequence allowing organizations to plan their sustainable net-zero strategy, and discuss 24 accounting challenges occurring within this sequence. We then outline ways forward for organizations planning their carbon neutrality trajectory—pointing to existing resources—and for guidelines providers and the industrial ecology communities to address current limitations in the development of future accounting methods and guidelines. Overarching solutions to many accounting issues are to develop comprehensive, open-source, and high-quality life cycle inventory databases, to enable improved dynamic assessments and prospective LCA through integrated assessment models, to refine methods for assessing mineral scarcity and environmental impacts—the supply in some metals being expected to be a bottleneck to the energy transition—and to identify the appropriate climate metrics for planning sustainable carbon neutrality pathways at the organizational level. Conclusion : Organizations are currently facing difficulties in robustly accounting for emissions in the context of carbon neutrality goals, and these difficulties appear to be partially caused by discrepancies between standards, tools, and databases. The industrial ecology community has a key role to play in harmonizing these resources and making them more useful for planning sustainable carbon neutrality pathways.

Spatialized life cycle assessment of fluid milk production and consumption in the United States
Article scientifique ArODES

Andrew D. Henderson, Anne Asselin-Balençon, Martin C. Heller, Jasmina Burek, Daeso Kim, Lindsay Lessard, Manuele Margni, Rosie Saad, Marty D. Matlock, Greg Thoma, Ying Wang, Olivier Jolliet

Sustainability,  15, 3, 1890

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Résumé:

Purpose: Understanding the main factors affecting the environmental impacts of milk production and consumption along the value chain is key towards reducing these impacts. This paper aims to present detailed spatialized distributions of impacts associated with milk production and consumption across the United States (U.S.), accounting for locations of both feed and on-farm activities, as well as variations in impact intensity. Using a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach, focus is given to impacts related to (a) water consumption, (b) eutrophication of marine and freshwater, (c) land use, (d) human toxicity and ecotoxicity, and (e) greenhouse gases. Methods: Drawing on data representing regional agricultural practices, feed production is modelled for 50 states and 18 main watersheds and linked to regions of milk production in a spatialized matrix-based approach to yield milk produced at farm gate. Milk processing, distribution, retail, and consumption are then modelled at a national level, accounting for retail and consumer losses. Custom characterization factors are developed for freshwater and marine eutrophication in the U.S. context. Results and discussion: In the overall life cycle, up to 30% of the impact per kg milk consumed is due to milk losses that occur during the retail and consumption phases (i.e., after production), emphasizing the importance of differentiating between farm gate and consumer estimates. Water scarcity is the impact category with the highest spatial variability. Watersheds in the western part of the U.S. are the dominant contributors to the total water consumed, with 80% of water scarcity impacts driven by only 40% of the total milk production. Freshwater eutrophication also has strong spatial variation, with high persistence of emitted phosphorus in Midwest and Great Lakes area, but high freshwater eutrophication impacts associated with extant phosphorus concentration above 100 µg/L in the California, Missouri, and Upper Mississippi water basins. Overall, normalized impacts of fluid milk consumption represent 0.25% to 0.8% of the annual average impact of a person living in the U.S. As milk at farm gate is used for fluid milk and other dairy products, the production of milk at farm gate represents 0.5% to 3% of this annual impact. Dominant contributions to human health impacts are from fine particulate matter and from climate change, whereas ecosystem impacts of milk are mostly due to land use and water consumption. Conclusion: This study provides a systematic, national perspective on the environmental impacts of milk production and consumption in the United States, showing high spatial variation in inputs, farm practices, and impacts.

2022

An instrumental value-based framework for assessing the damages of abiotic resources use in life cycle assessment
Article scientifique ArODES

Titouan Greffe, Manuele Margni, Cécile Bulle

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  28, 1, 53-69

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Résumé:

Introduction and literature review : Abiotic resources are extensively used in industrialized societies to deliver multiple services that contribute to human well-being. Their increased extraction and use can potentially reduce their accessibility, increase competition among users, and ultimately lead to a deficit of those services. Life cycle assessment is a relevant tool to assess the potential damages of dissipating natural resources. Building on the general consensus recommending evaluating the damages on the instrumental value of resources to humans in order to assess the consequences of resources dissipation, this research work proposes a novel conceptual framework to assess the potential loss of services provided by abiotic resources, which when facing unmet demand can lead to a deficit to human users and have consequences on human well-being. Results : A framework is proposed to describe the mechanisms that link human intervention on the resources in the accessible stock to competition among users. Users facing the deficit of resource services are assumed to have to pay to recover the services, using backup technologies. The mechanisms that are proposed to be characterized are dissipation and degradation. Data needed to later operationalize the framework for abiotic resources are identified. It also proposes a framework at the life cycle inventory level to harmonize life cycle inventories with the current impact assessment framework to fully characterize impacts on resource services. It regards ensuring mass balances of elements between inputs and outputs of life cycle inventory datasets as well as including the functionality of resource flows. Discussion and conclusions : The framework provides recommendations for the development of operational life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods for resource services deficit assessment. It establishes the impact pathway to damage on the area of protection “Resource Services”, data needed to feed the model and recommendations to improve the current state of life cycle inventories to be harmonized with the LCIA framework.

Prospective sectoral GHG benchmarks based on corporate climate mitigation targets
Article scientifique ArODES

Anne-France Bolay, Anders Bjorn, Olaf Weber, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2022, 376, 134220

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Résumé:

As climate change becomes firmly acknowledged as a financial risk, shareholders must consider corporate GHG performance to inform responsible investment decisions. To mitigate future climate risks, prospective benchmarks based on corporate climate mitigation targets are increasingly demanded by shareholders. However, existing benchmarks often lack sufficient sectoral coverage or fail to appropriately harmonize target metrics, scope, and corresponding timeframes. A harmonization process was developed which allows the calculation of sector-level prospective GHG benchmarks in terms of absolute or intensity GHG metrics. This process was applied to harmonize scope 1 and 2 emission targets of 1697 companies reporting in 2018 CDP questionnaires across 13 sectors using 2017 as the common reference year. Results indicate the importance of using a sectoral approach and applying a common reference year to avoid considering reductions occurring before the target was launched due to company choice of target reference year. In 2030, the lowest and highest median reduction rates values are −9% and −36% for fossil fuels and power generation sectors respectively. The findings obtained strongly suggest targeted percentage of reductions should not be the only metric considered when comparing corporate climate mitigation targets amongst peers. Target progress when the target was announced and at a common reference year was found to be an important metric to assess potential greenwashing or poor ambition. In 14% of cases, targets were already achieved when company launched them.

Measuring shared value creation with eco-efficiency :
Article scientifique ArODES
development of a multidimensional value framework for the dairy industry

Catherine Houssard, Jean-Pierre Revéret, Dominique Maxime, Yves Pouliot, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2022, 374, 133840

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Résumé:

The concept of creating shared value was first advanced by Harvard Business School and adopted by companies to develop sustainability strategies to maximize their positive impacts on society. Eco-efficiency is a sustainability concept and a prevalent operational decision support tool that assesses the environmental performance of a system as a function of its value. This paper proposes a novel multidimensional value eco-efficiency framework based on a life cycle perspective that broadens the value dimension assessment in keeping with the concept of creating shared value. The framework is tested and implemented in a case study in the Canadian dairy industry. It uses a systemic approach to compare the eco-efficiency performance of 11 multifunctional Greek yogurt systems delivering various co-products with different functions and economic values across the value chain. It makes it possible to identify the trade-offs between the environment and various value dimensions (economic or functional) based on stakeholders' interests. The results show that the scenarios that create the most economic value for the Greek yogurt processors do not perform as well for the other stakeholders along the value chain or in terms of overall environmental performance. By developing a multi-criteria value assessment, this enhanced eco-efficiency framework brings consistency in covering the same scope of analysis between value creation and environmental impacts. More specifically it breaks with the industry's prevailing value creation philosophy and value measurement in eco-efficiency analysis, which is usually based on cost-effectiveness and profit maximization for one stakeholder at the expense of the others in the value chain. Ultimately, it contributes to align companies' efforts in improving their eco-efficiency with sustainability goals and minimize the risk of burden shifting.

Sector-specific scenarios for future stocks and flows of aluminum :
Article scientifique ArODES
an analysis based on shared socioeconomic pathways

Julien Pedneault, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Stefan Pauliuk, Manuele Margni

Journal of Industrial Ecology,  2022, 26, 5, 1728-1746

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Résumé:

Aluminum is an energy-intensive material that is typically used as an alloy. The environmental impacts caused by its production can potentially be spread out over multiple uses through repeated recycling loops. However, inter-alloy contamination can limit the circularity of aluminum, which highlights the importance of analyzing prospective stock dynamics of aluminum at an alloy and alloying element level to inform a more sustainable management of this resource. A dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) of aluminum alloys was developed in line with the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP) framework to generate consistent scenarios of the evolution of aluminum stocks and flows from 2015 to 2100 covering 11 economic sectors in 5 world regions. A sector-specific and bottom-up modeling approach was developed. Results show no saturation of global stock per capita before 2100, reaching a range between 200 and 400 kg per capita according to different socioeconomic scenarios. For the business-as-usual scenario, the global annual inflow rises to 100 Mt in 2050 and peaks at 130 Mt in 2090, showing a saturation in total stock. Electricity-sector demand has the highest relative growth over the century, while building and construction demand saturates and decreases from 2090. No major mismatch between inflows and outflows of aluminum alloy is observed. This means that with appropriate dismantling and sorting, changes in alloy demand would not limit the implementation of a closed-loop aluminum industry. This study demonstrates the advantages of combining detailed MFAs and SSPs, both for greater consistency in circular economy modeling and for furthering scenario development efforts. This article met the requirements for a gold-gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges

The impacts of hydropower on freshwater macroinvertebrate richness :
Article scientifique ArODES
a global meta-analysis

Gabrielle Trottier, Katrine Turgeon, Daniel Boisclair, Cécile Bulle, Manuele Margni

PLOS ONE,  2022, 17, 8, e0273089

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Résumé:

Hydroelectric dams and their reservoirs have been suggested to affect freshwater biodiversity. Nevertheless, studies investigating the consequences of hydroelectric dams and reservoirs on macroinvertebrate richness have reached opposite conclusions. We performed a meta-analysis devised to elucidate the effects of hydropower, dams and reservoirs on macroinvertebrate richness while accounting for the potential role played by moderators such as biomes, impact types, study designs, sampling seasons and gears. We used a random/mixed-effects model, combined with robust variance estimation, to conduct the meta-analysis on 107 pairs of observations (i.e., impacted versus reference) extracted from 24 studies (more than one observation per study). Hydropower, dams and reservoirs did significantly impact (P = 0.04) macroinvertebrate richness in a clear, directional and statistically significant way, where macroinvertebrate richness in hydropower, dams and reservoirs impacted environments were significantly lower than in unimpacted environments. We also observed a large range of effect sizes, from very negative to very positive impacts of hydropower. We tried to account for the large variability in effect sizes using moderators, but none of the moderators included in the meta-analysis had statistically significant effects. This suggests that some other moderators (unavailable for the 24 studies) might be important (e.g., temperature, granulometry, wave disturbance and macrophytes) and that macroinvertebrate richness may be driven by local, smaller scale processes. As new studies become available, it would be interesting to keep enriching this meta-analysis, as well as collecting local habitat variables, to see if we could statistically strengthen and deepen the conclusions of this meta-analysis.

Investigating the role of surface engineering in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions of energy technologies :
Article scientifique ArODES
an outlook towards 2100

Mohamad Kaddoura, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Ben Amor, Christian Moreau, Manuele Margni

Sustainable Materials and Technologies,  2022, vol. 32, article e00425

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Résumé:

Energy improvements in the energy sector constitute a key strategy to mitigate climate change. These expected improvements increasingly depend on the development of materials with improved surface characteristics. To prospectively assess the large-scale benefits and trade-offs of such novel surface engineering (SE) technology deployments in the energy sector, an integrated modelling framework is proposed. This paper links an integrated assessment model (IAM) forecasting socio-economic changes in energy supply with life cycle assessment (LCA) models of targeted technology candidates. Different shared socio-economic pathway narratives are used with the MESSAGE IAM to forecast future energy supply scenarios. A dynamic vintage model is employed to model plants decommissioning and adoption rates of innovative SE. Potential benefits and impacts of SE are assessed through prospective LCA. The approach is used to estimate the prospective GHG emission reduction potential achieved by large-scale adoption of innovative SE technologies to improve the efficiency of four energy conversion technologies (coal power plants, gas turbines, wind turbines and solar panels) until 2100. Applying innovative SE technologies to the energy sector has the potential of reducing annual CO2-eq emissions by 1.8 Gt in 2050 and 3.4 Gt in 2100 in an optimistic socio-economic pathway scenario. This corresponds to 7% and 8.5% annual reduction in the energy sector in 2050 and 2100, respectively. The mitigation potential of applying innovative SE technologies highly depends on the energy technology, the socio-economic pathways, and the implementation of stringent GHG mitigation policies. Due to their high carbon intensity, fossil-based technologies showed a higher GHG mitigation potential compared to renewables. Besides, GHG emissions related to the SE processes are largely offset by the GHG savings of the energy conversion technologies where the innovative SE technologies are applied.

Freshwater consumption and domestic water deprivation in LCIA :
Article scientifique ArODES
revisiting the characterization of human health impacts

Laura Debarre, Anne-Marie Boulay, Manuele Margni

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2022, 27, 5, 740-754

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Résumé:

An insufficient amount of available domestic water can lead to an increase in the occurrence of water-related diseases. No LCIA consensus has been reached on how to model the potential impacts on human health resulting from water use implying domestic water deprivation. Building on Boulay et al. (2011), this research work provides an updated and revisited characterization model and factors assessing the potential impact on human health induced along this impact pathway. This work consolidates the cause-effect chain linking water use to domestic impacts on human health. The revised fate factor aligns current water use assessment methods and includes information not only on the physical water scarcity but also on the level of population access to water in a region. Building on Boulay et al. (2011), the global effect factor is revised. The data source is updated, and a novel approach is developed estimating the domestic water deficit. Country-scale exposure factors are updated, building on Boulay et al. (2011)’s proposal to rely on the gross national income per capita as a proxy for a country’s capacity to adapt to water shortages. Compared to Boulay et al. (2011), the revised fate and exposure factors show lower values as a result of different methodological choices and of the overall increase of GNI per capita, respectively. The revised value of the effect factor is equal to 3.13E-3DALY/m3 which compares to the value of 3.11E-3 in Boulay et al. (2011). Revised characterization factors (CF) range from 0 DALY/m3 (the potential impact on human health due to water use is null with respect to domestic water deprivation) to 3.13E-3 DALY/m3. The distribution of the new CFs shows an order of magnitude decrease compared to the previous model. These CFs assess the consequences on human health induced by water use leading to short-term water deprivation. This research work helps to better account for the impacts of water use at the endpoint level. However, it underlines significant limitations in the current calculation of the effect factor, in particular regarding current quantification of domestic water deprivation. These shortcomings prevent the model from considering a difference in vulnerability to health damages from the deprivation of 1 m3 of domestic water. This research work argues for additional research efforts aimed at developing an alternative calculation method for this factor.

Measuring the value of blockchain traceability in supporting LCA for textile products
Article scientifique ArODES

Vincent Carrières, Andrée-Anne Lemieux, Manuele Margni, Robert Pellerin, Sylvain Cariou

Sustainability,  2022, vol. 14, no. 4

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Résumé:

The efficiency of sustainability assessments of textile products is generally prevented because of a lack of available and reliable data across complex and globalized supply chains. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how blockchain traceability data can improve the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of textile products and to measure the actual value of exploiting this specific traceability data. To do so, a case study consisting of two LCAs modeling the production of wool top lots in China was conducted. A first LCA was conducted with generic data and the second with the added value of specific blockchain traceability data. Based on the second LCA, different wool top lot composition scenarios were then modeled to account for the environmental impact of different farming practices. Two main results were obtained: the environmental impact of wool top lots can vary up to +118% between two batches depending on their composition, and the specific data changes drastically from the impact calculated with generic data, with +36% calculated impact for the same wool composition of batches. Therefore, it was concluded that blockchain traceability data could be a strong asset for conducting LCA at the batch level by providing differentiated data on batch composition and origin and providing readily available specific data for a more representative assessment.

Correcting remaining truncations in hybrid life cycle assessment database compilation
Article scientifique ArODES

Maxime Agez, Elliott Muller, Laure Patouillard, Carl-Johan H. Södersten, Anders Arvesen, Manuele Margni, Réjean Samson, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez

Journal of Industrial Ecology,  2022, 26, 1, 121-133

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Hybrid life cycle assessment (HLCA) strives to combine process-based life cycle assessment (PLCA) and environmentally extended input–output (EEIO) analysis to bridge gaps of both methodologies. The recent development of HLCA databases constitutes a major step forward in achieving complete system coverage. Nevertheless, current applications of HLCA still suffer from issues related to incompleteness of the inventory and data gaps: (1) hybridization without endogenizing the capital inputs of the EEIO database leads to underestimations, (2) the unreliability of price data hinders the application of streamlined HLCA for processes in some sectors, and (3) the sparse coverage of pollutants in multiregional EEIO databases limits the application of HLCA to a handful of impact categories. This paper aims at offering a methodology for tackling these issues in a streamlined manner and visualizing their effects on impact scores across an entire PLCA database and multiple impact categories. Data reconciliation algorithms are demonstrated on the PLCA database ecoinvent3.5 and the multiregional EEIO database EXIOBASE3. Instead of performing hybridization solely with annual product requirements, this hybridization approach incorporates endogenized capital requirements, demonstrates a novel hybridization methodology to bypass issues of price unavailability, estimates new pollutants to EXIOBASE3 environmental extensions, and thus yields improved inventories characterized in terms of 13 impact categories from the IMPACT World+ methodology. The effect of hybridization on the impact score of each process of ecoinvent3.5 varied from a few percentages to three-fold increases, depending on the impact category and the process studied, displaying in which cases hybridization should be prioritized. This article met the requirements for a Gold—Gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges.

2021

Assessing the mitigation potential of environmental impacts from circular economy strategies on an industrial sector and its Value Chain :
Article scientifique ArODES
a case study on the steel value chain in Quebec

Flavien Binet, François Saunier, Manuele Margni

Frontiers in Sustainability,  2021, vol. 2, article no. 738890

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Résumé:

This research project aims to evaluate the potential reduction of environmental impacts from circular economy strategies on an industrial sector at a regional scale with a case study on Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in Quebec's steel industry and its value chain. To do so, an integrated model has been created based on the matrix approach, building on material flow analysis (MFA) tracking flows and stocks and on life cycle assessment (LCA) to compute direct (from the activity, e.g., combustion process) and indirect (from the supply chain, e.g., production of raw material inside or outside of region) emissions. This theoretical model is designed to be applied to any emissions or environmental impacts from a specific sector in a given region and enable to model the effects of circularity strategies to both flows and related environmental impacts. The overall mitigation potential of individual or combined circular economy strategies on a specific sector could thus be evaluated across its entire value chain. In the case study, a set of the most promising circular strategies applicable in the Quebec context were identified, and the GHG reduction potential within and outside the province is calculated and compared with actual emissions. Six circular strategies were analyzed acting at three different levers, namely, GHG/material (increase iron recycling rate, switch to hydrogen-based reduction production), material/product (reduce weight of vehicle, limit over-specification in building construction), and product/service (increase buildings and cars lifetime, increase car-sharing), and therefore impact rather direct or indirect emissions on different stages of the steel life cycle. Combining these six strategies into a consolidated scenario shows that a circular-driven economy allows to cut down GHG emissions of the cradle-to-gate steel industry value chain by −55%, i.e., 1.67 Mt CO2e. Taking into account use phase of steel, overall reductions are estimated at −6.03 Mt CO2e, i.e., −30% of the whole life cycle.

Corrigendum to “What future for primary aluminium production in a decarbonizing economy?” [Global Environ. Change 69 (2021) 102316]
Article scientifique ArODES

Julien Pedneault, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Volker Krey, Manuele Margni

Global Environmental Change,  2021, vol. 70, article no. 102352

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Using naturalness for assessing the impact of forestry and protection on the quality of ecosystems in life cycle assessment
Article scientifique ArODES

Sylvie Côté, Robert Beauregard, Manuele Margni, Louis Bélanger

Sustainability,  2021, vol. 13, no. 16, article no. 8859

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A novel approach is proposed to evaluate the impact of forestry on ecosystem quality in life cycle assessment (LCA) combining a naturalness assessment model with a species richness relationship. The approach is applied to a case study evaluating different forest management strategies involving concomitantly silvicultural scenarios (plantation only, careful logging only or the current mix of both) combined with an increasing share of protected area for wood production in a Québec black spruce forest. The naturalness index is useful to compare forest management scenarios and can help evaluate conservation needs considering the type of management foreseen for wood production. The results indicate that it is preferable to intensify forest management over a small proportion of the forest territory while ensuring strict protection over the remaining portion, compared to extensive forest management over most of the forested area. To explore naturalness introduction in LCA, a provisory curve relating the naturalness index (NI) with the potential disappeared fraction of species (PDF) was developed using species richness data from the literature. LCA impact scores in PDF for producing 1 m3 of wood might lead to consistent results with the naturalness index but the uncertainty is high while the window leading to consistent results is narrow.

A commodity supply mix for more regionalized life cycle assessments
Article scientifique ArODES

Michael J. Lathuillière, Laure Patouillard, Manuele Margni, Ben Ayre, Pernilla Löfgren, Vivian Ribeiro, Chris West, Toby A. Gardner, Clément Suavet

Environmental Science & Technology,  2021, 55, 17, 12054-12065

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Résumé:

Supply chain information is invaluable to further regionalize product life cycle assessments (LCAs), but detailed information linking production and consumption centers is not always available. We introduce the commodity supply mix (CSM) defined as the trade-volume-weighted average representing the combined geographic areas for the production of a commodity exported to a given market with the goal of (1) enhancing the relevance of inventory and impact regionalization and (2) allocating these impacts to specific markets. We apply the CSM to the Brazilian soybean supply chain mapped by Trase to obtain the mix of ecoregions and river basins linked to domestic consumption and exports to China, EU, France, and the rest of the world, before quantifying damage to biodiversity, and water scarcity footprints. The EU had the lowest potential biodiversity damage but the largest water scarcity footprint following respective sourcing patterns in 12 ecoregions and 18 river basins. These results differed from the average impact scores obtained from Brazilian soybean production information alone. The CSM can be derived at different scales (subnationally, internationally) using existing supply chain information and constitutes an additional step toward greater regionalization in LCAs, particularly for impacts with greater spatial variability such as biodiversity and water scarcity.

What future for primary aluminium production in a decarbonizing economy?
Article scientifique ArODES

Julien Pedneault, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Volker Krey, Manuele Margni

Global Environmental Change,  2021, vol. 69, article no. 102316

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Résumé:

Aluminium is an energy intensive material with an environmental footprint strongly dependent on the electricity mix consumed by the smelting process. This study models prospective environmental impacts of primary aluminium production according to different integrated assessment modeling scenarios building on Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and their climate change mitigation scenarios. Results project a global average carbon intensity ranging between 8.6 and 18.0 kg CO2 eq/kg in 2100, compared to 18.3 kg CO2 eq/kg at present, that could be further reduced under mitigation scenarios. Co-benefits with other environmental indicators are observed. Scaling aluminium production impacts to the global demand shows total emission between 1250 and 1590 Gt CO2 eq for baseline scenarios by 2050 while absolute decoupling is only achievable with stringent climate policy changing drastically the electricity mix. Achieving larger emission reductions will require circular strategies that go beyond primary material production itself and involve other stakeholders along the aluminium value chain.

Economic and environmental life cycle assessment of a short-span aluminium composite bridge deck in Canada
Article scientifique ArODES

Julien Pedneault, Victor Desjardins, Manuele Margni, David Conciatori, Mario Fafard, Luca Sorelli

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2021, vol. 310, article no. 127405

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The costs to maintain Québec's infrastructure—most of which was built in the 1960s and 1970s—are considerable, and major maintenance and reconstruction will be required in the coming years. In recent years, aluminum associations promote the increase of aluminum use in infrastructure and especially in bridge construction. This research aims to investigate the advantages of using aluminum deck bridges, which require less maintenance than traditional materials due to the natural resistance to atmospheric corrosion of aluminum, despite their higher investment costs that may limit their deployment. More specifically, the study compares for the first time the life cycle costs and environmental impacts of an aluminum-steel composite deck with a more traditional concrete-steel composite deck and provides a parametrized model allowing practitioners and designers to perform screening life cycle assessment and cost of short span bridge based on our data and results. Results show that the initial cost of aluminum deck is double that of concrete deck, but the overall cost is actually four times lower over the entire life cycle. The environmental results demonstrate the benefits of aluminum deck. Our main recommendation for future decision making in road infrastructure management is therefore to systematically expand the scope of the analysis integrating a full life cycle thinking also including the effects from traffic diversion.

Prioritisation of modelling parameters of a free-floating car sharing system according to their sensitivity to the environmental impacts
Article scientifique ArODES

Olivier Guyon, Dominique Millet, Julien Garcia, Manuele Margni, Sophie Richet, Nicolas Tchertchian

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2021, 296, 126081

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Relying on life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate product-service systems (PSSs), and more specifically car sharing systems, involves many challenges. Car sharing services include free-floating car sharing, which enables users to take and leave vehicles anytime and anywhere within a limited service area. This paper proposes a model of a free-floating electric car sharing system in which eight parameters that influence environmental impacts may be identified. Among these parameters are the rate of use of the vehicles, standard trip representative of the service’s actual use, vehicle model used within the service, and electric mix used to charge the vehicles. Adapting the life cycle assessment methodology to the studied system makes it possible to link the studied parameters to the indicator values of the service’s environmental impact. The environmental indicators considered are global warming potential (GWP), photochemical oxidation potential (POCP), eutrophication potential (EP), and abiotic resource depletion potential (ADP). As a result, by using a design of experiments, it is possible to prioritise the eight system parameters according to their influence on the four environmental impact indicators. More specifically, the experiment demonstrates that the electricity mix has a major influence on the GWP and POCP indicators. With regard to the ADP indicator, the vehicle model used in the service is the most influential parameter by far. The use rate and trip type parameters have significant effects on the four environmental indicators. Finally, the experiment also shows that the results heavily rely on the study’s methodological choices.

Corrigendum to “Forestry carbon budget models to improve biogenic carbon accounting in life cycle assessment” [J. Clean. Prod. 213 (2019) 289–299]
Article scientifique ArODES

Marieke Head, Pierre Bernier, Annie Levasseur, Robert Beauregard, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2021, vol. 296, article no. 126362

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Empirical characterization factors for life cycle assessment of the impacts of reservoir occupation on macroinvertebrate richness across the United States
Article scientifique ArODES

Gabrielle Trottier, Katrine Turgeon, Francesca Verones, Daniel Boisclair, Cécile Bulle, Manuele Margni

Sustainability,  2021, vol. 13, no. 5, article no. 2701

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The transformation of a river into a reservoir and the subsequent occupation of the riverbed by a reservoir can impact freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity. We used the National Lake Assessment (134 reservoirs) and the National Rivers and Streams Assessment (2062 rivers and streams) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency in order to develop empirical characterization factors (CFs; in Potentially Disappeared Fraction of species [PDF]) evaluating the impacts of reservoir occupation on macroinvertebrate richness (number of taxa) at the reservoir, ecoregion and country spatial scales, using a space-for-time substitution. We used analyses of variance, variation partitioning, and multiple regression analysis to explain the role of ecoregion (or regionalization; accounting for spatial variability) and other potentially influential variables (physical, chemical and human), on PDFs. At the United States scale, 28% of macroinvertebrate taxa disappeared during reservoir occupation and PDFs followed a longitudinal gradient across ecoregions, where PDFs were higher in the west. We also observed that high elevation, oligotrophic and large reservoirs had high PDF. This study provides the first empirical macroinvertebrate-based PDFs for reservoir occupation to be used as CFs by LCA practitioners. The results provide strong support for regionalization and a simple empirical model for LCA modelers.

Empirical characterization factors to be used in LCA and assessing the effects of hydropower on fish richness
Article scientifique ArODES

Katrine Turgeon, Gabrielle Trottier, Christian Turpin, Cécile Bulle, Manuele Margni

Ecological Indicators,  2021, vol. 121, article no. 107047

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Hydropower is often presented as a clean, reliable, and renewable energy source, but is also recognized for its potential impacts on aquatic ecosystem biodiversity. We used direct empirical data of change in fish species richness following impoundment to develop ecological indicators to be used in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and accounting for hydropower impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Data were collected on 89 sampling stations (63 stations located upstream, and 26 located downstream of a dam) distributed in 26 reservoirs from three biomes (boreal, temperate and tropical). Overall, the impact of hydropower on fish species richness was significant in the tropics, of smaller amplitude in temperate biome and minimal in boreal biome, stressing the need for regionalisation when developing indicators. The impact of hydropower was consistent across scales for a given biome (same directionality and statistical significance across sampling stations and reservoirs). However, the indicators were sensitive to the duration of the study (the period over which data have been collected after impoundment), which can underestimate the impacts. This result highlights the need to account for the duration of the transient dynamics to reach a steady state (rate of change in species richness = 0) before developing ecological indicators. By using the LCA approach, our suggested indicators contribute to fill a major gap in assisting decision-makers when evaluating the potential of alternative energy technologies, such as hydropower, to decarbonize the worldwide economy, while minimizing the impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

Allocation is not enough! A system boundaries expansion approach to account for production and consumption synergies :
Article scientifique ArODES
the environmental footprint of Greek yogurt

Catherine Houssard, Dominique Maxime, Yves Pouliot, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2021, vol. 283, article no. 124607

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The optimal use of food components in human nutrition is key to reduce the environmental burdens of the global food system. In this life cycle assessment (LCA) case study based on Greek yogurt (GY) production systems, we explore how a system boundary expansion approach (SBES), instead of an allocation approach, can help to optimize the use of the milk components in the dairy industry for the province of Québec, Canada. GY is a high-protein-low-fat dairy product considered as a healthy high-value product for human nutrition. Its production requires large volumes of milk and generates a high-value co-product (cream) and a by-product (whey). This comprehensive LCA study compares three production technologies (centrifugation (CE), ultrafiltration (UF) and fortification (FO)) and different whey management alternatives (animal feed, biogas and fertilizer production, waste treatment). Results show that, under current Canadian market conditions in which milk production is driven by the demand for cream and surplus non-fat-solids are downcycled on the animal feed market, the CE and UF technologies, which require more raw milk than FO and produce more cream, enable better synergies in the use of milk components and improve the environmental performance of GY as compared to FO. Both CE and UF make it possible to use the excess of Canadian milk proteins in human nutrition, in compliance with circular economy principles. In this respect, neither the quantity of whey generated, nor the whey management pathway significantly influence the GY environmental footprint.

Ranking product systems based on uncertain life cycle sustainability assessment :
Article scientifique ArODES
a stochastic multiple criteria decision analysis approach

Breno Barros Telles do Carmo, Manuele Margni, Pierre Baptiste

Revista de Administração da UFSM,

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Résumé:

Hydroelectric dams and their reservoirs have been suggested to affect freshwater biodiversity. However, studies investigating the consequences of hydroelectric dams and reservoirs on macroinvertebrate richness have reached opposite conclusions. We carried out a meta-analysis devised to elucidate the effects of hydropower dams and their reservoirs on macroinvertebrates richness while accounting for the potential role played by moderators such as biomes, impact types, study designs, sampling seasons and gears. We used a random and mixed effect model, combined with robust variance estimation, to conduct the meta-analysis on 72 pairs of observations (i.e., impacted versus reference) extracted from 17 studies (more than one observation per study). We observed a large range of effect sizes, from very negative to very positive impacts of hydropower. However, according to this meta-analysis, hydropower dams and their reservoirs did not have an overall clear, directional and statistically significant effect on macroinvertebrate richness. We tried to account for the large variability in effect sizes using moderators, but none of the moderators included in the meta-analysis had statistically significant effect. This suggests that some other moderators, which were unavailable for the 17 studies included in this meta-analysis, might be important (e.g., temperature, granulometry, wave disturbance and macrophytes) and that macroinvertebrate richness may be driven by local, smaller scale processes. As new studies become available, it would be interesting to keep enriching this meta-analysis, as well as collecting local habitat variables, to see if we could finally draw statistically significant conclusions about the impacts of hydropower on macroinvertebrate richness.

Temporally-differentiated biogenic carbon accounting of wood building product life cycles
Article scientifique ArODES

Marieke Head, Michael Magnan, Werner A. Kurz, Annie Levasseur, Robert Beauregard, Manuele Margni

SN Applied Sciences,  2021, vol. 3, article no. 62

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Although standards have identified temporary carbon storage as an important element to consider in wood product LCAs, there has been no consensus on a methodology for its accounting. This work aims to improve the accounting of carbon storage and fluxes in long-life wood products in LCA. Biogenic carbon from harvested roundwood logs were tracked using the Carbon Budget Model Framework for Harvested Wood Products (CBMF-HWP). Carbon flows through wood product manufacturing, building life and end-of-life phases, and carbon stocks and fluxes from harvest to the atmosphere were estimated. To cover the products commonly used in the Canadian building industry, a range of softwood products types, provinces and territories and building lifetimes were considered. In addition, policy scenarios were considered in order to model the effects of dynamic parameters through time as a policy target is reached. Most wood products have similar emissions profiles, though cross-laminated timber has higher sawmill emissions and oriented-strand board has higher initial post-demolition emissions. The region of construction is also predictive of the initial post-demolition emissions. Higher recycling rates shift materials from landfills into subsequent product systems, thus avoiding landfill emissions. Landfill decay rates are affected by climate and results in a large range of landfill emissions. The degree of postponement of end-of-life emissions is highly dependent upon the wood product type, region and building lifespan parameters. This work develops biogenic carbon profiles that allows for modelling dynamic cradle-to-grave LCAs of Canadian wood products.

Liste de mes publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=fr&user=URPoJikAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdat
Article scientifique

Margni Manuele

via Google Scolar, 2021

2020

Life cycle assessment applying planetary and regional boundaries to the process level :
Article scientifique ArODES
a model case study

Anders Bjorn, Sarah Sim, Henry King, Laure Patouillard, Manuele Margni, Michael Zwicky Hauschild, Morten Ryberg

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2020, 25, 11, 2241-2254

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Résumé:

The planetary boundaries framework contains regional boundaries in addition to global boundaries. Geographically resolved methods to assess regional environmental impacts are therefore needed. Existing planetary boundaries-based life cycle assessment (PB-LCA) methods have limited geographical resolution or are not applicable to full product systems, due to high spatial requirements on inventory data. Here, we enable PB-LCA of full product systems across a comprehensive set of regional and global PB impact categories. We propose comparing environmental impacts of individual processes within a product system to assigned shares of regional or global safe operating space (SOS). This is followed by aggregation of process-level results so that accumulated exceedance of assigned SOS is derived across the entire life cycle. We then present a procedure for aggregating geographically resolved characterization factors (CFs) and SOS to country, continent and global levels, ensuring compatibility with typical life cycle inventory results. We then apply the new techniques to a model laundry case study. It involves 61 selected processes, two geographically resolved PB-LCA methods, related to impacts from freshwater use and nitrogen emissions, and a largely spatially generic PB-LCA method that covers a comprehensive set of impact categories. The calculation of accumulated exceedance of assigned SOS may help inform decisions about where in a life cycle to focus impact reduction efforts most urgently. The number of case study processes that exceed their assigned SOS differs when applying the geographically resolved methods, as opposed to the largely spatially generic method. Case study results differ greatly across PB-LCA impact categories, reaffirming the importance of covering a comprehensive set. Geographically resolved methods are needed for all regional impact categories and software support would be advantageous. Existing methods will require periodic updates to reflect ongoing advancements in PB science. Best practice approaches or a consensus for assigning regional SOS to processes are needed. Our study provides a step towards greater operability of geographically resolved PB-LCA methods by enabling application to a full product system within an assessment that covers a comprehensive set of impact categories. The case study application shows potential advantages of the process-level approach and points to the need for quantifying uncertainties in such assessments. Future studies should seek to explore the potential role of PB-LCA in decision support compared with conventional LCA.

Integrating pressure-driven membrane separation processes to improve eco-efficiency in cheese manufacture :
Article scientifique ArODES
a preliminary case study

Scott Benoit, julien Chamberland, Alain Doyen, Manuele Margni, Christian Bouchard, Yves Pouliot

Membranes,  2020, 10, 10, 287

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Résumé:

Pressure-driven membrane separation processes are commonly used in cheese milk standardization. Using ultrafiltration (UF) or microfiltration (MF), membrane separation processes make it possible to concentrate the milk proteins and increase the yields of cheese vats. However, the contribution of membrane separation processes to the environmental impact and economical profitability of dairy processes is still unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the contribution of membrane separation processes to the eco-efficiency of cheddar cheese production in Québec (Canada) using process simulation. Three scenarios were compared: two included UF or MF at the cheese milk standardization step, and one did not incorporate membrane separation processes. The results showed that even if membrane separation processes make it possible to increase vat yields, they do not improve the eco-efficiency of cheddar cheese processes. However, membrane separation processes may benefit the eco-efficiency of the process more when used for byproduct valorization.

Comparative life cycle assessment of five greek yogurt production systems :
Article scientifique ArODES
a perspective beyond the plant boundaries

Catherine Houssard, Dominique Maxime, Scott Benoit, Yves Pouliot, Manuele Margni

Sustainability,  2020, 12, 21, 9141

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Résumé:

Greek yogurt (GY), a high-protein-low-fat dairy product, particularly prized for its sensory and nutritional benefits, revolutionized the North American yogurt market in less than a decade, bringing with it new sustainability challenges. Standard GY production generates large volumes of acid whey, a co-product that is a potential source of environmental pollution if not recovered. This study aims to assess the environmental performance of different technologies and identify the main factors to improve GY production. A complete life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to compare the standard technology (centrifugation) with two new technologies (fortification and ultrafiltration) to reduce acid whey volumes. Three milk protein concentrate alternatives were also assessed. Results show that technology choice is not a clear discriminant factor. However, minimizing losses and wastage (accounting for 23 to 25% of the environmental impacts for all indicators) beyond the processing plant and selecting milk ingredients (accounting for 63 to 67% of the impacts) with low environmental impacts are key factors to improve the environmental performance of GY systems. From a methodological perspective, the results also highlight a shortcoming in the current LCA guidelines (2015) issued by the International Dairy Federation to treat the multifunctionality of GY systems.

Assessing scaling effects of circular economy strategies :
Article scientifique ArODES
a case study on plastic bottle closed-loop recycling in the USA PET market

Geoffrey Lonca, Pascal Lesage, Sophie Bernard, Manuele Margni

Resources, Conservation and Recycling,  2020, 162, 105013

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Résumé:

The Circular Economy (CE) movement is inspiring new governmental policies along with company strategies. This led to the emergence of a plethora of indicators to quantify the “circularity” of individual companies or products. Approaches behind these indicators builds mainly on two implicit assumptions. The first is that closing material loops at product level leads to improvements in material efficiency for the economy as a whole. The second assumption is that maximizing material circularity contributes to mitigate environmental impacts. We test these two assumptions at different scales with a case study on the circularity of PET in the USA market. The Material Circularity Indicator (MCI) reveals that closing the material loops at the product level increases material circularity in one brand and in the USA plastic bottle market but not in the USA PET market as a whole. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results reveal that increasing closed loop recycling of PET bottles is environmentally beneficial from product-level assessment scope. When expanding the scope to the whole PET market, recycling PET into film, fiber and sheet industrial sectors results being more material efficient and environmental preferable, unless the postconsumer reclamation rate is significantly improved. Thus, we demonstrate that adopting a systemic approach for CE assessment is essential ; instead of looking at one particular product and seeking the best circular case with respect to a specific material content, we suggest to looking at the whole set of products served by the specific material, and to seek the best material market-wide circular case.

Prioritizing regionalization to enhance interpretation in consequential life cycle assessment: application to alternative transportation scenarios using partial equilibrium economic modeling
Article scientifique ArODES

Laure Patouillard, Daphné Lorne, Pierre Collet, Cécile Bulle, Manuele Margni

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2020, 25, 12, 2325-2341

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Résumé:

Consequential life cycle assessment (C-LCA) aims to assess the environmental consequences of a decision. It differs from traditional LCA because its inventory includes all the processes affected by the decision which are identified by accounting for causal links (physical, economic, etc.). However, C-LCA results could be quite uncertain which makes the interpretation phase harder. Therefore, strategies to assess and reduce uncertainty in C-LCA are needed. Part of uncertainty in C-LCA is due to spatial variability that can be reduced using regionalization. However, regionalization can be complex and time-consuming if straightforwardly applied to an entire LCA model. The main purpose of this article is to prioritize regionalization efforts to enhance interpretation in C-LCA by assessing the spatial uncertainty of a case study building on a partial equilibrium economic model. Three specific objectives are derived: (1) perform a C-LCA case study of alternative transportation scenarios to investigate the benefits of implementing a public policy for energy transition in France by 2050 with an uncertainty analysis to explore the strength of our conclusions, (2) perform global sensitivity analyses to identify and quantify the main sources of spatial uncertainty between foreground inventory model from partial equilibrium economic modeling, background inventory model and characterization factors, (3) propose a strategy to reduce the spatial uncertainty for our C-LCA case study by prioritizing regionalization. Results show that the implementation of alternative transport scenarios in compliance with public policy for the energy transition in France is beneficial for some impact categories (ICs) (global warming, marine acidification, marine eutrophication, terrestrial acidification, thermally polluted water, photochemical oxidant formation, and particulate matter formation), with a confidence level of 95%. For other ICs, uncertainty reduction is required to determine conclusions with a similar level of confidence. Input variables with spatial variability from the partial equilibrium economic model are significant contributors to the C-LCA spatial uncertainty and should be prioritized for spatial uncertainty reduction. In addition, characterization factors are significant contributors to the spatial uncertainty results for all regionalized ICs (except land occupation IC). Ways to reduce the spatial uncertainty from economic modeling should be explored. Uncertainty reduction to enhance the interpretation phase and the decision-making should be prioritized depending on the goal and scope of the LCA study. In addition, using regionalized CFs in C-LCA seems to be relevant, and C-LCA calculation tools should be adapted accordingly.

Review of life-cycle based methods for absolute environmental sustainability assessment and their applications
Article scientifique ArODES

Anders Bjorn, Chanjief Chandrakumar, Anne-Marie Boulay, Gabor Doka, Kai Fang, Natacha Gondran, Michael Zwicky Hauschild, Annemarie Kerkhof, Henry King, Manuele Margni, Sarah McLaren, Carina Mueller, Mikolaj Owsianiak, Greg Peters, Sandra Roos, Serenella Sala, Gustav Sandin, Sarah Sim, Marcial Vargas-Gonzalez, Morten Ryberg

Environmental Research Letters,  2020, 15, 8, 083001

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In many regions and at the planetary scale, human pressures on the environment exceed levels that natural systems can sustain. These pressures are caused by networks of human activities, which often extend across countries and continents due to global trade. This has led to an increasing requirement for methods that enable absolute environmental sustainability assessment (AESA) of anthropogenic systems and which have a basis in life cycle assessment (LCA). Such methods enable the comparison of environmental impacts of products, companies, nations, etc, with an assigned share of environmental carrying capacity for various impact categories. This study is the first systematic review of LCA-based AESA methods and their applications. After developing a framework for LCA-based AESA methods, we identified 45 relevant studies through an initial survey, database searches and citation analysis. We characterized these studies according to their intended application, impact categories, basis of carrying capacity estimates, spatial differentiation of environmental model and principles for assigning carrying capacity. We then characterized all method applications and synthesized their results. Based on this assessment, we present recommendations to practitioners on the selection and use of existing LCA-based AESA methods, as well as ways to perform assessments and communicate results to decision-makers. Furthermore, we identify future research priorities intended to extend coverage of all components of the proposed method framework, improve modeling and increase the applicability of methods.

A comprehensive planetary boundary-based method for the nitrogen cycle in life cycle assessment :
Article scientifique ArODES
development and application to a tomato production case study

Anders Bjorn, Sarah Sim, Henry King, Manuele Margni, Andrew D. Henderson, Sandra Payen, Cécile Bulle

Science of The Total Environment,  2020, 715, 136813

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Existing methods that apply the planetary boundary for the nitrogen cycle in life cycle assessment are spatially generic and use an indicator with limited environmental relevance. Here, we develop a spatially resolved method that can quantify the impact of nitrogen emissions to air, soil, freshwater or coastal water on “safe operating space” (SOS) for natural soil, freshwater and coastal water. The method can be used to identify potential “planetary boundary hotspots” in the life cycle of products and to inform appropriate interventions. The method is based on a coupling of existing environmental models and the identification of threshold and reference values in natural soil, freshwater and coastal water. The method is demonstrated for a case study on nitrogen emissions from open-field tomato production in 27 farming areas based on data for 199 farms in the year 2014. Nitrogen emissions were modelled from farm-level data on fertilizer application, fuel consumption and climate- and soil conditions. Two sharing principles, “status quo” and “gross value added”, were tested for the assignment of SOS to 1 t of tomatoes. The coupling of models and identification of threshold and reference values resulted in spatially resolved characterization factors applicable to any nitrogen emission and estimations of SOS for each environmental compartment. In the case study, tomato production was found to range from not transgressing to transgressing its assigned SOS in each of the 27 farming areas, depending on the receiving compartment and sharing principle. A high nitrogen use efficiency scenario had the potential to reverse transgressions of assigned SOS for up to three farming locations. Despite of several sources of uncertainty, the developed method may be used in decision-support by stakeholders, ranging from individual producers to global governance institutions. To avoid sub-optimization, it should be applied with methods covering the other planetary boundaries.

Electromembrane approach to substantially improve the ecoefficiency of deacidified cranberry juice production :
Article scientifique ArODES
physicochemical properties, life cycle assessment and ecoefficiency score

Mélanie Faucher, Loïc Henaux, Camille Chaudron, Sergey Mikhaylin, Manuele Margni, Laurent Bazinet

Journal of Food Engineering,  2020, 273, 109802

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With the expected increase of the food industry activities in response to population growth, this sector must control its impacts on the environment by finding more sustainable technologies. Here, two methods for producing deacidified cranberry juice, electrodialysis with bipolar membranes (EDBM) and salt precipitation, were assessed. The aim of this work was to compare the physicochemical characteristics of cranberry juices deacidified using both methods and to quantify and compare their environmental impacts and ecoefficiency scores. The physicochemical analyses showed that both deacidified juices did not have the same composition, since the relevant compounds in cranberry juice were preserved by deacidification with EDBM. The life cycle assessment (LCA) results demonstrated that EDBM, with and without reuse of the recovery solution, was slightly less damaging than salt precipitation for all the four damage categories. Furthermore, EDBM was up to 20.6% more ecoefficient than salt precipitation for the overall value calculation.

Naturalness assessment of forest management scenarios in abies balsamea–betula papyrifera forests
Article scientifique ArODES

Sylvie Côté, Louis Bélanger, Robert Beauregard, Évelyne Thiffault, Manuele Margni

Forests,  2020, 11, 5, 601

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Research Highlights: This research provides an application of a model assessing the naturalness of the forest ecosystem to demonstrate its capacity to assess either the deterioration or the rehabilitation of the ecosystem through different forest management scenarios. Background and Objectives: The model allows the assessment of the quality of ecosystems at the landscape level based on the condition of the forest and the proportion of different forest management practices to precisely characterize a given strategy. The present work aims to: (1) verify the capacity of the Naturalness Assessment Model to perform bi-directional assessments, allowing not only the evaluation of the deterioration of naturalness characteristics, but also its improvement related to enhanced ecological management or restoration strategies; (2) identify forest management strategies prone to improving ecosystem quality; (3) analyze the model’s capacity to summarize the effect of different practices along a single alteration gradient. Materials and Methods: The Naturalness Assessment Model was adapted to the Abies balsamea–Betula papyrifera forest of Quebec (Canada), and a naturalness assessment of two sectors with different historical management strategies was performed. Fictive forest management scenarios were evaluated using different mixes of forestry practices. The sensitivity of the reference data set used for the naturalness assessment has been evaluated by comparing the results using data from old management plans with those based on Quebec’s reference state registry. Results: The model makes it possible to identify forest management strategies capable of improving ecosystem quality compared to the current situation. The model’s most sensitive variables are regeneration process, dead wood, closed forest and cover type. Conclusions: In the Abies balsamea–Betula papyrifera forest, scenarios with enhanced protection and inclusion of irregular shelterwood cuttings could play an important role in improving ecosystem quality. Conversely, scenarios with short rotation (50 years) could lead to further degradation of the ecosystem quality.

LC-IMPACT :
Article scientifique ArODES
a regionalized life cycle damage assessment method

Francesca Verones, Stefanie Hellweg, Assumpció Antón, Ligia B. Azevedo, Abhishek Chaudhary, Nuno Cosme, Stefano Cucurachi, Laura de Baan, Yan Dong, Peter Fantke, Laura Golsteijn, Michael Hauschild, Reinout Heijungs, Olivier Jolliet, Ronnie Juraske, Henrik Larsen, Alexis Laurent, Christopher L. Mutel, Manuele Margni, Montserrat Núñez, Mikolaj Owsianiak, Stephan Pfister, Tommie Ponsioen, Philipp Preiss, Ralph K. Rosenbaum, Pierre-Olivier Roy, Serenella Sala, Zoran Steinmann, Rosalie van Zelm, Rita van Dingenen, Marisa Vieira, Mark A. J. Huijbregts

Journal of Industrial Ecology,  2020, 24, 6, 1201-1219

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Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is a lively field of research, and data and models are continuously improved in terms of impact pathways covered, reliability, and spatial detail. However, many of these advancements are scattered throughout the scientific literature, making it difficult for practitioners to apply the new models. Here, we present the LC-IMPACT method that provides characterization factors at the damage level for 11 impact categories related to three areas of protection (human health, ecosystem quality, natural resources). Human health damage is quantified as disability adjusted life years, damage to ecosystem quality as global species extinction equivalents (based on potentially disappeared fraction of species), and damage to mineral resources as kilogram of extra ore extracted. Seven of the impact categories include spatial differentiation at various levels of spatial scale. The influence of value choices related to the time horizon and the level of scientific evidence of the impacts considered is quantified with four distinct sets of characterization factors. We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method with an illustrative life cycle assessment example of different fuel options in Europe (petrol or biofuel). Differences between generic and regionalized impacts vary up to two orders of magnitude for some of the selected impact categories, highlighting the importance of spatial detail in LCIA. This article met the requirements for a gold – gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges.

Dynamic greenhouse gas life cycle inventory and impact profiles of wood used in Canadian buildings
Article scientifique ArODES

Marieke Head, Annie Levasseur, Robert Beauregard, Manuele Margni

Building and Environment,  2020, 173, 106751

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Wood is increasingly promoted due to its reported low climate change impacts; however, the literature reports provides high variability of climate change impact scores, making comparisons with non-wood materials difficult. The objective of this study is to calculate a database of life cycle inventories (LCI) and dynamic climate change impacts (DCCI) of wood building products, for different use contexts across Canada. Temporally differentiated gate-to-gate LCIs were developed, to which dynamic life cycle assessment (DLCA) was applied, yielding a modular database of cradle-to-grave LCIs and DCCIs of wood products. Four wood product case studies were chosen to demonstrate the use of the modular LCI and DCCI database of wood product use in buildings. The results show that most wood building products provide overall net negative climate change impact scores, though for some wood product specifications results show net positive climate change impacts. Results are sensitive to a few factors, including ecosystem carbon cost (ECC), wood carbon content, building lifespan and end-of-life. This research develops a gate-to-gate LCI and DCCI database for each life cycle stage of wood building products, allowing life cycle assessment (LCA) practitioners to calculate DCCI results with respect to a chosen time horizon relevant for decision-making. This modular database would be particularly useful to those practitioners wishing to account for biogenic carbon in wood product life cycle assessment, which is currently quite difficult due to a lack of data. It could also be readily implemented into LCA tools to support building designers in sustainable building material selection.

Substitution modelling in life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management
Article scientifique ArODES

S. Viau, G. Majeau-Bettez, L. Spreutels, R. Legros, Manuele Margni, R. Samson

Waste Management,  2020, 102, 795-803

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Life cycle assessment (LCA) is gaining importance worldwide in guiding waste management policies. The capacity of co-products such as recycled materials and recovered energy to avoid primary production of equivalent products largely determines the environmental performance of waste treatment technologies. Estimating the reductions in resource use, emissions, and impacts enabled by this substitution of primary production is often the most influential and controversial factor in quantifying the overall environmental performance of a waste management strategy. This study aims to critically evaluate the modelling of substitution in LCAs of recovered material from municipal solid waste management systems (MSWMS) by answering two questions. First, to what extent is substitution modelling transparently documented in the literature? Second, are the substitution ratios justified to represent physically realistic replacement of one product by another? To address these questions, we performed a systematic analysis of 51 LCA studies on MSWMS published in the peer-reviewed literature. We found that 22% of the substitution ratios are only implicitly expressed. A significant proportion of substitution ratios is not justified (65%), while for the remaining 35%, justifications do not represent physically realistic substitutions. We call for more rigor and transparency, and we propose guidance for the documentation of substitution ratios, with the aim of reaching more credible and robust analyses. For the justification of a substitution ratio to be considered physically realistic, information should notably be provided concerning loss of quality, the function performed by substitutable materials, and the sector of use.

Hybridization of complete PLCA and MRIO databases for a comprehensive product system coverage
Article scientifique ArODES

Maxime Agez, Richard Wood, Manuele Margni, Anders H. Stromman, Réjean Samson, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez

Journal of Industrial Ecology,  2020, 24, 4, 774-790

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Process-based Life Cycle Assessments (PLCA) rely on detailed descriptions of extensive value chains and their associated exchanges with the environment, but major data gaps limit the completeness of these system descriptions and lead to truncations in inventories and underestimations of impacts. Hybrid Life Cycle Assessments (HLCA) aim to combine the strength of PLCA and Environmentally Extended Input Output (EEIO) analysis to obtain more specific and complete system descriptions. Currently, however, most HLCAs only remediate truncation of processes that are specific to each case study (foreground processes), and these processes are then linked to (truncated) generic background processes from a non-hybridized PLCA database. A hybrid PLCA-EEIO database is therefore required to completely solve the truncation problems of PLCA and thus obtain a comprehensive product system coverage. This paper describes the construction of such a database using pyLCAIO, a novel framework and open-source software enabling the streamlined hybridization of entire PLCA and EEIO databases. We applied this framework to the PLCA database Ecoinvent3.5 and the multiregional EEIO database EXIOBASE 3. Thanks to the correction for truncation in this new hybrid database, the median and average life cycle global warming potential (GWP) of its processes increased by 7% and 14%, respectively. These corrections only reflect the truncations that could be readily identified and estimated in a semi-automated manner; and we anticipate that further database integration should lead to higher levels of correction in the future.

2019

On the reporting and review requirements of ISO 14044
Article scientifique ArODES

Christoph Koffler, Ben Amor, Michael Carbajales-Dale, joseph Cascio, Alison Conroy, James A. Fava, Caroline Gaudreault, Thomas Gloria, Connie Hensler, Arpad Horvath, Sebastien Humbert, Alessandro Manzardo, Manuele Margni, Philippe Osset, Julie Sinistore, Bruce Vigon, Michele L. Wallace, Michael Wang, Martina Prox

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2020, 25, 3, 478-482

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Challenges and opportunities towards improved application of the planetary boundary for land-system change in life cycle assessment of products
Article scientifique ArODES

Anders Bjorn, Sarah Sim, Henry King, Patrick Keys, Lan Wang-Erlandsson, Sarah E. Cornell, Manuele Margni, Cécile Bulle

Science of The Total Environment,  2019, 696, 133964

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Life cycle assessment (LCA) can be used to translate the planetary boundaries (PBs) concept to the scale of decisions related to products. Existing PB-LCA methods convert quantified resource use and emissions to changes in the values of PB control variables. However, the control variable for the Land-system change PB, “area of forested land remaining”, is not suitable for use in LCA, since it is expressed at the beginning of an impact pathway and only covers forest biomes. At the same time, LCA approaches for modelling the biogeophysical impacts of land use and land-use change are immature and any interactions with other types of environmental impacts are lagging. Here, we propose how the assessment of Land-system change in PB-LCA can be improved. First, we introduce two control variables for application in LCA; surface air temperature and precipitation, and we identify corresponding provisional threshold values associated with state shifts in four comprehensive biome categories. Second, we propose simplified approaches suitable for modelling the impact of land use and land-use change in product life cycles on the values of these two control variables. Third, we propose how to quantify interactions between the PBs for Land-system change, Climate change and Freshwater use for a PB-LCA method. Finally, we identify several research needs to facilitate full implementation of our proposed approach.

A versatile approach to assess circularity :
Article scientifique ArODES
the case of decoupling

Geoffrey Lonca, Sophie Bernard, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2019, 240, 118174

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Building on the empirical use of the IPAT, we develop a versatile approach to assess the environmental performance of circular economy (CE) strategies. Our proposition can distinguish activities by region, industry, process, or any other, and the product of environmental efficiency factors illustrating key drivers for CE implementation, e.g. GHG/materials and materials/product. CE is often linked to decoupling the economic activity from the degradation of natural capital. Hence, we illustrate our approach through the specific case of decoupling assessment. When combined with the Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA), we can quantify how much a single improvement towards material circularity contributes to an overall decoupling pathway. We tested the results provided in a Material Economics’ report to assess the potential for CE opportunities to reduce GHG emissions in four industries by 2050 in the EU. Our results reveal the progress expected from each CE opportunity in each industry to reach the reported conclusions, e.g., the contribution to reducing GHG emissions by 69 MtCO2 from the steel industry requires the overall environmental efficiency to improve by 67% from the baseline scenario. We also deduce the maximal increase in production for each material that would offset the benefits from implementing CE strategies.

A workable tool for assessing eco-efficiency in dairy processing using process simulation
Article scientifique ArODES

S. Benoit, Manuele Margni, C. Bouchard, Y. Pouliot

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2019, 236, 117658

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Process simulation (PS) is essential in the eco-efficiency assessments (EEA) of dairy processes. PS indeed allows for analysis of a process with the help of mathematical models, and its ability to calculate rapidly and at little cost the mass and energy balances of processes can be exploited in the EEA of dairy processes. This paper presents the prototype of a workable tool developed to carry-out EEA of dairy processes. A process modelling and simulation software dedicated to dairy processing was developed to perform inventories of material and energy flows (IMEF) on the processes modelled by the software user. Addition of impact analysis data sets allowed for quantification of the potential environmental impacts associated with the modelled processes. Inputting economic data then made it possible to calculate the economic value associated with the modelled processes. Gathering these methods within a single numerical tool enabled EEA of any process modelled by the software user, but also identification of the hot spots and the opportunities for eco-efficiency improvements, comparisons of several scenarios of raw milk valuation, and assessment of their economic viability. In order to present the operational aspect of the developed prototype, it was used to compare the EE of fluid milk processing in Canada (Quebec) and the United-States of America. Individual eco-efficiency indicators (EEI) results showed that the potential environmental impacts were higher for the American scenario in three damage categories out of four. Economic viability results showed a slight advantage for the American scenario. Considering all the EEI, the comparative EEA did not offer evidence of a general benefit of one scenario over the other.

The cost is not enough - an alternative eco-efficiency approach applied to cranberry de-acidification
Article scientifique ArODES

Camille Chaudron, Mélanie Faucher, Laurent Bazinet, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2019, 232, 391-399

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Food production and transformation have an increasing impact on the environment. Tools to help the agri-food industry improving its environmental performance whilst increasing the value of the products are highly needed. The present study proposes a new approach to calculate eco-efficiency that goes beyond the production costs, but accounts for the functional value of the foodstuff. Instead of using the monetary unit as the product value, we propose value-based metrics closer to consumer interests, such as content of functional nutrients, taste and abatement of harmful substances. The approach was applied to evaluate the eco-efficiency of de-acidified cranberry juice by two alternative technologies in Quebec: ion-exchange resin process and de-acidification by electrodialysis with a bipolar membrane. Both are compared to non-de-acidified cranberry juice. The parameters chosen to quantify cranberry juice are polyphenol content, product taste, and percentage of harmful acid removed. Results show ion-exchange resin de-acidified juice is less eco-efficient than non-de-acidified cranberry juice for polyphenol content and product taste indicator but shows better results for the removed harmful acid parameter. The electrodialysis with a bipolar membrane technology allows the extraction of organic acids in a usable form. We evaluated their re-utilization in four different contexts showing that this context choice might have a key impact on the eco-efficiency conclusion. The most eco-efficient scenario is the utilization of the removed acid in dried cranberry production with the addition of sugar beet. By using an approach closer to consumers' interests, eco-efficiency results can be more relevant for decision making in the context of cleaner production, particularly when the monetary value is not reliable.

Lifting the veil on the correction of double counting incidents in hybrid life cycle assessment
Article scientifique ArODES

Maxime Agez, Guillaume Majeau-Bettez, Manuele Margni, Anders H. Stronman, Réjean Samson

Journal of Industrial Ecology,  2019, 24, 3, 517-533

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Life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmentally extended input–output analyses (EEIOA) are two techniques commonly used to assess environmental impacts of an activity/product. Their strengths and weaknesses are complementary, and they are thus regularly combined to obtain hybrid LCAs. A number of approaches in hybrid LCA exist, which leads to different results. One of the differences is the method used to ensure that mixed LCA and EEIOA data do not overlap, which is referred to as correction for double counting. This aspect of hybrid LCA is often ignored in reports of hybrid assessments and no comprehensive study has been carried out on it. This article strives to list, compare, and analyze the different existing methods for the correction of double counting. We first harmonize the definitions of the existing correction methods and express them in a common notation, before introducing a streamlined variant. We then compare their respective assumptions and limitations. We discuss the loss of specific information regarding the studied activity/product and the loss of coherent financial representation caused by some of the correction methods. This analysis clarifies which techniques are most applicable to different tasks, from hybridizing individual LCA processes to integrating complete databases. We finally conclude by giving recommendations for future hybrid analyses.

Prioritizing regionalization efforts in life cycle assessment through global sensitivity analysis: a sector meta-analysis based on ecoinvent v3
Article scientifique ArODES

Laure Patouillard, Pierre Collet, Pascal Lesage, Pablo Tirado Seco, Cécile Bulle, Manuele Margni

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2019, 24, 12, 2238-2254

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Regionalization in life cycle assessment (LCA) aims to increase the representativeness of LCA results and reduce the uncertainty due to spatial variability. It may refer to adapting processes to better account for regional technological specificities (inventory regionalization) or adding of spatial information to the elementary flows (inventory spatialization) which allow using more regionalized characterization factors. However, developing and integrating regionalization requires additional efforts for LCA practitioners and database developers that must be prioritized. We propose a stepwise methodology for LCA practitioners to prioritize data collection for regionalization based on global sensitivity analysis (GSA) using Sobol indices. It involves several GSA to select the impact categories (ICs) that require further inventory data collection (IC ranking), prioritize between inventory regionalization and inventory spatialization (LCA phase ranking), and target specific data to collect. Then we propose a method to derive sector-specific recommendations using statistical tests to prioritize inventory regionalization versus spatialization and the ICs on which to focus inventory data collection. These recommendations are meant to help LCA practitioners and database developers define their strategy for regional data collection by focusing on data that have the highest potential to reduce the uncertainty of the results. The applicability of the methodology is illustrated through three case studies using the ecoinvent v3 database and the regionalized impact methodology IMPACT World+: one on prioritizing data collection in a single biofuel product system and two meta-analyses of all product systems in two distinct economic sectors (biofuel production and land passenger transport). Recommendations for regionalization can be derived for an economic sector and appear to be different from one economic sector to another. GSA seems to be more relevant to prioritize regionalization efforts than an impact contribution analysis (ICA) approach often used to prioritize data collection in LCA. However, further improvements, such as accounting for spatial correlations and better computational times for GSA, are required to implement it in LCA. We recommend using the methodology based on GSA to efficiently prioritize regionalization efforts between ICs and between inventory regionalization and inventory spatialization. We proved that the implementation of IC ranking and LCA phase ranking is computationally feasible and therefore invite current LCA software providers to unlock this new horizon in LCA interpretation. We also invite to expand the meta-analysis to all sectors in an LCA database.

A conceptual model for forest naturalness assessment and application in Quebec’s boreal forest
Article scientifique ArODES

Sylvie Côté, Louis Bélanger, Robert Beauregard, Évelyne Thiffault, Manuele Margni

Forests,  2019, 10, 4, 325

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Research Highlights: To inform eco-designers in green building conception, we propose a conceptual model for the assessment of the impact of using wood on the quality of ecosystems. Background and Objectives: The proposed model allows the assessment of the quality of ecosystems at the landscape level based on the condition of the forest and the proportion of different practices to characterize precisely the forest management strategy. The evaluation provides a numerical index, which corresponds to a suitable format to inform decision-making support tools, such as life cycle analysis. Materials and Methods: Based on the concept of naturalness, the methodology considers five naturalness characteristics (landscape context, forest composition, structure, dead wood, and regeneration process) and relies on forest inventory maps and data. An area within the boreal black spruce-feathermoss ecological domain of Quebec (Canada) was used as a case study for the development of the methodology, designed to be easily exportable. Results: In 2012, the test area had a near-natural class (naturalness index NI = 0.717). Simulation of different management strategies over 70 years shows that, considering 17.9% of strict protected areas, the naturalness index would have lost one to two classes of naturalness (out of five classes), depending on the strategy applied for the regeneration (0.206 ≤ ΔNI ≤ 0.413). Without the preservation of the protected areas, the management strategies would have further reduced the naturalness (0.274 ≤ ΔNI ≤ 0.492). Apart from exotic species plantation, the most sensitive variables are the percentage of area in irregular, old, and closed forests at time zero and the percentage of area in closed forests, late successional species groups, and modified wetlands after 70 years. Conclusions: Despite the necessity of further model and parameter validation, the use of the index makes it possible to combine the effects of different forestry management strategies and practices into one alteration gradient.

Forestry carbon budget models to improve biogenic carbon accounting in life cycle assessment
Article scientifique ArODES

Marieke Head, Pierre Bernier, Annie Levasseur, Robert Beauregard, Manuele Margni

Journal of Cleaner Production,  2019, vol. 213, pp. 289-299

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Currently, wood and wood construction materials have limitations in how carbon fluxes are accounted for in life cycle assessments. The biogenic carbon balance of wood is often considered to be neutral, meaning that the carbon sequestered by biomass through photosynthesis is considered equal to the carbon feedstock in wood that is eventually released throughout its life cycle. Several publications have recently shown that this assumption could lead to accounting errors. This research work aims to improve the biogenic carbon accounting of the forestry phase of the life cycle of softwood products. This involved specifically modelling carbon fluxes as a function of tree species, growing conditions and forest management practices, from Canadian managed forests. A baseline natural forest scenario was run for 1000 years until the carbon stocks were assumed to reach an approximate steady-state, followed immediately by a harvest scenario that was simulated for another 100 years. The ecosystem carbon costs of the harvest activity were calculated for 117 species and region forest landscapes across Canada and expressed per cubic meter of harvested wood. Most landscapes showed net sequestration after 100 years of harvest history. Exceptions to this included outlier landscapes characterized by low average annual temperatures and precipitation where slightly positive values (net emissions) were found. The mean time to ecosystem cost neutrality for each species ranged from 16 to 60 years. Knowing the time since forest management has started on a particular forest landscape now enables managers to obtain an estimate of ecosystem carbon cost per cubic meter of wood harvested for most of Canada's forests and commercial tree species. These ecosystem carbon costs can be used to generate regionalized cradle-to-gate life cycle inventories for harvested wood products across Canada.

Global spatial analysis of toxic emissions to freshwater :
Article scientifique ArODES
operationalization for LCA

Anna Kounina, Manuele Margni, Andrew D. Henderson, Olivier Jolliet

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2019, 24, 3, 501-517

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There is increasing interest in using fate and exposure models to spatially differentiate the impacts of chemical emissions. This work aims at exploring the operationalization in life cycle assessment (LCA) of spatially differentiated models for toxic emissions into freshwater. We analyse and compare the variability of fate and exposure factors at high resolution with aggregated factors at different levels of lower resolution. We developed a spatially resolved fate and exposure characterization model and factors for toxic emissions into freshwater with global coverage at 0.5° × 0.5° resolution, extending a global hydrological model to account for removal processes, namely chemical and biological degradation, sedimentation, and volatilization. We analysed the variation in fate and exposure factors for water ingestion, identifying the main factors of influence. We then developed archetypes for ecosystems and human fate and exposure. Using a case study of emissions of arsenic from red mud disposal as a waste from alumina production, we tested practical solutions to apply spatial characterization factors aggregated at different resolution in LCA, comparing archetype-based with region-based approaches. World maps show up to 5 orders of magnitude variation for chemical fate in fresh water across all 0.5° × 0.5° grid cells and up to 15 orders of magnitude for human intake fractions. The freshwater residence time to the sea and the equivalent depth—over all downstream cells—were the most influential landscape parameters. They were used to define four freshwater landscape archetypes. These archetypes capture variation in fate well, better than country or continent-aggregated values, but are not able to reflect variation in intake fraction. The case study on arsenic from alumina production shows that the determination of industry-specific weighted average represents a pragmatic way to account for sector-specific location of emissions. The population-weighted approach is primarily applicable for emissions that are related to population density, such as household emissions. The developed global freshwater model demonstrates large spatial variations in fate and exposure. Archetypes for fate in fresh water provide substantial reductions in variability compared to country or continental averages, but are more difficult to apply to LCA than rural or urban archetypes for air emissions. The 0.5° × 0.5° grid model and the fate archetypes may also be used in the context of ecological scenarios to identify hotspots. In practice, population-weighted and sector-specific average characterization factors may represent the most operational way to account for specific distribution patterns of toxic emissions in LCA.

Intensive carbon dioxide emission of coal chemical industry in China
Article scientifique ArODES

You Zhang, Zengwei Yuan, Manuele Margni, Cécile Bulle, Hui Hua, Songyan Jiang, Xuewei Liu

Applied Energy,  236, 540-550

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Résumé:

As the largest producer of coal chemical products in the world, China faces tremendous pressure to reduce its carbon emission. An accurate quantification of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission of coal chemical industry in China is therefore necessary. However, due to the variety of coal chemical products and limitations of CO2 emission factors, the total CO2 emission of coal chemical industry has yet to be determined. In this study, local CO2 emission factors of coal chemical products in China are published based on first hand data from twenty-three coal chemical enterprises and the total CO2 emission of China's coal chemical industry is extrapolated. The provincial-level spatial distribution of the CO2 emission of coal chemical industry is presented to assist the government in identifying key emission reduction areas. Additionally, scenario analysis of CO2 emission for China’s modern coal chemical industry in 2020 is conducted to determine whether the development of the modern coal chemical industry will have a significant impact on future CO2 emission, as well as the effect of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies on the reduction in carbon emission. The estimate shows that the total CO2 emission of the coal chemical industry in 2015 was 607 million tonnes (Mt), accounting for approximately 5.71% of China’s total CO2 emission. The figure is higher than the total annual CO2 emission of a country such as Canada (555 Mt) or Brazil (486 Mt). Quantifying the emission of the coal chemical industry is therefore critical to understand the global carbon budget. The spatial distribution shows that Shandong, Inner Mongolia and Shanxi release one-third of the coal chemical industry’s total CO2 emission. Considering the development of the modern coal chemical industry, its CO2 emission is predicted to be as high as 416.52 million tonnes in 2020. However, the CO2 emission could be reduced by 317.98 million tonnes when carbon capture, utilization and storage are applied to process and energy systems simultaneously. This paper quantifies the CO2 emission of the coal chemical industry in China for the first time, identifies key chemical products and the provinces in which they are produced, explores the carbon reduction potential by scenario analysis, and provides specific data to support the assessment of effective CO2 reduction policy.

Are there infinitely many trucks in the technosphere, or exactly one? How independent sampling of instances of unit processes affects uncertainty analysis in LCA
Article scientifique ArODES

Pascal Lesage, Chris Mutel, Urs Schenker, Manuele Margni

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2019, 24, 2, 338-350

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Résumé:

Product systems use the same unit process models to represent distinct but similar activities. This notably applies to activities in cyclic dependency relationships (or “feedback loops”) that are required an infinite number of times in a product system. The study aims to test the sensitivity of uncertainty results on the assumption made concerning these different instances of the same activities. The default assumption assumes homogeneous production, and the same parameter values are sampled for all instances (e.g., there is one truck). The alternative assumption is that every instance is distinct, and parameter values are independently sampled for different instances of unit processes (e.g., there are infinitely many trucks). Intuitively, sampling the same values for each instance of a unit process should result in more uncertain results. The results of uncertainty analyses carried out under either assumption are compared. To simulate models where each instance of a unit process is independent, we convert network models to acyclic LCI models (tree models). This is done three times: (1) for a very simple product system, to explain the methodology; (2) for a sample product system from the ecoinvent database, for illustrative purposes; and (3) for thousands of product systems from ecoinvent databases. The uncertainty of network models is indeed greater than that of corresponding tree models. This is shown mathematically for the analytical approximation method to uncertainty propagation and is observed for Monte Carlo simulations with very large numbers of iterations. However, the magnitude of the difference in indicators of dispersion is, for the ecoinvent product systems, often less than a factor of 1.5. In few extreme cases, indicators of dispersion are different by a factor of 4. Monte Carlo simulations with smaller numbers of iterations sometimes give the opposite result. Given the small magnitude of the difference, we believe that breaking away from the default approach is generally not warranted. Indeed, (1) the alternative approach is not more robust, (2) the current default approach is conservative, and (3) there are more pressing challenges for the LCA community to meet. This being said, the study focused on ecoinvent, which should normally be used as a background database. The difference in dispersion between the two approaches may be important in some contexts, and calculating the uncertainty of tree models as a sensitivity analysis could be useful.

IMPACT World+ :
Article scientifique ArODES
a globally regionalized life cycle impact assessment method

Cécile Bulle, Manuele Margni, Laure Patouillard, Anne-Marie Boulay, Guillaume Bourgault, Vincent De Bruille, Viêt Cao, Michael Hauschild, Andrew Henderson, Sebastien Humbert, Sormeh Kashef-Haghighi, Anna Kounina, Alexis Laurent, Annie Levasseur, Gladys Liard, Ralph K. Rosenbaum, Pierre-Olivier Roy, Shanna Shaked, Peter Fantke, Olivier Jolliet

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2019, 24, 9, 1653-1674

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Résumé:

This paper addresses the need for a globally regionalized method for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), integrating multiple state-of-the-art developments as well as damages on water and carbon areas of concern within a consistent LCIA framework. This method, named IMPACT World+, is the update of the IMPACT 2002+, LUCAS, and EDIP methods. This paper first presents the IMPACT World+ novelties and results and then analyzes the spatial variability for each regionalized impact category.

Defining freshwater as a natural resource :
Article scientifique ArODES
a framework linking water use to the area of protection natural resources

Charlotte Pradinaud, Stephen Northey, Ben Amor, Jane Bare, Lorenzo Benini, Markus Berger, Anne-Marie Boulay, Guillaume Junqua, Michael J. Lathuillière, Manuele Margni, Masaharu Motoshita, Briana Niblick, Sandra Payen, Stephan Pfister, Paula Quinteiro, Thomas Sonderegger, Ralph K. Rosenbaum

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment,  2019, 24, 5, 960-974

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Résumé:

While many examples have shown unsustainable use of freshwater resources, existing LCIA methods for water use do not comprehensively address impacts to natural resources for future generations. This framework aims to (1) define freshwater resource as an item to protect within the Area of Protection (AoP) natural resources, (2) identify relevant impact pathways affecting freshwater resources, and (3) outline methodological choices for impact characterization model development. Considering the current scope of the AoP natural resources, the complex nature of freshwater resources and its important dimensions to safeguard safe future supply, a definition of freshwater resource is proposed, including water quality aspects. In order to clearly define what is to be protected, the freshwater resource is put in perspective through the lens of the three main safeguard subjects defined by Dewulf et al. (2015). In addition, an extensive literature review identifies a wide range of possible impact pathways to freshwater resources, establishing the link between different inventory elementary flows (water consumption, emissions, and land use) and their potential to cause long-term freshwater depletion or degradation. Freshwater as a resource has a particular status in LCA resource assessment. First, it exists in the form of three types of resources: flow, fund, or stock. Then, in addition to being a resource for human economic activities (e.g., hydropower), it is above all a non-substitutable support for life that can be affected by both consumption (source function) and pollution (sink function). Therefore, both types of elementary flows (water consumption and emissions) should be linked to a damage indicator for freshwater as a resource. Land use is also identified as a potential stressor to freshwater resources by altering runoff, infiltration, and erosion processes as well as evapotranspiration. It is suggested to use the concept of recovery period to operationalize this framework: when the recovery period lasts longer than a given period of time, impacts are considered to be irreversible and fall into the concern of freshwater resources protection (i.e., affecting future generations), while short-term impacts effect the AoP ecosystem quality and human health directly. It is shown that it is relevant to include this concept in the impact assessment stage in order to discriminate the long-term from the short-term impacts, as some dynamic fate models already do. This framework provides a solid basis for the consistent development of future LCIA methods for freshwater resources, thereby capturing the potential long-term impacts that could warn decision makers about potential safe water supply issues in the future.

2018

Eco-efficiency applied to dairy processing :
Article scientifique ArODES
from concept to assessment

Scott Benoit, Manuele Margni, Christian Bouchard, Yves Pouliot

Environmental Management and Sustainable Development,  2019, 8, 1, 1

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Résumé:

Eco-efficiency is a concept which aims at decoupling economic growth from resource use and pollution. The objective of this paper is to review how the application of this concept to dairy processing has evolved over time. Following the introduction of the concept, guidelines and recommendations were introduced in the dairy sector. The absence of a lifecycle perspective and means of measuring improvement led to a subsequent addition of efficiency and intensity assessments. As restrictive regulations and comprehensive methodologies integrating the life-cycle perspective in eco-efficiency assessments were virtually non-existent, the ISO 14045 standard was developed. However, as of yet the dairy processing sector does not appear to have embraced the ISO methodology. Nonetheless, process simulation tools may help and could therefore contribute to the implementation of the eco-efficiency assessments in the dairy processing sector.

2024

Modelling the effect of future uncertainty in energy prices on decarbonization pathways for secondary aluminium production
Conférence ArODES

Dareen Dardor, Daniel Flórez-Orrego, Lorenzo Aimone, Reginald Germanier, Manuele Margni, François Maréchal

Proceedings of the 37th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Enviornmental Impact of Energy Systems (ECOS), 30 June - 5 July, Rhodes, Greece

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Résumé:

Aluminium is one of the most widely used metals in the world, but its production is highly energy intensive and largely dependent on the use of fossil fuels. A typical secondary aluminium production facility consumes 700 – 1,000 kWh of natural gas and 200 – 400 kWh of electricity per tonne of rolled aluminium sheets. Thus, in order to meet its global environmental targets, the aluminium industry is shifting towards alternative energy resources. Potential decarbonization routes include the use of biomass to replace fossil fuel via thermal gasification, the integration of carbon abatement and utilization units, the use of power-to-gas and energy storage systems, direct electrification of aluminium furnaces, installation of waste heat recovery units for power generation, among other alternatives. While most of these technologies have lifetimes of around 20 – 25 years, decisions on their installation must be made today. Biomass, electricity, and natural gas costs can be subject to unpredictable market variations, whereas carbon prices are related to both environmental regulations and future market situation. In this context, future uncertainty in energy prices should be accounted for in today’s decision-making. This work presents a systemic approach for assessing the effect of uncertain energy prices on the performance of different decarbonization routes for secondary aluminium production. To this end, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) approach is used to generate a list of optimal system configurations under different economic conditions. Next, Monte-Carlo simulations are applied to predict representative price trends of commodities and to compute the resilience of each decarbonization scenario based on the likelihood of its occurrence under varying monetary circumstances. Results indicate that decarbonization pathways have a 50% probability to be cheaper than fossil-based CO2 emitting configurations. Moreover, the decarbonization option with the highest probability of being the economic best was the “Elec-bio” cluster which relies on a combination of electricity and biofuels to operate the plant’s furnaces. A probability of 22 – 37% was estimated for realizing a cheaper “Elecbio” solution with respect to the natural gas driven base case over a lifetime of 25 years. Additionally, CO2 tax must not be the only economic incentive for emissions reduction but needs to be coupled with increased fossil fuel prices. Finally, this type of analysis allows decision makers to appreciate the potentials and risks associated with future decarbonization routes.

Use of the life cycle approach for the evaluation of industrial water management alternatives
Conférence ArODES

J. S. Boeira, Anne-Marie Boulay, Matthieu Jacob, Dareen Dardor, Pierre Pedenaud, Manuele Margni

Proceedings of the SPE Water Lifecycle Management Conference and Exhibition, 5-7 March 2024, Abu Dhabi, UAE

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Résumé:

In a context of more and more stress on the water resource, the industries are pushed to improve their water efficiency. Water management must reconcile legal requirements with technical and environmental performances to ensure that one does not compromise the other. Therefore, a fundamental question arises: What are the environmental impacts associated with different industrial water management alternatives? To address this inquiry, this research conducts a case study, analyzing different water management alternatives using a Life Cycle Analysis approach. A Combined Cycle Power Plant was chosen due to its simplicity and significance in terms of water use. The scenarios compared are based on the functional unit "managing water necessary to produce 1 MWh of electricity". Only water treatment associated structure, energy and chemicals to fulfill the defined functional unit were considered. Three distinct water recovery systems were analyzed and subsequently combined with different water supply and release options. Zero-recovery scenario, representing base case; partial recovery scenario through reverse osmosis, and total recovery scenario under Zero Liquid Discharge, in which thermo-distillation is applied. Furthermore, all scenarios were virtually reassigned to another water-scarce context for a more comprehensive geographical sensitivity analysis. In this research a Life Cycle Analysis was performed. Results are presented as carbon footprint (in CO2-eq) and water footprint (in m3 world-eq using AWARE) as mid-point indicators. A damage assessment has also been conducted to evaluate the relative contribution of global warming potential and water scarcity relative on Human Health and Ecosystem Quality Areas of Protection, among the contribution of all other midpoint impact categories. Withdrawn and released water volumes decrease with higher recovery rates while water consumption remains unaltered. Thus, the water footprint, based on freshwater consumption, substantially changes with different recovery rates only if non-freshwater resource is involved. CO2-equivalent emissions are caused mainly due to natural gas burned to produce the required electricity. Human health impacts are primarily dominated by global warming potential in non-water-scarce or highly developed countries. In this aspect, lower energy intensive water treatment routes should be prioritized over freshwater savings. However, the water scarcity footprint impacts dominate human health impacts for scarce and less developed countries. Thus, freshwater savings become important in those cases. Ecosystem quality exhibits lower geographical variation compared to human health impacts, and the differences between scenarios are dominated by global warming potential variation. Recycling does not necessarily lead to lower water scarcity footprints and can result in higher greenhouse gas emissions. It is crucial to consider the water scarcity context and trade-offs before making decisions about water management. Legislation based solely on water withdrawal and release volumes may lead to undesirable environmental impacts, beyond not ensuring water savings. Nevertheless, when debating water management options, the present work aims to facilitate informed decision-making regarding potential environmental impacts.

2023

Integration of life cycle impact assessment in energy system modelling
Conférence ArODES

Jonas Schnidrig, Justine Brun, François Maréchal, Manuele Margni

Proceedings of ECOS 2023 - the 36th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, 25-30 June 2023, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

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Résumé:

The Paris agreement is the first-ever universally accepted and legally binding agreement on global climate change. It is a bridge between today’s and climate-neutrality policies and strategies before the end of the century. However, government and private companies still struggle to develop cost-effective carbon-neutral strategies. Energy system modeling has proved essential in creating strategies to generate carbon-neutral scenarios under minimal costs. However, cost minimization does not necessarily lead to publicly acceptable solutions nor generate configurations that minimize environmental impacts. Here we show a methodology to integrate LCIA indicators in an energy system model, assessing the impact of energy system configurations on economic and environmental aspects. Here we show a methodology to integrate life cycle assessment metrics in an energy system model to account for (i) emissions and impacts beyond the operation of the energy system itself and (ii) identify configurations optimizing both economic and environmental aspects. The model is applied to the case study of Switzerland and shows that with little modifications to the energy system configuration, carbon neutrality can be reached under the cost minimization objective while identifying trade-offs with other environmental issues. This work allows the generation of MOO of energy systems, minimizing burden shifting of environmental impacts and generating robust solutions for the energy transition, increasing social acceptance towards the biggest challenge of the 21st century.

2019

Regionalization in LCA :
Conférence ArODES
current status in concepts, software and databases—69th LCA forum, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, 13 September, 2018

Rolf Frischknecht, Stephan Pfister, Jonas Bunsen, Adrian Haas, Josef Känzing, Martina Kilga, Jens Lansche, Manuele Margni, Christopher Mutel, Jürgen Reinhard, Philippe Stolz, Rosalie van Zelm, Marisa Vieira, Gregor Wernet

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment

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