Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impacts of Bioeconomy
Brief me
- It is vital to monitor and predict environmental impacts of the bioeconomy to ensure that it operates within safe ecological limits.
- Life Cycle Assessment, known as LCA, is a standardised methodology that looks at the impacts of a system’s life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to waste management.
- The regulatory approach supports the implementation of specific legislative instruments. It should be exact, well defined and easy to calculate.
- The strategic approach assesses large-scale impacts across economic sectors, geographic areas and ecological processes to avoid any unintended consequences of policy decisions.
- To avoid misinterpretation and misuse of results of those approaches, LCA practitioners must communicate clearly on the scope, assumptions and limitations of each study.
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Brief on the use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate environmental impacts of the bioeconomy
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European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment
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Database of LCA results for bio-based commodities
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Research projects on the application of LCA in bio-based products
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Environmental impact: more resources
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