Life Cycle Assessment Methodologies: Existing Approaches

This lecture introduces existing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies, starting with the concept of critical volumes in the 1980s and progressing through key developments such as Ecoscarcity, Ecoindicator95, and CML. It explores the evolution of LCA thinking in the early 90s, highlighting three main schools of thought and the shift from midpoint to endpoint modeling. The presentation delves into a detailed chronology of LCA methodologies, emphasizing the progression from BUS's critical volumes to modern approaches like TRACI and ReCiPe. It also discusses the main existing methods categorized by their approach, such as Ecoscarcity, JEPIX, CML, and ILCD. The lecture concludes by addressing the importance of selecting the appropriate LCA method and provides references for further exploration.