Research
Simplified framework could make products' environmental impacts easier to assess
Phys.org ·
The Brief
- A study by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) proposes a simplified framework for life cycle assessment.
- Life cycle assessment quantifies the environmental impact of products and services and informs political decisions.
- The data such assessments need is hard to capture completely, which the simplified framework aims to address.
Why it matters
Life cycle assessments underpin political decisions on products, so a method that makes them easier to carry out could make environmental comparisons more accessible to researchers and policymakers.
Who’s affected
- researchers doing life cycle assessment
- policymakers who rely on environmental impact data
- #life cycle assessment
- #environmental impact
- #sustainability
- #methodology
- #products
Life cycle assessment is used to quantify the environmental impact of products and services and forms an important basis for political decisions. However, the necessary data is always difficult to capture completely. A study by the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI now shows that four…