Environmental News, 78 – Impact categories, normalisation and weighting in LCA

Impact categories, normalisation and weighting in LCA

Introduction to the series

Life cycle thinking and life cycle assessment are key elements in an integrated product policy. There is a need for thorough and scientific well- founded methods for life cycle assessment. Parallel to this, there is a need for simple, easy-understandable methods, which reflect life cycle thinking. Which method to use must depend on the goal and scope in each case inclusive target group, publication strategy etc.

It is common for all life cycle assessments, that they have to give a solid and reliable result. A result, that is a good foundation for the decisions subsequently to be made.

During the last 10 years a number of projects concerning life cycle assessment and life cycle thinking has received financial support.

The main results of projects on life cycle assessments will from 2000 and in the next couple of years be published as a mini-series under the Danish EPA's series Environmental News (Miljønyt).

As the projects are being finalised they will supplement the results of the EDIP-project from 1996. The tools, experience, advice, help and guidance altogether form a good platform for most applications of life cycle assessments.

Life cycle assessment is a field so comprehensive, that it is not likely to be possible to write one book, that will cover all situations and applications of life cycle assessments. The Danish EPA hopes, that the LCA-publications together will present the knowledge available to companies, institutions, authorities and others, who wish to use the life cycle approach.

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, October 2000