LCA, or environmental life cycle assessment of products, is a conceptual way of rethinking production and consumption activities in relation to the environmental problems with which they are associated. But it is also a scientifically based method for quantifying these environmental problems. Both as a concept and as a scientific method, it is used to analyse product systems, ranging from packaging materials to entire national energy scenarios, and from building materials to food products from genetically modified organisms.
Although the course basically starts from an applied perspective (how to do LCA?), there is much attention for the scientific foundation and developments. The course puts LCA in the perspective of integrated models, systems analysis, industrial ecology, and society’s metabolism of materials and energy.
Study Goals This course aims to provide an insight into the various approaches that are somehow deal with LCA. The following aspect are treated:
the policy and user’s context of LCA
the methodological context of LCA
an in-depth treatment of the scientifically-based methods for quantitative LCA
examples of application of LCA
application of LCA in a concrete case
Important: To enroll for this course in Delft, use code IE3640!