Life Cycle Assessment
Last updated
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Last updated
The LCA module in Total Materia is based on the “Cradle to Gate” model, which evaluates the environmental impacts of a product from the extraction of raw materials (the cradle) to the point when the product leaves the manufacturing facility (the gate). This allows for a comprehensive assessment of the material's environmental footprint up to the production stage.
Step 1: What is being assessed?
To create a list of materials for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), simply check the boxes next to the materials you want to evaluate and select "ADD TO GREEN LINE". From the drop-down list, choose "LCA" to begin the assessment process.
Step 2: What are materials assessed by?
In this step, you select the indicators used for LCA calculations. There are more than 40 indicators available, categorized into two types:
Midpoint indicators: Focus on specific environmental impacts (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions).
Endpoint indicators: Measure broader environmental damages (e.g., damage to ecosystems or human health).
Users can choose from 5 different methods to perform the assessment, depending on their enterprise goals.
For instance, Carbon Footprint, a central part of the evaluation, is located under the Climate Change category. Ensure you select the indicators that best align with how you want to evaluate your products.
Step 3: Browse the results
Once the assessment is completed, a list of materials will be generated along with new columns displaying values for the selected indicators. All data is normalized to a reference of 1 kg of material, allowing for easy comparison of environmental impacts based on the selected indicators.
Assessments can be saved in My Console and exported as an Excel file for further analysis or reporting.
Clicking the “View settings” button allows users to filter the indicators they want displayed in the table and reorder them using drag-and-drop functionality. This provides flexibility in how the assessment data is viewed and prioritized.
Pressing the “Rank” button generates a total rank column, ordering materials based on their calculated indicator values from lowest to highest. Additionally, each material’s rank for specific indicators is shown within the respective indicator column, giving a detailed view of material performance.
Creating a PDF report can be done by selecting "Add to Report Builder".
A selection of indicators can be chosen for the report, and their order can be adjusted using the up and down arrows. The report can be downloaded directly or modified, saved, shared, or downloaded later as a PDF.
Each material has a “Pin” button, allowing it to be used as a reference for benchmarking. When a material is pinned, the other materials are automatically color-coded based on whether their values are higher or lower than the reference material. The difference in value from the reference is also displayed as a percentage.
Changing the condition or reference of a material, which alters its composition, can result in changes to the calculated values and rankings of the material.
All assessments made within the LCA tool can be saved. Users can name the assessment and add a description for easier management. If no title is set, a generic title with the save date is automatically assigned.
The saved Life Cycle Assessment can be found in Material Console -> My Console -> Saved LCAs.
Saved assessments are found in Material Console -> My Console -> Saved LCAs. If a saved LCA contains materials with updated values, warning icons will appear next to the material and affected values, indicating changes. Users can recalculate to obtain updated LCA values by clicking a designated button.
Export Life Cycle Assessments
All assessments conducted within the LCA tool can be exported as Excel files. Users have the option to include only visible columns and ranking data details before exporting, ensuring a customizable report.
