In an environmental life cycle assessment of products (LCA), an
unambiguous, scientifically based, 'objective' attribution of material
and energy flows to a product is pure fiction. This is due to the
fundamental epistemological conditions of LCA as a modelling process
under the complexity of our socio-economic system. Instead, various
mental models and values guide this attribution. This leads to a
functional model in a specific decision situation.
This book shows for the first time how mental models and values
influence this attribution in the life cycle inventory step of LCA. One
of the key findings is that the different management rules for a
sustainable use of materials must be taken into account for the
attribution of material and energy flows to a product. Otherwise,
improvement options recommended by an LCA might turn out to even worsen
the environmental situation if reassessed from a meta-perspective.
As a consequence of this book, the claim of unambiguitiy ('objectivity')
of the life cycle inventory must be abandoned. A group-model building
process for LCA is developed that allows one to grasp the decision
makers' mental models and values in the inventory analysis on a case-
and situation-specific basis. Only by this, LCA results will become
relevant in a decision-making process.
Two case studies on the modelling of recycling and other end-of-life
options of aluminium windows and beech wood railway sleepers in LCA
complement the methodological part.
This book is a 'must have' for researchers, consultants and
practitioners in the fields of decision-oriented life cycle assessment
as well as product-related environmental management, modelling and
decision-making.
