It's well known that an LCA can help to identify potential environmental trade-offs. However, how do we evaluate or analyse trade-offs in LCA studies? For instance, how to evaluate trade-offs among different environmental impact categories, or during scenario analysis? Any example regarding this topic and/or suggestions of papers for reading are welcome.
Here are a few examples of studies under different situations. There are enough tools already available. You need to do it specific case that you are interested.
Byggeth, S., & Hochschorner, E. (2006). Handling trade-offs in ecodesign tools for sustainable product development and procurement. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(15), 1420-1430.
Norris, G. A. (2001). Integrating life cycle cost analysis and LCA. The international journal of life cycle assessment, 6(2), 118-120.
Rodríguez, J. P., Beard Jr, T. D., Bennett, E. M., Cumming, G. S., Cork, S., Agard, J., ... & Peterson, G. D. (2006). Trade-offs across space, time, and ecosystem services. Ecology and Society, 11(1), 28.
Hauschild, M. Z. (2005). Assessing environmental impacts in a life-cycle perspective. Environmental science & technology, 39(4), 81A-88A.
http://www.environment.ucla.edu/media/files/Delmas-Doctori-Blass-BSE.pdf
Pfister, S., Bayer, P., Koehler, A., & Hellweg, S. (2011). Environmental impacts of water use in global crop production: hotspots and trade-offs with land use. Environmental science & technology, 45(13), 5761-5768.
Dear Prof. Nageswara Posinasetti, thank you very much for your feedback!
Actually, I was studying a new kind of resin used to produce particleboards and I found out that non-toxicological impacts increase and toxicological impacts decrease hence the highter the use of the resin. That's why I mentioned about trade-offs evaluation in LCA studies.
There are a lot of software employed for analized de ACV:
ECO it: www.pre.nl/eco-it/default.htm.
ECOSCAN: www.ind.tno.nl/productdeveloppment/ecoscan
SimaPro: www.pre.nl/simapro/default.htm.
TEAM System Editor: www.ecobalance.com/software/team/
IdeMAT: www.io.tudelft.nl/research/dfs/idemat/menu.htm
e.g. use of shadow prices
Van harmelen et al, The price of toxicity. Methodology for the assessment of shadow prices for human toxicity, ecotoxicity and abiotic depletion, Quantified Eco-Efficiency
Eco-Efficiency in Industry and Science Volume 22, 2007, pp 105-125
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F1-4020-5399-1_4
Look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-costs (better than other schadow price systems). Look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-costs_value_ratio for the trade-off issue of ecology and economy
One reason why LCA was invented is to avoid trade-offs. Since no LCA is ideal, some trade-offs may persist and can be handled with sinsitivity analyses.
Walter Kloepffer
If you compare an improved prooduct with the origunal one and all indicators go in the same direction (up or down) there is a small chance that a trade-off occured. Think nevertheless about impact categories not included in LCIA and economic and social isues not yet included in environmental LCA!
LCA popularity and success are well defined. its future is bright.
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