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Life Cycle Assessment

University of Michigan

About this Course

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This course will introduce you to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA ) methodology, a tool to  assess the environmental impact of products and systems over the whole product life cycle, from cradle to grave.
After a discussion of the potentials and limitations of quantitative LCA compared to other assessment tools, we will detail and practice each of the LCA phases. 1) The goals and system definition phase defines the goal and scope of the study, including the product function, functional unit, and the product system and its boundaries. 2) The Life Cycle Inventory phase quantifies the inventory of the various elementary flows of resource extractions and substance emissions crossing the system boundary, providing an overview of existing databases. 3) The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase determines multiple environmental impacts damage and provides an overview of the existing LCIA methods 4) The interpretation phase analyses results from an LCA case study to provide recommendations towards more sustainable products.

Leading actions in several industrial sectors (agriculture and foods, automotive, personal care products, and energy) will be examined through relevant case studies in order to demonstrate how effective environmental life-cycle assessment leads to new product development.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

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Intermediate Level

Approx. 35 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Intermediate Level

Approx. 35 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Olivier Jolliet

Professor of Environmental Health Sciences

School of Public Health

445 Learners

5 Courses

Offered by

University of Michigan

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week1

Week 1

5 hours to complete

Product-Oriented environmental assessment : Introduction to LCA

This week we take a look at the sustainability performance of products over their entire life cycle, from cradle to cradle. After analyzing the large number of products-chemicals we are in daily contact with, we identify the need for LCA, learn about the motivations to conduct LCAs versus other environmental tools. The goals and system definition step defines the goal and scope of the study, including the product function, functional unit, and the product system and its boundaries

5 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 96 min), 6 readings, 4 quizzes

11 videos

Meet Your Instructors5mCourse Introduction11mHow to Use the $ in Excel: A Tutorial Activity7mIntroduction to LCA - Part A - Why LCA?10mIntroduction to LCA - Part B - Uses of LCA4mLCA From A to Z - Qualitative10mLCA From A to Z - Quantitative9mLCA From A to Z - Product Improvement12mA History of LCA Standards8mLCA Compared to Other Environmental Tools- Part A8mLCA compared to other environmental tools- Part B7m

6 readings

Course Syllabus & Roadmap10mPre-Course Survey10mExpected Timetable for Case Study10mHow to Use the "$" Sign in Excel to Calculate Values10mWeek 1 Slides10mIntroduction to LCA Illustrated Quiz 10m

4 practice exercises

Knowledge Check: Introduction to LCA30mActivity: LCA illustrated30mKnowledge Check: Introduction to LCA30mWeek 1 Assessment30m

Week2

Week 2

6 hours to complete

LCA Goal Definition

6 hours to complete

11 videos (Total 103 min), 6 readings, 6 quizzes

11 videos

Goal and Scope Definition - Part A8mGoal and Scope Definition - Part B7mFunction & Functional Unit - Part A3mFunction & Functional Unit - Part B10mFunction & Functional Unit - Part C11mBuilding of Product System and Process Tree - Part A8mBuilding of Product System and Process Tree Part B6mBuilding of Product System and Process Tree Part C14mSystem Boundaries - Part A7mSystem Boundaries - Part B11mCase Study - Intermediary Presentation12m

6 readings

Week 2 Slides10mDirections for Activity: Functional unit and reference flows10mActivity: Hand Drying Comparison10mActivity: Building the product system and process tree10mReminder: Case Study timeline10mCase Study - Intermediary Presentation Model 10m

5 practice exercises

Knowledge Check: Goal and scope30mActivity: Functional unit and reference flows30mKnowledge Check Building the product system30mKnowledge Check System boundaries5mWeek 2 Assessment30m

Week3

Week 3

5 hours to complete

Life Cycle Inventory Part 1

The Life Cycle Inventory, the second LCA phase, quantifies the inventory of the various elementary flows of resource extractions and substance emissions crossing the system boundary. We first learn how to build the life cycle inventory and determine aggregated elementary flows from cradle to gate. We then establish the energy and CO2 balance for several products, identifying the dominant stages in the life cycle. This module then provide an overview of existing databases, describes in further detail the widespread ecoinvent database, illustrating the inventory via a simple car example.

5 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 67 min), 5 readings, 5 quizzes

9 videos

Life Cycle Inventory - Building the LCI Part A3mLife Cycle Inventory - Building the LCI Part B11mLife Cycle Inventory - Building the LCI Part C3mPrimary Energy and CO2 Emissions from Processes & Materials - Part A8mPrimary Energy and CO2 Emissions from Processes & Materials - Part B11mPrimary Energy and CO2 Balance - Part A4mPrimary Energy and CO2 Balance - Part B9mPrimary Energy and CO2 Balance - Part C8mPrimary Energy and CO2 Balance - Part D6m

5 readings

Week 3 Combined Slides10mActivity: Building the LCI10mEnergy and CO2 balance Lighting template10mEnergy and CO2 balance Lighting template (Filled)10mActivity: Primary Energy and CO2 Balance - Part A10m

5 practice exercises

Knowledge Check Building the LCI5mBuilding the LCI 30mKnowledge Check: Primary Energy and CO2 Emissions30mKnowledge Check: Primary Energy and CO2 Balance30mWeek 3 Assessment30m

Week4

Week 4

7 hours to complete

Life Cycle Inventory Part 2

7 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 89 min), 4 readings, 7 quizzes

9 videos

Life Cycle Inventory - Databases - Part A11mLife Cycle Inventory - Databases - Part B8mLife Cycle Inventory - Databases - Part C7mLife Cycle Inventory - Databases - Part D11mFull Life Cycle Inventory - Car Case Study Part A11mFull Life Cycle Inventory - Car Case Study Part B9mLife Cycle Inventory - Special Topics - Part A Allocation13mLife Cycle Inventory - Special Topics - Part B Input-output9mLife Cycle Inventory - Special Topics - Part C Input-output6m

4 readings

Activity: Car case study - Matrix calculation10mActivity: 'Input-Output practice'10mWeek 4 Assessment Resource 15mCase Study - Intermediary Presentation10m

6 practice exercises

Knowledge Check: LCI databases30mWeek 4 Assessment30mCase Study Choice30mCase Study: CAR Phase 1 Quiz30mCase Study: Milk Alternatives Phase 1 Quiz30mCase Study Reflection30m

Week5

Week 5

6 hours to complete

Life Cycle Impact Assessment

The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is the third phase of an LCA. It use the inventory data to determine their environmental impacts and compare different types of impacts. The impact assessment methods are simple to apply, though their development can be relatively complex. After an introduction to LCIA and various environmental impacts, we first present the LCIA principles and framework. The module then details and illustrates using the Impact World+ method each LCIA step, i.e. a) the classification of emissions into different impact categories, b) the characterization of midpoint impacts, c) the damage (end point) characterization and the optional d) normalization and e) weighting steps. The module finishes by an overview of the existing LCIA methods and the present research efforts to arrive to a global consensus method.

6 hours to complete

16 videos (Total 149 min), 1 reading, 5 quizzes

16 videos

Introduction to LCIA6mOverview of Environmental Impact Categories - Part A9mOverview of Environmental Impact Categories - Part B8mPrinciples and Framework - Part A8mPrinciples and Framework - Part B8mLCIA in Practice- Part A9mLCIA in Practice- Part B12mLCIA in Practice- Part C12mLCIA in Practice - Part D 10mLCIA in Practice - Part E 10mLCIA in Practice- Part F6mLCIA in Practice- Part G11mLCIA in Practice- Part H10mOverview of LCIA Methods- Part A10mOverview of LCIA Methods - Part B8mOverview of LCIA Methods - Part C5m

1 reading

Activity: Practice LCIA - Hands drying example10m

5 practice exercises

Knowledge Check: LCIA principles and framework30mKnowledge Check LCIA car case study - Midpoint and damage30mKnowledge Check: LCIA car case study - Normalization and weighting30mKnowledge Check Overview of LCIA methods30mWeek 5 Assessment30m

Week6

Week 6

7 hours to complete

LCA Interpretation

This chapter aims to guide you in the interpretation of results, in the implementation of an LCA in the SIMAPRO software and in the environmental classification of products. After describing the main interpretation principles, we illustrate the interpretation steps using an example of desktop versus laptop computers. We then discuss strategies to check LCA results, and identify and discuss the main uncertainties in life cycle impact assessment results and illustrate it with the hands drying example. We then perform a SIMAPRO tutorial exercise, implementing the hand drying example in SIMAPRO. We finally discuss a simplified product classification and provide rules for sustainable design of products, also looking at reuse,recycling and (e-)waste strategies.

7 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 137 min), 4 readings, 9 quizzes

14 videos

Interpretation Principles10mInterpretation - PC Case Study - Part A12mInterpretation - PC Case Study - Part B11mInterpretation - PC Case Study - Part C10mCase Study - Final Presentation - week 512mChecks and uncertainty - Part A 8mChecks and uncertainty - Part B11mChecks and uncertainty - Part C11mChecks and uncertainties Part D9mProduct Classification - Part A10mProduct Classification - Part B6mProduct Classification - Part C7mCase Study - Intermediary Presentation - week 312mLCA Summary - LCA good practices in one page1m

4 readings

Case Study Final Presentation10mActivity: Positioning Products10mCase Study: Abstract Models10mPost-Course Survey10m

8 practice exercises

Knowledge Check: Interpretation principles30mKnowledge Check: Checks and uncertainties30mKnowledge Check: Product classification5mPositioning Products5mCase Study: CAR Phase 2 Quiz30mCase Study: MILK Phase 2 Quiz30mKnowledge Check: LCA Synthesis30mWeek 6 Assessment30m

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Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment

About this Course