Abstract
Based on the classical methods and standards of life cycle assessment (LCA), there is recently a trend toward the diversification and proliferation of “new” life cycle-based assessment approaches. They are summarized in this volume/book under the heading of Special Types of Life Cycle Assessment and include:
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Carbon footprinting
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Water footprinting
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Eco-efficiency assessment
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Resource efficiency assessment
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Input-output (IO) and hybrid LCA
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Material flow analysis (MFA)
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Organizational LCA
The nature and scope of these special types of LCA are rather different. Some represent specific impact categories in the form of seemingly simplified stand-alone footprinting methods; some represent complementary modeling approaches like MFA, IO-LCA, and hybrid LCA; and some represent a broader application context (organizational LCA, OLCA) or a broader sustainability scope of the assessment (resource and eco-efficiency assessment). This volume contains state-of-the-art contributions for each of these special types of LCA by leading experts in the respective field.
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Abbreviations
- IO-LCA:
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Input-output and hybrid LCA
- LCC:
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Life cycle costing
- LCSA:
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Life cycle sustainability assessment
- MFA:
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Material flow analysis
- OEF:
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Organizational environmental footprint
- OLCA:
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Organizational LCA
- PEF:
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Product environmental footprint
- SLCA:
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Social LCA
- WBCSD:
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World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- WRI:
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World Resources Institute
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Finkbeiner, M. (2016). Introducing “Special Types of Life Cycle Assessment”. In: Finkbeiner, M. (eds) Special Types of Life Cycle Assessment. LCA Compendium – The Complete World of Life Cycle Assessment. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7610-3_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7610-3_1
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