The UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative

Abstract

The activities of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative have been crucial for the dissemination of LCA worldwide and the creation of a global life cycle community, since 2002, after the ISO 14040 series had been established. The Life Cycle Initiative not only contributed to capability development and the set up of national and regional life cycle networks in different parts of the world but also to enhancing and building global consensus on life cycle methodologies in areas such as life cycle inventory (LCI), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), social life cycle assessment as well as carbon and water footprinting. Moreover, the Life Cycle Initiative has successfully promoted the way leading companies are doing life cycle management (LCM) and the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development in life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA).

The chapter opens with an introduction on how the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative came to life and developed over the years. Then the special relationship of the Life Cycle Initiative to The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment is highlighted. This section is followed by a description of the main contributions of the Life Cycle Initiative to the international community. In the subsequent section the key messages based on the work conducted during the last 10 years are described. The chapter finishes with some thoughts on the future of life cycle thinking and an introduction to the Phase 3 of the Life Cycle Initiative.

The chapter includes the list of key achievements of the Life Cycle Initiative’s Phase 1 and 2 activities that are the creation of a global life cycle community, the LCI Registry, the LCIA Midpoint-damage Framework, the USEtox model, the LCM guide and capability maturity framework, the social LCA guidelines, the LCSA framework and the global guidance principles for LCA databases.

Appendix—Glossary

10YFP	10-Year Framework of Programmes on sustainable consumption and production adopted during the last so-called Rio + 20 World Summit on sustainable development in June 2012
Apeldoorn declaration	Declaration by a group of specialists in LCA and Risk Assessment on practices and complications of life cycle impact assessment methodologies for non-ferrous metals
CILCA	International Conference on life cycle assessment in Latin America
CML	Institute of Environmental Sciences, an institute of the Faculty of Science of the Leiden University
E-LCA	Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
EPFL	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
ICMM	International Council on Mining and Metals
ISO	International Organization for Standardization
ILCB	International Life Cycle Initiative Board
ILCD	International Reference Life Cycle Data System developed by the European Commission
ILCP	International Life Cycle Initiative Panel
IRP	International Resource Panel
Life Cycle Initiative	UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative
LCC	Life Cycle Costing
LCI	Life Cycle Inventory
LCIA	Life Cycle Impact Assessment
LCM	Life Cycle Management
LCSA	Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment
Marrakech Process	A global process as called for by the World Summit on sustainable development’s Johannesburg plan of action to support the elaboration of a 10-Year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production
OECD	Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
PMO	Project Management Office
SCP	Sustainable consumption and production
SETAC	Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Shonan Guidance Principles	Global guidance principles for life cycle assessment databases
S-LCA	Social life cycle assessment
TF	Task force
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme
USEtox	Environmental model for characterization of human and ecotoxic impacts in life cycle impact assessment and for comparative assessment and ranking of chemicals according to their inherent hazard characteristics developed by a team of researchers from the Phase 1 Task force on toxic impacts under the UNEP-SETAC life cycle initiative
WAIG	Work Area Interest Group
WBCSD	World Business Council for Sustainable Development
WRI	World Resource Institute