scholarly journals The Commodity Life Cycle Costing Indicator. An Economic Measure of Natural Resource Use in the Life Cycle

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4870
Author(s):  
Giulio Mela ◽  
Maria Leonor Carvalho ◽  
Andrea Temporelli ◽  
Pierpaolo Girardi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Price Volatility ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Economic Indicator ◽  
Monte Carlo Analysis ◽  
Life Cycle Costing ◽  
Natural Resource Use

This study defines a methodology for the development of an economic indicator of natural resource use to be applied in the framework of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to integrate the assessment of the environmental performances of products or processes during their life-cycle. The indicator developed-called Commodity Life Cycle Costing (or C-LCC)-is based on market prices, therefore incorporating information from both the demand and supply sides. Monte Carlo analysis is used to take price volatility into account. Alternative versions of the indicator, based on open-source data or calculated considering European Union’s critical raw materials only, are also developed. The study also provides a comparison between the C-LCC indicator and ReCiPe’s Mineral and Fossil Resource Depletion indicators and applies the proposed methodology to several types of batteries for stationary energy storage.

scholarly journals A Review of Life Cycle Assessment Studies of Electric Vehicles with a Focus on Resource Use

Resources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iulia Dolganova ◽  
Anne Rödl ◽  
Vanessa Bach ◽  
Martin Kaltschmitt ◽  
Matthias Finkbeiner
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Combustion Engine ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Lca Case Studies ◽  
Potential Risks

Changes in the mobility patterns have evoked concerns about the future availability of certain raw materials necessary to produce alternative drivetrains and related batteries. The goal of this article is to determine if resource use aspects are adequately reflected within life cycle assessment (LCA) case studies of electric vehicles (EV). Overall, 103 LCA studies on electric vehicles from 2009 to 2018 are evaluated regarding their objective, scope, considered impact categories, and assessment methods—with a focus on resource depletion and criticality. The performed analysis shows that only 24 out of 76 EV LCA and 10 out of 27 battery LCA address the issue of resources. The majority of the studies apply one of these methods: CML-IA, ReCiPe, or Eco-Indicator 99. In most studies, EV show higher results for mineral and metal resource depletion than internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV). The batteries analysis shows that lithium, manganese, copper, and nickel are responsible for the highest burdens. Only few publications approach resource criticality. Although this topic is a serious concern for future mobility, it is currently not comprehensively and consistently considered within LCA studies of electric vehicles. Criticality should be included in the analyses in order to derive results on the potential risks associated with certain resources.

scholarly journals Assessing Natural Resource Use by Forest-Reliant Communities in Madagascar Using Functional Diversity and Functional Redundancy Metrics

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. e24107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry A. Brown ◽  
Dan F. B. Flynn ◽  
Nicola K. Abram ◽  
J. Carter Ingram ◽  
Steig E. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Functional Redundancy ◽  
Natural Resource Use

scholarly journals Waste Management at the End of the Stone Age

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-57
Author(s):  
Filip Havlíček ◽  
Martin Kuča
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Environmental History ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Stone Age ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Natural Resource Use ◽  
Lower Palaeolithic

AbstractThis article describes examples of waste management systems from archaeological sites in Europe and the Middle East. These examples are then contextualized in the broader perspectives of environmental history. We can confidently claim that the natural resource use of societies predating the Lower Palaeolithic was in equilibrium with the environment. In sharp contrast stand communities from the Upper Palaeolithic and onwards, when agriculture appeared and provided opportunities for what seemed like unlimited expansion.

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