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- Life cycle assessment tool of electricity generation in PortugalPublication . Martins, António A.; Simaria, Marta; Barbosa, Joaquim; Barbosa, Ricardo; Silva, Daniela T.; Sousa Rocha, Cristina; Mata, Teresa M.; Caetano, Nídia S.ABSTRACT: This article presents and describes the LCA4Power tool, developed in this work to assess the potential environmental impacts, as, for example, the contribution to global warming, of electricity generation in continental Portugal, not considering the Madeira and Azores archipelagos. Based on a life cycle perspective, the tool considers the life cycles of various available technologies for producing electricity, on a cradle-to-gate perspective, excluding distribution and final use. It was implemented in MS Excel™ using emission factors obtained from the literature and other sources, instead of raw life cycle inventory data. The current version of the tool includes wind and hydroelectric power as renewable energy sources, and thermal and combined heat and power generation from fossil fuels as non-renewable energy sources. The combination of the aforementioned electricity generation technologies is responsible for more than 90% of the electricity generated in continental Portugal. Results were validated comparing the tool’s predictions with data from other LCA studies of electricity production, showing a good agreement, in particular for the greenhouse gas emissions. As added value, this tool provides a user-friendly way of simulating the potential environmental impacts of different endogenous energy mixes in Portugal, thus support decision making and communication. Future developments of the tool will include other technologies for electricity generation and its application to support decision making through the analysis of future scenarios for electricity generation in Portugal.
- Life cycle in practice: capacity building aiming European SME’sPublication . Pasquet, V.; Roy, A.; Adibi, N.; Coppee, S.; Echard, P.; Sousa Rocha, Cristina; Martins, Paulo; Alexandre, Jorge; Atin, E.The application of life cycle approaches – including life cycle assessment, ecodesign and environmental labelling – is becoming an increasing reality for business, and a growing challenge in many economic sectors. Businesses are facing increasing legal and market requirements to enhance resource efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of their products & services. To significantly address this challenge, the Life Cycle in Practice (LCiP) project was conceived, aiming to promote the uptake of LC approaches particularly in SMEs. The LCiP project helps SMEs in France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain reduce the environmental impacts of their products and services across the entire Life Cycle in three sectors: Buildings & Construction, Waste Management and Energy Equipment. LCiP’s specific objectives are to foster the widespread uptake of these approaches by SMEs beyond the duration of the project, by (i) Demonstrating the environmental and business benefits of applying LC Approaches through practical application in 32 businesses; (ii) Providing physical and online resource centres to support regional application of LC approaches; (iii) Building capacity for on-going implementation of LC approaches through a network of Life Cycle Champions and (iv) (Re)designing practical tools & methods tailored to the needs of the three industrial sectors. This paper presents the project's activities and expected results, as well as the conclusions of a maturity assessment on life cycle approaches that has been performed in the three sectors and four partner regions, as a means to identify needs and gaps that LCiP should fulfil.
- Pressure cooker under pressure: implementation of life cycle strategies and tools in a medium sized industry in PortugalPublication . Sousa Rocha, Cristina; Alexandre, Jorge; Camocho, David; Martins, PauloThis paper concerns the application of a set of life cycle oriented strategies and tools to a pressure cooker manufactured by a medium size company located in Portugal and targeting the international market. The life cycle assessment (LCA) indicated the major environmental problems of this product, which together with the company strategy of appealing the consumer through a 100% recyclable and more ergonomic product, provided the direction for the product and market development. Besides the LCA, an ecodesign project was carried out for a reference pressure cooker and through the use of several tools, including ecodesign checklists co-developed by LNEG in a previous project, a number of improvement options was generated, leading to the reduction and substitution of raw materials consumption, improved recyclability, better ergonomic features, more eco-friendly packaging and improved user interaction. A simplified environmental product declaration for the reference product was elaborated, in the framework of the EU Stepwise EPD project, and its marketing asset was evaluated through different communication methods, including phone meetings, website feedback, mailing lists and direct communication with customers in business fairs. This paper presents the results of this project and the characteristics of the improved product, and reflects upon the use of different life cycle-related strategies and tools in an integrated way; thus, this case study contributes to the understanding of the pros and cons of implementing life cycle strategies and tools in businesses.