Data quality assessment for LCA: a management science approach

• Grant number: 14/00935-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: June 01, 2014
• End date: January 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Ildo Luis Sauer
• Grantee: Tereza Cristina Assis Bicalho de Menezes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Energia e Ambiente (IEE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology used for evaluating the potential environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its life cycle. The methodology allows the evaluation of a broad panel of environmental indicators such as the contribution to climate change and the consumption of non-renewable energy. However, one of the main challenges in LCA lies in the nature and quality of the data used when carrying out an LCA study. The problem of data quality can be particularly sensitive in the context of environmental certifications (obtained through the use of LCA), whether voluntary or associated with government regulatory frameworks. Despite the existence of quality indicators, the current approach of quality assessment for LCA has serious limitations in the evaluation of corporate data, which have strong influence on the results of this kind of impact assessment. This project proposes a new approach for the evaluation of data in LCA, by the creation of new indicators for quality assessment with specific focus on activity data provided by firms and used in life cycle inventories. The proposed tool could provide an important methodological development in the field of LCA allowing better quality and more reliable studies. In addition, it may act as a management instrument to the creation of efficient environmental information systems adapted to LCA studies and contribute to a more efficient environmental management in both private organizations and the public sphere. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BICALHO, TEREZA; SAUER, ILDO; RAMBAUD, ALEXANDRE; ALTUKHOVA, YULIA. LCA data quality: A management science perspective. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, v. 156, p. 888-898, JUL 10 2017. (14/00935-2)

BICALHO, TEREZA; SAUER, ILDO; PATINO-ECHEVERRI, DALIA. Quality of data for estimating GHG emissions in biofuel regulations is unknown: A review of default values related to sugarcane and corn ethanol. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, v. 239, DEC 1 2019. (14/00935-2)