The necessity of world-wide recognised methods

Assessing technologies, services and products requires the use of internationally recognised and efficient methods. The credibility of such studies is only possible if they are based on accurate methodologies in order to produce conclusive and verifiable results.

Through its expertise in Life Cycle Assessment, Ecobilan provides solutions to the environmental set of problems encountered by the Industry and Government bodies, and guide them in their strategy with a life cycle approach.

The use of Life Cycle Assessment and its applications

LCA practice follow an internationally standardisation: the ISO 14040 series of standards. The ISO 14040 to 14044 series of standards describe the method presenting the different options for the release of Life Cycle Assessments. Referring to these standards allows the studies to be acknowledged and being compliant with them is the only guaranty of the credibility of an LCA study.

Through its experience and expertise, Ecobilan has contributed to develop the ISO 14040 series of standards, and brought its know-how to settle this regulation at the AFNOR (French Standardisation Association). Ecobilan participated also in the making of environmental database at SETAC (Society of Environmental toxicology and Chemistry) and to Life Cycle Inventory data exchange facilitation (Society for Promotion of Life-cycle Assessment Development ).

Ecobilan has extended its life cycle approach to develop its own methods

Technical, economical, or regulatory issues have to be taken into account in parallel to the need to assess the environmental performance of products. We have applied several standardised methods or developed our own ones to offer a comprehensive and reliable evaluation of all of those aspects while carrying out a study.

For instance, life cycle costing and its different approaches are useful for the comparison of different waste management scenarios and their related costs. POEMS (Product Oriented Environmental Management Systems) are used as a knowledge management between the different stakeholders from a company in order to improve products.

MASIT (Multicriteria Analysis for Sustainable Industrial Technologies), a methodology developed and funded by Ecobilan, CEA and EdF, with an additional financial support of ADEME (French agency for the management of energy and environment), allows a sector to compare new technologies to the referenced one while matching up financial, technical and social criteria to the environmental ones.

The objective of this chapter is to detail these methods and their modes of application in order to deliver the services that Ecobilan offers.