Unit 3

Introduction to Sustainable Engineering-22ETC25D
UNIT 3
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment: Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, LCA Applications
in Engineering: Environmental Product Declarations and Product Category Rules, Carbon and
Water Foot Print, Energy systems in Buildings and the Built Environment, LCA in Chemical
Production, Food and Agriculture
Tools for sustainability Assessment: Environmental Management System, Environmental
Auditing, Cleaner Production Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment, Strategic
Environmental Assessment.
LIFE CYCLE SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT
1.Life cycle sustainability assessment

Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) refers to the evaluation of all environmental, social
and economic negative impacts and benefits in decision-making processes towards more
sustainable products throughout their life cycle.
Increasing interest in developing methods to better understand and address the impacts of products
along their life cycle has been stimulated by a growing global awareness of the importance of
protecting the environment; an acknowledgement of the risks of trade-offs between possible
impacts associated with products (both manufactured and consumed); and the necessity of taking
account of climate change issues and biodiversity from a holistic perspective. Potential and future
decision-makers, stakeholders, enterprises and consumers can benefit from LCSA in the following
ways:
 LCSA enables practitioners to organize complex environmental, economic and social

information and data in a structured form.
 LCSA helps in clarifying the trade-offs between the three sustainability pillars, life cycle stages
and impacts, products and generations by providing a more comprehensive picture of the positive
and negative impacts along the product life cycle.
 LCSA will show enterprises how to become more responsible for their business by taking into
account the full spectrum of impacts associated with their products and services.
 LCSA promotes awareness in value chain actors on sustainability issues.
 LCSA supports enterprises and value chain actors in identifying weaknesses and enabling further
improvements of a product life cycle. For instance, it supports decision-makers in enterprises in
finding more sustainable means of production and in designing more sustainable products.
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 LCSA supports decision-makers in prioritizing resources and investing them where there are
more chances of positive impacts and less chance of negative ones.
 LCSA helps decision-makers choose sustainable technologies and products.
 LCSA can support consumers in determining which products are not only cost-efficient, eco-
efficient or socially responsible, but also more sustainable.
 LCSA stimulates innovation in enterprises and value chain actors.
 LCSA has the potential to inform labelling initiatives.
 Communicating transparent LCSA information helps enterprises to raise their credibility.
 LCSA provides guiding principles to achieve SCP.
2.Environmental Product Declarations and Product Category Rules

As demand for environmentally preferable products has increased, concerns from consumers over
“greenwashing” and unsubstantiated claims by manufacturers have also increased. Publishing an
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) will substantiate your environmental marketing claims
and provide an ecolabel (ISO 14025) that consumers can use to accurately compare products.
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

Life Cycle Assessment is the science behind these EPDs which must meet and comply with
specific methodological requirements that are defined in Product Category Rules (PCR). In
addition to complying with PCRs, EPDs are also verified by third-party expert panels to ensure
their accuracy prior to publication. When the company is ready to publish an EPD, LTS can guide
through the process.
Product Category Rules (PCR)

Product Category Rules (PCRs) are vital for the concept of environmental declarations and climate
declarations. PCRs enable transparency for the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
development and also comparability between different EPDs based on the same PCR. EPD
standards require that a PCR be developed for each system functional unit. One cannot have a
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product category rule that covers everything from toys to trucks; there must be a separate product
category rule for each kind of product. Sharing a functional unit means that the products provide
the same social benefit for consumers, and direct comparisons can be made between different
products. Logically, this means that every kind of product must have its own rule.
Environmental Product Declarations are owned by the companies that are selling the product.
However, the PCRs are produced and owned by a third party, called the program operator. The
program operator is responsible for making sure that the rules are developed in a transparent and
fair fashion according to the international standards, and that the validation of EPDs using the PCR
is done in such as way that quality is assured.
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3.Carbon and Water Foot Print

The carbon and water footprint concepts were introduced about two decades ago, simultaneously,
but independently from one another. The carbon footprint (CF) arose out of the debate on climate
change, as a tool to measure GHG emissions. The water footprint (WF) was introduced in the field
of water resources management, as a tool to measure water use in relation to consumption patterns.
In both cases, the terminology chosen was inspired by the ecological footprint (EF), which had
been introduced in the 1990s. All footprints measure, in different ways, human appropriation of
the planet’s natural resources and carrying capacity. The EF measures the use of bioproductive
space in hectares; the WF measures the consumption and contamination of freshwater resources
in cubic metres per year; and the CF measures the emission of gases that contribute to heating the
planet in carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalents per unit of time or product. A common property of all
footprints is that they can be related to specific activities, products and consumption patterns.
Recently, the nitrogen footprint was introduced as a tool to measure the amount of nitrogen
released into the environment in relation to consumption.
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4.Energy systems in Buildings and Built Environment

Achieving the rapid reduction in CO2 emissions required in the Net Zero by 2050 Scenario requires
a broad range of policy approaches and technologies.
The key pillars of decarbonisation of the global energy system are energy efficiency, behavioural
changes, electrification, renewables, bioenergy, hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels, and carbon
capture and storage. These CO2 mitigation levers cut across multiple sectors and should be
advanced in a holistic manner, capitalizing on synergies. In addition, key strategies to advance
decarbonisation – including innovation, international collaboration, and digitalization – will be
crucial to accelerating clean energy transitions.
The rapid urbanization has brought economic vitality to the city, while the energy consumption
has also increased dramatically. Buildings make a great contribution to the total energy
consumption of cities, accounting for about 32%, which is the key to urban energy conservation
and pollution emissions reduction. The main methods of lowering energy consumption of
buildings consist of using energy-saving reconstructions of building envelope and changing the
built environment. Among these, the elements of built environment can sustainably affect the
energy use by modifying the microclimate around buildings, such as land use and land cover
(LULC), landscape structure, building configuration and so on. LULC and landscape structure can
affect the surface temperature around buildings and alleviate the urban heat island effect (UHI).
Building configuration can produce ventilation corridors and shadows, which will affect
ventilation efficiency and solar irradiation and further affect the building energy consumption.
Besides, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought global health challenges in recent
years, especially mental disorders. Sustainable environment may have a positive social impact,
such as by benefiting human health, improving residents’ thermal comfort and quality of life.
Therefore, how to low building energy consumption, improve the urban thermal environment and
achieve the goal of sustainable development by optimizing the environment of cities has received
attention from policymakers and scholars increasingly.
The built environment is defined as human-made physical environment surroundings and
conditions. Built environment plays an important role in improving energy efficiency and reducing
building energy consumption. It is evident that land use can improve urban thermal comfort and
lower building energy consumption by reducing the temperature around buildings. Generally,
urban impervious surface is conducive to strengthen the urban heat island intensity, while the green
surface can provide cooling effect. Landscape structure is also an important factor of built
environment to reduce building energy use. Studies use landscape indicators to quantify urban land
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use patterns and to explore the effect between fragmentation and complexity of landscape on
building energy consumption.
Furthermore, building characteristics are another way to reduce building energy consumption from
the point of view of physical attributes. Building layout (orientation, sky view factor (SVF), etc.),
construction intensity (building density, aspect ratio (AR), etc.) and building physical form
(orientation, building height, etc.) are keys factors for studies. These factors can change cooling
and heating energy use by affecting the shelter between buildings, the availability of sunlight and
ventilation. Specifically, narrow urban canyons (high AR) can increase the shadows between
buildings, which can decrease the cooling demand of buildings. A high SVF of buildings can
improve the solar irradiation rate and influence the heating energy use.
5.LCA in Chemical Production
Students should understand LCA in chemical production through a case study. Follow the link to
download/read the case study for sodium hydroxide LCA analysis and have a discussion in tutorial
class.
https://deiso.co.jp/life-cycle-assessment-lca-in-chemical-industry/
6.LCA in Food and Agriculture
Food production needs to increase to feed a growing world population. In addition, diets in
developing countries include increasing amounts of meat. This comes with an increase of the
adverse environmental effects of food production, including the loss of biodiversity (from change
in land use), the emission of greenhouse gases, nutrient pollution, and the emission of toxic
compounds. To address these impacts, a systemic shift in the current agri-food system is needed –
and that requires the fact-based decision-making that life cycle assessment (LCA) supports like no
other. In this article, we will discuss the impacts of food production in some detail, as well as how
LCA can be a part of the solution.
6.1. Impacts of food production

Important impacts related to food production are biodiversity loss from the land needed for
agriculture, greenhouse gas emissions from various agricultural processes, nutrient pollution from
fertilizer runoff and emission of toxic compounds, mostly from pesticides and manure. Below, we
will go into some more detail for these four main impacts.
These issues are varied and complex, but are mostly related to the scale and production pressure
of agriculture. Some of the impacts also have an inverse relationship: if you want to reduce the
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area of land that needs to be harnessed for agriculture while keeping food production at the same
level or even increasing it, that may mean that more fertilizer and pesticides are required.
a) Biodiversity loss
Terrestrial food production needs land to grow crops and house animals. Fifty percent of the
world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. Seventy-seven percent of that is used for livestock,
and 23% for crops (see the figure below).
Deforestation is a significant and well-known problem that exacerbates climate change and results
in a huge loss of biodiversity. Forests provide a diverse habitat for all kinds of animals and plants
that cannot live on agricultural land. Agricultural land does of course provide a new type of habitat,
which can support different plants and animals. However, in monocultures, the variety of species
is much lower than it would be in a forest, leading to a loss of biodiversity. Eighty-five percent of
the world’s 28,000 endangered species are under threat because of agriculture and aquaculture.
The breakdown of what land is used for, showing the large proportion that is taken up by
agriculture. Source: OurWorldInData.org.
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b) Emission of greenhouse gases

Food production is responsible for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The amounts emitted
depend largely on what is being farmed and how the land in question is being managed. For
example, when a farmer applies lime to their land to lower the acidity of the soil, CO2 is emitted.
Other greenhouse gases that can be released when food is produced include:
 methane (CH4) from enteric fermentation in animals
 ammonia (NH3) from fertilizers
 nitrous oxide (N2O), which is produced through several processes, including the application of
fertilizer
Greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production of different types of food. Source:
OurWorldInData.org.
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c) Nutrient pollution
The major nutrients causing nutrient pollution are reactive nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). These
nutrients often enter the surrounding water system, with on average 20% of N applied being lost
with runoff and leaching. Reactive nitrogen and phosphorus in water systems can lead to
eutrophication and algal blooms. Globally, agriculture is a leading contributor to eutrophication.
Algal blooms threaten the aquatic ecosystem, can deplete oxygen and kill fish.
Eutrophication impacts of different types of foods. Source: OurWorldInData.org.
d) Emission of toxic compounds

Farmers use pesticides to protect their crops against pests and increase the yield. However, these
pesticides can end up in the air, the water and the soil, where they poison other organisms. Some
of the chemicals in pesticides are persistent: they are not broken down easily, and bioaccumulate
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in the food chain, thus leading to high levels of toxicity. For example, DDT (an insecticide that is
now banned) was found in small doses in mice where it was sprayed, and was then eventually
found in birds of prey through bioaccumulation, thus leading to high mortality in these birds.
Toxic compounds other than those from pesticides can enter the environment through manure.
Manure of livestock contains heavy metals, antibiotics, and pathogenic microorganisms that can
be toxic to ecosystems and human health.
Calculated using Agribalyse 3.0 food products and the ReCiPe Midpoint (H) Impact assessment
method in SimaPro 9.2.
6.2. Transitioning to a sustainable food system

As more and more food is produced, these environmental effects will become even more
problematic if current farming methods persist. And while it is simple to describe the
environmental effects as four separate issues, this is not an exhaustive list, and their effects are of
course intertwined in complex relationships.
Transitioning to a sustainable food system and thus lowering the environmental impact of food
production will be a tremendous challenge, in particular because each of these issues is too big to
simply “solve”. A multi-pronged approach is needed, with activity on the global, national,
company and personal level.
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That is where LCA comes in. It provides the fact-based analysis that is needed to make clear-
headed decisions. Decisions that will have the biggest impact and the best chances of not causing
adverse effects elsewhere. Decisions that will allow everyone involved to focus their efforts where
they will do most good.
6.3. LCA provides fact-based transparency

LCA can also help meet the growing demand for transparency and sustainability in food supply
chains. Consumer awareness of environmental issues with food is increasing, and they are
increasingly willing to consider environmental aspects when making purchasing decisions.
Retailers, too, have sustainability goals; they are demanding information on the environmental
performance of their products. Investors, in turn, are looking to support companies who can best
substantiate their sustainability goals.
The LCA methodology was developed to generate insights into the environmental footprints of
products, companies and even entire supply chains. That means it can be used to reduce the impact
of any particular actor’s activities, helping them stay ahead in a competitive market and comply
with demands of clients or investors.
6.4. Helping food producers make decisions

A particular benefit of LCA is the so-called “hotspot” analysis – which finds out which processes
are causing the biggest environmental impacts. For companies working to make this change
towards sustainable food production happen, a hotspot analysis helps them see if they could best:
 Reduce the use of fertilizers
 Switch to a more sustainable supplier
 Incorporate organic farming techniques
 Switch to renewable energy
 Switch to a different pesticide
 Switch to more plant-based ingredients
 Source ingredients more locally
 Change how products are transported
 Change how products are packaged
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TOOLS FOR SUSTAINBILITY ASSESSMENT

1.Environmental Management System
An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that helps an organization achieve

its environmental goals through consistent review, evaluation, and improvement of its
environmental performance. The assumption is that this consistent review and evaluation will
identify opportunities for improving and implementing the environmental performance of the
organization. The EMS itself does not dictate a level of environmental performance that must be
achieved; each organization's EMS is tailored to its own individual objectives and targets.
1.1.Basic EMS
An EMS helps an organization address its regulatory requirements in a systematic and cost-
effective manner. This proactive approach can help reduce the risk of non-compliance and improve
health and safety practices for employees and the public. An EMS can also help address non-
regulated issues, such as energy conservation, and can promote stronger operational control and
employee stewardship. Basic Elements of an EMS include the following:
 Reviewing the organization's environmental goals;
 Analyzing its environmental impacts and compliance obligations (or legal and other
requirements);
 Setting environmental objectives and targets to reduce environmental impacts and conform with
compliance obligations;
 Establishing programs to meet these objectives and targets;
 Monitoring and measuring progress in achieving the objectives;
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 Ensuring employees' environmental awareness and competence; and,

 Reviewing progress of the EMS and achieving improvements.
1.2.Potential Benefits of EMS
 Improved environmental performance
 Enhanced compliance
 Pollution prevention
 Resource conservation
 New customers/markets
 Increased efficiency/reduced costs
 Enhanced employee morale
 Enhanced image with public, regulators, lenders, investors
 Employee awareness of environmental issues and responsibilities
1.3.EMS under ISO 14001
The continuous improvement cycle.

An EMS encourages an organization to continuously improve its environmental performance. The
system follows a repeating cycle (see figure 1). The organization first commits to an environmental
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policy, then uses its policy as a basis for establishing a plan, which sets objectives and targets for
improving environmental performance. The next step is implementation. After that, the
organization evaluates its environmental performance to see whether the objectives and targets are
being met. If targets are not being met, corrective action is taken. The results of this evaluation are
then reviewed by top management to see if the EMS is working. Management revisits the
environmental policy and sets new targets in a revised plan. The company then implements the
revised plan. The cycle repeats, and continuous improvement occurs.
The most commonly used framework for an EMS is the one developed by the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the ISO 14001 standard . Established in 1996, this
framework is the official international standard for an EMS which is based on the Plan-Do-Check-
Act methodology. The five main stages of an EMS, as defined by the ISO 14001 standard , are
described below:
1. Commitment and Policy - Top management commits to environmental improvement and
establishes the organization's environmental policy. The policy is the foundation of the EMS.
2. Planning - An organization first identifies environmental aspects of its operations.
Environmental aspects are those items, such as air pollutants or hazardous waste, that can have
negative impacts on people and/or the environment. An organization then determines which
aspects are significant by choosing criteria considered most important by the organization. For
example, an organization may choose worker health and safety, environmental compliance, and
cost as its criteria. Once significant environmental aspects are determined, an organization sets
objectives and targets. An objective is an overall environmental goal (e.g., minimize use of
chemical X). A target is a detailed, quantified requirement that arises from the objectives (e.g.,
reduce use of chemical X by 25% by September 2030). The final part of the planning stage is
devising an action plan for meeting the targets. This includes designating responsibilities,
establishing a schedule, and outlining clearly defined steps to meet the targets.
3. Implementation - A organization follows through with the action plan using the necessary
resources (human, financial, etc.). An important component is employee training and awareness
for all employees (including interns, contractors, etc.). Other steps in the implementation stage
include documentation, following operating procedures, and setting up internal and external
communication lines.
4. Evaluation - A company monitors its operations to evaluate whether objectives and targets are
being met. If not, the company takes corrective action.
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5. Review - Top management reviews the results of the evaluation to see if the EMS is working.
Management determines whether the original environmental policy is consistent with the
organization's values. The plan is then revised to optimize the effectiveness of the EMS. The
review stage creates a loop of continuous improvement for a company.
2. Environmental Auditing
At its core, an environmental audit evaluates a company’s environmental performance.
Environmental audits can be done on specific procedures and operational areas to assess their
effectiveness and compliance with environmental rules and regulations.
Environmental audits are in place to ensure companies do what they can to preserve the
environment. Additionally, these audits aim to control a company’s environmental practices and
ensure compliance with the different regulations that may apply to them.
Generally, an environmental audit aims to:
 identify which environmental management practices are working effectively;
 find different areas of improvement when it comes to environmental compliance; and
 assess any new and potential risks to the environment.
2.1. Need for an Environmental Audit

Environmental audits aim to accomplish numerous goals. From a broader point of view, these
audits assess a company’s environmental impact. It can show managerial teams what they can do
to improve environmental sustainability, prove which environmental processes positively affect
productivity and efficiency, and find pinpoint risks before they manifest themselves.
However, the main goal of environmental audits is to ensure compliance with environmental laws.
Different territories and jurisdictions have their own environmental regulations, rules, and
requirements that all companies need to follow. Failure to comply with these rules and regulations
can result in severe consequences such as hefty fines and more, depending on the jurisdiction.
Environmental audits are crucial in standardizing these compliance measures across the
organization. Through environmental audits, companies can understand where training is needed
and whether they have the right control systems in place. They can also determine whether the
company has adequate streams of communication in regard to environmental compliance.
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For ISO 14001 certification, companies must go through checks conducted by an independent third
party. However, before the third-party inspection, companies can perform internal audits to gauge
where the company is and whether they can qualify for the certi Types
2.3. Types of Environmental Auditing:
There are three main types of environmental audits that a company may conduct. These are as
follows:
 Environmental compliance
 Environmental Management System (EMS) audits
 Functional environmental audits
While most US-based and worldwide companies focus on environmental compliance audits, all
three types are important. Depending on the needs of a company, it may need one or more of these
audits.
2.3.1. Environmental Compliance
The environmental compliance audit is companies’ most common type of audit, especially within
the US. These audits focus on checking whether or not the company meets certain requirements
and follows specific regulations using a definite checklist.
Environmental compliance audits verify whether or not a company meets certain requirements
while handling a specific task. Depending on the company’s industry and operations, they may
need to conduct audits on different processes. However, these audits are usually required for
different environment authorizations or for obtaining specific licenses.
Companies can assess whether or not they are doing all the required actions to reduce
environmental harm. The requirements for different industries are usually clearly laid out by the
organization that provides the authorization and certification, making it much easier for companies
to check their compliance.
2.3.2. Environmental Management System (EMS) Audit
Also known as EMS audits, they aim to evaluate the different management systems in place and
determine whether they are working effectively. The ISO 14001 standards clearly state how
companies need to conduct an EMS audit to ensure that the company’s EMS is working properly.
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The primary goal of an EMS audit is to certify that a company’s EMS is working effectively.
Additionally, an EMS audit aims to accomplish the following goals:
 Evaluate the key objectives of the EMS and whether they are being met
 Find new opportunities for an EMS
 Determine the areas of improvement for their EMS
 Review the EMS’ sustainability
 Ensure that the company is taking steps to continually improve their EMS
EMS audits allow companies to ensure that their systems do the job and provide them with the
required benefits. Additionally, they enable companies to identify where improvements are
necessary and take steps to improve their EMS.
2.3.3. Functional Environmental Audits
These audits aim to determine whether or not a company complies with specific regulations for
certain tasks. For example, companies can audit their waste management facility to ensure
compliance with the waste management plan of their jurisdiction.
Another example of these audits is the air quality monitoring audit. This ensures that the
company’s atmospheric emissions management plan is effective and meets the necessary
requirements.
This also allows companies to check certain aspects of their operations and ensure compliance
before regulatory boards conduct their own inspections. These specialized audits provide
companies with specific information they may need in the future.
2.4. Conducting an Environmental Audit
Conducting an environmental audit doesn’t have to be complicated. To paint a clearer picture of
the process of conducting one within a company, it’s best to divide it into three phases:
 Pre-audit phase
 Audit phase
 Post-audit phase
2.4.1. Pre-Audit Phase
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During the pre-audit phase, companies can build the team, create an auditing plan, determine the
documents they need, make the appropriate requests, and do as much prep as necessary. This
involves creating a list of things that regulatory bodies may ask for, figuring out the material
needed, and ensuring that the company is prepared for an audit.
2.4.2. Audit Phase
From there, the team can proceed with the audit. When conducting an audit, it’s crucial for the
team to follow the ground rules put in place during the first phase. During the audit, teams may
conduct site inspections and interviews, evaluate teams and perform document reviews. This is to
ensure they gather as much relevant data as possible.
It’s important to have daily meetings when conducting an audit to ensure that everyone is on the
same page. This also makes it easier to check whether all the goals were met during the closing
meeting after conducting the audit.
2.4.3. Post Audit Phase
During the post-audit phase, the team gets to interpret all the data. This also involves creating the
environmental audit reports, identifying areas of improvement, and creating an action plan to meet
the shortcomings found during the audit.
2.5. Documents Needed for an Audit
Conducting an audit can be daunting, especially with all the documents required to create a
comprehensive report. Companies generally need maps and floor plans of their facility to figure
out where to perform the audit and how to do it. Additionally, companies may need to submit the
following documents:
 Environmental compliance certificates
 Environmental permits
 All raw materials used in company procedures
 Environmental plans
 Employee training records
Coming up with all these documents is challenging enough. And considering that gathering the
documents is only the start of the audit, modern companies need to incorporate different tools to
make it much easier to conduct these audits.
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3. Cleaner Production Assessment (CPA)

Cleaner Production is the continuous improvement of industrial processes, products and services
to reduce the use of natural resources, prevent pollution and reduce waste generation at the source
in order to minimise risks to human population and the environment. Therefore, the purpose of
Cleaner Production Assessment (CPA) is to identify options for preventing or reducing production
impacts at their origin.
CPA means a permanent process and requires the integration into a company's procedures.
Undertaking a CPA requires passing different stages, namely analysing process steps, generating
Cleaner Production (CP) Options, assessing and selecting CP solutions and finally implementing
and sustaining them.
4. Environmental Impact Assessment
Environment Impact Assessment or EIA can be defined as the study to predict the effect of a
proposed activity/project on the environment. A decision making tool, EIA compares various
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alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one which represents the best combination of
economic and environmental costs and benefits.
EIA systematically examines both beneficial and adverse consequences of the project and ensures
that these effects are taken into account during project design. It helps to identify possible
environmental effects of the proposed project, proposes measures to mitigate adverse effects and
predicts whether there will be significant adverse environmental effects, even after the mitigation
is implemented. By considering the environmental effects of the project and their mitigation early
in the project planning cycle, environmental assessment has many benefits, such as protection of
environment, optimum utilisation of resources and saving of time and cost of the project. Properly
conducted EIA also lessens conflicts by promoting community participation, informing decision
makers, and helping lay the base for environmentally sound projects. Benefits of integrating EIA
have been observed in all stages of a project, from exploration and planning, through construction,
operations, decommissioning, and beyond site closure.
4.1.Evolution of EIA
EIA is one of the successful policy innovations of the 20th Century for environmental
conservation. Thirty-seven years ago, there was no EIA but today, it is a formal process in many
countries and is currently practiced in more than 100 countries. EIA as a mandatory regulatory
procedure originated in the early 1970s, with the implementation of the National Environment
Policy Act (NEPA) 1969 in the US. A large part of the initial development took place in a few
high-income countries, like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (1973-74). However, there were
some developing countries as well, which introduced EIA relatively early - Columbia (1974),
Philippines (1978).
The EIA process really took off after the mid-1980s. In 1989, the World Bank adopted EIA for
major development projects, in which a borrower country had to undertake an EIA under the
Bank's supervision.
4.2.The EIA process
The stages of an EIA process will depend upon the requirements of the country or donor. However,
most EIA processes have a common structure and the application of the main stages is a basic
standard of good practice.
The environment impact assessment consists of eight steps with each step equally important in
determining the overall performance of the project. Typically, the EIA process begins with
screening to ensure time and resources are directed at the proposals that matter environmentally
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and ends with some form of follow up on the implementation of the decisions and actions taken as
a result of an EIA report. The eight steps of the EIA process are presented in brief below:
 Screening: First stage of EIA, which determines whether the proposed project, requires an EIA
and if it does, then the level of assessment required.
 Scoping: This stage identifies the key issues and impacts that should be further investigated. This
stage also defines the boundary and time limit of the study.
 Impact analysis: This stage of EIA identifies and predicts the likely environmental and social
impact of the proposed project and evaluates the significance.
 Mitigation: This step in EIA recommends the actions to reduce and avoid the potential adverse
environmental consequences of development activities.
 Reporting: This stage presents the result of EIA in a form of a report to the decision-making
body and other interested parties.
 Review of EIA: It examines the adequacy and effectiveness of the EIA report and provides the
information necessary for decision-making.
 Decision-making: It decides whether the project is rejected, approved or needs further change.
 Post monitoring: This stage comes into play once the project is commissioned. It checks to
ensure that the impacts of the project do not exceed the legal standards and implementation of the
mitigation measures are in the manner as described in the EIA report.
4.3.Strategic environment assessment
Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) refers to systematic analysis of the environmental
effects of development policies, plans, programmes and other proposed strategic actions. This
process extends the aims and principles of EIA upstream in the decision-making process, beyond
the project level and when major alternatives are still open. SEA represents a proactive approach
to integrating environmental considerations into the higher levels of decision-making.
Difference in EIA and SEA
EIA SEA
 Takes place at end of decision-making cycle  Takes place at earlier stages of decision
 Reactive approach to development proposal making cycle
 Identifies specific impacts on the  Pro-active approach to development
environment proposals
Prepared by:
Dr. Sumaraj
Assistant Professor
 Considers limited number of feasible  Also identifies environmental implications,

alternatives issues of sustainable development
 Limited review of cumulative effects  Considers broad range of potential
 Emphasis on mitigating and minimizing alternatives
impacts  Early warning of cumulative effects
 Narrow perspective, high level of detail  Emphasis on meeting environmental
 Well-defined process, clear beginning and objectives, maintaining natural systems
end  Broad perspective, lower level of detail to
 Focuses on standard agenda, treats symptoms provide a vision and overall framework
of environmental deterioration  Multi-stage process, overlapping
components, policy level is continuing,
iterative
 Focuses on sustainability agenda, gets at
sources of environmental deterioration
Despite its wide use and acceptance, EIA has certain shortcomings as a tool for minimising
environmental effects of development proposals. It takes place relatively late at the downstream
end of the decision making process, after major alternatives and directions have been chosen (see
table : Difference in EIA and SEA).
SEA had limited development and implementation till 1990. However, after 1990, a number of
countries in developed economies adopted SEA. Some countries such as Canada and Denmark
have made provision for SEA of policy, plans and programmes separately from EIA legislation
and procedure. Other countries such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, etc have introduced SEA
requirements through reforms in EIA legislation and in case of United Kingdom through
environmental appraisal. While in New Zealand and Australia, it is a part of resource management
or biodiversity conservation regimes. The adoption of SEA is likely to grow significantly in the
coming years especially with directives by European Union and Protocol to the UNECE
Convention on Transboundary EIA by signatory countries (with a provisional date of May 2003
for completion).
Prepared by:
Dr. Sumaraj
Assistant Professor
Source:
https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/starting-life-cycle-thinking/life-cycle-approaches/life-cycle-
sustainability-assessment/
https://longtrailsustainability.com/sustainability-solutions/product-sustainability/environmental-
product-declaration/
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000217181
https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-system-overview
https://www.epa.gov/ems/learn-about-environmental-management-systems
https://safetyculture.com/topics/environmental-audit/
https://www.lifecycleinitiative.org/LCM_navigator/1_6_7_c.html
https://www.cseindia.org/understanding-eia-383
https://pre-sustainability.com/articles/lca-for-agri-food/
Prepared by:
Dr. Sumaraj
Assistant Professor

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Introduction to Sustainable Engineering-22ETC25D

1.Life cycle sustainability assessment

 LCSA enables practitioners to organize complex environmental, economic and social

2.Environmental Product Declarations and Product Category Rules

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

Product Category Rules (PCR)

3.Carbon and Water Foot Print

4.Energy systems in Buildings and Built Environment

6.1. Impacts of food production

b) Emission of greenhouse gases

Eutrophication impacts of different types of foods. Source: OurWorldInData.org.

d) Emission of toxic compounds

6.2. Transitioning to a sustainable food system

6.3. LCA provides fact-based transparency

6.4. Helping food producers make decisions

TOOLS FOR SUSTAINBILITY ASSESSMENT

An Environmental Management System (EMS) is a framework that helps an organization achieve

 Ensuring employees' environmental awareness and competence; and,

The continuous improvement cycle.

2.1. Need for an Environmental Audit

2.4.1. Pre-Audit Phase

3. Cleaner Production Assessment (CPA)

4. Environmental Impact Assessment

 Considers limited number of feasible  Also identifies environmental implications,

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