Benchmarking and environmental performance classes in life cycle assessment—development of a procedure for non-leather shoes in the context of the Product Environmental Footprint

dc.contributor.authorGül, Sarah
dc.contributor.authorSpielmann, Michael
dc.contributor.authorLehmann, Annekatrin
dc.contributor.authorEggers, Diana
dc.contributor.authorBach, Vanessa
dc.contributor.authorFinkbeiner, Matthias
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-18T14:05:54Z
dc.date.available2019-10-18T14:05:54Z
dc.date.issued2015-10-22
dc.description.abstractPurpose: In the process of developing Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR)—currently tested in various pilots in the Single Market for Green Products initiative of the European Commission—the definition of product category benchmarks and environmental performance classes is a crucial element of each PEFCR. Whilst life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology developed over the last 20 years can be used for many other topics to be tackled in the pilots, there is a clear lack of methodology for the determination of benchmarks and environmental performance classes. In this article, hence, we address this gap and develop a procedure for benchmarking and environmental performance classes in LCA. Methods: To do this, given requirements and definitions of the PEF guidelines on both subjects are taken as a basis and are refined by using common LCA techniques like hot spot and sensitivity analyses. The specific steps of the procedure are applied systematically in a case study using sports shoes as an example. Results and discussion: The resulting procedure involves the definition of a scenario vector, which is composed of relevant life cycle phases as well as the lifetime of the product (i.e. sports shoes) as variables. On the basis of the hot spot and sensitivity analyses, these variables are quantified, first, to generate the benchmark and, second, to determine the environmental performance classes around the benchmark for each considered impact category individually. In addition, the influence of data uncertainty on the class distribution is assessed with the help of the Monte Carlo simulation. Conclusions: The results of the application in the case study demonstrate the high impact of the product’s lifetime on the final environmental performance classes, and the importance of data quality. Limitations are identified regarding data availability and the harmonisation of the classes to potentially create a PEF label. A debate is induced on the validity of such a label when considering the fact that the characterisation methods and factors proposed in the PEF guidelines may not be complete or accurate enough.en
dc.identifier.eissn1614-7502
dc.identifier.issn948-3349
dc.identifier.urihttps://depositonce.tu-berlin.de/handle/11303/10138
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.14279/depositonce-9127
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subject.ddc500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematikde
dc.subject.otherbenchmarkingen
dc.subject.otherconsumer goodsen
dc.subject.otherdata uncertaintyen
dc.subject.otherenvironmental performance classesen
dc.subject.otherhot spot analysisen
dc.subject.otherLCAen
dc.subject.otherlife cycle assessmenten
dc.subject.otherPEFen
dc.subject.otherPEFCRen
dc.subject.otherProduct Environmental Footprinten
dc.subject.otherProduct Environmental Footprint Category Rulesen
dc.subject.othersensitivity analysisen
dc.subject.othersports shoesen
dc.titleBenchmarking and environmental performance classes in life cycle assessment—development of a procedure for non-leather shoes in the context of the Product Environmental Footprinten
dc.typeArticleen
dc.type.versionacceptedVersionen
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.doi10.1007/s11367-015-0975-7en
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.issue12en
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.journaltitleThe international journal of life cycle assessmenten
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.originalpublishernameSpringeren
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.originalpublisherplaceBerlin ; Heidelbergen
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.pageend1648en
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.pagestart1640en
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.volume20en
tub.accessrights.dnbfreeen
tub.affiliationFak. 3 Prozesswissenschaften::Inst. Technischen Umweltschutz::FG Technischer Umweltschutz / Sustainable Engineeringde
tub.affiliation.facultyFak. 3 Prozesswissenschaftende
tub.affiliation.groupFG Technischer Umweltschutz / Sustainable Engineeringde
tub.affiliation.instituteInst. Technischen Umweltschutzde
tub.publisher.universityorinstitutionTechnische Universität Berlinen

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