Life cycle analyses: Assessing the environmental impact

Assessments of the impact of products on the environment require objective and standardized criteria. Life-cycle analyses complying with ISO 14040 are a suitable means of quantifying the impact of products on the environment. Their primary use in industry is to optimise process-engineering aspects of production with regard to the environment.

There are other tools that companies can employ to help them assess production methods and product performance as a way of describing environmental impact, for example EPD – Environmental Product Declaration. Basically, the entire life cycle of the product has to be considered – manufacture, use phase and disposal. With bioplastics, it is primarily the use of annually renewable raw materials in production that positively influences on energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. Life-cycle analyses so far have shown that the values are at least 20% better than those for commodity polymers.

A preliminary calculation within the European Climate Change Program ECCP returns a primary CO₂ savings potential of approx. 4 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. This figure is based on the assumption that the bioplastics market, given the appropriate supportive framework conditions, will have grown to around one million tonnes.