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  4. Valuing biodiversity in life cycle impact assessment
 
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2019
Journal Article
Title

Valuing biodiversity in life cycle impact assessment

Abstract
In this article, the authors propose an impact assessment method for life cycle assessment (LCA) that adheres to established LCA principles for landuse-related impact assessment, bridges current research gaps and addresses the requirements of different stakeholders for a methodological framework. The conservation of biodiversity is a priority for humanity, as expressed in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Addressing biodiversity across value chains is a key challenge for enabling sustainable production pathways. Life cycle assessment is a standardised approach to assess and compare environmental impacts of products along their value chains. The impact assessment method presented in this article allows the quantification of the impact of land-using production processes on biodiversity for several broad land use classes. It provides a calculation framework with degrees of customisation (e.g., to take into account regional conservation priorities), but also offers a default valuation of biodiversity based on naturalness. The applicability of the method is demonstrated through an example of a consumer product. The main strength of the approach is that it yields highly aggregated information on the biodiversity impacts of products, enabling biodiversity-conscious decisions about raw materials, production routes and end user products.
Author(s)
Lindner, Jan Paul  orcid-logo
Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik IBP  
Fehrenbach, Horst
ifeu - Inst. für Energie- und Umweltforschung, Heidelberg
Winter, Lisa
TU Berlin, Chair of sustainable engineering
Bischoff, Mascha
ifeu - Inst. für Energie- und Umweltforschung, Heidelberg
Blömer, Judith
ifeu - Inst. für Energie- und Umweltforschung, Heidelberg
Knüpffer, Eva  
Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik IBP  
Journal
Sustainability  
Open Access
File(s)
Download (2.1 MB)
Rights
CC BY 4.0: Creative Commons Attribution
DOI
10.24406/publica-r-261292
10.3390/su11205628
Language
English
Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik IBP  
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