guest ::
| Home > Publications database > PSILCA database for social life cycle assessment: worker hours vs. raw values approach |
| Home > Publications database > PSILCA database for social life cycle assessment: worker hours vs. raw values approach |
| Journal Article | FZJ-2024-05149 |
; ;
2024
Ecomed Verl.-Ges.
Landsberg
This record in other databases: 
Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1007/s11367-024-02348-0 doi:10.34734/FZJ-2024-05149
Abstract: Purpose Progressive development within the research area of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) has recently occurred,for example, GreenDelta introduced a new direct quantification approach using raw values in the PSILCA database. Thiscomplements the concept of the activity variable worker hours, which has many advantages and disadvantages. This paperaims to assess this new approach by identifying its characteristics, opportunities, and challenges in comparison to the initialworker hours approach.Methods The general use of activity variables in S-LCA is outlined, followed by an elaboration of the characteristics, purposes,and functionalities of the worker hours approach as well as the raw values approach of PSILCA. This comparison ofapproaches includes different data components, calculation procedures, and their upsides and downsides and is based onmaterials provided by GreenDelta as well as our own elaborations. Two components of a fuel cell electric vehicle, the gliderand the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, serve as sample applications for the comparison and are briefly describedbefore their calculation is executed in the software openLCA, using both PSILCA approaches. The question of whether thedifferences in the approaches contradict a comparison is answered: The PSILCA results of the sample applications can becompared to derive further characteristics.Results and discussion The comparison comprises two modeling requirements for the raw values approach as well as theirmajor consequence. They concern the execution by the practitioner: inventory indicators must be added to every unit process,the choice of inventory indicators must be the same for every unit process, the amount of the reference flow in the outputalways has to equal “1 USD,” and consequently, the number of unit processes has an influence on the results. Furthermore,the results of the S-LCA sample applications reveal that the direct impacts in the raw values approach tend to be greater thanthose in the worker hours approach. The reason can be found in the different calculation procedures as well as the differentvariables included.Conclusions Both approaches have benefits and drawbacks. Depending on the goal of the study to be pursued, the one or theother might be advantageous. In both cases, it is key to understand the modeling requirements and the calculation approachused to interpret the PSILCA results.
; 
; 
; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Sciences ; DEAL Springer ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF < 5 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection
|
The record appears in these collections: |
PDF
Fulltext