By

Dr. Agus Dwi Anggono

Glossary
 Carbon footprint (CF) is the more popular
environmental protection indicator that
commonly signifies a certain amount of
gaseous emissions that are relevant to
climate change. It is associated with
human production or consumption
activities (Wiedmann and Minx, 2008).
 Ecological footprint (EF) is a measure of
human demand on the environment and
represents the amount of biologically
productive land and sea areas necessary for
supplying the resources a human population
consumes and to assimilate the associated
waste (Wackernagel et al., 2002).
 Environmental footprint is a quantitative
measurement describing the appropriations
of natural resources by humans (Hoekstra,
2008). It describes how human activities can
impose different burdens and impacts on the
global environment (UNEP/SETAC, 2009).
 Environmental indicator is a numerical
value that helps to provide information
and insight into the state of the
environment. Indicators are developed
based on the quantitative measurements
or statistics of environmental conditions
that are tracked over time (Attorre, 2014).
 Footprint tools are tools for footprint
calculations and suggested reduction
paths. The more common tools are
calculators, especially for CF (Padgett et
al.,2008) but also for EF, water footprint
(WF), nitrogen footprint (NF), and other.
 Footprint family is a set of indicators able
to track human pressures on the planet
and from different angles (Galli et al.,
2012). It represents the major categories
of footprints developed to date, which
are CF, EF, WF, and energy footprint (ENF),
and is related to climate, food, water,
and energy security (Fang et al., 2014).
 Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a structured,
comprehensive, internationally
standardized tool (ISO 14040 )
Introduction
 Environmental and social issues, such as global
warming, water pollution, food supply, exponential
population growth, security of energy supply, and
others are attracting greater awareness when
addressing sustainability issues preferably leading
toward more sustainable development.
 Environmental sustainability has especially emerged
as a key issue among the three sustainability pillars,
social (“People”), economic (“Prosperity” or “Profit”),
and environmental (“Planet”).
 Environmental impacts are usually defined through a
life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a set of tools and
ideas for evaluating the sustainability of a system
(products, processes, or services) throughout the full
life cycle of the system.
 To achieve sustainable development, the
following are needed (Krajnc and Glavic,
2003):
 Changes in industrial processes
 Types and quantities of resources used
 Proper treatment of waste
 Controlling the emissions
 Controlling the produced products
 Themain goals of environmental
protection are
 To reduce world consumption of fossil fuels
 To reduce and clean up all sorts of pollution
with the future goal of zero pollution
 Emphasis on clean, alternative energy
sources with low carbon emissions
 Sustainable use of water, land, and other
scarce resources
 Preservation of existing endangered
species
 Protection on biodiversity
LIFE CYCLE THINKING AND LCA
FRAMEWORK
 When moving toward (more) sustainable
processes, products, or activities, it is
essential that the entire life cycle is
considered (Allen, 2008); therefore,
environmental indicators should be and
are usually defined on the basis of LCA
(Pozo et al., 2012).
 LCA is a structured, comprehensive,
internationally standardized tool (ISO).
Four phases and direct applications of life cycle
assessment.
 An LCA principle and framework is divided into
four phases: goal and scope definition; Life Cycle
Inventory (LCI) LCI; Life Cycle Impact Assessment
(LCIA) LCIA; and interpretation.
 First phase—Goal and scope definition: During the
first phase, the objectives of the analysis and the
system’s boundaries should be defined, such as
functional unit, assumptions and limitations, life
cycle stages, allocation methods (when there are
several products or functions of the system), and
the chosen impact categories. The goals and
scope can be adjusted during the iterative
process of the analysis.
 Second phase—Inventory analysis (LCI): The
second phase involves data collection relating to
inputs of materials and energy and outputs,
including releases into air, soil, and water. All data
should be related to the functional unit defined
during the first phase.
 Third phase—Impact assessment (LCIA): The third
phase of LCA is aimed at evaluating the
significances of those environmental impacts
quantified in the LCI. The relative contribution of
each environmental impact should be assigned to
specifically selected impact categories (global
warming potential (GWP), acidification potential, CF,
NF, land usage, etc.). Other optional LCIA elements
such as normalization (e.g., comparing the results to
a population or area of Europe), grouping (sorting
and ranking of impact categories), and weighting
may also be conducted. Weighting, however, brings
a high degree of subjectivity into LCA analyses.
 Fourth phase—Interpretation: This is the last phase of
the LCA analysis. It should evaluate the study in a
systematic way by considering its completion,
consistency, and sensitivity analysis. Interpretation
should also identify areas that have the potential for
improvement within a system and draw conclusions
and recommendations.
Mostly used boundaries of
LCA.
MEASURING ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY
 Measuring environmental sustainability
requires methods and tools that are to be
used for defining the environmental impacts
of human activities.
 Among the developed metrics measuring
environmental sustainability are:
 • Indicators of potential environmental impacts
 • Eco-efficiency
 • Environmental footprints
 • Sustainability indexes (
 • Eco and total profit
INDICATORS OF POTENTIAL
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
 Ozone depletion potential is the potential
for the reduction in the protective
stratospheric ozone layer.
 Global warming potential represents the
potential change in climate attributable
to increased concentrations of CO2,CH,
and other GHG emissions that trap heat.
 Photochemical ozone creation potential
is also known as ground-level smog.
 Ecotoxicity (freshwater, marine, terrestrial)
potential focuses on the emissions of toxic
substances into the air, water, and soil.
 Human toxicity potential deals with the
effects of toxic substances on human
health.
 Land use
 Water use
From LCI to endpoint damage
categories.
KEY ENVIRONMENTAL
FOOTPRINTS