LCA meets EFS

  • Tokio

    Around 8.5 billion people live on earth today...

    a global and intergenerational challenge.

  • Trinkwasser aus Brunnen

    Clean drinking water is essential...

    and also safe wastewater treatment.

  • Reis

    Food must be produced for everyone...

    sufficient cultivation + grazing land, irrigation + plant protection form the basis for this.

  • Bulb

    Energy is needed in all of its manifestions...

    electricity, combustibles + fuels ensure comfortable living, communication + mobility.

  • Autobahnkreuz Luftbild

    Urban infrastructure + the agricultural industry compete for land...

    because only about a third of the landmass can be used for it. How can it be shared fairly?

  • Rohstoffe Slide

    Lack of raw materials and climate protection as a challenge...

    new production techniques + recycling conserve resources, reduce emissions + waste.

  • Konsum

    Consumption can also be sustainable...

    change personal behavior.

  • Tablets

    Education is the beginning...

    access to school, training + work are the basis for innovative teamwork.

  • Old books in a shelf.

    Science, business, politics + society are jointly challenged...

    recognize + understand interrelationships + make them more sustainable.

  • Logo LCA meets EFS groß

    Understand and apply LCA...

    this learning offer is a practical aid + gives examples.

Life Cycle Assessment meets Education for Sustainability

A learning and teaching offer for students of agricultural and environmental sciences, the natural sciences, for engineers and production technicians, for teachers of general schools, for trainees and trainers as well as for the interested public.

This platform is created by an international team of scientists, teachers and didactics and is funded by the German Federal Foundation for the Environment.

Logo LCA meets EFS klein

 

WHAT DOES LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT MEAN?  

A life cycle analysis, also known as a life cycle assessment (LCA), is a systematic analysis of the environmental impact of products of all kinds along their entire life cycle “from cradle to grave”.

 

 

All environmental impacts that occur during production, the use phase and the final disposal of a food or consumer good are described and evaluated. The associated upstream and downstream processes (e.g. the production of raw, auxiliary and operating materials) are also included in an LCA consideration.    

Various endpoints can be defined in an LCA. The end point "CO2 footprint" has the highest level of awareness. How it and the other endpoints mentioned are determined, what data flows where, who provides it and how it is meaningfully linked is the subject of this learning platform.

TEAM GERMANY

  • Prof. Dr. Ingo Eilks, Dr. Antje Siol
  • University of Bremen, FB 2, IDN-Chemistry Education

TEAM BRAZIL

  • Profa. Dra. Dra. Vânia Gomes Zuin
  • Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brazil

TEAM USA

  • Prof. Dr. Ozgan Gulacar
  • University of California, Davis

BASIC KNOWLEDGE

To get started with LCA, small fact sheets & learning units are designed to provide condensed basics on the purpose, endpoints (goals), approach, results, and their evaluation.

The materials, link lists, lab scripts, and DATA sets are available for you to download in .pdf, .pptx, or .xlsx file formats. If you prefer to have a Word template, please write to us.(.doc formats are no longer supported by the browser).

 

MATERIALS to DOWNLOAD

  • Quick Guide to LCA
  • FACT SHEET LCA & EcoBalance
  • FACT TOOL LCA with SimaPro5
  • FACT SHEET LCA Interpretation
  • FACT PRESI LCA of a Coffee Machine
  • FACT SHEET CO2-Footprint
  • FACT SHEET Land Use
  • FACT SHEET Critical Raw Material
  • FACT SHEET Transport and Traffic
  • FACT SHEET Virtual Water

FOOD

Selected examples can be used to understand simple to complex LCA from the food sector.

The materials include information for teachers & lecturers, progress plan, worksheets with solutions, DATA sets & lab experiments.

The offerings are modular in nature. The time commitment is at least 1-2 double hours.

MATERIALS to DOWNLOAD

  • Potatoes from the desert
  • Oranges and Orange juice
  • Cow´s milk & plant-based alternatives
  • Agriculture also exists in water
  • Cereals and bread for everyone
  • Burger

CONSUMER GOODS

For the production of everyday items, the necessary materials and energy requirements are outlined and influencing variables are determined.

There is information for teachers & lecturers, course plan, worksheets with solutions, DATA sets & laboratory experiments to choose from. The offerings are modular in nature. The time required is at least 2-3 double hours.

MATERIALS to DOWNLOAD

  • Wooden, paper or plastc pencil
  • Paper, plastic + cotton bags
  • MonoBloc
  • PET versus Tetrapack
  • Coffeemachine

CHEMISTRY & ENERGY

... sustainable "green" syntheses of basic chemicals and pharmaceuticals, the development of regenerative energy sources, ecological agriculture and new mobility concepts are consequences of these analyses.

MATERIALS to DOWNLOAD

  • Ethylacetate & Butylacetate
  • New synthesis techniques
  • SAR for drugs
  • Illuminats comparision
  • Potentials of renewable energies

RECYCLING

Critical raw materials and the potential of the circular economy.

Cardboard boxes, plastics, glass, metals, GRP...

Recycle to unlock secondary cycles.

MATERIALS to DOWNLOAD

  • Aluminium - from bauxite or recycled material
  • Rare earth elements
  • Lithium for E-Mobility
  • Natural rubber, a raw material fraught with risk
  • Green hydrogen for steel production