Environmental impact and life cycle assessment

This à la carte module provides an understanding of the different environmental impacts generated by human activities, as well as the reference method for measuring the impacts of a product, process or service over its entire life cycle.
This module is particularly useful for students wishing to work in environmental management, eco-design, sustainable development or corporate social responsibility. It also enables all students to develop advanced environmental and eco-design knowledge and skills to be integrated into future RetD careers.
At the end of this module, students will be able to:
Know the major environmental impacts linked to human activities (notably air and water pollution), as well as the associated regulatory aspects

Master the methodology and computer tools of life cycle assessment (LCA)
Apply LCA to (i) measure the environmental performance of a product (ii) identify eco-design avenues for a product (iii) compare the environmental impacts of a product with alternatives.

MODD1

Part 1 (20 hours COURSES + TD) : Environmental impacts of human activities

Water pollution (Hélène Budzinski, CNRS, 10h)
Air pollution (Eric Villenave, UBx, 10h)

For each part:

Presentation of the major issues related to air and water pollution
Natural and anthropogenic sources
Health and environmental impacts
Experimental and modeling methodologies
European legislation and its French application

Speakers: Eric Villenave (10h), Hélène Budzinski (10h)
Part 2 (10 hours COURSES + integrated TD) : Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): the theoretical foundations
LCA is the standardized, consensus-based method for the global, multi-criteria assessment of the environmental impacts of products and services. LCA identifies and quantifies the physical flows of matter and energy associated with human activities, throughout a product's life cycle. It assesses the potential impacts and then interprets the results obtained according to its initial objectives. This course will cover:

The context and applications of LCA: environmental management and eco-design
Life cycle and multi-criteria thinking: relevance and interest
LCA methodology and its 4 phases as per ISO 14040-44
Integrated TD: LCA examples for eco-design and product benchmarking

Speaker: P. Loubet (10h)
Part 3 (20 hours hands-on): LCA: Application hands-on

Learn how to use market-leading LCA software (SimaPro or openLCA), life-cycle inventory databases (ecoinvent, Agribalyse, etc.) and impact characterization methods integrated into the software.
Case studies: LCA of a product (chemical or agri-food) using SimaPro/openLCA software. These case studies can be defined by the teacher, other teachers according to research issues, a manufacturer, or based on PJRDI. Examples of projects: comparison of petrosourced/biosourced materials (e.g. polymers), comparison of packaging, comparison of formulations, comparison of energy production methods, etc.

Lecturers: P. Loubet (20h), part-time lecturers (if TPs need to be duplicated), lecturers/researchers wishing to get involved in a case study.

Life cycle assessment: understanding and carrying out an ecobalance. O. Jolliet, M. Saadé, P. Crettaz, 2005, Presses polytechniques.
LCA: Theory and practice. M. Hauschild, R. K. Rosenbaum, S. Olsen (Eds.). 2018, Springer.
Environmental Chemistry. Bliefert and Perraud, De Boeck Editions.