Lecture

Comparing Environmental Assessment Tools

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

Description

This lecture introduces the life cycle assessment and compares it with other environmental assessment tools such as decision support systems, environmental impact studies, eco-labeling, and carbon footprint analysis. It discusses the different perspectives, scales, and substances considered in each tool, highlighting the strengths and limitations of life cycle assessment in evaluating environmental impacts. The lecture also explores the complementary nature of life cycle assessment with other tools like risk analysis, carbon footprint, and water footprint analysis.

Official source

Related concepts (29)

Risk management

Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives) followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities.

Environmental impact assessment

Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental impact assessment" is usually used when applied to actual projects by individuals or companies and the term "strategic environmental assessment" (SEA) applies to policies, plans and programmes most often proposed by organs of state.

Risk

In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environment), often focusing on negative, undesirable consequences. Many different definitions have been proposed. The international standard definition of risk for common understanding in different applications is "effect of uncertainty on objectives".

Risk assessment

Risk assessment determines possible mishaps, their likelihood and consequences, and the tolerances for such events. The results of this process may be expressed in a quantitative or qualitative fashion. Risk assessment is an inherent part of a broader risk management strategy to help reduce any potential risk-related consequences. More precisely, risk assessment identifies and analyses potential (future) events that may negatively impact individuals, assets, and/or the environment (i.e. hazard analysis).

Probabilistic risk assessment

Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) is a systematic and comprehensive methodology to evaluate risks associated with a complex engineered technological entity (such as an airliner or a nuclear power plant) or the effects of stressors on the environment (probabilistic environmental risk assessment, or PERA). Risk in a PRA is defined as a feasible detrimental outcome of an activity or action. In a PRA, risk is characterized by two quantities: the magnitude (severity) of the possible adverse consequence(s), and the likelihood (probability) of occurrence of each consequence.

Related lectures (33)

Risk Analysis and Management

Explores risk analysis and management methods for civil engineering projects, emphasizing the importance of identifying adverse events and security barriers.

Capital Asset Pricing Model: Theory and Applications

Explores the Capital Asset Pricing Model, estimating betas, performance evaluation, and empirical evidence.

Risk Analysis Methods: Failure Mode Analysis

Explores the Failure Mode Analysis method, emphasizing the importance of identifying potential failures and its widespread use in various industries.

Principles of Risk Analysis and Management

Explores principles of risk analysis, evaluation, and management, emphasizing societal impact and practical analysis stages.