Guidline for Assessing Contribution of Products on Avoided Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Abstract

It will be advantageous for LCA practitioners to assert the contribution of their new products to the avoidance of environmental impacts compared to the current/past situations. In fact, some methods for estimating the contribution of products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions（GHGs）have been developed and proposed by several industrial associations from the viewpoints of specific sectors（e.g. chemical, electrical and electronics）. Some local governments also encourage industries to quantify and assess the contribution by publishing guidelines. On the other hand, there is still no consensus on the methodology to assess the effectiveness of so-called green products in terms of reducing environmental impacts. A study group was established in the Institute of Life Cycle Assessment, Japan on January 2014 to discuss about the crucial issues and build up the guidance for practitioners to assess avoided GHGs of their products based on scientific knowledge of experts. The study group drafted the summary of the discussion as “Guidline for assessing contribution of products on avoided greenhouse gas emissions”, and it was approved as the official paper of the Institute of LCA, Japan on February, 2015. The background of the activities related to assess the avoidance of GHGs of the products was introduced in this paper, and the personal opinion as the chairman of the study group to the guideline was also introduced.