Decision-Making Perspectives: A working session to analyze LCA

1
Decision-Making Perspectives A working session
to analyze LCAs contribution to management,
product and process design, and policy
decision-makingSeptember 24, 2003 830 am
12 pm.

• Session Organizers
• Bruce Vigon, Battelle
• Mary Ann Curran, US EPA
• Joyce Cooper Smith, University of Washington
• William Franklin, Franklin Associates

2
Introduction and Purpose

• Varied LCA applications
• Lack of full understanding of incremental value
  of LCA
• Balanced views of experts in use of traditional
  approaches
• Participatory exercise to enhance discussion and
  learning

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Session Goal

• Explore life cycle-based methods and tools in
  comparison with traditional methods and
  analytical tools applied from various user
  perspectives to a common product system

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Session Focus

• A single product system
• power trains for personal vehicles
• Multiple decision perspectives
• How the vehicle and power train are designed
  (product design perspective)
• How material suppliers, vehicle manufacturers,
  and recyclers/waste managers design their
  processes (process design perspective)
• How material suppliers, vehicle manufacturers,
  and recyclers/waste managers manage their
  businesses (management perspective) and
• How regulators and policy developers respond to
  the law and public health, safety, and other
  needs (regulatory and policy development
  perspective).

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The System of Interest
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Session Format
Part 1
Break
Breakout Group Discussion
Panel Discussion
Expert Presentations
Orientation
Part 2
Group Presentations and Discussion
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Format and Rules for Part 2

• Breakout groups by perspective
• Identify key questions relevant to the
  perspective and LCA
• Is LCA a part of what was presented?
• How would LCA change the perspective?
• Advantages/disadvantages keys to move forward?
• Discussion of top two or three key questions for
  55 minutes (designate a scribe)
• Presentation and discussion of group results by
  moderators