LIFE CYCLE ANALYSES
The Instructions for Implementing Executive Order 13423 are "each agency shall
consider life-cycle costs and savings in planning and making determinations about
investments in all capital assets, services, and procurements, which will lower
the government's costs, achieve sustainable design principles, reduce energy and
water consumption, and reduce the environmental impact/footprint of the
government's operations as it implements its primary mission and improves the
quality of service and effectiveness of government. In some cases, evaluation
of life-cycle costs may result in a higher up-front cost with significantly
lower maintenance costs, or longer life."
The U.S. Department of Energy considers
the entire life cycle of a product when deciding which
product to purchase. The product's price is only one part
of what the product will truly cost your organization. The
cost of staff health while using or working near the product,
waste disposal costs, etc.—all need to be calculated
into the actual price a product will cost.
A life cycle analyses consists of evaluating a broad spectrum
of environmental attributes—the attributes of the product,
manufacturing process, and manufacturer themselves. Selecting
the most relevant attributes is dependent upon the commodity
or service being purchased, local environmental priorities,
and the availability of reliable information in addition to
the traditional CAP (cost, availability, performance) factors.
Generally, however, the environmental attributes to be considered
can be divided into the five Rs as introduced in the table
below.
|
Environmental
Attributes to Consider When Purchasing
|
|
Attribute
|
Example in
Product
|
Example in
Manufacturer's Process
|
| Renewable feedstock: |
Contains biobased and recycled content, remembering
oil is a finite (not renewable) commodity |
Uses renewable energy, such as hydropower, solar, wind |
| Resource conservative: |
Is energy and water efficient |
Uses environmental transportation system, such as rail
for bringing in resources and shipping product |
| Robust (healthy): |
Contains low-to-no persistent bioaccumulative and toxic
(PBT) chemicals or volatile organic compounds (VOC) |
Has no greenhouse gas emission or hazardous by products
or... |
| Reusable: |
Is durable, repairable, upgradeable |
Has recirculating cooling systems that continually filter
and reuse water |
| Resistant to waste: |
Has low-to-no packaging with returnable containers or,
as a minimum, packaging and product are recyclable and
biodegradable |
Has closed loop manufacturing process, credible Environmental
Management System, responsible reporting |
When selecting a product, look at the materials it is made
from. Are they from a resource that grows quickly (such as
kenaf) or slowly (trees) or is finite with only a specific
quantity available on earth (oil)? Does the product (its manufacture
and use) use a lot or a little energy and water? Is the product
conducive to the health of those who make it and use it? When
the products breaks, can it be repaired? When it is no longer
needed, might someone else use it or can it at least be recycled
into another product?
To help determine which environmental attributes
are relevant for a given purchase, develop a decision-making
matrix such as the one below. Use the matrix to identify the
product that meets your organization's needs, has the most
environmental and health attributes, and is the most cost
efficient when all (life cycle) costs are considered.
Example of a Decision
Making Matrix/Life Cycle Cost Analysis
This page was last updated on July 23, 2008
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