Development and Application of Decision Support Tools

Life cycle assessments (LCA) analyze systematically environmental effects throughout the life cycle of products, services or operations. Relevant environmental impacts are quantified taking into account raw material extraction, production processes, the use phase and the final disposal of the product as well as any upstream and downstream processes. LCA can be supplemented by other tools and methods such as eco-efficiency, material flow analysis, stakeholder engagement, multi-criteria analysis, cost-benefit analysis, cleaner production and applied environmental economics. The most eco-efficient combinations are checked for feasibility within the projects and, if necessary, further developed and generalizations made more widely available in user-friendly tools.