80
facing comparative product assessments to gain market advantage. SETAC’s new
guidelines, developed in conjunction with European public research institutes, corporate partners, and early LCA consultancies, provided a more rigorous methodological framework to counter this trend (Klöpffer 2006).
European academic researchers made important methodological strides in the
early 1990s and SETAC’s 1993 publication Code of Practice represented the first
formal consensus expert opinion on the state of the practice and included the following main sections:
LCA Definition
Technical Framework for LCA
Data Quality
LCA Applications and Limitations
Presentation and Communication
Peer Review
Future Research Needs
SETAC continued to form steering committees and working groups made of
LCA practitioners and experts to discuss and make further recommendations on:
Improvement analysis
Impact assessment and especially the integration with other techniques
Allocation
Development of an educational module and training course
Screening and streamlined LCAs
International databases
Practical applications
SETAC (1994)
As the 1990s progressed, these working groups advanced progress in many technical areas and sharpened methodological approaches and standards that would be
handed off to the International Organization for Standardization. Industrial researchers were well represented from the beginning. Dr. D. Postlethwaite of Unilever
Research chaired SETAC’s LCA Steering Committee and was available to answer
inquiries regarding activities within a growing LCA community.
Important to emphasize is that SETAC was and is a professional organization not
a regulatory body. It has no authority to set and regulate standards. The Society was
established in 1979 in the US to promote the use of a multi-disciplinary collaboration to solve problems caused by the impact of chemicals and technology on the
environment. It continues to be dedicated to the study, analysis and solution of environmental problems, the management and regulation of natural resources, research
and development and environmental education.
From 1994 after SETAC’s publication of the Code of Practice, the International
Organization for Standardization began developing and publishing widely recognized and agreed upon standardized protocols. From 1997 to the latest published
2006 LCA standards 14040 and 14044, the ISO gave LCA the necessary formal
5 Life Cycle Assessment
facing comparative product assessments to gain market advantage. SETAC’s new
guidelines, developed in conjunction with European public research institutes, corporate partners, and early LCA consultancies, provided a more rigorous methodological framework to counter this trend (Klöpffer 2006).
European academic researchers made important methodological strides in the
early 1990s and SETAC’s 1993 publication Code of Practice represented the first
formal consensus expert opinion on the state of the practice and included the following main sections:
LCA Definition
Technical Framework for LCA
Data Quality
LCA Applications and Limitations
Presentation and Communication
Peer Review
Future Research Needs
SETAC continued to form steering committees and working groups made of
LCA practitioners and experts to discuss and make further recommendations on:
Improvement analysis
Impact assessment and especially the integration with other techniques
Allocation
Development of an educational module and training course
Screening and streamlined LCAs
International databases
Practical applications
SETAC (1994)
As the 1990s progressed, these working groups advanced progress in many technical areas and sharpened methodological approaches and standards that would be
handed off to the International Organization for Standardization. Industrial researchers were well represented from the beginning. Dr. D. Postlethwaite of Unilever
Research chaired SETAC’s LCA Steering Committee and was available to answer
inquiries regarding activities within a growing LCA community.
Important to emphasize is that SETAC was and is a professional organization not
a regulatory body. It has no authority to set and regulate standards. The Society was
established in 1979 in the US to promote the use of a multi-disciplinary collaboration to solve problems caused by the impact of chemicals and technology on the
environment. It continues to be dedicated to the study, analysis and solution of environmental problems, the management and regulation of natural resources, research
and development and environmental education.
From 1994 after SETAC’s publication of the Code of Practice, the International
Organization for Standardization began developing and publishing widely recognized and agreed upon standardized protocols. From 1997 to the latest published
2006 LCA standards 14040 and 14044, the ISO gave LCA the necessary formal
5 Life Cycle Assessment