4.3 Levers
The variety of measures that can be taken to improve an urban transportation
infrastructure is very broad. Therefore, the impacts differ significantly on the chosen
set of indicators, making a wider set of KPIs recommendable as a decision basis.
5 Conclusion
LCA-Methodology and tools are suitable to assess the transportation systems of a
city and provide strategic decisions relevant information about alternative future
developments.
A model, which is flexibility in scope and can adapt to any city’s carbon
accounting, is crucial in order to match existing reporting at least during the validation phase. This is true even if the final study later includes additional scopes. It is
much easier and faster to check where differences are between the assessments. In
addition, it allows the analysis of local effects such as air pollution.
Efficient model structuring and parameterization capabilities of LCA-software
could be significantly improved if processes were capable of passing on parameters
to subsequent processes.
Forecasting is necessary, when assessing systems that quickly change properties
which effect target indicators and if the target is to compare systems that last long or
take long to build. Both are the case for urban transportation systems, especially
when focusing on air pollution. Otherwise absolute system emissions, as well as
individual process contributions, have a high inaccuracy and might lead to wrong
decisions.
The diversity in performance of a lever on different KPIs (Fig. 4) clearly shows
that making an infrastructure decision for sustainable urban transport requires
multi-KPI-modelling. This is a strength of LCA-methodology and software.
To significantly improve the applicability of LCA for urban transportation
systems, KPI systems that cities report on should be adapted to assess indicators
which cover the system as a whole and not only segments and can be used to create
inventories.
References
1. Fong W, Sotos M, Doust M, et al., The Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas
Emission Inventories (GPC), 1st Ed., Greensouse Gas Protocol, 2014. < http://ghgprotocol.
org/greenhouse-gas-protocol-accounting-reporting-standard-cities>, (Accessed 18.04.2017).
2. Keller M, Wuethrich P, Ickert L, Schmied M, Stutzer B, et al., Handbook Emission Factors for
Road Transport, 3.2 Ed., INFRAS AG, 25.7.2014.
LCA in Strategic Decision Making for Long …
203
The variety of measures that can be taken to improve an urban transportation
infrastructure is very broad. Therefore, the impacts differ significantly on the chosen
set of indicators, making a wider set of KPIs recommendable as a decision basis.
5 Conclusion
LCA-Methodology and tools are suitable to assess the transportation systems of a
city and provide strategic decisions relevant information about alternative future
developments.
A model, which is flexibility in scope and can adapt to any city’s carbon
accounting, is crucial in order to match existing reporting at least during the validation phase. This is true even if the final study later includes additional scopes. It is
much easier and faster to check where differences are between the assessments. In
addition, it allows the analysis of local effects such as air pollution.
Efficient model structuring and parameterization capabilities of LCA-software
could be significantly improved if processes were capable of passing on parameters
to subsequent processes.
Forecasting is necessary, when assessing systems that quickly change properties
which effect target indicators and if the target is to compare systems that last long or
take long to build. Both are the case for urban transportation systems, especially
when focusing on air pollution. Otherwise absolute system emissions, as well as
individual process contributions, have a high inaccuracy and might lead to wrong
decisions.
The diversity in performance of a lever on different KPIs (Fig. 4) clearly shows
that making an infrastructure decision for sustainable urban transport requires
multi-KPI-modelling. This is a strength of LCA-methodology and software.
To significantly improve the applicability of LCA for urban transportation
systems, KPI systems that cities report on should be adapted to assess indicators
which cover the system as a whole and not only segments and can be used to create
inventories.
References
1. Fong W, Sotos M, Doust M, et al., The Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas
Emission Inventories (GPC), 1st Ed., Greensouse Gas Protocol, 2014. < http://ghgprotocol.
org/greenhouse-gas-protocol-accounting-reporting-standard-cities>, (Accessed 18.04.2017).
2. Keller M, Wuethrich P, Ickert L, Schmied M, Stutzer B, et al., Handbook Emission Factors for
Road Transport, 3.2 Ed., INFRAS AG, 25.7.2014.
LCA in Strategic Decision Making for Long …
203