SIST-TP ISO/TR 14047:2008

TECHNICAL ISO/TR
REPORT 14047
First edition
2003-10-01
Environmental management — Life cycle
impact assessment — Examples of
application of ISO 14042
Management environnemental — Évaluation de l'impact du cycle de
vie — Exemples d'application de l'ISO 14042

Reference number
©
ISO 2003
PDF disclaimer
This PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobe's licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but
shall not be edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing the editing. In
downloading this file, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobe's licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat
accepts no liability in this area.
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation
parameters were optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In
the unlikely event that a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat at the address given below.

©  ISO 2003
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail copyright@iso.org
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2003 — All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword. iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope. 1
2 Normative references. 1
3 Abbreviated terms. 1
4 Organization of examples in ISO/TR 14047. 3
4.1 Mandatory and optional elements. 3
4.2 Scope of examples. 3
4.3 Organization of document and route map. 4
5 Elements of LCIA as illustrated in the examples.6
5.1 General. 6
5.2 Mandatory elements. 6
5.3 Optional elements (related to ISO 14042:2000, Clause 6). 15
6 Examples of the mandatory elements of LCIA . 17
6.1 General. 17
6.2 Example 1 — Use of two different materials for gas pipelines . 17
6.3 Example 2 – Two acidification impact category indicators. 24
6.4 Example 3 — Impacts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon sinks on forestry
activities. 29
6.5 Example 4 – Assessment of endpoint category indicators. 38
6.6 Example 5 – Choice of material for a wind spoiler in car design study . 45
7 Examples of the optional elements of LCIA.51
7.1 General. 51
7.2 Example 1 — Application of optional elements in ISO 14042:2000, 6.2 Calculating the
magnitude of the category indicator results relative to reference information
(normalization) . 51
7.3 Example 2 — Application of optional elements in ISO 14042:2000, 6.2 Calculating the
magnitude of the category indicator results relative to reference information
(normalization) . 52
7.4 Example 6 – Normalization of LCIA indicator results for the use of different refrigerator
gases in ISO 14042:2000, 6.2 Calculating the magnitude of the category indicator results
relative to reference information (normalization). . 54
7.5 Example 7 – Normalization in a waste management study using ISO 14042:2000, 6.2
Calculating the magnitude of the category indicator results relative to reference
information (normalization). 61
7.6 Example 1 — Application. 68
7.7 Example 5 — Application of ISO 14042:2000. 6.4 Weighting. 69
7.8 Example 8 – A technique for the determination of weighting factors using ISO 14042:2000,
6.4 Weighting. 70
7.9 Example 1 — Application. 75
7.10 Example 5 — Application of ISO 14042:2000, Clause 7 Data quality analysis . 77
7.11 Example 1 — Application. 78
Bibliography . 85

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
In exceptional circumstances, when a technical committee has collected data of a different kind from that
which is normally published as an International Standard (“state of the art”, for example), it may decide by a
simple majority vote of its participating members to publish a Technical Report. A Technical Report is entirely
informative in nature and does not have to be reviewed until the data it provides are considered to be no
longer valid or useful.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/TR 14047 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management,
Subcommittee SC 5, Life cycle assessment.
iv © ISO 2003 — All rights reserved

Introduction
The heightened awareness of the importance of environmental protection, and the possible environmental
1)
significance of a product system , has increased the interest in development of methods to better understand
this significance. One of the techniques being developed for this purpose is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is the third phase of life cycle assessment, and its purpose is to assess a
product system's life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) results to better understand its environmental significance.
It models selected environmental issues called impact categories and, through the use of category indicators
which help condense and explain the LCI results, portrays the aggregate emissions or resources used for
each impact category to reflect their potential environment impacts.
This Technical Report provides examples to illustrate the application of ISO 14042, Environmental
management – Life cycle assessment — Life cycle impact assessment. It uses several examples concerning
key areas of ISO 14042 in order to enhance the understanding of its requirements.

1) In this Technical Report the term “product system” also includes service systems.
TECHNICAL REPORT ISO/TR 14047:2003(E)

Environmental management — Life cycle impact assessment —
Examples of application of ISO 14042
1 Scope
This Technical Report provides examples to illustrate current practice in carrying out a life cycle impact
assessment in accordance with ISO 14042. These are only examples of the total possible “ways” to satisfy the
provisions of ISO 14042. They reflect the key elements of the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase of
the LCA.
NOTE The examples presented in this Technical Report are not exclusive; other examples exist to illustrate the
methodological issues described.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies. Members of ISO and IEC maintain registers of currently valid
International Standards.
ISO 14040:1997, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework
ISO 14042:2000, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Life cycle impact assessment
3 Abbreviated terms
The following is a non-exhaustive list of abbreviated terms found in this Technical Report.
ADI allowable dose intake
AP acidification potential
CFC chlorofluorocarbon
CML Centre of Environmental Science, Leiden University
COD chemical oxygen demand
DALY disability-affected life years
DLY disability life years
E exponent
EBIR equal benefit incremental reactivity
EDIP environmental design of industrial products
EL environmental load
ELU environmental load unit
EPS environmental priorities strategy
ETP eco-toxicity potential
FU functional unit
GWP global warming potential
IIASA International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
IPPC integrated pollution prevention and control
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
LCA life cycle assessment
LCI life cycle inventory analysis
LCIA life cycle impact assessment
MDF medium density fibreroad
MIR maximum incremental reactivity
MOIR maximum ozone incremental reactivity
NP nutrification potential
ODP ozone depletion potential
OSB oriented standard board
PAH polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
PDF potentially disappeared fraction
PEC predicted environmental concentration
PNEC predicted no-effect concentration
POCP photochemical ozone creation potential
RIVM National Institute of Public Heath and the Environment
SE sensitive ecosystem category indicator
USES uniform system for the evaluation of substances
VOC volatile organic compound
WMO World Meteorological Organization
YLL years of life lost
2 © ISO 2003 — All rights reserved

4 Organization of examples in ISO/TR 14047
4.1 Mandatory and optional elements
The general framework of the LCIA phase is composed of several mandatory elements that convert Life Cycle
Inventory (LCI) results to indicator results. In addition, there are optional elements for normalizing, grouping or
weighting of the indicator results and data quality analysis techniques for assisting in the interpretation of the
results.
4.2 Scope of examples
The examples provided within this Technical Report illustrate and support the methodology specified in
Clauses 5, 6, 7 and 10 of ISO 14042:2000. The coverage is indicated in Table 1.
Table 1 — Elements or clauses of ISO 14042:2000 illustrated with examples
ISO 14042:2000 Example coverage in this Technical
IS0 14042 clause
reference Report
Clauses 1 to 4 Foreword, Scope, Normative references, Terms and Examples of impact categories
definitions, General description of LCIA
Clause 5 Mandatory elements Example 1, Example 2, Example 3,
Example 4,
...