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2nd DISCUSSION FORUM ON INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY AND LIFE-CYCLE MANAGEMENT

Fórum de Discussão em Ecologia Industrial e Gestão de Ciclo de Vida

March 5-6 2015

Auditorium of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra (UC), Polo II Campus

 

This discussion forum aims to address current research in Industrial Ecology and Life-Cycle Management. The forum, conducted in English language, brings together faculty, researchers and students to discuss the latest methodological developments and extended approaches in Life-Cycle Assessment. The forum is organized in five working sessions and includes two keynote lectures.

 

Proceedings *NEW*

 

Discussion Forum Photos *NEW*

 

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Discussion Forum - Poster

 

 

Keynote Lectures

 

Professor Roland Clift, Emeritus Professor

Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK

 

Life cycle sustainability assessment: extending the scope of LCA

Life Cycle Assessment is well established as a tool for estimating the environmental impacts (usually negative) associated with providing a product or service. However, to provide a tool for assessment of sustainability, LCA needs to incorporate other impacts beyond environmental. Based on the “three pillars” model of sustainability, life cycle sustainability assessment must consider economic and social impacts, both negative and positive.  Environmental and economic impacts are already considered together in some forms of Value Chain Analysis but incorporating social impacts within life cycle assessment is more problematic.  The UNEP/SETAC Guidelines approach this problem by attempting to record social impacts within the same framework as environmental impacts, but this approach is by no means universally accepted.

This talk will outline some of the problems which have been encountered in extending the general LCA approach to social impacts.  Some fundamental questions are raised: 

-           Is it possible to apply an approach derived from risk estimation without empirical validation of outcomes? 

-           Can impact pathways be identified?

-          Can Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment be carried out without a normative discussion on social objectives? 

 http://www2.dem.uc.pt/CenterIndustrialEcology/Events_old_files/image004.jpgProfessor Roland Clift CBE FREng

Emeritus Professor of Environmental Technology and founding Director of the Centre for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey; previously Head of the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Surrey; Visiting Professor in Environmental System Analysis at Chalmers University,Göteborg, Sweden; Adjunct Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; past President and Executive Director of the International Society for Industrial Ecology; past member of the UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, Ecolabelling Board and Science Advisory Council of the Department of the Environment, food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).  Prof. Clift’s research is concerned with system approaches to environmental management and industrial ecology, including life cycle assessment and energy systems.

 

 

Professor Paulo FerrãoFull Professor

Dept. of Mechanical Eng., IST, University of Lisbon, Portugal

 

Urban Metabolism

Urban metabolism provides a framework for analyzing the technical and socioeconomic processes that occur in cities. This includes assessing the inputs, outputs, and stores of energy, water, and materials of an urban area. The concept is grounded on the analogy with the metabolism of living organisms, as cities can transform raw materials into infrastructure, human biomass, and waste.

The material dimension of the economic activities in cities presents an opportunity for analysis. While the material dimension is only one component of understanding the metabolism of cities, it allows the development of reliable metrics for the assessment of urban material flows and stocks. The consumption and transformation of materials is crucial for assessing the sustainability of a city in terms of efficient functioning, resource availability, and environmental protection.

Urban metabolism concepts and its associated toolset will be discussed together with a set of international case studies that demonstrate how urban metabolism can contribute to promote urban sustainability. 

P3237622 Professor Paulo Ferrão

Was born in Lisboa in 1962, graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1985 at IST- Instituto Superior Tecnico of the Technical University of Lisbon, where he obtained the prize for the best student of the year in his field. He obtained a Master in Heat Transfer and Conversion in 1998 and a PhD and “habilitation” in Mechanical Engineering at IST in 1993 and 2004, respectively. He concluded a graduation in Strategic Management in the Context of Innovation at ISCTE in 1988. He is the National Director of the MIT-Portugal Program, the major international partnership on Science and Technology in Portugal, in the field of Engineering Systems, and he is also the focus area lead for Sustainable Energy Systems. He is Full Professor at IST. He is co-founder of IN+, Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research. His scientific career has evolved within the areas of “Laser diagnostics for turbulent combustion systems”, “Analysis of Energy Systems” and “Industrial Ecology”, where the principles of Thermodynamics have been complemented with social and economic fundamentals in order to promote the analysis of the complex systems that characterize the major issues that are relevant for sustainable development of modern societies. He has been active on the area of “Sustainable Cities”, where he is publishing a book at MIT-Press on “Sustainable Urban Systems” co-authored with John Fernandez from MIT. He is author of three books and co-author of two other in the area of Industrial Ecology, its principles, tools and different case studies. He is author of more than seventy papers published in journals and book chapters and over eighty papers presented in conferences and invited talks in different domains. He has co-organized more than a dozen international conferences and leaded more than thirty scientific projects in the areas of Energy Efficiency and Industrial Ecology.

 

 

Final program

Pdf version

 March 5th

10.00

Registration

 

10.30

Opening Session

10.45

Introduction to the Energy for Sustainability Initiative

António Gomes Martins

University of Coimbra

11.00

KEYNOTE LECTURE

LIFE CYCLE SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT: EXTENDING THE SCOPE OF LCA

Roland Clift

University of Surrey

Chair: Fausto Freire

12.00

Introduction to the workshop sessions

Fausto Freire

Session 1 - Extended LCA approaches I

Chair: Luís Dias

12.10

Building an impact assessment method for green water flows

Paula Quinteiro

University of Aveiro

12.30

Virtual water transfers via the power grid: water embodied in electricity trade between regions

Elliot J. Cohen

Columbia University

12.50

Definition of mid-point and end-point categories in social life cycle assessment

Ana Carvalho

University of Lisbon

13.10

Environmental and social impacts of sugarcane production in São Paulo considering different harvesting systems

Chongyang Du

University of Coimbra

13.45

Lunch

 

Session 2 - Bioenergy

Chair: Érica Castanheira

15.00

LCA of the biodiesel production in Spain driven by optimization criteria

Neus Escobar

Polytechnic University of Valencia

15.20

Do methodological choices really matter in the life cycle assessment of bioenergy systems?

Miguel Brandão

IEA Bioenergy  Task 38

15.40

Energy requirements for the continuous biohydrogen production from spirogyra biomass in a sequential batch reactor

Joana Ortigueira

Portuguese National Laboratory for Energy and Geology (LNEG)

16.00

Environmental life cycle assessment of rapeseed methyl ester (RME) addressing uncertainty

João Malça

Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra

16.30

Coffee break

 

Session 3 - Extended LCA approaches II

Chair: Luiz Kulay

17.00 

Supply chain optimization accounting for life cycle assessment – the impact of product environmental footprint

Bruna Mota

University of Lisbon

17.20

Cost optimization of biodiesel blends of waste and virgin oil addressing feedstock compositional variability and life cycle impacts

Carla Caldeira

University of Coimbra

17.40

Improvement of the toxicological assessment based on limits imposed by REACH regulation

Carlos Ferreira

University of Coimbra

18.00

The fossilization of the Brazilian electric matrix under the life-cycle assessment perspective

Ricardo Dinato

Getulio Vargas Foundation

18.30

Closing remarks

João Malça

 

March 6th

8.45

Registration

 

9.00

     KEYNOTE LECTURE

URBAN METABOLISM

Paulo Ferrão

University of Lisbon

Chair: Carlos H. Antunes

Session 4 - Urban systems

Chair: José Costa

10.00

Life-cycle assessment of passive construction: strategies for a residential building

Helena Monteiro

University of Coimbra

10.20

Integrating user transportation in the life-cycle assessment of buildings

Joana Bastos

University of Coimbra

10.40

A dynamic fleet-based life-cycle approach to assess greenhouse gas emissions from electric vehicle adoption

Rita Garcia

University of Coimbra

11.00

Coffee break

 

Session 5 - Forest and agri-food systems

Chair: Luís Arroja

11.30

Industrial symbiosis potential in traditional industries: the case of the fish canning industry in Portugal

Ana Coelho

University of Porto

11.50

Synergies for decentralized biogas and fertilizer production

Luis Ferreira

University of Lisbon

12.10

Barriers and opportunities of waste valorisation in rice agroindustry

Nuno Lapa

Nova University of Lisbon

12.30

Integrated simulation-optimization approach for ecodesign of food manufacturing processes

Alicja Sobantka

French National Institute for Agricultural Research

12.50

End-of-life management strategies for natural cork stoppers through life cycle assessment

Martha Demertzi

University of Aveiro

13.30

Closing remarks

Roland Clift and Paulo Ferrão

13.45

Lunch and networking

 

Program last updated on February 27.

 

 

Registration

Registration fee

 

Until January 30

After January 30

Regular*

100 €

175 €

Student**

75 €

125 €

Fees include tax.

* 15% discount for Members of Ordem dos Engenheiros

** Student registration must be accompanied by a proof of student status.

 

The registration fee includes:

§  Access to all sessions

§  Proceedings

§  Lunch and coffee breaks

 

REGISTRATION FORM

 

Venue

The Discussion Forum takes place at the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Polo II Campus, University of Coimbra. Coimbra is located in the center region of Portugal, easily accessible by car, bus or train from Lisbon (200 km) or Oporto (130 km).

 

VENUE and ACCOMMODATION *NEW*

 

Contact

For more information please contact: cie@dem.uc.pt | +351 239 790 708

 

Chairman: Prof. Fausto Freire, DEM-FCTUC Pólo II
Organizing Committee: Carla Caldeira, Carla Rodrigues, Érica Castanheira, Joana Bastos, João Malça, Rita Garcia
ADAI - Center for Industrial Ecology: http://www2.dem.uc.pt/CenterIndustrialEcology/

Energy for Sustainability (EfS) initiative: www.uc.pt/efs

 

 

Support

This Discussion Forum is organized under the project Extended “well-to-wheels” assessment of biodiesel for heavy transport vehicles (PTDC/SEN-TRA/117251/2010), supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).

It is also supported by the Energy and Mobility for Sustainable Regions Project (CENTRO-07-0224-FEDER-002004).

 

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1st DISCUSSION FORUM ON INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY AND LIFE-CYCLE MANAGEMENT