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2nd Canadian Forum on the Life Cycle Management of Products and Services
"Life Cycle for Sustainable Development:
From Concept to Application"
Description -
Who Should Attend? - Life Cycle Thinking
Almost two years have passed since the first edition of the Canadian Forum on the Life Cycle Management of Products and Services in November 2003. With a strong emphasis placed on LCA methodology and case studies and set in a context conducive to discussions, the main goals of this first forum was to give a progress report on the life cycle approach in Canada, identify the challenges, stimulate collaborations and identify the factors required for the implementation of this approach in Canada. The participation beyond all expectations showed how much this forum met a real need.
Since this first forum, the life cycle approach has continued its expansion, both at national and international levels, within companies as well as governments. For example, with the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol last February 16th, and world pressure to make sustainable development a reality, the life cycle approach is increasingly becoming essential to concretely take part in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction while reducing the global burden on the environment and the resources.
However, the life cycle approach remains largely unknown and underutilized in Canada, compared to other industrialized countries like Japan, Germany, Australia and the Scandinavian countries. The aim of this forum is thus to increase awareness for this approach and to facilitate its implementation.
This 2nd edition of the forum, as did the first, aims to bring together all parties concerned with sustainable development and its concrete implementation, including governments, industries and universities. It presents methodological aspects related to recent developments in life cycle and inventory data management, touches on life cycle assessment within SMEs and large companies, and presents Canadian and international case studies specifically oriented towards resources (mining and pulp and paper industries).
There is a current trend towards changing current production and consumption patterns that is gaining ground on the international level. New patterns are emerging which target a global minimization of negative environmental impacts while maintaining or positively increasing economic and social impacts. This is called "the life cycle approach", also named "life cycle thinking".
The life cycle approach is promoted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and aims to reduce the pressures of a product or a service on the resources and the environment throughout its life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to its final disposal at its end-of-life. Thus, by minimizing the energy and resource requirements for a specific product during its life cycle, an increase in value chain can be achieved.
The life cycle approach consists of a number of tools, of whand resource requirements for a specific product during its life cycle, an increase in value chain can be achieved.
The life cycle approach consists of a number of tools, of which life cycle assessment is the cornerstone. Recently standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) with the ISO 14040 series of standards, life cycle assessment is increasingly used by large industrial corporations and their suppliers throughout the world.
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