A probabilistic approach for handling uncertainty in infrastructure LCA

Oskar Larsson, Daniel Honfi, Håkan Stripple

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingPaper in conference proceedingpeer-review

Abstract

To demonstrate and support sustainability of large-scale infrastructure projects, life cycle assessment (LCA) has become a common tool used in the evaluation of environmental impact. However, LCA includes a number of phases, which are all associated with uncertainties. Decisions made without regard to these uncertainties may be suboptimal and/or misleading. The current paper discusses some important issues about how to deal with uncertainties in LCA. Two case studies are presented that shows the effect of including uncertainty in various parameters. The results show that a reduction in uncertainty due to manufacturing improvements can increase the reliability of the results significantly. It was also found that the uncertainty assumptions for parameters where data is not available have a large impact on the LCA-results.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIABSE Congress Stockholm, 2016: Challenges in Design and Construction of an Innovative and Sustainable Built Environment2016
PublisherInternational Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
Pages1677-1685
ISBN (Print)978-385748144-4
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Event19th IABSE Congress Stockholm 2016 - Stockholm, Sweden
Duration: 2016 Sept 212016 Sept 23

Conference

Conference19th IABSE Congress Stockholm 2016
Country/TerritorySweden
CityStockholm
Period2016/09/212016/09/23

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Civil Engineering

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