Thesis Chapters by Dr.-Ing. Walther Zeug
There is currently a scientific, political and commercial need for life cycle sustainability asse... more There is currently a scientific, political and commercial need for life cycle sustainability assessments which take all facets into account: the ecological, social and economic effects and impacts of production. The LCSA approach presented in this work meets these requirements and is tailored to the wood-based bio-economy in Germany, as a sector characterized by significant sustainability potentials via substituting fossil raw materials by renewables, risks and complex life cycles. The assessment method follows the principles of standard LCAs, but delivers a theoretical and practical solution for an integration of different aspects of sustainability and consistent quantitative evaluation. First, a breakdown of a life cycle into stages and modules is presented as the key for an analytical balancing by several functional units. Second, a quantitative rating method is introduced to provide non-dimensional, quantitative and comparable evaluations which can be weighted and aggregated for manifold analyses and applications. At least the pros and cons of LCSAs are discussed and their constraints in terms of improving sustainability are depicted.
Papers by Dr.-Ing. Walther Zeug
Sustainable production, life cycle engineering and management, 2023
Decoupling the fulfillment of societal needs from an ever-increasing production of goods together... more Decoupling the fulfillment of societal needs from an ever-increasing production of goods together with decoupling this sufficient production from negative environmental, social and economic impacts, is and will be the major challenge of our economic systems to avoid an even deeper socio-ecological crisis. The ascending bioeconomy practices have to be assessed with regard to their potential to provide a good life for all within planetary boundaries Addressing this, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) is necessary to integrate social, environmental and economic sustainability assessments. However, LCSAs are still in their infancy and a series of practical problems can be traced back to a lack of sound sustainability concepts and applied political economy/ecology. We reflect on social, ecological and economic sustainability, our societal relations to nature and a necessary societal-ecological transformation in order to structure a systemic framework for holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA). This framework allows an implementation in openLCA, conducting the inventory and impact assessment with harmonized databases and more coherent results compared to previous approaches. For further development we identify questions of political economy/ecology as significant. The idea of a bioeconomy as well as systemic assessments is a question of the perception of ends and means of a societal transformation.
Sustainability Science
In this comment, we scrutinize how research is being challenged by the 2030 Agenda and what may b... more In this comment, we scrutinize how research is being challenged by the 2030 Agenda and what may be required for research to contribute to transformative change toward sustainability. Building on the current debate and state of knowledge, we argue that we need a stronger engagement with norms and values within science. Conflicting goals, values and visions need to be made explicit and taken into account in the (co-)production of knowledge in a transparent way. This requires the ability for normative reflection on the part of scientists, both about the norms at play and their own role. To produce transformative-oriented knowledge needed for the implementation of the sustainable development goals, we argue, fundamental changes are required within the science system, from the production to the assessment of knowledge.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2023
As a part of the developing bioeconomy, liquid biofuels may play an important role for transporta... more As a part of the developing bioeconomy, liquid biofuels may play an important role for transportation due to the hope for a sustainable drop-in alternative to substitute fossil fuels and maintaining existing economic infrastructures. In this case study we applied Holistic and Integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment to a prospective technical concept for the production of biofuels from wood residues, sorghum and straw via gasification and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis located in the German federal state Brandenburg. Through this quantitative and qualitative sustainability assessment we identified synergies and hot-spots of biofuel production on a detailed and aggregated level, as well as compare the impacts to fossil fuels and other alternative transport systems. 99 social, ecological and economic indicator results addressing 14 out of 17 SDGs show contributions but also sustainability risks of such biofuels for the SDGs. The total substitution factor of impacts (f = 21.38) for all indicators of biofuels compared to fossil fuels indicates significantly higher impacts of biofuels production, in particular for land (SDG 15, f = 30.43), water (SDG 14, f = 125.57), consumption and production patterns (SDG 12, f = 54.11), low energy efficiency and maintaining problematic global supply chains and working conditions. However, the impacts on climate can be lower (SDG 13, f = 0.42), if residual heat is effectively and efficiently used. Comparing the transportation systems and use phases of fuels, all types of car-based individual transportation including fossil fuels (f = 6.50), biofuels (f = 9.16) and electric drive (f = 6.46) had significant higher impacts than transportation by train. Besides technological downsides, such as the high energy demand, biofuels may play a minor role for specific applications with no other alternative energy technologies in the future. In conclusion, it is very questionable whether such liquid biofuels are a suitable drop-in solution to substitute fossil fuels in a significant quantity. In a final discussion we referred to the necessary societal-ecological transformation with structural changes of production, consumption, political economy and global supply chains. In the future, Holistic and Integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment will be further improved by closing indicator and database gaps, including a cost analysis and direct stakeholder participation, as well as absolute sustainability assessments on how much biofuel production is sustainable.
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Nov 2, 2022
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Purpose We have to transform our societies and economic systems towards social, ecological, and e... more Purpose We have to transform our societies and economic systems towards social, ecological, and economic (holistic) sustainability. Bioeconomy (BE) can contribute to sustainable development by substituting fossil-based products with renewable ones; however, sustainability is not intrinsic to BE. Methods Therefore, we developed a holistic and integrated life cycle sustainability assessment (HILCSA) method containing 91 indicators, implemented in openLCA, using the Ecoinvent and SoCa database, and addressing 15 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We applied it for the first time to show its capabilities by assessing the holistic sustainability of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) relative to hot-rolled steel beams. Results, discussion Our results indicate that renewable bio-based construction materials can have a better holistic sustainability than fossil-based products for nearly all indicators, by less stressing the environment, having a less negative impact on society and being ec...
The work of FhG-ISI is based on the research study 'Ermittlung wirtschaftlicher Kennzahlen und In... more The work of FhG-ISI is based on the research study 'Ermittlung wirtschaftlicher Kennzahlen und Indikatoren für ein Monitoring des Voranschreitens der Bioökonomie' (determining economic key figures and indicators for monitoring the progress of the bioeconomy), which was commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (consortium led by the ifo Institute). The preparation of the report was supported by the steering group for the monitoring of the bioeconomy, in which the above three ministries were represented.
Sustainability, 2019
The bioeconomy as an industrial metabolism based on renewable resources is characterized by, not ... more The bioeconomy as an industrial metabolism based on renewable resources is characterized by, not intrinsic, but rather potential benefits for global sustainability, depending on many factors and actors. Hence, an appropriate systematic monitoring of its development is vital and complexly linked to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as diverse stakeholder expectations. To structure a framework of the important aspects of such a monitoring system, we conducted a series of stakeholder workshops to assess the relevance of SDGs for the bioeconomy. Our results show how the complexities of these issues are perceived by 64 stakeholders, indicating significant commonalities and differences among six SDGs, including specific interests, perceptions, and, in some cases, counterintuitive and contradictory issues. Eventually, the idea of a bioeconomy is a question of the perception of ends and means of a societal transformation toward holistic sustainability. Global implications like tr...
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018
In recent years the need to consider the social dimension of sustainability within life cycle thi... more In recent years the need to consider the social dimension of sustainability within life cycle thinking has been increasing, catalysing the development of many different social life cycle assessment approaches (sLCA). The demand to assess potential social effects has been strengthened further, due to the implementation of national bioeconomy strategies. The RESPONSA framework (REgional SPecific cONtextualised Social life cycle Assessment) has been developed to assess the social effects associated with wood-based bioeconomy products from Germany (Siebert et al., 2018a; Siebert et al., 2018b). However, a characterisation approach, based on a context-specific benchmark which is easy to understand and interpret, is still missing. In general, characterisation approaches provide meaning to social indicator values (i.e., the inventory data). However, there is no standardised sLCA characterisation method yet. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to outline a characterisation method based on context-specific performance reference points (PRPs), which can effectively reflect the social conditions influencing the various organisations involved in producing a specified product. Such PRPs should also qualify whether the social indicator values collected from the organisations in the production system corresponds to a negative (worse than sector average) or positive performance (better than sector average). Therefore, we considered the classification of economic sector of the assessed organisation and in some cases the size of the organisation as factors influencing the potential social effects related to our particular context. These were then applied to define context-specific PRPs, which relate the social indicators calculated in the inventory phase, to those benchmarks, thus generating relative social performance scores for producers of a wood-based product in Germany. Highlights • A context-specific social LCIA approach was developed for assessing wood-based products from bioeconomy regions • It considers the organisations' economic sector and size as factors influencing social performance
Current economic and social systems transgress several ecological planetary boundaries by far but... more Current economic and social systems transgress several ecological planetary boundaries by far but without sufficiently fulfilling human needs and this in a globally unequal way, posing enormous challenges to political strategies and economic structures. To tackle these challenges, under a bioeconomy, a variety of industrial metabolisms, strategies and visions on substituting fossil resources by renewables and hereto associated societal transformations is formulated. Social, ecological and economic (holistic) sustainability, however, is not an intrinsic character of bioeconomy but rather a possible potential which has to be assessed. Life Cycle Assessments and Life Cycle Sustainability Assessments provide promising frameworks and methods for such holistic sustainability assessments, but face major challenges in regard to underlying sustainability concepts and implementation. First, we discuss and analyze the status quo of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment especially in regard to u...
Dieser Bericht wurde erstellt vom Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR) der Universita... more Dieser Bericht wurde erstellt vom Center for Environmental Systems Research (CESR) der Universitat Kassel und dem Johann Heinrich von Thunen-Institut (TI), Bundesforschungsinstitut fur Landliche Raume, Wald und Fischerei mit den Fachinstituten fur Marktanalyse (TI-MA), fur Interna-tionale Waldwirtschaft und Forstokonomie (TI-WF) und fur Seefischerei (TI-SF), zusammen mit Kooperationspartnern des SYMOBIO-Projekts. Gesamtkoordination: Prof. Dr. Stefan Bringezu (CESR) in Kooperation mit Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (TI)
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
Purpose Currently, social, environmental, and economic risks and chances of bioeconomy are becomi... more Purpose Currently, social, environmental, and economic risks and chances of bioeconomy are becoming increasingly a subject of applied sustainability assessments. Based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) aims to combine or integrate social, environmental, and economic assessments. In order to contribute to the current early stage of LCSA development, this study seeks to identify a practical framework for integrated LCSA implementation. Methods We select possible indicators from existing suitable LCA and LCSA approaches as well as from the literature, and allocate them to a sustainability concept for holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA), based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to conduct a practical implementation of HILCSA, we choose openLCA, because it offers the best current state and most future potential for application of LCSA. Therefore, not only the capabilities of the software and databases, but also th...
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2021
Purpose Currently, social, environmental, and economic risks and chances of bioeconomy are becomi... more Purpose Currently, social, environmental, and economic risks and chances of bioeconomy are becoming increasingly a subject of applied sustainability assessments. Based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) aims to combine or integrate social, environmental, and economic assessments. In order to contribute to the current early stage of LCSA development, this study seeks to identify a practical framework for integrated LCSA implementation. Methods We select possible indicators from existing suitable LCA and LCSA approaches as well as from the literature, and allocate them to a sustainability concept for holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA), based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to conduct a practical implementation of HILCSA, we choose openLCA, because it offers the best current state and most future potential for application of LCSA. Therefore, not only the capabilities of the software and databases, but also the supported methods of life cycle impact assessments (LCIA) are evaluated regarding the requirements of the indicator set and goal and scope of future case studies. Results and discussion This study presents an overview of available indicators and LCIAs for bioeconomy sustainability assessments as well as their link to the SDGs. We provide a practical framework for HILCSA of regional bioeconomy, which includes an indicator set for regional (product and territorial) bioeconomy assessment, applicable with current software and databases, LCIA methods and methods of normalization, weighting, and aggregation. The implementation of HILCSA in openLCA allows an integrative LCSA by conducting all steps in a single framework with harmonized, aggregated, and coherent results. HILCSA is capable of a sustainability assessment in terms of planetary boundaries, provisioning system and societal needs, as well as communication of results to different stakeholders. Conclusions Our framework is capable of compensating some deficits of S-LCA, E-LCA, and economic assessments by integration, and shows main advantages compared to additive LCSA. HILCSA is capable of addressing 15 out of 17 SDGs. It addresses open questions and significant problems of LCSAs in terms of goal and scope, LCI, LCIA, and interpretation. Furthermore, HILCSA is the first of its kind actually applicable in an existing software environment. Regional bioeconomy sustainability assessment is bridging scales of global and regional effects and can inform stakeholders comprehensively on various impacts, hotspots, trade-offs, and synergies of regional bioeconomy. However, significant research needs in LCIAs, software, and indicator development remain.
Sustainability
A bioeconomy tackles sustainable development at both the global and regional levels, as it relies... more A bioeconomy tackles sustainable development at both the global and regional levels, as it relies on the optimized use of renewable bio-based resources for the provisioning of food, materials, and energy to meet societal demands. The effects of the bioeconomy can be best observed at a regional level, as it supports regional development and affects the social dimension of sustainability. In order to assess the social impacts of wood-based production chains with regional differentiation, the social life cycle assessment framework “RESPONSA” was established in 2018. We present an initial study, in which this method is applied to an exemplary production chain in a case study of laminated veneer lumber produced in central Germany. The results show a relatively better social performance compared to the reference economic sector, reflecting a relatively low rate of female employees as a major social hotspot. Several social opportunities are identified, in terms of health and safety, equal ...
UFZ Discussion Papers, 2020
Current economic and social systems transgress several ecological planetary boundaries by far but... more Current economic and social systems transgress several ecological planetary boundaries by far but without sufficiently fulfilling human needs and this in a globally unequal way, posing enormous challenges to political strategies and economic structures. To tackle these challenges, under a bioeconomy, a variety of industrial metabolisms, strategies and visions on substituting fossil resources by renewables and hereto associated societal transformations is formulated. Social, ecological and economic (holistic) sustainability, however, is not an intrinsic character of bioeconomy but rather a possible potential which has to be assessed. Life Cycle Assessments and Life Cycle Sustainability Assessments provide promising frameworks and methods for such holistic sustainability assessments, but face major challenges in regard to underlying sustainability concepts and implementation. First, we discuss and analyze the status quo of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment especially in regard to underlying sustainability and economic concept and identify their strengths, weaknesses and research gaps. Secondly, we characterize the current bioeconomy discourse and propose a transdisciplinary, holistic and integrated framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment. Based on this discussion and the proposed framework, holistic and integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment can provide a transdisciplinary understanding and specific information on the absolute and relative holistic sustainability of provisioning systems to allow efficient and effective governance.
A bioeconomy tackles sustainable development at both the global and regional levels, as it relies... more A bioeconomy tackles sustainable development at both the global and regional levels, as it relies on the optimized use of renewable bio-based resources for the provisioning of food, materials, and energy to meet societal demands. The effects of the bioeconomy can be best observed at a regional level, as it supports regional development and affects the social dimension of sustainability. In order to assess the social impacts of wood-based production chains with regional differentiation, the social life cycle assessment framework "RESPONSA" was established in 2018. We present an initial study, in which this method is applied to an exemplary production chain in a case study of laminated veneer lumber produced in central Germany. The results show a relatively better social performance compared to the reference economic sector, reflecting a relatively low rate of female employees as a major social hotspot. Several social opportunities are identified, in terms of health and safety, equal opportunities, and adequate remuneration, for the organization taking part in the value chain. Finally, considering the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a global normative framework, a number of additional indicators for RESPONSA, as well as further developments and recommendations regarding its application in other regions and the upcoming social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) guidelines, are identified.
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Thesis Chapters by Dr.-Ing. Walther Zeug
Papers by Dr.-Ing. Walther Zeug