LCAs: Useful policymaking tool or laborious academic method? (16:00 - 17:00 UTC)
Session Organiser: ISIE Policy Section [proposed] (Corresponding organizer: Ella Jennings)
Institution: ISIE Policy Section [proposed]
Location/Local Time: New Haven, USA (11am - 12pm)
Abstract:
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology used for the environmental assessment of products. LCA studies can reveal the best environmental options by embracing and comparing the full extent and complexity of product life cycles. LCAs are commonly employed in the industrial ecology academic space. However, for policymaking, concerns such as applicability, ease of use, cost, and stakeholder interests are key. So, when it comes to enacting real change through policymaking, are LCAs the best tool for the job?
Join the newly proposed ISIE Policy section as we host Nicole Portley and Scott DeFife to debate this question in the context of using LCAs in extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies. Nicole Portley, from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, is responsible for integrating LCAs in Oregon’s new EPR system for packaging. Conversely, Scott DeFife is the President of the U.S. Glass Recycling Institute and a vigorous opponent of using LCA in EPR. With two completely opposing views, we anticipate a lively and interesting debate. Which side will win you over?
The proposed Policy Section plans to join the other established ISIE subject sections to provide a smaller community within which ideas are exchanged, and collaborations are formed. The aims of the section are to:
1. Enhance the policy impact of industrial ecology
2. Promote policy research in industrial ecology.
Session Details:
Speakers:
Stijn Van Ewijk, Chair of ISIE Policy Section – University College London, London, UK
Reid Lifset, Board member ISIE Policy Section – Yale University, New Haven, USA
Nicole Portley, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality – Oregon, USA
Scott DeFife, President of the U.S. Glass Recycling Institute, Washington D.C, USA
Session registration
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