Roles and responsibilities for different actors

 

Exploring challenges and opportunities of LCM and LCA for the industry

Today, industry faces changing consumer demands, stricter legal frameworks, and greater public awareness concerning the environmental performance. The demand for this information is growing rapidly as for more and more customers this information becomes decisive regarding their buying decision and this applies equally to B2B and B2C relationships. Also, a transparent and comprehensible declaration on environmental impacts of business or production processes helps to increase public confidence. Thus, life cycle management is an important marketing topic for the industry including the requirements resulting from questions of labeling. An important stakeholder is a continuously growing critical community, powered by global communication structures. Information on environmentally-friendly or harmful products or production processes spread faster than ever and, more important, globally. This leads to the process of life cycle assessment itself with its challenges and chances. As numerous best practices prove, there is a leverage effect of assessing the environmental impact and a growth in productivity by optimizing processes across the whole supply chain. By its broad approach the session will embrace different perspectives in order to map the challenges the industry has to face and the chances the topic offers.

Format: Oral session and posters

 

Roles and responsibilities in buildning and construction

As normally planer (architects and engineers) are in the limelight, this session is specifically aiming at building material and building technology producer and supplier as well as political decision makers, like national or local authorities, to present their approaches and efforts to life cycle wide optimized buildings respectively building stocks. The term building is used in its broader sense, covering the existing building stock, replacement buildings as well as new constructions. In the centre of interest might be the functional unit from a building material/buildings technology and the added value of a new product in comparison to competitive products or the LCA-based ecological impact of a specific political measurement for single buildings or the entire building stock.

Format: Oral session and posters

 

Roles and responsibilities in the mobility sector

Within this session the environmental, social and economic impacts of different transport modes: air transport, automobile, train and water transport including the herewith linked supply chains will be analyzed.

Automobiles, planes, trains and ships represent industries with a very long and complex supply chain. Additionally legal regulations focus mostly on the use phase of these products. Therefore one important focus is to demonstrate how transport and the herewith linked products can be optimized over the entire life-cycle and which contribution can be achieved by which actor in the value-chain.

Another focus is the interaction of different transport modes and the optimization of the entire transport system. This can be achieved only with a close cooperation of all actors.

Format: Oral session and posters

 

Round table: Exploring challenges and opportunities of LCM

Roles and responsibilities in industry – round table discussions on challenges and opportunities when responsibility is considered using a life cycle perspective. In many industry sectors global perspectives are important and major impacts are often taking place in other locations than where end-products are actually used. The roles and responsibilities of industry in relation to these supply chains are of key concern in order to enable most efficient actions for sustainable development and also for industry credibility and image. How is this handled today? Which are the obstacles and difficulties? Which are the benefits and success stories? In round table discussions we will raise and discuss this relevant topic.

Format: Round table

Please note that we do not call for traditional abstracts for this round table. It is however possible to send in suggestions of issues to discuss. Register and write your topic and/or question including a short motivation as “abstract”.

 

Sustainable product chains – the role and responsibilities of retailers

It is often argued that retailers have an important role in promoting sustainable production and consumption as they occupy a position of “gatekeepers” between producers and consumers. Retailers can exercise influence in the product chain through decisions about assortment in their stores (choice editing), but also through exerting influence both upstream on producers and downstream, on consumer choices and behaviour patterns.

For this session we invite contributions that explore and analyse any of the following:

  • Current uptake of life-cycle approaches into strategic and operational decisions in the retail sector.
  • Drivers and barriers to a further uptake of life-cycle considerations in decisions related to:
    • sourcing and supply
    • assortment 
    • promotion and marketing
    • Private, and public, tools or measures that motivate or facilitate the integration of life-cycle approaches in retailers’ decision making.
    • The assumption of retailer leverage, and the constraints at play in this context.

Format: Oral session and posters

 

Trade associations – drivers for LCM?

A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. A trade association champions the industry’s achievements and the benefits of its products through participation in public affairs and making expert and constructive contributions on behalf of the industry. They usually provide a comprehensive range of services and supplies to their members with the information and data necessary for the industry to enhance the industry goals and performance.

 Trade associations today can also have a very active role in supporting its member companies in environmental and sustainability issues with different approaches such as lobbying in various areas that influence its member companies. With common activities it can motivate and drive development in the sustainability area. In this session there will be a possibility for trade associations or companies within such an association to present case studies on important issues including handling of environmental data, input to green public procurement and environmental labeling

Format: Oral session and posters