Lifestyle-LCA: Challenges and Perspectives

Abstract

Former Life-LCA case studies provided valuable insights into the environmental impacts associated with specific human beings. However, they were resource and time intensive due to primary data collection. Therefore, this study’s goal is to develop a generic yet comprehensive framework, which is called “Lifestyle-LCA” making an environmental impact assessment of human beings more accessible to the general public. The methodology consists of (1) the development of the conceptual framework, (2) its application in a first case study, (3) refinement and validation of the approach based on the case study results, and a practical user (4) application guidance. Regionality, income, and life stage were identified as key influencing factors on a person’s lifestyle. The “Lifestyle-LCA” inventory provides a framework for determining baseline consumer values per defined lifestyle (ranging from eco-enthusiast to disinterested) and distributing product clusters based on their emission profile. A case study based on the average German consumer shows a range from 4 to 14 t CO2-eq. per year for the defined lifestyles. Two presented application pathways allow users to choose the most appropriate approach depending on their available resources, time, goal, and scope. Future studies should test the framework across various cultural backgrounds, including new societal, economic, and personal factors.