ForestPaths project
Published October 28, 2025 | Version v1
Publication Open

Time-explicit life cycle assessment: a flexible framework for coherent consideration of temporal dynamics

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Leiden University
  • 2. ROR icon Flemish Institute for Technological Research
  • 3. ROR icon RWTH Aachen University
  • 4. ROR icon Paul Scherrer Institute
  • 5. ROR icon Technical University of Munich
  • 6. ROR icon KU Leuven
  • 7. Leiden University (CML)

Description

A well-known limitation of conventional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the lack of temporal considerations, particularly the temporal distribution and evolution of processes, emissions, and environmental responses. While these aspects have been explored to some extent in dynamic and prospective LCA, a comprehensive approach for considering both temporal distribution and evolution is currently missing. We introduce a novel framework for time-explicit LCA that integrates the temporal distribution and evolution of product systems in the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) phase and supports dynamic characterization of emissions in the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) phase.

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Additional details

Funding

European Commission
ForestPaths - Co-designing Holistic Forest-based Policy Pathways for Climate Change Mitigation 101056755
UK Research and Innovation
Co-designing Holistic Forest-based Policy Pathways for Climate Change Mitigation (ForestPaths) 10040816