The course covers:

• LCA methodology
• LCA tools and - databases
• Specialisation of life cycle impact in a specific field that the students choose independently
• Lecture from industry with examples of use of LCA for decision making

The general aim of the course is to develop the student's ability to assess environmental impact of complex systems in technology and urban planning based on a life-cycle perspective by giving theoretical and practical skills in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

After passing the course, the students should be able to:

1. Give an account of the aim applications of the LCA method.
2. Explain the analytical phases and central concepts of the LCA method.
3. Apply the analytical phases and central concepts of the LCA method on complex systems in technology and urban planning.
4. Identify uncertainties in LCA method and data and evaluate how these influence the results.
5. Report in writing the completed LCA study according to ISO's standard for LCA.
6. Use LCA software.
7. Give an account of the results orally of the completed LCA the study.
8. Work in a collaborative project setting
9. Report in writing and give an account of a critical review orally of an LCA report.

• Lectures
• Computer labs
• Project supervision and project seminars
• Home exam

Schedule, deadlines, and signing up for appointments

The schedule with lectures, seminars, and computer labs is available in TimeEdit.

Deadlines for all hand-ins can be found in Canvas > Assignments 

All course related deadlines (assignments, exam and signing up for seminars, supervisions and computer labs) are listed in Canvas Calendar. Instructions for signing up in Calendar can be found here.

NOTE: You need to add the course AL2608 to your Canvas Calendar in order to see calendar events and sign up for appintments.

Expected work load in this course

The course covers 7.5 credits. This corresponds to 5 weeks of full time work.

Note: week 47 will be especially intense, with pre-seminar and home exam! Take this into account when you plan your work.

Scheduled studies (~1 week)

• Lectures: 20 h
• Computer labs: 10 h
• Supervision meetings: 4 h

Own studies (~4 weeks)

• Reading course literature: 1 week
• Completing home exam: 6-8 hrs (if you have done the reading before the exam!)
• Project work: 2.5 weeks
• Critical review and final revision of report: 0.5 week

Book

Curran, M. A. (ed) (2015) Life Cycle Assessment Student Handbook. Wiley.

You can order this book from for instance AdLibris (www.adlibris.se) or Bokus (www.bokus.se). It will not be available at the student book store, simply because it would be much more expensive.

Scientific papers (available in Canvas)

As listed under each lecture in this document.

SimaPro manuals (available in Canvas)

• PRé Consultants (2016) Introduction to LCA with SimaPro
• PRé Consultants (2014) SimaPro Tutorial

Useful web resources

• LCA Compendium - The Complete world of Life Cycle Assessment (Springer Link): https://link.springer.com/search?facet-series=%2211776%22&facet-content-type=%22Book%22
• Jolliet, O. et al (2015) Environmental Life Cycle Assessment. Boca Raton: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.1201/b19138/environmental-life-cycle-assessment-olivier-jolliet-myriam-saade-sbeih-shanna-shaked-alexandre-jolliet-pierre-crettaz

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• PRO1 - Project work, 5.0 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• TEN1 - Home exam, 2.5 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

Project work ( PRO1 )

• The group project examines intended learning outcomes 3-8.
• The project report is graded A-F.
• In order to pass the project, you also need to fulfill other compulsory elements (attendance, compensation assignments in case of absence, active participation at seminars and supervision, meeting deadlines) which are graded as (P/F).
• The grade of the project report is based on the following factors (details in Canvas > Modules > Course memo):
  • Report content (your understanding of LCA methodology, and ability to design and perform an LCA study)
  • Report formal qualities (outline, clarity, language, referencing).

Home exam ( TEN1 )

• The exam covers intended learning outcomes 1-2.
• If you do not pass the exam, but receive Fx, you have the possibility to pass the written exam by oral eaxmination. After oral examination, the student can only receive the grade E.

The final grade (A-F) is a weighted average of the home exam and the project. The project is weighted slightly less than its corresponding credits (Exam weight = 2.5; Project weight = 4).

In order to receive a final grade, the requirements for an “E” for the home exam and all compulsory elements of the project work must be fulfilled.

Fx represents a failing grade but which can be complemented to reach the grade E.

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.