Q&A - Assessing Nature Based Solutions with LCA
Here we have collected the answers to some questions that were not all answered in our webinar on March 16th 2023 because of time constraints.
Q: What is the role of the community in this?
A: Communities are important, we humans form communities by connecting to others who share the same passions as we do.
Q: Can you share some concrete example of how can we use nature based solutions?
A: Co-operation of 5000 wine makers who wanted to move from just organic towards a Nature Based mentality. They found the cooling effect of forests around the vinyards was a lot more important than anything they could do with the soil.
Q: How can we restore biodiversity to it's original levels by 2050 when some of the losses took thousands, sometimes millions of years to evolve/establish in the first place? What is meant by this metric presented on one of the first slides?
A: We cannot bring back species that are extinct. We just have to do as much as much as possible with what we can affect.
Biodiversity indicators used in LCA's are usually local or regional and not focusing on extinction. So re-introducing species to a certain region can restore local biodiversity. In forthcoming methods for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), an indicator for extinction risk will be added.
Q: What do you think is missing at an Authority/Municipal level to ensure that construction projects or manufactured products are developed taking LCA into consideration?
A: Some regional authorities have started to require LCAs as part of a tender/procurement eligibility. As one example, many major cities around the globe have started to require LCAs be done and submitted as part of a proposal to provide transportation services.
Q: Is LCA connected with to the UN land degradation index?
A: This indicator is useful as part of the SDGs, and indicates the area and proportion of a nation's land which is degraded. LCAs can provide information on the land use, and land use change (from one use to another), in different regions, per functional unit for a product system. Thus, the results of an LCA might be put into context, or compared, with UN Land Degradation data.
Q: Can Geographic Information System (GIS) be integrated with LCA to carry out nature based assessments?
A: Potentially as a means of scoping out the boundaries of the LCA study and definitely as a way to see verification of effectiveness over time- satellite images etc.
Q: How do you see enriching the LCA data with actual measurement of diversity using E-DNA instead of using databases with general information ?
A: Incorporating site-specific measured data (for biodiversity and other impacts) is a promising way to address "hot spots" of impact which are identified using database data in an LCA.
Q: How can LCA help in Biodiversity Restoration?
A: LCA can help in estimating what the impacts of planned restoration actions will be. Baseline is important here- do you start with the degraded land or ocean environment or do you go back in time to when it was healthy- and how far back will this be- this will certainly open up debate
LCA can also help by putting the impacts of the planned or actual restoration activities into the context of a larger system, such as the total footprint of the organization or decision in question. This can help avoid greenwashing: trying to get undue credit for something tangible but small in the scheme of the organization's or decision's larger impacts or consequences
Q: Knowing that currently, most of the LCA libraries lack region specific data, is GLAM project working on closing the background data gaps to be able to utilize the proposed mid-pint and end-point indicators?
A: LCA research has shown that having region-specific data is only valuable, or impactful, for a handfull of "hot spot" activities in the life cycle of a given product system. The important thing is to identify these hot spots and address them with region-specific assessment. State-of-the-art methods for LCIA do provide regionalized impact factors, so that when the regional location of hot spot activities is identified, it can be taken into account.
Q: How can we "hold hands" - that is connecting the handprints?
A: Here are some of Gregs thoughts related to that in his TEDx talk a while ago
Q: Will the referenced research articles be shared?
A: This answer is from the event chat from Tom Marting: There has been some work done integrating LCA with Biomimicry, this paper is a case study that shows how one company did this.
Q: An LCA is often only as good as the data you have access to. What can early stage startups do to quantify their hand/footprint as they attempt to embed nature positive principles into thier business development plan? Where can startups get access to relevant data?
A: There are quite affordable LCA tools available nowadays, such as Earthster that Environmental Impacts Academy use in our program. There is also a lot of data available in databases, although those will always be incomplete. A "quick and dirty" LCA can be done quickly and be very affordable. That is often good enough, of course depending on what the purpose of the LCA is (decision support etc).
Q: Most of LCA inventories are using old data to estimate the possible impacts, not to mention that they do not provide any information about their methodology and error margin. Additionally, I would like to hear your opinions about how we can use LCA for blue-green infrastructures for the cities? The current case studies are based on the comparison of before and after situation. But none of them considers the aggregated impacts?
A: The Ecoinvent database is continually updated, and thankfully it provides transparent data and documentation. I agree that transparency is a necessary attribute for LCA data.
Q: How can Engineering and Constructions affect Nature Restoration especially when we are talking about big scale projects and urban infrastructure? Thank you!
A: Integration of new green materials ie concrete that sequesters CO2, water reclamation etc- there are a million solutions that can increase the efficiency of buildings and the materials they are made from that need to have faster approvals for use
One of the trailblazing certification systems for the built environment on these topics is the Living Building Challenge and the companion Living Community Challenge.
Q: What about the entire concept and discussions revolving around natural capital accounting in terms of biodiversity eg. SEEA or Align Report? Are these the right way to account our impacts and useful to our target to get the biodiversity to a net positive position?
A: Natural capital accounting methods are being reviewed by the GLAM project in its task related to bringing Ecosystem Services into LCA.
Q: How could you assess in the context of LCA the feedstock (for biofuels) availability/impact of using different natural resources?
A: Natural resource depletion, for biotic as well as abiotic resources, is indeed important to take into account. It is being addressed under the heading of natural resource availability in GLAM.
Q: Could we assess the benefits of improving site located emission by putting plants inside the buildings?
A: Yes those could be assessed. This is bio-utilization - which is an application of integrating nature into our build environment but not really a NbS- the reconnection in urban environments is important and maybe even the connection to a plant on our desks is a good way to start this.
Q: I recognize that biodiversity evolves and is not static, so how are you defining your end state of an ecosystem/site being assessed? A local collaborative approach, an agency led approach or a hybrid?
A: End states never really arrive- nature cycles through creative destruction to levels of ecological stability and then back again - the same way the seasons cycle- It adapts to changing conditions, reshuffles information, breaks things down and then reassemble them into new and novel things- The same way we eat a carrot and the food gets broken down and then used the way our body can absorb it then the rest goes out as waste that some other organism can reassemble and use- it never gets to an endpoint just a circular process
Q: What notions of LCA do you consider are key in order to transform urban spaces in a more sustainable way (through Nature Based Solutions for instance).
A: One example is "pocket forests" to expedite 10x the regrowth and 100x biodiversity. For example in Cambridge, MA, thousands of students have visited their forest in less than a year. These could be replicated all over the world.
In a project in NY, wood material from urban forests are directed into production of prioducts instead of being treated as waste.
Q: Where can we connect with Gregory and with Kimberly, who were speaking at the webinar?
A: On LinkedIn - Dr. Kimberly Samaha and Dr. Gregory Norris.
Q: Where can i find more information about the Born Global Foundation?
A: On the official website www.Bornglobalfoundation.org
Q: How can my business get started with doing Environmental Life Cycle Assessment?
A: Hire a young Environmental talent from the Environmental Impacts Academy LCA internship program, or have one of your current employees attend it. Click here for more information.