Summary: Conduct a life-cycle analysis for a common consumer product and submit as a short paper (2000
words max), excluding any tables, figures or references).
Background: Life-cycle analysis examines the environmental aspects of a consumer product from
beginning (production) through consumer use (consumption) to its end (waste). Life-cycle analysis is
becoming more and more common as we try to assess the environmental impacts of consumer products. For
example, products receiving Canada’s eco-logo Environmental Choice go through a type of life-cycle
analysis.
What is required: For this assignment, you will trace out the life-cycle of a common consumer product and
identify the environmental effects of producing and consuming the good.
? Choose a common consumer product (e.g., sheet of paper, plastic bag, aluminum can, burger patty,
cocktail shrimp, beer, banana). Keep it simple; do not choose something with a lot of parts like a
Boeing 747.
? Do some research to identify the inputs, outputs and impacts of the product’s full life-cycle. You do
not need to be overly precise—just do your best with the information that is available. You will
likely need to draw from a combination of peer-reviewed articles, reports and company,
government, and NGO websites (not Wikipedia).
? Do your best to provide quantitative values (numbers), but in many cases numerical data might not
be available. That is okay—do your best to explain what details are available. When using numbers,
make sure you refer to units effectively and consistently. Please use metric values with acronyms as
appropriate, e.g., megajoules (MJ) of energy or litres (L) for water.
? You will have to be concise (2000 word limit!). You cannot report everything about the product, so
focus in on a specific set of inputs, outputs and impacts.
? Include one simple block diagram showing the components of the product with arrows indicating
the material, energy and waste associated with each lifecycle stage. Show and explain this diagram
in your paper (for example, “During the production stage shown in Figure 1…”).
? Remember to cite your references correctly in APA format and place the references at the back of
the assignment.
Your paper should be organized as follows (using these section headings):
1. Background (approximately 15-25% of paper’s content): explain the concept of life-cycle analysis
(citing as appropriate), and explain what product you are focusing on. Identify which environmental
impacts you will focus on in Section 3 (and why). Note if there are any previous studies or reports
that also have conducted a similar life-cycle analysis of this or a related product.
2. LCA inventory (approximately 30-40% of paper’s content): for your product, do your best to detail
the energy, material, and waste associated with each of the four major stages of product lifecycle
(referring to your diagram):
1. Extraction of raw materials
2. Production and packaging
3. Distribution and use
4. Disposal, recycling, and/or reuse
3. Environmental impacts (approximately 25-35% of paper’s content): summarize the environmental
impacts of your product for at least two major environmental impact categories. Impacts can
Simon Fraser University REM-100: Global Change (Spring 2016)
School of Resource and Environmental ManagementInstructor: Dr. Jonn Axsen
2
include: greenhouse gas emissions (or global warming potential—GWP), land use, freshwater use,
resource depletion (e.g. fossil fuel use), human toxicity or ecosystem toxicity.
4. Recommendations (approximately 10-15% of paper’s content): Based on your analysis, identify
one or two ways of reducing the environmental impacts associated with your product.
5. LCA Diagram (Separate page, not included in word count): create a simple block diagram to serve
as a visual representation of the LCA stages and associated impacts. Clearly label the four stages
and impacts. This diagram may be hand-drawn or put together using a computer program, such as
Powerpoint, or a combination of both. Please do not simply print out a previously published lifecycle
diagram from an article or report and credit those authors- this is your own version of this
product’s life-cycle and impacts, be creative!
6. Reference list! (Separate page, not included in word count) Including all articles, reports and
websites cited in the body of your assignment.
Our library liaison person has kindly prepared a web page with useful references and tips to help
with this assignment. Access it at:
https://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/rem/rem100-life-cycle
or by going to the main library page, hit ‘Research Guides’ under Research Help, choose REM and then
‘Help with Course Assignments’.
A Word of Warning: Do your own work, do not cut and paste. Plagiarism is usually detected in a few
cases every term and will not be tolerated.
Format and Style
This assignment follows a “Briefing” format. You must meet all of these criteria.
? Only one student should submit the paper on behalf of the group/team (let your TA know who
will do this).
? Hard copy: Please ensure all pages are stapled together. No report covers, duo-tangs, or
binders.
? Turnitin copy: Name your file as “surname_first-name_A1.doc”. For example, I would save
my assignment as: Axsen_Jonn_A1.doc. Acceptable document types include MS Word (doc or
docx), PDF, txt, rtf.
? Font: 12 point (size), Times New Roman font
? Page layout: 1” margins on all sides (2.54 cm).
? Document should be double-spaced, with one space between paragraphs.
? Include your name, student number, submission date, and assignment title in the document
header (the top of your document).
? At the top of your assignment, clearly state the document’s word count – you must not exceed
2000 words for this assignment. Reference list, tables, and figures do not count in your word
limit (within reason).
? Use APA referencing format as explained in tutorial, e.g. (Axsen, 2012). Reference all data,
information, assertions, and insights that come from other sources. The SFU Library provides a
citation guide here: https://www.lib.sfu.ca/system/files/28281/APA6CitationGuideSFUv3.pdf or
by clicking on “Citation + style guides” from their main page.
? Keep your assignment concise and to the point. You must provide references, and show how
they support your argument or message. Quickly cut to the chase! Papers should use precise
language that can be fully documented—this style is often called “technical” or academic
writing. Journalistic language is not appropriate. Som
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