Abstract
This article presents a method for evaluating the environmental benefits of implementing Product-Service Systems (PSSs) and Smart PSS with application to the heating systems field. The proposed PSS-oriented life cycle assessment method aims at addressing the specificities of PSS and Smart PSS, representing PSS variety and dealing with uncertainty sources resulting from the PSS context. Besides environmental analysis, the method supports decision-making by comparing different PSS scenarios. This study focuses on the challenges of a generic configuration of the life cycle assessment method and the rigorous handling of uncertainty sources, while an industrial case study reports a real case of PSS design decision-making.
Article Highlights
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Adapting LCA in the context of smart PSS
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Product-Service Systems appear as a Strong Environmental Driver
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Advancing Environmental Sustainability through Comprehensive PSS Design
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the company elm.leblanc (Bosch France), and contributed to the Industrial ANR Chair CORENSTOCK.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Abbreviations
- LCA:
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Life Cycle Assessment
- PSS:
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Product-Service System
- ISO:
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International Organization for Standardization
- GHG emissions:
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Greenhouse gas emissions
- IT:
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Information technology
- FU:
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Functional Unit
- FUS:
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Functional Unit Span
- SC:
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Scenario
- ICT:
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Information and communications technology
- APOS:
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Allocation at the Point of Substitution
- UP:
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Upgradable
- EOL:
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End-of-Life
Appendix 2: Comparative Characterization of Uncertainty Methods for LCA
Characterization of uncertainty with 5 quality criteria: information provided; implemented in LCA software; implemented in PSS; effort/time required; reliability/validity (Igos et al. 2019)
Appendix 3: Characterization Methods for LCA
See Table 14.
Appendix 4: Environmental Results
See Table 15.
Appendix 5: Experimental Uncertainty Design
See Table 16.
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Maliqi, M., Boucher, X., Villot, J. et al. Adaptation of Environmental Assessment to PSS Specificities: Heating Appliance Case Study. Int J Environ Res 18, 25 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-024-00576-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-024-00576-8