Codeofchina.com is in charge of this English translation. In case of any doubt about the English translation, the Chinese original shall be considered authoritative.
This standard is developed in accordance with the rules given in GB/T 1.1-2009.
This standard was proposed by and is under the jurisdiction of SAC/TC 297 National Technical Committee on Electrical and Electronic Products and Systems Environment of Standardization Administration of China.
Guidance on life cycle assessment for electrical and electronic products
1 Scope
This standard specifies the terms and definitions, life cycle assessment and life cycle reports for life cycle assessment of electrical and electronic products.
This standard is applicable to the guidance for development of product category rules for the life cycle assessment of specific electrical and electronic products.
Note: If the specific product category rule is not available, the life cycle assessment can be carried out with reference to this standard and Type III environmental declaration can be made in accordance with GB/T 24025.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
GB/T 24040-2008 Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework
GB/T 24044 Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Requirements and guidelines
3 Terms and definitions
For the purpose of this document, the terms and definitions defined in GB/T 24040-2008 and GB/T 24044 and the following terms and definitions apply. For the convenience of application, some terms and definitions in GB/T 24040-2008 are listed repeatedly as follows.
3.1
life cycle
a series of stages in the product system that are connected in sequence from acquiring raw materials from the natural world or from natural resources to the final disposal
[Definition 3.1, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.2
life cycle assessment; LCA
summary and assessment for input, output and potential environmental impact of a product system in the life cycle
[Definition 3.2, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.3
life cycle inventory analysis; LCI
stage of life cycle assessment summarizing and quantifying the input and output in the full life cycle of the researched product
[Definition 3.3, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.4
unit process
the most fundamental part determined to quantify input and output data for life cycle inventory analysis
[Definition 3.34, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.5
functional unit
quantified product system performance used as a reference unit
Note 1: if the life cycle assessment is for a product, the functional unit can also be a product unit.
Note 2: Definition 3.20, GB/T 24040-2008 is rewritten.
3.6
system boundary
identifying unit process that is part of product system with a set of criteria
[Definition 3.32, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.7
input
product, material or energy flows entering a unit process
Note: products or materials include raw materials, intermediate products and co-products.
[Definition 3.21, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.8
output
product, material or energy flows departing from a unit process
Note: products and materials include raw materials, intermediate products, co-products and emissions
[Definition 3.25, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.9
allocation
the input and output streams in a process or product system are incorporated into the product system under study and one or more other product systems.
[Definition 3.17, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.10
reference flow
process outputs required for realizing the function of a functional unit within the given product system
[Definition 3.29, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.11
elementary flow
material or energy free from artificial transformation before being taken from the environment and entering the research system, or material or energy free from artificial transformation after departing from the research system and entering the environment
[Definition 3.12, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.12
intermediate flow
product, material and energy flows between unit processes of researched product system
[Definition 3.22, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.13
reference product
a product or product system provided by the manufacturer that is simulated in the life cycle assessment and that achieves the specified functional unit
3.14
reference service life; RSL
life expectancy based on a specific set of use conditions, which can be used to estimate service life expectancy under other use conditions
Note 1: Definition 3.2.12, ISO 21930 is rewritten.
Note 2: the reference service life is also called “typical service life” and is the theoretical period used for calculation purposes. It may be different from the shortest, average or actual service life of the product.
3.15
data quality
capability and characteristic of data in meeting the declared requirements
[Definition 3.19, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.16
impact category
classification of the environmental problem concerned, into which the result of life cycle inventory analysis may be incorporated
[Definition 3.39, GB/T 24040-2008]
3.17
product category rules; PCR
a set of specific rules, requirements, and guidelines that must be met for Type III environmental declaration for one or more product categories
[Definition 3.5, GB/T 24025-2009]
3.18
environmental label
environmental declaration
a declaration that describes the environmental factors of a product or service
Note 1: the environmental label or declaration may be in the form of paper or electronic, may appear on the product or packaging label, or be placed in the description, symbols or graphics of product text, technical bulletin, advertisement, website or publication, etc.
Note 2: Definition 3.1, GB/T 24025-2009 is rewritten.
3.19
Type III environmental declaration
an environmental declaration providing the quantified environmental data based on preset parameters, including additional environmental information if necessary
Note 1: the preset parameters are based on GB/T 24040.
Note 2: additional environmental information may be qualitative or quantitative.
[Definition 3.2, GB/T 24025-2009]
4 Life cycle assessment
4.1 General
The functional unit of product shall include:
—— the function of the product, which shall be described as a service to the user;
-——the performance or required level of the product function, which level shall be quantified, and can be determined by reference to the product standard;
—— the reference service life of the product.
The reference flow of the corresponding functional unit shall include:
—— the quantity and quality of the reference products;
—— all package of the reference products in their life cycle;
-——the necessary products for the installation, maintenance or removal of the reference products.
4.2 System boundary
4.2.1 General
Life cycle for electrical and electronic products shall include the following stages:
——stage of raw material acquisition and manufacturing: from natural resources acquisition to product and package manufacturing, and product transportation to logistics center;
——distribution stage: transportation from manufacturer logistics center to product use location (for B2B) / sales location (for B2C);
——installation stage: suitable for products to be installed at the use place ;
——use stage: the use of the product, and the necessary maintenance to ensure the use ability of the product;
——end-of-life stage: removal, disassembly, transportation of end-of-life products to treatment sites, and end-of-life treatment.
For electrical and electronic products, a full life cycle assessment (from “cradle to grave”) shall be carried out for the final product, from the raw material acquisition and manufacturing stage to the-end-of-life stage; partial life cycle assessment can be carried out for intermediate products (from “cradle to gate” "), that is, the raw material acquisition and manufacturing stage.
Example: a full life cycle assessment is conducted on a household refrigerator; a partial life cycle assessment is conducted on the distribution transformer.
4.2.2 Stage of raw material acquisition and product manufacturing
The following process shall be considered during the stage of raw material acquisition and product manufacturing:
a) manufacturing of materials, parts and components that constitute the reference product:
—— the production (mining, processing and forming, etc.) and transportation of the raw materials necessary for the manufacture of parts, including the various flow-related waste materials in the manufacture process, up to their final waste status;
——industrial forming and manufacturing processes for parts, components and products;
——transportation from the production place of materials, parts and component suppliers to the location of the product assembly and/or packaging location.
b) manufacturing (mining, processing and forming, etc.) of packaging materials and transportation from the location of manufacture of the packaging material to the location of the product packaging. The package shall include the packaging of the reference product, the product manual and the product identification.
c) industrial processes for assembling reference products and packaging.
d) transportation of the packaged product from the packaging location to the manufacturer's logistics center.
Note: a bill of materials (BOM) can be used to determine the boundaries and obtain data.
4.2.3 Distribution stage
The following process shall be considered during the distribution stage:
a) transportation of products and their packages from the manufacturer's logistics center to the regional logistics center;
b) if applicable, end-of-life management of product package materials from the logistics center to the final waste status.
4.2.4 Installation stage
If applicable, the following process shall be considered during the installation stage:
a) the manufacturing, package and procurement of materials not found in the reference product but required during the installation process;
b) the installation process;
c) management (collection and treatment, up to final waste status) of waste generated at the installation site, including but not limited to:
——package;
——discarded installation materials;
——related waste in installation.
4.2.5 Use stage
In the stage of reference product use, the product operation under normal conditions shall be considered.
The following process shall be considered during the use stage:
a) the operation of the product during the reference service life;
b) maintenance of the product during the reference service life, if applicable.
Foreword i
1 Scope
2 Normative references
3 Terms and definitions
4 Life cycle assessment
4.1 General
4.2 System boundary
4.3 Data acquisition
4.4 Data quality assessment
4.5 Editing criteria
4.6 Environmental impact index
4.7 Speculation rules of homogeneous environment family
5 Life cycle report
5.1 General
5.2 General information
5.3 Reference flow and functional units
5.4 Life cycle inventory
5.5 Environmental index
Annex A (Informative) Impact category of typical environment
Bibliography
