Homework answers / question archive / Sustainability Principles and Practices 2022 Assignments - Project University of Windsor 1 Sustainability Assessment Overview: Conduct a conceptual life cycle assessment on a conceptual or proposed project or process, and compare it to its next, already available alternatives that fulfills the same need or function

Sustainability Principles and Practices 2022 Assignments - Project University of Windsor 1 Sustainability Assessment Overview: Conduct a conceptual life cycle assessment on a conceptual or proposed project or process, and compare it to its next, already available alternatives that fulfills the same need or function

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Sustainability Principles and Practices 2022 Assignments - Project University of Windsor 1 Sustainability Assessment Overview: Conduct a conceptual life cycle assessment on a conceptual or proposed project or process, and compare it to its next, already available alternatives that fulfills the same need or function. You will work both individually and in a group for this end-of-term project. Project Specifics: The focus of the project is to use the knowledge and techniques about life cycle assessment (LCA) gained in class to assess the sustainability issues facing a new conceptual or proposed project or process. The subject to be assessed must not already exist: it can be be proposed, but has not yet been constructed, made, or otherwise fabricated. If it does exist, no LCA must have been already been performed on it. This project or process must then be compared to the next, best already available alternatives. You may select up to two other, available alternatives. The focus of the project should be on the engineering related aspects: for example, how is a particular material extracted, processed, and then assembled into a product, and what can be improved from an environmental standpoint. You may also assess social and economic issues if they affect the engineering aspects. Your project should present and compare the alternatives: using an LCA, come to a conclusion about which one is preferred. BONUS: Extra consideration will be given if one of the alternatives is based on a policy or governance change, which then affects the engineered solution. You will work in groups of 3 students: each student will assess one alternative. You may have to modify the scope of your project to accommodate the number of students in your group. As a group, you will need to decide your project system boundary and how to best divide the LCA topics of your chosen project. These will form the major categories and/or life stages that will be included and assessed in your LCA. For example each person will for his or her alternative examine how it performs in the various life stages (phases) of: • Raw materials acquisition. • Manufacturing. • Product delivery. • Use/reuse/maintenance. • Recycle/waste management. NOTE: As a group, you may select only some of the 5 stages if you can justify that some of the stages are insignificant. The project will be divided into three sections: Sustainability Principles and Practices 2022 Assignments - Project University of Windsor 2 Part 1: Proposal and Interim Report Submit a maximum 1 page proposal that outlines: • The chosen LCA project, product, or service and the three total alternatives you will evaluate. These include the conceptual alternatives you wish to evaluate. • The overall, broad objectives and scope of your analysis (see details in Final Group and Individual Reports section). • A short paragraph on why your group chose this LCA subject justifying how your chosen project will benefit from an LCA. • This interim report is due on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. It will count for 5% of your course grade. All members of the group receive the same mark. I will report to you if your chosen topic is suitable. Part 2: Interim Report Submit a maximum 3 page report that outlines: • The chosen LCA project and the three total alternatives you will evaluate. These include the conceptual alternatives you wish to evaluate. • The detailed objectives and scope of your analysis (see details in Final Group and Individual Reports section). • A summary literature review that describes the issues behind your chosen project. • A overview description of the life stages (and categories as applicable) that will be examined as major parts of your project, and which group member will assess each life stage. • The functional unit that you are proposing to use. • The problems that your group anticipates. • This interim report is due on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. It will count for 10% of your course grade. All members of the group receive the same mark. Part 3: Final Group and Individual Report(s): As a group, prepare a 3-page overview report that will: 1. Define and discuss the major objective(s) of your LCA and scope the boundaries of your project. You can expand on what you wrote in Part 2. This step is critical. There can be many different ways to approach your analysis. For example, you should identify the purpose of the LCA – is it to demonstrate what are the life cycle impacts and benefits and how they can be improved, or it is more useful to compare it to other similar projects? 2. Present the major life cycle stages of your projects. You can expand on what you wrote in Part 2. You should justify why your group feels these stages are the most important and what their critical issues are. It may save time and effort and provide more clarity to the reader if you supplement your text with diagrams. 3. Define and discuss the functional unit of your study. Consider what situation is actually being measured and what other factors could be involved. Sustainability Principles and Practices 2022 Assignments - Project University of Windsor 3 4. Assess and justify which of the alternatives is the preferred alternative based on your LCA. A multiobjective evaluation or other similar decision method would be useful. Clearly state any reasonable assumptions to help define your project. This overview report should be no more than 3 pages (single spaced, not including title page, preface pages, references, appendices). Unless you approach me to discuss an alternate grading scenario, each person in the group will receive the same grade for this portion of the report. This group report will count for 3% of your course grade. As an individual, prepare an individual, 5-page report that will: 1. Describe in detail one of the significant alternatives your group identified previously that fulfill this product or process. Alternatively, describe in detail one of the significant aspects that you will be assessing. 2. Undertake a conceptual life cycle inventory (LCI) for your alternative. You may wish to focus on the key life cycle stages or categories of concern. Be consistent with the group. 3. Analyze the implications of this LCI and what it means for the life cycle assessment. In other words, what are the significant issues and what are possible improvements or mitigation measures? You may use diagrams or graphical depictions to show the type and degree of severity of the issues. Avoid using too many simplifying assumptions. 4. Assess how accurate are your LCI and LCA, and what would need to be undertaken to improve your analysis to arrive at a preferred solution (if applicable) or at a credible analysis. 5. If applicable, assess the LCA issues within your alternative. Again, a multiobjective evaluation or similar decision method may be useful. Your individual report should be no more than 5 pages (single spaced, not including title page, references, appendices) and it will be marked individually. You are encouraged to check and edit each other’s work. However, the work must be your own. This individual report will count for 17% of your course grade. The final report (group and individual) is due on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Not Permitted: The following subjects are not permitted for this project: 1. Comparing paper versus plastic bags versus reusable bags for consumer use. 2. Comparing beverage containers (e.g., Styrofoam versus paper coffee cups). 3. Comparing cloth versus plastic diapers. 4. Comparing solar versus wind technologies. 5. Comparing hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles versus gasoline vehicles vs electric vehicles. 6. Comparing LCD/plasma display screens versus CRT monitors/TVs. 7. Comparing compact fluorescent light bulbs versus incandescent light bulbs vs LED bulbs. 8. Comparing books versus electronic readers or media (e.g., iPad, Kindle, etc.). 9. Comparing cell phones versus landline phones. 10. Comparing the bridge or third crossing between Windsor and Detroit. 11. Comparing the transport of oil using rail, pipe, truck or ship. Sustainability Principles and Practices 2022 Assignments - Project University of Windsor 4 Note: As instructor, I reserve the right to disallow an LCA related topic that has been thoroughly researched and which has readily available literature. Project Format: § Include a title page for the overall report. § Charts, tables, and other methods of organizing data are encouraged throughout. § Include a list of references used. There must be a minimum of four monographs and/or refereed articles used in the assignment. § Literature must be properly referenced throughout. Use the citation and referencing convention normally found for the Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering or the SAE publications. § Use minimum 1 inch margins. § Use Times New Roman font size 12 for the main body of the text.