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Status and prospects of life cycle assessments and carbon and water footprinting studies in South Africa

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Abstract

Purpose

Using the current state of life cycle assessment (LCA), carbon and water footprinting, and EPDs in South Africa, this work explores the challenges and opportunities for scholarly development in these areas in the country.

Methods

Being a relatively small LCA community in South Africa, academics, consultants, and other stakeholders were approached to provide lists of known studies, with further reports, that may have been missed, obtained through internet searches. Information was collated on database development, capacity building, and other aspects and presented here in a single paper.

Results and discussion

While the authors are aware of companies working on LCA and related studies, hidden in confidential reports, we were able to find 27 LCA, 17 water and 12 carbon footprinting, and 10 EPD studies. Although these studies have potential advantages for policymaking and business, their number, implementation, and impact remain limited.

Conclusion

While previously seen as an academic exercise, life cycle thinking has been adopted by industry, private consultants, and the South African National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC-SA), among others. Growing interest has led to the creation of several training courses available at academic institutes, the NCPC-SA, and consulting firms, ranging from the basic understanding to advanced use of software packages and modeling techniques. The development of a national LCI database and further exposure and opportunity for LCA studies are important steps to hopefully spur LCA in Southern Africa in the future.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the inputs of all fellow South African LCA practitioners in putting this work together and for guiding us along the paths to find as many relevant studies as possible and finding new LCA collaborators to the informal networks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial and Mining Water Research Unit, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Kevin G. Harding & Taahira Goga

  2. Civil Engineering Programme, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

    Elena Friedrich

  3. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

    Henry Jordaan

  4. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Betsie le Roux & Michael van der Laan

  5. The Green House, Cape Town, South Africa

    Philippa Notten

  6. Department of Chemical Engineering, Environmental & Processing Engineering Research Group, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Valentina Russo

  7. Center for LCA and Sustainable Design, Mexico City, Mexico

    Nydia Suppen-Reynaga

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  1. Kevin G. Harding
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Correspondence to Kevin G. Harding.

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Communicated by Sonia Valdivia

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Harding, K.G., Friedrich, E., Jordaan, H. et al. Status and prospects of life cycle assessments and carbon and water footprinting studies in South Africa. Int J Life Cycle Assess 26, 26–49 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-020-01839-0

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