![]() ![]() Among the phone’s many components, the production of the LCD screen has the highest environmental impact. So far, the analysis shows that the energy consumption during use has the highest impact on global warming, followed by the production of the phone. Infographic by Youge Xiao.After I completed the model with the information from the questionnaire, I moved on to the Impact Assessment. This highlights the importance of collecting used phones and making sure they complete their lifecycle, either to be reused or recycled. 56% of the owners still have previous phones at home.On average, Fairphone owners get 30 hours of use from a fully charged phone.Fairphone owners, on average, used their previous smartphones for 2 years, feature phones for 3 years and basic phones for 4 years.We’ll write another blog post soon to share the complete results, but here are some of the most interesting figures related to LCA: Youge did a great job of helping me visualize the results. We got an excellent response, with 823 Fairphone owners participating. With all this information, I started building a model in openLCA, a free, open source software for developing life cycle assessments.įlow chart of the life cycle of a Fairphone.At the same time, I prepared a questionnaire regarding Fairphone owners’ personal use of phones together with Youge Xiao, another researcher at Fairphone. My initial research into identifying the different components of the Fairphone.I then identified each part and found the related data on the Ecoinvent database. ![]() With the help of team member Nico Herzog and Waag Society’s Fab Lab, I dismantled a Fairphone into the smallest components possible. ![]() After doing some research on Google and Alibaba, I realized there had to be a better way to gather all this information. But I still needed to know the weight and composition of each part, which was not included on the list. To start, our production project manager Mulan Mu provided me with a list of more than 500 components included in the Fairphone – an LCA researcher’s dream. In January I started with the Inventory Analysis, which means creating an inventory of flows to and from nature within a product system – in this case the Fairphone. Phase 2: Inventory Analysis with 500+ components Then, my goal is to identify potential impact reduction strategies for the design of future Fairphones. The goal is to understand where the environmental impact arises, especially for these impact categories: climate change, mineral resource depletion and human toxicity. Interpretation is the final step in the process. This phase is followed by inventory analysis and impact assessment. The LCA includes four phases, starting with defining the goal and scope. LCA is now also used to design more environmentally friendly products, otherwise known as eco-design. LCA can be used for product development and improvement, strategic planning, setting public policy and communications. ![]() The four phases of a Life Cycle Assessment.To give you a brief recap, LCA is a quantitative tool used to assess the environmental performance of a product or service throughout its entire life cycle (cradle-to-grave). Artúr performed the first step of an LCA known as “Goal and Scope Definition” as well as the literature research, and I have continued with the second step of LCA, “Inventory Analysis.” If you haven’t already, be sure to read Artúr’s earlier blog post about LCA. My adventures in doing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) at Fairphone started in January 2014 when I took over the work started by previous research assistant Artúr Szilágyi. Keep on reading if you want to learn more!įour phases to completing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) But what about the environment? Over the course of designing the first Fairphone, a number of decisions were made that improved the phone’s environmental impact – some on purpose, some by chance. ![]()
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