Guidelines for Life Cycle Assessment:
Electronic Components

October, 2008

Electronic Components Engineering Committee
Electronic Components BoardJapan Electronics and Information Technology Industries
AssociationWarning:
These guidelines have been voluntarily created strictly as reference material by the Subcommittee on
Electronic Components Technology Environment, Electronic Components Engineering Committee,
Electronic Components Board of the Japan Electronic and Information Technology Industries Association(JEITA). The material is intended (1) to reduce the amount of work at manufacturers conducting LCA,and (2) to prevent a possible chaos created by dissemination of non-uniform data. Be sure to use theguidelines at your discretion and risk. The content is subject to revision without prior notice whenever an
important item is rendered obsolete by newly released information, for instance, by an amendment to acited law of regulation.

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Guidelines for Life Cycle Assessment: Electronic Components
Introduction
In recent years, various techniques have been studied for assessment of environmental
impacts of economic activities in terms of the concept of sustainable development. Life
cycle assessment (LCA) is one such technique that is drawing attention today.
LCA is an assessment technique based on life cycle thinking (LCT). It addresses thetotal environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire life cycle.
In August 2005, the “EuP Directive” (the “2005/32/EC Framework Directive”) tookeffect in the European Union. LCA is becoming increasingly more important. EU aims
at covering the entire life cycle of every electrical product by enforcing three directives
and one regulation―the RoHS Directive, WEEE Directive, REACH Regulation, andEuP Directive―and ultimately contributing to evaluation and reduction of their impacts
on environment.
The term “EuP” here refers to energy-using products. One of the requirements ofthe EuP Directive is that every energy-using product, such as an electrical product, musthave its environmental impacts evaluated throughout the entire life cycles.
Research in LCA had already been started in various fields by the time the EuP
Directive was announced and put to force. Of various components and materials
constituting electrical products, a relatively abundant amount of LCA data are now
available on metallic and plastic materials. On the other hand, few data are available onelectronic components.
The situation and the fact that LCA is still in a developmental stage are a source ofconcern. A chaos may very well occur as electronic-component manufacturers
independently evaluate and circulate LCA data in their attempt to conform to the EuP
Directive.
Accordingly, we have generated these LCA guidelines for the electronic component
industry in contribution to prevention of a data chaos and reduction in LCA workload atindividual manufacturers in the industry.
1.

PurposeThe goal of these guidelines is to standardize the procedure for conducting an LCA

on electronic components.
2.

Applicability
These guidelines are applicable to electronic components.
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Scope of LCA
Of the entire life cycle of an electronic component, LCA is applicable only to that

manufacturing process of a product (electronic component) which the electroniccomponent manufacturer is capable of evaluating responsibly.
4.

Definition of terms
Function―refers to performance of the product which will be used as a standard incomparing various products with one another using the findings of an LCA madeon them.
Functional unit
―refers to the quantified function of the product that is used as the standard. Thefunction and functional unit are important in making a comparison―between newand old products, between products of the same kind from the own and othercompanies, between products of different kinds, and so forth.
Raw material—refers to that material, component or part, out of all materials input into a
manufacturing process as essential requirements, which actually becomes aconstituent, component or part of a product.
System boundary―refers to the boundary between a product system under an LCA and environment
or another product system. An LCA is conducted on all processes included within asystem boundary.
Wastes―refer, for the purpose of these guidelines, to all materials discharged from amanufacturing process, including a material that has been disposed of as a valuable
resource but excluding all general wastes.
Ancillary material―refers to that material out of all materials input into a manufacturing process as-3-an essential requirement which does not become a constitute part of a product.
EuP Directive―refers to EU law: Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil of 6 July 2005, establishing a framework for the setting of eco-designrequirements for energy-using products (“Directive on Eco-Design of Energy-usingProducts”).
LCA—or Life Cycle Assessment, refers to a method of evaluating the potential
environmental impacts of a product throughout all stages―from the mining of
natural resources, manufacture and procurement of components and materials,manufacture, use, to disposal or recycling―and consists of the following fourphases:(1) the goal- and scope-setting phase for an LCA,
(2) the life cycle inventory analysis phase,(3) the life cycle impact assessment phase, and(4) the life cycle interpretation phase.
LCI―or Life Cycle Inventory, refers to a quantitative compilation of inputs into andoutputs from the part of an entire life cycle that is within the scope of an LCA study,
and becomes the basic data to be used in conducting the LCA.
LCT―or Life Cycle Thinking, refers to giving consideration to the eitire life cycle of aproduct.
REACH Regulation―refers to EU law: Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006 of the European Parliamentand of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation andRestriction of Chemicals.
RoHS Directive―refers to EU law: Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical-4-and electronic equipment.
WEEE Directive―refers to EU law: Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil on waste from electrical and electronic equipment.
5.

Procedure for conducting an LCA
The principles and framework of LCA and the requirements and guidelines of LCA

are defined in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, respectively.
Explanation on the procedure and associated items for conducting an LCA is given
below in the order of the item numbers appearing in ISO 14040.
No. 5.2 Setting the goal and scope definition
No. 5.2.1.1

The goal of an LCA

The goal of an LCA is to study the environmental impacts of an electricalcomponent throughout its life cycle.
No. 5.2.1.2

The scope of an LCA

An LCA is to cover those manufacturing processes of a product (electroniccomponent) in its life cycle which the manufacturer is capable of evaluating
responsibly.
No. 5.2.2

The function and functional unit

It is difficult to define and explain the functions and functional units that would
be universally applicable to all electronic components. Accordingly, only thedefinitions of these terms are included in these guidelines.
If LCA studies are to be used to compare new and old products, own productagainst another manufacturers product of the same type, products of different types,
and so forth, the LCA performer should select and/or define the functions andfunctional units to suit the goal and scope of the LCA.
No. 5.2.3

System boundary

The system boundary for the purpose of LCA studies under these guidelines isthe manufacturing processes of electronic components.

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Data quality requirements

The significance of data quality requirements is described in this item (No.
5.2.4 of ISO 14040). The actual data quality requirements are given in item 4.2.3.6
of ISO 14044.
The following are recommended as the data quality requirements for an LCA tobe performed under these guidelines:
Time-related coverage– Data should be collected from as recent year as possible or over a
specific period of time.
Geographical coverage– Electronic components are often manufactured in a multiple of countries
or sites. For this reason, these guidelines set no restrictions, requirementsor recommendations relating to the geographical coverage of an LCA.
Technology coverage– Data on mass-production processes of an electronic component should beused.
No. 5.3 Life cycle inventory analysis
Life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis is the constructional phase of an LCA in which
the inputs and outputs throughout a life cycle within the scope of the LCA are compiledand quantified.
A specific procedure, recommended for an LCI under these guidelines, is describedin the next item, No. 5.3.2, Data collection.
No. 5.3.2

Data collection(I) Types of data to be collected
Data on the inputs into and outputs out of the manufacturing processes of anelectronic component within the scope of data collection (that is, the systemboundary) must be collected. The collected data must be processed to ultimately
arrive at a figure for one unit of the product.
Table 1 below lists the recommended types of data to be collected.
The types as listed are examples of basic types of data to be collected.
Additional types of data may be required and some types may have to be eliminatedto suit the goal and applications of the LCA.

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Table 1 Recommended data collection
Input

Output

Types

Unit

Energy*1
Electric power
Kerosene
Fuel oil
LPG
LNG
City gaskWhLLkg
kg
Nm3

Resources
Raw materials
Ancillary materials
Water*1 Basically,

only

kg
kg
m3

theenergy

Types

Unit

Emissions into atmosphere
＊2kg
kg
kg
kg

CO2
NOx
SOx
Dust and sootWastewater＊3
Waste water

m3

Wastes＊4
Wastesconsumedinkg

theelectronic-component

manufacturing processes and associated facilities is to be studied. No energy
consumed in transport is studied.
*2 The emissions into the atmosphere originating from the burning of fuel arecalculated from fuel consumption. Consequently, no separate data collection isrequired. Emission factors are given in Table 2.
*3 The wastewater here refers only to the factory-type wastewater. Domestic-type
wastewater is excluded. Domestic-type wastewater may be included if it is difficult
to extract separate data on it.
*4 The wastes here are industrial wastes including those that have been disposedof as valuable resources. No general wastes are to be included. General wastes may
be included if it is difficult to extract separate data on them.
Table 2Emission Factors for NOx, SOx,and SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter)NOxSOxSPM

emissionemissionemissionfactorfactorfactorFuel oil A*

1 kL

6.85

5.99

0.31

Fuel oils B* and C*

1 kL

3.14

18.96

1.52

Kerosene

1 kL

2.00

0.19

0.21

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Diesel fuel

1 kL

19.77

2.04

1.66

Gasoline

1 kL

17.15

0.59

0.64

LPG

1t

3.57

0.10

0.25

LNG, natural gas

1t

3.25

0.01

0.43

1.74

0.03

0.37

City gas

31000 NmSource:NOx, SOx and SPM: Keisuke Nansai, Yuichi Moriguchi, Susumu Tohno(Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for EnvironmentalStudies). Embodied Energy and Emission Intensity Data for Japan Using
Input-Output Tables (3EID); Embodied Intensity Data File, 1995―Electroniccomponent sector, 2002.

(II) Data collecting method
It is recommended that plant data be collected on the LCA items in accordancewith the approach as given in ISO 14040, item Nos. 5.3.2 for data collection andNo. 5.3.4 for allocation; and the allocation procedure as given in ISO 14044, item
No. 4.3.4; and be allocated (that is, allocation, aggregation, and calculation ofproportions by the product group) such that a figure for one unit product isobtained.
Allocation is to be made using an element interrelated with the environmental
impact of the product, such as the volume, weight, or price, so as to arrive at a figurefor one unit product.
The procedure and examples of allocation are shown in the Appendix toGuidelines for Electronic Component LCA―LCI Data Calculation Manual.
No. 5.4 Life cycle impact assessment
Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is a phase for selecting what specificenvironmental impact categories to be used as the basis for assessing a product. The
inventory data are to be associated with categories so elected. The procedure isstandardized in ISO 14044.
In recent years, environmental impact assessment is extensively made on the basisof global warming. These guidelines will also illustrate a sample impact assessment
technique using global warming as the basis.
If global warming is used as the impact category, the environmental impact to be-8-obtained is the sum total of the CO2 emissions calculated for every type of energy
consumed.
The following is the equation for the environmental impacts based on the collected
data:
Environmental impacts:
CO2 emissions =∑ (Amount of energy consumed by the type × CO2 conversion factor)
Tables 3 and 4 show the standards for converting energy consumption into CO2.
Table 3 CO2 conversion factor for electric power
Note: The conversion factor for the year the data was collected must beused. This table shows examples of the CO2 conversion factors forthe past three years as published by the Federation of Electric Power
Companies of Japan.
YearCO2 emission factor
kg – CO2 / kWh2005

0.42

2006

0.41

2007

0.45

Source: Receiving-end factor by the Federation of Electric Power Companies ofJapan
Table 4 CO2 emission factor for fuelCO2emission
factorKerosene

1 kL

2.49

Diesel fuel

1 kL

2.62

Fuel oil A

1 kL

2.71

Fuel oils B and C

1 kL

2.98

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
Petroleum-derived hydrocarbon gas

t1000 Nm

Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

t-9-

3.00
3

2.34
2.70

Natural gas

1000 Nm3

2.08

30.85

Coke oven gas

1000 Nm

Blast furnace gas1000 Nm3

0.33

Linz-Donawitz converter gas

1000 Nm3

1.18

32.08

City gas1000 Nm

Source: Ministry of Environment / Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Manual of Calculation and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions ver. 2.3, May
30, 2008
No. 5.5 Life cycle interpretation
Life cycle interpretation is described as the final phase of the LCA procedure, inwhich the results of an LCI or an LCIA, or both, are summarized and discussed as abasis for conclusions, recommendations and decision-making in accordance with thegoal and scope definition. The procedure is standardized in ISO 14044. It is assumed
that the party conducting an LCA would also conduct life cycle interpretation in anappropriate manner. Accordingly, no life cycle interpretation procedure is presented
herein.
No. 7.

Critical review

Critical review is a process to ensure that the methods used to carry out the LCA areconsistent with ISO 14040 and scientifically and technically valid, and that the data
used are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the goal of the study. Critical review isoptional in an LCA. An LCA, however, requires a critical review if it is to be publicly
disclosed and used to support comparative assertions. As critical review is an optional
phase depending on the goal of the LCA, these guidelines only give the definition,
while omitting the procedure for it.

6.

Attached documents
Appendix to the Guidelines for LCA: Electronic Components―LCI Data

Calculation Manual
7.

Reference documents
ISO 14040: 2006 (E), Environmental management―Life cycle assessment―

Principles and framework, Second edition, July 1, 2006

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ISO 14044: 2006 (E), Environmental management―Life cycle assessment―
Requirements and guidelines, First edition, July 1, 2006
Life Cycle Assessment―Gensoku oyobi Wakugumi [Principles and Framework].
Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry, August 20, 1999

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