05b Life Cycle Analysis 20140613 - engineeringx.pitt.edu
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Adapted from “Life Cycle of a Candy Bar” University of Pittsburgh Sustainability and Green Design Group - www.engineering.pitt.edu/SGD Setting the Scene In Dr. Melissa Belic’s interview, she talked about the importance of thinking about where materials and resources come from: “One of the biggest things to understand is that all of the things that you want are resources. And sometimes those resources are harmful to people and the environment.” But where do the things we see every day come from? What is the life cycle of the materials we consume every day? Where Do Products Come From? Life Cycle of a Chocolate Kiss The Set up Let’s think about the life cycle of chocolate. Visualize the materials and supply chains that go into making chocolate. To fully understand what it takes to make chocolate, we will draw the basic life cycle. The life cycle of an object is all of the materials and steps required to create a product or service. A life cycle often has four stages: 1) Raw Materials – What are the materials that go into making each part or component of the product? 2) Processing and Transportation – How is the object made? What things have to be grown? What has to be processed? How do the raw materials and the finished product get to where they need to go? 3) Components – What are the different parts of the product? What is the object delivered in? One example would be a wrapper. What is the wrapper made of? 4) EndofLife – What happens to the product when you are done using it? Think about the edible part and the waste part of the product. Create a diagram to map out the life cycle of chocolate. Draw or write a chocolate kiss. See the example below. Life Cycle of Chocolate Raw Materials Processing and Transporation Components Product End-of-Life
Transcript of 05b Life Cycle Analysis 20140613 - engineeringx.pitt.edu
Adapted from “Life Cycle of a Candy Bar” University of Pittsburgh Sustainability and Green Design Group - www.engineering.pitt.edu/SGD
Setting the Scene In Dr. Melissa Belic’s interview, she talked about the importance of thinking about where materials and resources come from: “One of the biggest things to understand is that all of the things that you want are resources. And sometimes those resources are harmful to people and the environment.” But where do the things we see every day come from? What is the life cycle of the materials we consume every day?
Where Do Products Come From? Life Cycle of a Chocolate Kiss
The Set up Let’s think about the life cycle of chocolate. Visualize the materials and supply chains that go into making chocolate. To fully understand what it takes to make chocolate, we will draw the basic life cycle. The life cycle of an object is all of the materials and steps required to create a product or service. A life cycle often has four stages:
1) Raw Materials – What are the materials that go into making each part or component of the product?
2) Processing and Transportation – How is the object made? What things have to be grown? What has to be processed? How do the raw materials and the finished product get to where they need to go?
3) Components – What are the different parts of the product? What is the object delivered in? One example would be a wrapper. What is the wrapper made of?
4) End-‐of-‐Life – What happens to the product when you are done using it? Think about the edible part and the waste part of the product.
Create a diagram to map out the life cycle of chocolate. Draw or write a chocolate kiss. See the example below.
Life Cycle of Chocolate
Raw Materials Processing and Transporation Components Product End-of-Life
Adapted from “Life Cycle of a Candy Bar” University of Pittsburgh Sustainability and Green Design Group - www.engineering.pitt.edu/SGD
Brainstorm What are the components of a chocolate kiss? If you need help, take a look at the ingredients on the package.
Fill in your Life Cycle of Chocolate Chart. Discuss with a partner or small group the different parts of the chart. Use the descriptions of the four parts of the life cycle to help you fill in the chart.
How is chocolate made? Watch the video from Hersey to see how chocolate is made. Think about your lifecycle of chocolate chart as you watch. Think about questions you have. www.hersheys.com/ads-‐and-‐videos/how-‐we-‐make-‐chocolate.aspx
Reflection 1) Is the life cycle of chocolate an example of a cradle-‐to-‐grave situation or a cradle-‐to-‐
cradle situation? • cradle-‐to-‐grave – A life cycle that begins with extracting materials from nature
(e.g. mining) and ends with disposal into a landfill, with minimal resource recovery, recycling, or reuse.
• cradle-‐to-‐cradle – A life cycle that connects the end-‐of-‐life of one or more products and the raw materials for another. Maximizes resource recovery, recycling, and reuse.
2) Think of another product. Briefly, what is that product’s life cycle?
3) Why might it be important to think about a product’s life cycle when considering its
impact on the environment?
Adapted from “Life Cycle of a Candy Bar” University of Pittsburgh Sustainability and Green Design Group - www.engineering.pitt.edu/SGD
Life Cycle Assessment Basics
What goes in? Chocolate ingredients
Wrapper Plastic packaging
What comes out? Garbage
Human waste Energy
Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Sugar; Milk; Chocolate; Cocoa Butter; Lactose; Milk Fat; Soy Lecithin; PGPR, Emulsifier; Vanillin; Artificial Flavor)
