Balance and EoL modelling in a "cradle to gate" EPD

Product LCA & EPD
1

Hello,

I’m working on an EPD of a recycled material under PCR 2016:10 “Plastics in primary forms”. The scope of the EPD is “Cradle to gate, with A4 option”, no use nor end of life stage included.

In normal cases where EoL is included, mass, energy and biogenic carbon are balanced by selecting different options (balance in EoL / in A3 / in installation / in the same LCA stage / do nothing).

What about the case where the LCA is only cradle to gate ? which option should we select ?

Thank you in advance for your answer.

2

Hi Youcef,

I understood your request was already answered in a call, but just to confirm for others too. This specific PCR mentions the following:

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and

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Which would mean that you must use the “0/0 approach”. This means setting characterisation factors for biogenic CO2 uptake and emissions to zero to avoid artificial negative GWP results since EoL is excluded. As there is no energy balancing option. Instead, you must follow the cut-off rules, ensuring that at least 99% of the total energy use and 99% of the product mass are accounted for.