This text is part of the special section 20 years of CIRAIG
Before arriving on store shelves, new models of smart phones may have been designed in the United States, to be made in Asia with metals mined in Africa or South America. And they may be exported to other parts of the world for mining their precious metals when their useful life is over.
“The very nature of life cycle analysis is international, since we are talking about a supply chain that takes place by nature on all continents,” explains Anne-Marie Boulay, assistant professor in chemical engineering at Polytechnique Montréal and member of the International Reference Center for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services (CIRAIG). Life cycle and environmental footprint analysis is useful if the results can be compared; we need international standards and consensus on the methods to be used. So we don’t have the choice to talk to each other, to come to an agreement and to work together. “
Like the carbon footprint, CIRAIG experts are busy developing tools to measure the environmental or social impact of consumer goods or services. “We want to learn, in the life cycle of a product, which are the places where there are the most important social impacts, at the level of extraction, production. In which area of the world is there the greatest social risk related to living conditions, human rights, gender equity, corruption? Gives as an example Sara Russo Garrido, Deputy Executive Director of CIRAIG and Social Analysis Coordinator.
Collaborative work
The CIRAIG is made up of experts from Polytechnique, the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) and, as of January, two Swiss universities: the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO) and the École polytechnique Federal of Lausanne (EPFL). Over the years, CIRAIG has also established collaborations with universities in North America and Europe, as well as with various associations, such as the UN Life Cycle initiative. This type of partnership allows researchers specializing in this specialized field to pool their knowledge and refine their methodology.
CIRAIG also collaborates with companies such as Umicore, Total and Nestlé, respectively specialized in mining, energy and agrifood. Companies participate in the funding of research and, in return, they have direct access to the expertise developed.