ASTM International Committee on sustainability to meet.
Press Release Summary:
ASTM International Committee E60 on Sustainability will address sustainability through workshop and standards development meetings taking place during ASTM October 2009 committee week in Atlanta, GA. Held October 18-19, Life Cycle Assessments: Methodology, Current Development and Application in Standards workshop will explore current LCA theory and application. Forums on infrastructure and packaging will be held October 19 to identify resources and information about sustainability.
Original Press Release:
ASTM International Sustainability Standards Development Committee to Meet
October Meeting Will Include LCA Workshop, Infrastructure and Packaging Forums
W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., September 22, 2009- Sustainability - addressing the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs - will be the topic of an October workshop and standards development meetings of ASTM International Committee E60 on Sustainability. The committee will meet Oct. 18-22 during the ASTM October 2009 committee week in Atlanta, Ga.
"All of us need to incorporate sustainable means and materials into our daily operations and need to communicate how we have done so to our customers," says Dru Meadows, principal of theGreenTeam Inc., Tulsa, Okla., and Committee E60 chair. The October E60 life cycle assessment workshop (LCA) and committee meetings will further these endeavors.
Life Cycle Assessment Workshop to Be Held Oct. 18-19
A workshop, Life Cycle Assessments: Methodology, Current Development and Application in Standards, will be held Oct. 18-19. A fundamental concept in sustainability, LCA is becoming more expected from industry while little guidance exists about how best to incorporate LCA criteria into product standards, according to Meadows. Use of LCA and LCA criteria in product standards is directly related to how LCAs are informing product development, selection and purchasing. The workshop is intended to provide additional guidance through exploring current LCA theory and application.
The Oct. 18 session will address how decision makers, purchasers and standards developers, among others, use LCA, and it will cover current challenges such as the availability of consistent LCA databases. The Oct. 19 program, supported by the previous day's presentations, will consist of discussions about the use of LCA in product development and selection as well as in product standards. Three panels will be held:
LCA Applications - Manufacturers
product development
product marketing
LCA Applications - Customers/Users
product selection
product purchasing
LCA incorporation into standards
referencing LCA standards/methods
citing LCA parameters
defining LCA criteria
"If you just examine manufacturing impacts and not operational impacts, or you just look at what resources go into a product, but not at what remains after the product is used - or any smaller snapshot than the full life - you cannot really hope to inform a long-range perspective," Meadows says. The workshop will provide a critical examination of LCA perspectives and the use of LCA and LCA criteria in standards.
Infrastructure and Packaging Forums to Be Held Oct. 19, Standards Development Work to Continue
Forums on infrastructure and packaging will be held the afternoon of Oct. 19 to identify resources and information about the sustainability aspects of the two topics. The subjects, determined at a previous E60 meeting, could lead to a database or possible standards development projects for the future.
E60 subcommittees on buildings and construction, hospitality and general sustainability standards will continue work on a number of standards. Go to www.astm.org/COMMIT/COMMITTEE/E60.htm for "Committee E60 Proposed Standards (as of September 2009, PDF file)" as well as other information about the group.
For more information about Committee E60, contact Dru Meadows, theGreenTeam Inc., Tulsa, Okla. (phone: 918-295-8326; dmeadows@thegreenteaminc.com) or Stephen Mawn, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa. (phone: 610-832-9726; smawn@astm.org).
ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. ASTM's open consensus process, using advance Internet-based standards development tools, ensures worldwide access for all interested individuals.
Established in 1898, ASTM International is one of the largest international standards development and delivery systems in the world. ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency. ASTM standards are accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial transactions around the globe.
Contact:
Barbara Schindler, ASTM International
100 Barr Harbor Drive, W. Conshohocken, PA 19428
610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org, www.astm.org
