Erwin M. Schau

• PhD
• Senior Researcher at Eurac Research

Reducing the environmental impacts of products and activities becomes more and more important as the world exceeded. Wood and engineered wood products, coming from a natural source, are generally seen as more environmentally sound than alternative products and materials. However, to keep up with the general development of environmental efficiency (...

Between 2013 and 2018, the paper industry, together with the European Commission and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), developed the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Category Rules (PEFCR) for intermediate paper products as part of the EU Environmental Footprint (EF) pilot phase. Based on the recommended method for life cycle assessment (...

Sustainability is nowadays accepted by all stakeholders as a guiding principle for both public policy making and corporate strategies. However, the biggest challenge for most organizations remains in the real and substantial implementation of the sustainability concept. The core of the implementation challenge is the question, how sustainability pe...

COST Action CA20139-Holistic design of taller timber buildings (HELEN) COST Action CA20139-Holistic Design of Taller Timber buildings (HELEN)-organized its 2 nd Training School that took place in Zagreb, Croatia, from the 19th to the 21st of June 2024. The HELEN Action Training School represents an important endeavor that promises to reshape how in...

The reliance on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the primary indicator of economic success has prompted widespread criticism for its failure to consider environmental externalities and overall societal well-being. This paper introduces an adapted version of the Sustainable Prosperity Index (SPI), inspired by the innovative work by Jackson and Victor...

To mitigate dangerous climate change, a drastic reduction of CO2 emissions is needed by 2030. Buildings contribute significantly to emissions, with the use phase of existing buildings being responsible for the majority of energy consumption. In addition, environmental problems associated with the production of raw materials, construction, and the e...

Almost 200 nations, including the European Union, have signed the Paris Agreement that aims to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To meet this target, a significant decrease in GHG emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050 is necessary. To determine the role of wood products in...

More than one hundred ninety nations, including the European Union, have signed the Paris Agreement to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. Meeting these conditions requires a steep decline in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the year 2030 and zero GHG emissions by 2050. In this study, we investigated the role that...

Forestry will play an increasingly important role as a raw material contributor since climate change mitigation requires a shift from fossil-based materials to renewable, bio-based materials. Consequently, an increase in wood demand is expected. Slovenia has a forest coverage of 59 % while almost half of Austria is covered by forest (43 %). In thes...

C limate change and other environmental problems from the production of raw materials, construction, and end of life of buildings are serious concerns that need to be solved urgently. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and the EU-recommended Environmental Footprint (EF) are well-known and accepted tools to measure a comprehensive set of environmental impa...

The environmental impacts of a wooden single-family model house were compared in different locations in Europe using Life Cycle Assessment. The chosen locations were Munich, Ljubljana, Portorož, Madrid, and Valencia. The main purpose was to analyze the existing barriers for designing a regenerative wood house and how those barriers change depending...

Abstract: More than one-hundred-ninety nations, including the European Union, have signed the Paris Agreement to limit temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. To meet these conditions requires a steep decline in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the year 2030 and zero emissions by 2050. In this study, we investigated the role th...

Abstract: Forestry will play an increasingly important role as a raw material contributor since climate change mitigation requires a shift from fossil-based materials to renewable bio-based materials. As consequence, an increase in wood demand is expected. Slovenia has a forest coverage of 58 % while almost half of Austria is covered by forest (48...

Humanity has only 12 years to start a deep decline in emissions of Greenhouse gases in order to prevent dangerous, non-reversible climate change. Cascading use of wood might be a way to mitigate climate change. In this contribution, we investigate how the cascading use of wood from demolished buildings as a raw material for paper production could i...

The chapter explains what Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) is about, why it is about taking a life cycle approach and shows that SCP-related policies have been developed at the intergovernmental level and in different regions of the world. A key element at the international level is the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on SCP adopted in...

Abstract: In the European Environmental Footprint pilot (EF) project developing Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Category Rules (PEFCR) for a range of different products, the development of a benchmark and performance classes (from A to E) is foreseen. A is the best performing class. The development of the performance classes helps identify th...

Among the economic sectors, food production and consumption has one of largest share of energy use. For developed economies it is estimated that around 20% of energy is used in the food supply chain. In the context of the European Union policies supporting increased energy and resource efficiency, there is a need for analysing and monitoring Europe...

In the frame of its activities in supporting the EXPO 2015 and on the behalf of DG ENER, JRC has recently published a report [1] aimed at discussing the current state of play for food-related energy consumption and opportunities for improvement in the European Union. Detailed estimates for energy consumed in each production step for a basket of mos...

The amount of energy necessary to cultivate, process, pack and bring the food to European citizens’ tables accounts for 17 % of the EU's gross energy consumption, equivalent to about 26 % of the EU's final energy consumption in 2013. Challenges and solutions for decreasing energy consumption and increasing the use of renewable energy in the Euro...

Purpose This paper presents a structured comparison of the European Commission (EC) Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method with a number of existing European environmental accounting methods and standards that were taken into account during its development. In addition to the ISO 14040 and 14044 which represent the main reference, also the IS...

Purpose Pesticides are applied to agricultural fields to optimize crop yield and their global use is substantial. Their consideration in life cycle assessment (LCA) is affected by important inconsistencies between the emission inventory and impact assessment phases of LCA. A clear definition of the delineation between the product system model (life...

This document provides guidance on the comparison of existing Product Category Rules (PCR) with the requirements of developing Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs). Product Category Rules are defined, according to ISO 14025, as a “set of specific rules, requirements and guidelines for developing Type III environmental declaration...

According to ISO 14044 (ISO 2006), normalisation, in the context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), is an optional step of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) which allows the practitioner to express results after the characterisation step using a common reference impact. This supports the comparison between alternatives using reference numerical scor...

After its debut in the European Commission’s Integrated Product Policy (COM (2003)302) as the “best framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products”, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become increasingly essential in support of community policies and business. Within this framework, the European Platform on Life Cycle Assessme...

To date a proliferation of sustainability claims in architecture is noticed. The major focus is on energy and related CO2 and on the use stage of buildings. Although energy during the building use stage is highly relevant, a more comprehensive life cycle approach is needed to support decision making in order not to overlook relevant environmental b...

The Environmental Footprint (EF), launched by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in cooperation with Directorate-General for the Environment, provides general guidance for comprehensive, scientifically-sound and consistent environmental assessment of products and organisations. The aim of the EF is to ensure science-based decision supp...

The European Commission's “Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe” proposes ways to increase resource productivity and to decouple economic growth from both resource use and environmental impacts, taking a life-cycle perspective. One of its objectives is to: “Establish a common methodological approach to enable Member States and the private sector...

Sustainability is an international issue with increasing concern and becomes a crucial driver for the industry in international competition. Sustainability encompasses the three dimensions: environment, society and economy. This paper presents the results from a sustainability assessment of a product. To prevent burden shifting, the whole life cycl...

Sustainability is a driver for industry and with a growing internationally awareness of competitive advantage. Nevertheless, to evaluate the sustainability on the product level is still a challenge. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the well-known life cycle approach, is widely adopted to prevent a shift of the environmental burden. In contrast, taking...

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a valuable tool for documenting environmental performance of food products. This is also true for fish food products – a commodity providing income for millions and food for billions of people worldwide (FAO Fisheries Department, 2010) – even though most effort has been invested in the sustainable harvesting of fish...

Sustainable development embraces economics, society and nature and is the global context for this PhD-thesis. Modern fishery is dependent on fossil fuels, which use is the antithesis of sustainable fishery. Environmental degradation is closely related to health aspects, which are increasingly important to consumers and other stakeholders. For the f...

Sustainability is an international issue with increasing concern and becomes a crucial driver for the industry in international competition. Sustainability encompasses the three dimensions: environment, society and economy. This paper presents the results from a sustainability assessment of a product. To prevent burden shifting, the whole life cycl...

Sustainability is on the international agenda, and is a driver for industry in international competition. Sustainability encompasses the three pillars: environment, society and economy. To prevent shifting of burden, the whole life cycle needs to be taken into account. For the environmental dimension of sustainability, life cycle assessment (LCA) h...

The demand for environmentally responsible food production is increasing; this is also valid for fish food products. To assess the environmental performance of a fish food product system, contributions from both the life cycle of the fishing vessel and the value chain of the fish, from catch to final product, should be investigated. Few environment...

Energy use is of great concern within fisheries, due to both associated environmental effects and the cost of fuel to fishermen. This article explores the scale of energy consumed by most segments of the Norwegian fishing fleet for gadoid fish and for parts of the pelagic fleet for the period 1980–2005. Fuel use is assigned to the different species...

The consumers' and other stakeholders’ requirement for environmentally sound food production is increasing; this is also valid for fish food products. To assess the environmental performance of a fish food product, both the life cycle of the fishing vessel and the value chain of the fish from catch to final product should be investigated. Systems e...

Goal, Scope and Background Food production systems invariably precipitate negative environmental impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA), a standardised tool for evaluating the environmental costs of manufactured goods, is currently being expanded to address diverse product groups and production processes. Among these is food production, where the tec...

Sustainable consumption is on the international agenda. Environmental product information is needed to help consumer and public and private purchasers to make an informed choice and to buy environmentally sound products. Life cycle assessment (LCA) follows the product from cradle to grave, from raw material extraction to consumption and waste handl...