You are invited to the second event of the Spring 2022 Sustainability Seminar Series, entitled “How to Avoid Greenwashing: Towards a Rigorous Life Cycle Assessment” by Professor Heather MacLean, University of Toronto. This event is aligned with the SDG Action and Awareness Week global initiative.
Wednesday, March 2
7:00 p.m.
On Zoom
Abstract
How do we know whether paper or plastic bags, electric or gasoline cars, plant-based plastics or conventional plastics are better for the environment? There is increasing pressure on companies, government, investors and consumers to understand the environmental impacts of products, services and projects across all sectors of the economy to make informed choices. Along with increased stakeholder pressure on companies to disclose the environmental performance of their products, greenwashing has become a common practice. Greenwashing occurs when a company (or other entity) misleads consumers about the environmental performance or environmental benefits of a product or service, essentially creating an impression a product is ‘greener’ than it really is. In this talk I will introduce greenwashing, its prominence and what some governments are doing. I will then discuss the systems level method, life cycle assessment, which can be used to quantify the environmental impacts of a product, process or project and which must be applied in support of any product-related environmental claim. I will introduce life cycle assessment including uses of LCA, who uses LCA and what constitutes an LCA. I will discuss key aspects of the life cycle assessment method and directly link specific components of the method to aspects of greenwashing. I will use examples from my research and other literature including those related to fuels and transportation to illustrate challenges in applying LCA and the complexity of determining the environmental performance of any product. I will end with guidance on how to avoid greenwashing through rigorous LCA.
About the speaker
Heather MacLean is the Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Systems and Technology Assessment and a professor of the Department of Civil Engineering and holds joint appointments in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto. Professor MacLean’s expertise is in the development and application of life cycle-based approaches for the techno-economic and environmental evaluation of conventional and alternative energy systems. Over the last 15 years she has worked closely with the automotive, oil, electricity, and biofuel industries as well as Federal and provincial/state governments. She has served on industry and government advisory committees in both Canada and the U.S. Her research has informed the development of energy and environmental policy in Canada and the U.S. Professor MacLean was recently awarded the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)’s Excellence in Education Award for Promotion of Sustainable Practices. She has a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University.
This event is brought to you by Students for Sustainability, with the support of Graduate Events & Recreation and the Head of KAUST Sustainability, Dr. Ana Margarida Costa. Should you have any questions, please contact us at s.square@kaust.edu.sa.