3. Impact characterization

Various methods have been developed, each proposing different impact indicators that can be used. This section provides an overview of existing methods, giving the authors, the year of creation and the indicators used. The aim here is not to demonstrate the superiority of one methodology over another, but to enable the reader to understand the different impacts and the philosophy associated with each. We will confine ourselves to a brief description of the methodologies developed, accepted by the scientific community and used in Europe. For further information on impact methodologies, interested parties are invited to visit the websites of the various methods, or to read the work of the International Life Cycle Database (see section "Find out...