THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Faculty of Engineering

GSOE9340 – Life Cycle Engineering

Assignment Three - Term 2-2025

Assignment weight: 40%

Due date: Friday, 15 August 2025 by 11:59pm

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to develop an understanding of the fifth and six

steps of operationalizing the framework of LCE, which are selection of mitigation strategy(s)

and developing potential engineering and technology solutions, techno-environmental

evaluation and checking target fulfilment. This will increase your familiarity with developing

technology solutions with a life cycle view. This assignment will further build on the results

on the assignment 1 and 2. As a result of completing this assignment, you will be able to

demonstrate how to apply the LCE framework for a selected product and to engineer a product

along the entire life cycle to stay within the allocated environmental space, hence become

sustainable in an absolute sense.

Task: The assignment will require lectures from weeks 1-10. Therefore, you should attempt

the following tasks by using these lecture materials. Before you attempt the following tasks,

use the product you identified in your Assignment 1 and 2 as a representative for your industry

sector.

30% of the assignment will be assigned to group work and 10% will be based on individual

evaluation of results generated by the group work. Submissions will be made via Moodle

Turnitin. One group assignment submission will be made for each group.

Group Task (25%):

Before you attempt the following tasks, use the product you identified in your Task 1 and 2 as

a representative for your industry sector.

1. First, clearly describe your system boundary by using your previous tasks (e.g., cradle

to grave). Then, provide one mitigation strategy for each product life cycle stage and

explain with reason if they are in the foreground and background system (4 marks).

2. For each mitigation strategy, explain technological feasibility of implementation (4

marks).

3. For each mitigation strategy, determine the total impact reduction that can be

achieved. You must cite the information source to estimate the impact reduction

potential of the technology solution. For instance, increasing energy and resource

efficiency is a mitigation strategy for the manufacturing stage. You may use the

impact value for the life cycle manufacturing stage and estimate percent reduction

that can be achieved by providing a potential engineering solution such a reduction.

The percent reduction provided must be based on scientific evidence and referenced

(5 points).

4. For each mitigation strategy, recalculate the Absolute Sustainability Ratio (ASR) and

show results with a graph to evaluate if the target is fulfilled (ASR ≤ 1) (4points).

5. Based on the literature, discuss the tecno-economic implications of each mitigations

strategy and rank them, short to long term, according to cost effectiveness versus

environmental impact reduction potential (4 points).

6. By considering combined mitigation strategies, determine the total impact reduction

that can be achieved and the ASR by implementing the suggested mitigation

strategies. Show results with a graph to evaluate if the target is fulfilled (4 points).

INDIVIDUAL TASK (15%)

This task needs to be completed individually and needs to be written no more than two

pages and submitted together with the report. The aim of this task is to analyze the results

generated in tasks 1 to 5 and to discuss them with respect to the lecture content from

week 1-10, assumptions made throughout the assignment and the potentials and

limitations of the mitigations strategies in absolute sustainability targets.

• Comment on the most probable and realistic mitigation strategy or strategies,

which provide the required reduction for the company to allow target fulfillment (3

points).

• Elaborate on the techno-environmental evaluation of recommended mitigation

strategies and the shortcomings and challenges associated with life cycle

environmental impact assessment, if any (4 points).

• Elaborate on the techno-economic evaluation and the shortcomings of these

evaluations, if any (4 points).

• If the chosen company can fulfill the set target, what would be the uncertainty

around the decarbonization pathway. If not, comment on reasons, and alternative

mitigation strategies, potential technology solutions and their implications for the

organization (4 points).

Note:

• You may make assumptions if you need one after clearly stating them.

• You may allocate individual tasks to group members for reducing the workload

however it is each group member’s responsibility to learn how to do the whole

assignment.

• All tasks are not equal value.