Governance & Policy
ReCiPe
Definition
ReCiPe is a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method, first released in 2008 and updated as ReCiPe 2016, developed by Dutch research institutes and universities. It provides characterisation factors that translate inventory flows (emissions, resource extraction, land use) into eighteen midpoint impact categories — climate change, toxicity, water use, fine particulates and others — and aggregates them into three endpoint areas of protection: human health, ecosystems and resource scarcity.
References
Supports definition and framing.
Overview
How it is used
ReCiPe is implemented in LCA software (SimaPro, openLCA) and used in product footprints, comparative assertions, environmental product declarations and research.
Why it matters
Impact assessment methods are the invisible machinery behind every "lower-impact product" claim; knowing the method is knowing what the number means.