KIT - Institute of Management - Teaching - Chair of Management Accounting - Theses - Completed Theses - Input-Output Models vs. Process-Based LCA

Under the frequent extreme weather and influential climate change, environmental protection and sustainable
development are important issues of this era, and the accurate measurement of carbon emissions is a necessary part of managing greenhouse gas emissions. This paper conducts a comprehensive and integrated review of the research on different carbon emission measurement models, analyzes the application sectors of the most widely used process- based life cycle assessment (PLCA) and input-output models(IO Model), and compares the advantages and disadvantages and applicable situations of the two classic models in the past. At the same time, this study aims to explore the feasibility of integrating PLCA and IO Model. We put forward suggestions for establishing a new hybrid LCA theoretical framework. The results of this study show that PLCA is better in the application of products or services with long life cycles or long supply chains, and the IO Model has more advantages in cross regional or macro-level measurements. The two methods complement each other, and combining them has significant positive significance.