Streamlined Environmental Assessments: Picking the Greenest Option Despite Limited Time and Data at the Federal Environment Agency in Germany

The Federal Environment Agency of Germany (Umweltbundesamt: UBA) is expected to provide information regarding the environmental performance of products and technologies — even in cases with limited time and data availability. Therefore, the streamlined environmental assessment (StreamEA) methodology has been developed which combines the competences available throughout the agency. Based on scientific assessment models, a ranking of alternatives can be determined for 15 impact categories, like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, nuisance, pathogenic emissions or physical killing of animals. Since the overall environmental burden depends on the specific impact per product and the total number of products, a macroeconomic assessment at the level of the product entirety is included. The applicability of the method, which can be adapted to other regions, and the robustness of results have been tested by means of case studies. The method is currently applied in the daily work of the agency to provide guidance to the general public and policy makers.