In order to manage biodiversity risks along supply chains, potential biodiversity impacts that arise during the manufacture, use and disposal of products and processes must be quantified and assessed. The BVI method enables this assessment of the impact on biodiversity along the entire life cycle. The BVI method is based on the Land Use Framework of the Life Cycle Initiative (Milà i Canals et al. 2007, Koellner et al. 2013). In simplified terms, this framework interprets a “quality” (ΔQ) of the earth’s surface (A) used by a process that deviates from the reference state and is maintained over a certain duration (Δt) as the effect of the process. In this context, the term “quality” stands for assets of the earth’s surface that are worth protecting, such as biodiversity. As with all Life Cycle Impact Assessment methods, this method also requires specific inventory data of the relevant processes for a concrete LCA study. For land-use processes, this means information on the area utilised (A) [m²] and the duration of utilisation (Δt) [a]. These two variables are usually summarised in the process datasets as area time [m²a].

Many relevant inventory datasets in commercial LCA databases now also contain this area time, albeit often highly aggregated. For a simplified application of the BVI method, only the area time of a land-use process needs to be multiplied by the characterisation factor of the corresponding land-use type. The characterisation factor corresponds to the quality difference (ΔQ) in the Land Use Framework. In life cycle assessment (LCA) practice, the application of the Land Use Framework and the biodiversity impact assessment described is essentially comparable with established impact dimensions relating to emissions (e.g. the well-known Global Warming Potential, GWP): the impact is calculated by the product of inventory size and characterisation factor.

Specific data on the intensity of the processes involved (e.g. soil conservation, fertiliser use, pesticide use) are required in order to carry out biodiversity impact assessments of the highest possible quality. However, characterisation can also be carried out using statistical data (e.g. national average values), which do not, however, provide any information about a specific system. In addition, biodiversity impacts are included that not only have a direct effect on the utilised area, but also extend across a region (e.g. water use) or globally (e.g. GHG emissions). Where possible, the calculations take into account the prevailing background pressures or previous pressures at the respective locations.

In LCA practice, the application of the biodiversity impact assessment described here is therefore not fundamentally different from other impact dimensions related to emissions (e.g. the well-known Global Warming Potential, GWP):

Impact=characterisation factor*inventory flow

In known impact models, such as the GWP, the quantity of the individual greenhouse gases (inventory flows) is multiplied by the greenhouse gas-specific characterisation factor (e.g. methane: 25 kgCO2-eq./kg) and then added up across all greenhouse gases in the next step. This means, for example, that 1 kg of methane has the same potential to cause climate change as 25 kg of CO2.

The BVI method is based on the Land Use Framework of the Life Cycle Initiative (Milà i Canals et al. 2007, Koellner et al. 2013). In simple terms, this framework interprets a “quality difference” (ΔQ) deviating from a reference state, which is maintained over a certain duration (Δt) on the earth’s surface (A) exposed to a process, as the effect of the process. In this context, the term “quality” is a placeholder for goods of the earth’s surface that are worth protecting. In the BVI method, biodiversity is defined as an asset worthy of protection.

In the BVI method, the biodiversity impact is therefore determined by the inventory flow of land occupation or area used per year [m2a] and a land use-specific characterisation factor. Inventory data sets on area time are now included in commercial LCA databases for many processes. For a simplified application of the method, the inventory data can be used with a series of characterisation factors that have already been published.

For a specific application of the BVI method in an LCA study, as with all Life Cycle Impact Assessment methods, specific inventory data of the relevant processes are required. For land-use processes, this means information on the intensity of utilisation of the land used. This is determined via management parameters.

As biodiversity and therefore the potential for biodiversity loss are globally not equally distributed, it is important to distinguish where on earth this area is utilised in order to determine the direct impact on biodiversity. In order to enable a global weighting, the ecoregion map was developed, which assigns an ecological value to each ecoregion: the ecoregion factor.

The factor provides an indication of the regions in which there are lower or higher risks of causing negative impacts on biodiversity or in which a particularly high level of protection and promotion of biodiversity can be achieved. It is important to note that the factor does not reflect the specific situation on the field or the utilised area, but represents an average indication for an ecoregion. Therefore, this consideration does not replace a complete assessment, but forms an input variable in the calculation of the biodiversity impact of products according to the BVI method.

The ecoregion factors are shown on a world map. The map can show either ecoregions or countries. The factor for countries corresponds to an area-weighted average of the ecoregions that overlap with the area of the countries.

The following factors were taken into account in the development of the ecoregion map:

• proportion of roadless regions,
• proportion of forest and grasslands
• protected wetlands and proportion of wetlands and
• the sum of the global extinction probability of species in the region.