Sangwon Suh has contributed to developing life-cycle assessment (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) methodologies, focusing on mathematical foundations and analytical methods. He is Assistant Professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science Management, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the USA.
For the IRP, Dr Suh served on the Working Groups on Environmental Impacts and Decoupling. He co-authored the 2009 report: Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production: Priority Products and Materials, and also worked on Green Energy Choices: the Benefits, Risks and Trade-Offs of Low-Carbon Technologies for Electricity Production and Decoupling 2: Technologies, Opportunities and Policy Options.
Dr Suh also helped establish data and a methodology on sustainable product policy for Europe and the USA by contributing data and analysis to policy studies by the European Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency on prioritizing products and product groups with the greatest environmental impact.
He has edited and co-authored three books and is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment and the Journal of Industrial Ecology. He serves on three Working Groups on the international standardization of carbon footprinting methodology, at the World Resources Institute, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the International Standards Organization.
Dr Suh earned a BS and MS in environmental engineering at Ajou University in South Korea and completed a PhD in environmental science and engineering at Leiden University in the Netherlands.
Contributed to the following reports
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Green Technology Choices
What happens when low-carbon electricity supply technologies are deployed alongside energy efficiency technologies? The International Resource Panel's assessment looks at the impacts and benefits for people and the environment.
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Green Energy Choices: the Benefits, Risks and Trade-Offs of Low-Carbon Technologies for Electricity Production
Low-carbon electricity generation could help meet demand while reducing climate change effects. But new technologies could create new environmental problems. This report aids informed decision-making about energy technologies, infrastructure and optimal mix.
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Decoupling 2
This report explores technological possibilities and opportunities for both developing and developed countries to accelerate decoupling and reap the environmental and economic benefits of increased resource productivity.
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Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production
This report gives a scientific assessment of which global environmental problems present the biggest challenges, and weighs up the impacts of various economic activities to identify priorities for change.