What is a life cycle assessment ? 

The Life Cycle Assessment is a procedure for measuring the environmental impact of a product or service throughout its entire life cycle. 

A life cycle assessment, also commonly referred to as an LCA, is the practice of determining the environmental impact of a product or service throughout all states of its life cycle – such as from when the material of the product is extracted, to when it hits the shelves of a store, and to when that product is thrown away by the user. 

What’s included in the LCA? 

In addition to a carbon footprint report, the LCA framework provides a more comprehensive way of measuring the carbon footprint of goods and products. The LCA includes the whole scope of the product’s environmental impact, by measuring the total of: 

• The emissions from the raw material extraction process,
• The transportation and packaging of the product and the associated emissions,
• The emissions associated with its end-of-life disposal process, including recycling or reuse. 

‍The LCA is an important tool for assessing the entire scope of environmental damage caused by a product or service. 

For more info, check out Greenly’s blog article on “How to conduct a useful life cycle assessment”
An LCA focuses on a cradle-to-grave analysis, aiming to look beyond the use of a product and understand the full scope of its impact from raw material source, manufacturing, use, and even disposal. 

An LCA typically includes four main stages:

1. Goal and Scope Definition which includes defining the reason for the assessment, system boundaries, and functional units to measure in.
2. Inventory Analysis which involves data collection from each stage of a product's life, such as inputs like energy, water, materials and outputs like emissions or waste.
3. Impact Assessment which refers to evaluating the environmental effects of a product such as its carbon footprint, water usage, resource depletion, and pollution.
4. Interpretation which entails analyzing the  results to inform decision-making and identify areas to improve upon.
   

Example life cycle stages for a day-to-day product like a T-shirt:

• Raw material production such as the growing cotton and processing of fibers
• Manufacturing such as the spinning, dyeing, sewing required to make the T-shirt
• Distribution such as the mode of transportation required to get the T-shirt to stores or customers
• Use phase such as when the person washes, dries, or irons their T-shirt
• End-of-life which includes recycling the shirt, throwing it away, or incineration of the T-shirt

LCAs are important as they can prove indispensable to businesses looking to identify “hotspots” of environmental impact, are interested in eco-design or making more sustainable choices, and want to engage in transparent reporting. In addition to this, LCAs can be used to back up environmental claims and avoid greenwashing. 

FAQs

Who uses LCAs?

Almost any kind of business could benefit from LCAs, such as manufacturers, product designers, policymakers, and sustainability consultants.

Is LCA only for physical products?

No, LCA can be used to determine the environmental impact of services too – such as a day trip to the spa or fixing the windshield wiper on your car. Several different services, processes, and even buildings can undergo an LCA.

How is LCA different from carbon footprint analysis?

LCA is different from a carbon footprint analysis as it considers a wide variety of environmental impacts, whereas carbon footprint usually only focus on GHG emissions.

Can consumers access LCA results?

Yes, it is becoming more common for consumers to be able to access LCA summaries in sustainability reports or product labels.

Are LCAs standardized?

Yes, LCAs are standardized the same way that international standards like ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 are considered reputable and verified practices. 

‍