An introduction to life cycle assessment lca nick santero, ph. Part one of the book covers key indicators and processes in lca, from carbon and ecological footprints to disposal, re. Conducting a life cycle assessment lca there are four main phases of the lca process. Life cycle assessment summary life cycle assessments lcas help to inform more sustainable choices. The main stages analysed as part of a lifecycle assessment are. From farm to fork a life cycle assessment of fresh. Life cycle thinking, as defined by the united nations life cycle initiative, is a way of thinking that includes the economic, environmental, and social consequences of a. Raquel balanay, anthony halog, in circular economy in textiles and apparel, 2019. Life cycle assessment lca is the calculation and evaluation.
This document is an update and merger of two previous epa documents on lca life. This puts them at the top of the political environmental agenda, where they are likely to remain for the foreseeable future. United nations environment programs unep defined lca as following. Cradletograve begins with the gathering of raw materials from the earth to create the product, and ends at the point when all materials are returned to the earth. An lca is a comprehensive method for assessing a range of environmental impacts across the full life cycle of a product system, from materials acquisition to manufacturing, use, and final. A fivestage empirical scale article pdf available in international journal of organizational analysis 114. The method of life cycle assessment lca summary the lca is a standardized method which allows the integral record, quantification and evaluation of the environmental damages connected with a product, a procedure, or a service in the context of a given question. An evaluative process of assessing the effects of the environmental findings identified in the inventory component. Life cycle assessment lca was the methodology chosen to evaluate the sustainability of the printing and writing paper production activity.
Life cycle assessment lca is a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or service system through all stages of its life cycle. Life cycle assessment department of environmental affairs. Videos 2, 3 and 4 of the gabi paper clip video tutorial series accompany it. Indicators of the social context of families will need to be developed with consideration of the life cycle stages of the family, determined by the presence and ages of the children in the family. Lifecycle assessment or life cycle assessment lca, also known as lifecycle analysis is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the lifecycle of a commercial product, process, or service. The names of each stage can also vary slightly depending on the species.
Some of the most important stages through which product life cycle passes are as follows. An analyst, involved in life cycle costing, should be fully familiar with unique cost elements involved in the life cycle of asset, sources of cost data to be collected and financial principles to be applied. This unique research was conducted by bionova ltd one click lca and sponsored by. A life cycle assessment is defined as the systematic analysis of the environmental impact of products during their entire life cycle. With lca, you can evaluate the environmental impacts of your product or service from cradle to grave. This paper grade represents about 60% of the total production of paper in portugal and its production is expected to. During a life cycle assessment environmental impacts are evaluated throughout the entire life cycle of a product production, use and disposal phases. This life cycle assessment lca study evaluates the life cycle impact profile of manmade cellulose. The environmental sustainability is one of the current priorities of the portuguese pulp and paper industry. Life cycle interpretation is one of the four phases identified in the iso 14040 and the iso 14044 standards iso 2006a,b.
Life cycle assessment of printing and writing paper. In the life cycle impact assessment lcia, the product or production system is examined from an environmental perspective using category indicators. The impact assessment should address both ecological and human health impacts, as well as social, cultural, and economic impacts. Introduction to life cycle assessment 9 1 introduction to life cycle assessment this section of the handbook introduces the concept of life cycle assessment lca. The lcia also provides information for the interpretation phase.
Guide for interpreting life cycle assessment result. Postdoctoral scholar civil and environmental engineering university of california, berkeley alissa kendall, ph. Development of a life cycle model for the assessment of buildings, which will enable the benchmarking. For example, an immature juvenile dragonfly is called a. The main procedure steps for a life cycle assessment are four. Life cycle assessment lca is a cradletograve approach for assessing products, processes, industrial systems, and the like.
Model preparation of the product life cycle including environmental inflows and outflows. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. Life cycle assessment an overview sciencedirect topics. Social life cycle assessment an overview sciencedirect. The life cycle assessment is a complex process and. There are many detailed stages but the main ones are. Life cycle assessment of fresh austrian pork, journal of cleaner production 2016, doi. The following document provides an introductory overview of life cycle assessment lca and describes the general uses and major components of lca. Life cycle assessment lca is one of the tools that is increasingly being used to examine the environmental impact of a product through its entire life cycle. Life cycle assessment lca is a methodology for the systematic and quantitative evaluation of the environmental performance of a product through all stages of its life cycle, from raw material extraction through production, use and disposal cradle to grave. Impacts associated with the use and endoflife of mmcf are excluded these stages are similar for all products considered. A lifecycle assessment lca is a tool that can be used to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a product, material, process, or activity. You should have in mind that life cycle assessment features standard methodology, which means that it, is highly transparent and reliable. The product is developed keeping in view a particular need of a set of consumers, and introduced in the market by initiating its commercial production.
All life cycle stages and processes ar e included in accordance with the joint etsiitu lca standard 8 9 except recon ditionin g of mobi le phones for reuse. Goal and scope aims to define how big a part of product life cycle will be taken in assessment and to what end will assessment be serving. All inputs and outputs of produc t or process are defined. Finite natural resources coupled with growing world population is generating increased consumer interest in paints and coatings that offer quality, cost efficiency and a smaller environmental footprint. Ideally, a large and detailed study with wide boundaries.
Lifecycle assessment lca also called life cycle analysis is a tool for examining the total environmental impact of a product through every step of its life from obtaining raw materials all the way through making it in a factory, selling it in a store, using it in the workplace or at home, and disposing of it. In this step, inventory analysis gives a description of material and energy flows within the product. Aia guide to building life cycle assessment in practice. Handbook of life cycle assessment lca of textiles and.
Lca is a standardised methodology, which gives it its reliability and transparency. The stages that we recommend include a conception and the prenatal period and, b families with preschoolaged children ages 05, c families with elementary schoolaged children ages 6. A guide to life cycle thinking disruptive design medium. Life cycle assessment con sists of four main stag es according to the iso 14040. This might include production, use and disposal of a product or process. Schematic representation of a generic life cycle of a product the full arrows represent material and energy flows, while the dashed arrows represent information flows rebitzer et al. International organization for standardization or iso provides general standards when it comes to iso 14044 and iso 14040. Life cycle assessment is the factual analysis of a products entire life cycle in terms of sustainability. For example, the human life cycle is comprised of 5 main stages. The future of building life cycle assessment in practice summary as the architectural and construction industries increasingly emphasize sustainability, more comprehensive methods are being developed to evaluate and reduce environmental impacts by buildings. For metals, a typical cradletograve lca study covers the mining and extraction of raw materials, their fabrication, use, and recyclingdisposal and includes energy and. The results from the inventory analysis and impact assessment are summarized during the interpretation phase. A life cycle is the various stages something passes through in its lifetime. There are various impact modeling approaches, but the main two are midpoint and.
Assistant professor civil and environmental engineering university of california, davis. Integral survey means the consideration of all steps. Life cycle assessment lca is emerging as one of the most. Handbook of life cycle assessment lca of textiles and clothing systematically covers the lca process with comprehensive examples and case studies. The criteria serving to system comparison and specific times are described in this step. Phase of interpretation life cycle interpretation is a systematic technique to identify, quantify, check, and evaluate information from the results of the life cycle inventory andor the life cycle impact assessment. Goals and scoping3 the scoping step determines which processes will be included, which environmental concerns will be included. The work plan of the project is organized into the following main tasks. A lifecycle assessment or lca analyses the impact of a manufactured product. For this part, social life cycle assessment slca comes to mind easily.
In fact, according to the iso standard interpretation of life cycle inventory lci or life cycle impact assessment lcia. Life cycle assessment of light sources case studies and. A life cycle assessment or lca analyses the impact of a manufactured product. This is a pdf file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. For instance, in the case of a manufactured product, environmental impacts are assessed from raw material extraction and processing cradle. Life cycle assessment is a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process, or activity by identifying and quantifying energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment. Lifecycle assessment lca also called lifecycle analysis is a tool for examining the total environmental impact of a product through every step of its life from obtaining raw materials all the way through making it in a factory, selling it in a store, using it in the workplace or at home, and disposing of it. Design for the environment lifecycle assessments safer. Lifecycle assessment lca, also known as lifecycle analysis, and cradletograve analysis is a technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the lifecycle of a commercial product, process, or service, e.
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