What is a LCA?

LCA stands for Life Cycle Assessment, which is a method for assessing the environmental impact of a product over its entire life cycle, i.e. from raw material sourcing and manufacturing to use, recycling and waste management. By analysing all stages of the life cycle, it is possible to identify and quantify the impacts of the different elements, such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, resource use and pollution.
 

LCA is mainly used internally by companies and organisations to compare the environmental performance of different products and identify areas for improvement. It is an important tool to make correct decisions on sustainability and environmental friendliness of their product development. Assessing and improving the environmental performance of its products and processes is a prerequisite for achieving a sustainable circular economy.
 

The procedure for conducting an LCA is included in ISO 14040 as well as ISO 14044 and consists of four parts: formulating the objectives and scope of the study, inventorying flows and net system flows, quantifying its environmental impacts, and interpreting the results.
 

Life cycle assessment is becoming an increasingly important part of effective, structured and credible environmental management. They are also a requirement of ISO14001 and form the basis of environmental product declarations (EPDs). They also form an important part of sustainability reporting and are a prerequisite for achieving a sustainable circular economy.