There are several ways to assess the life cycle impacts of products. Some are more complex than others – all have their merits. Different approaches demand different requirements in terms of data collection and quality assurance, resulting in varying levels of robustness. They also have different intended users – from consumers and small and medium sized enterprises, to major corporation product designers and experienced life cycle experts.
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)
The ISO 14044 standard defines LCIA as the "phase of life cycle assessment aimed at understanding and evaluating the magnitude and significance of the potential environmental impacts of a product system".
In a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the emissions and resources consumed that can be attributed to a specific product are compiled and documented in a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). Subsequently, the resource inputs and emissions are classified and characterised in order to express their significance in terms of contributions to a recognized set of environmental impact categories: climate change, ozone depletion, eutrophication, acidification, human toxicity, respiratory inorganics, ionizing radiation, ecotoxicity, photochemical ozone formation, land use, and resource depletion. These, in turn, are conventionally considered under three areas of protection: human health, the natural environment, and natural resource use. This phase is termed Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and enables different emissions and resources consumed, as well as different product options, to be analysed and cross-compared.
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) steps
According to ISO 14044, LCIA proceeds through four steps:
- Selection of impact categories and classification
- Characterisation
- Normalisation
- Weighting
In step 1 (mandatory), the environmental impacts relevant to the study are defined. The elementary flows from the life cycle inventory (e.g. resource consumption, emissions into air, etc.) are then assigned to impact categories according to the substances‘ ability to contribute to different environmental problems.
Subsequently, in step 2 (mandatory), the impact of each emission or resource consumption is modelled quantitatively, according to the environmental mechanism. The result is expressed as an impact score in a unit common to all contributions within the impact category by applying 'characterisation factors'. For example, kg of CO2-equivalents for greenhouse gases contributing to the impact category 'Climate Change'. Here, the characterisation factor of CO2 for climate change is 1, whilst methane has a characterisation factor of 25 (on a 100-year timeframe), reflecting its higher climate change potential.
In step 3 (optional), the characterised impact scores are associated with a common reference, such as the impacts caused by one person during one year in a stated geographic context. This facilitates comparisons across impact categories and/or Areas of Protection.
In step 4 (optional), the different environmental impact categories and/or Areas of Protection are ranked according to their relative importance. Weighting may be helpful when trade-off situations occur in LCAs; however,when the LCA is used for comparing alternative products and is disclosed to the public, ISO discourages the use of weighting.
Framework of illustrating example impact categories for characterisation modelling at midpoint and endpoint levels for the 3 Areas of Protection
Further information
Further guidance on LCIA is available in the ILCD Handbook, in particular in the following documents:
- Framework and requirements for LCIA models and indicators
- Analysis of existing Environmental Impact Assessment methodologies for use in Life Cycle Assessment
Further developments are also ongoing for:
- Land use impacts on ecosystems
- Modelling resource-use impacts
- Linking land use, soil functions and biodiversity impacts
Although the worlds of policy and business may appear to have separate motives and goals, they share a common, underlying need to have the right information available to make informed decisions.
Why is LCT important in policy-making?
For those working in the field of policy development, taking a life cycle approach is beneficial for a number of reasons:
- Gathering baseline environmental impact information for market-orientated policies and the promotion of innovative product design
- Understanding trends in product supply chains and where is it best to influence the chain
- Developing resource strategies, such as optimal waste management
- Better informing consumers through the use of labeling schemes and the use of Green Public Procurement (GPP)
Why is LCT important for businesses?
In business, the life cycle approach can help to:
- Understand which parts of a product's life cycle have the greatest environmental impacts, to enable material and economic efficiency
- Create an improved market position and customer image through schemes such as ecolabels, Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) and carbon labels
- Achieve closer cooperation with suppliers and customers regarding product risks, development and marketing
- Foster better relations with authorities, environmental groups and with other collaborative partners
- Improve the company's image to shareholders and customers
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Life Cycle Thinking is becoming increasingly fundamental in the development of key environmental policies around the world and is used to inform an array of decision making processes in business.
Application to policy
Life Cycle Thinking is increasingly fundamental in the development of key environmental policies around the world. In the European Union Life Cycle Thinking is at the heart of a growing number of policies and instruments in areas such as:
- Integrated Product Policy
- Thematic Strategy on the sustainable use of natural resources
- Thematic Strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste
- Waste Framework Directive
- Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan
- Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan
- Green Public Procurement
- EU Eco-label
- EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme
- Ecodesign
- Retail Forum
Application in business
Product differentiation and LCT: Product differentiation is a key aim of marketing.Companies want their products to stand out from those of their competitors. Special offers, cheaper prices and stylised packaging are some of the ways of achieving a 'unique selling point' (USP). Differentiation based on the product’s environmental characteristics is an increasingly powerful tool, often achieved by an environmental claim or label.
How to make an environmental claim? To make such an environmental claim, businesses must gather credible and robust evidence proving that a product’s environmental performance has been quantified and, where relevant, meets strict environmental criteria. Businesses may also wish to publish the fact that they have quantified the environmental performance of their product and are working to improve it.
Achieving a market advantage with LCT: There are often other drivers for carrying out a Life Cycle Assessment, such as a manufacturer wishing to develop a new product to achieve a market advantage.
The development of hybrid cars is an example where a life cycle approach and ecodesign have been applied to understand the relative impacts of these new engine types compared to conventional ones.
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Life Cycle Assessment takes into account the product's full life cycle: from the extraction of resources, production, consumption and recycling up to the disposal of remaining waste. Therefore it touches the environmental impacts associated with different sectors.
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The European Commission is committed to providing support and guidance to businesses and policy makers in Life Cycle Thinking and Assessment.
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email: lca[@]jrc.ec.europa.eu
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