Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment is potentially the most important method for assessing the overall environmental impact of products, processes or services. It is also sometimes referred to as Life Cycle Analysis or LCA.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that can be used to assess the environmental impacts of a product, process or service from design to disposal i.e. across its entire lifecycle, a so called cradle to grave approach. The impacts on the environment may be beneficial or adverse. These impacts are sometimes referred to as the "environmental footprint" of a product or service.

LCA involves the collection and evaluation of quantitative data on the inputs and outputs of material, energy and waste flows associated with a product over its entire life cycle so that the environmental impacts can be determined.