Life Cycle Assessment: Overview
What is Life Cycle Assessment?
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is defined as the systematic analysis of the potential environmental impacts of products or services during their entire life cycle.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool to assess potential environmental impacts throughout a product's life cycle, i.e., from natural resource acquisition, via production and use stage to waste management (including disposal and recycling). The term ‘product’ includes goods, technologies, and services. Stages of a Life Cycle Assessment
The LCA process is typically divided into four main stages:
Goal and scope definition,
Inventory analysis,
Impact assessment, and
Interpretation.
Each stage involves specific tasks and delivers specific outputs, which are used in the subsequent stages of the process.
Goal and Scope: Sets the foundation by outlining the LCA’s purpose and the boundaries of the study. This ensures that your LCA is performed consistently.
Inventory Analysis: Inventory analysis gives a description of material and energy flows within the product system and especially its interaction with environment, consumed raw materials, and emissions to the environment. The inputs flow includes the materials (i.e. Raw material, transportation) and energy used in the production, use, and disposal of the product, and the outputs include all the emissions and waste generated by these processes.
Life Cycle Impact Assessment: This stage involves evaluating the potential environmental impact associate with inventory analysis. This stage involves calculating the impact of the particular inventory flow, the impact are termed as impact indicators such as global warming potential, acidification, ocean depletion potential. The Impact indicators provide the basis for comparing the environmental performance of the product / service
Interpretation: This stage involves analyzing the impact assessment results for the product / service, thus enabling the organization to identify hotspots and make space for improvement in reducing their environmental / human impact of their product /service. The recommendation can include changes to the product design, change in mode of Transporation, changes in production process etc. The interpretation stage is critical as it provides the basis for decision making and action.
What is critical Review in LCA?
A critical review can be performed to verify that the LCA study has performed in consistent manner as per ISO 14040/44. It ensures
- The LCA method used in the study is consistent, transparent as per standard and they are technically and scientifically valid
- The data collection and data used are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the goal of the study
- The interpretation reflects the limitations and goal of the study
When does critical Review need in LCA Study?
The necessity for a critical review of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) primarily depends on its intended use. When an LCA is performed for internal purposes, such as aiding decision-making or product development, a critical review is not mandatory. This allows organizations to conduct multiple LCAs without the requirement of a formal review process.
However, when LCA results need to be shared externally and need for Environmental product declaration for the product, Critical review is mandatory. In these instances, ISO standards recommend a critical review to ensure the findings are reliable and accurate.
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