Term

life cycle assessment

Term

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a process of evaluating the effects that a product has on the environment over the entire period of its life thereby increasing resource-use efficiency and decreasing liabilities. It can be used to study the environmental impact of either a product or the function the product is designed to perform. LCA is commonly referred to as a "cradle-to-grave" analysis. LCA's key elements are: (1) identify and quantify the environmental loads involved; e.g. the energy and raw materials consumed, the emissions and wastes generated; (2) evaluate the potential environmental impacts of these loads; and (3) assess the options available for reducing these environmental impacts.

Synonyms:

Source:

EEA Glossary

Context:

Comment

Definition source publication

UNEP.

Publication year

Definition source URL

http://www.uneptie.org/pc/pc/tools/lca.htm

Organisation

UNEP