Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Measuring the environmental impacts of products and processes

Sustainability Glossary - MU Sustainable Innovation

The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has a 30 - year history. Clearly, it is not a newly - minted concept. However, in the present day, it has once again come to the fore. This is because companies, especially those in the textile industry, are eager to gauge the environmental impact of their products.

In fact, the purpose of LCA is to gather and assess data regarding emissions, consumption, and energy loads. By using synthetic values, it can show the extent to which a product contributes to global warming on the planet. LCA can be used for multiple purposes. It can calculate the environmental footprint of a product or process and help reduce it. It can measure CO₂ emissions to initiate compensation measures. Additionally, it can be used to obtain EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) certification, which is like a paper - based environmental profile of a specific item or material.

As will be shown hereinafter, conducting a study that employs the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology demands substantial efforts in data collection and processing. Nevertheless, in this instance, all the efforts pay off. The outcome is data and measurements that conform to recognized international standards. These results can back up a company's sustainability claims, shielding it from accusations of greenwashing.

How is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) carried out? The initial step is to define the objectives of the study. Subsequently, the boundaries of the system being analyzed need to be established. This entails listing all the processes that will be evaluated within the framework of the LCA. Following that, data related to the product's history are gathered. For each stage, both the inputs (such as materials, water, and energy) and the outputs (i.e., emissions) are identified. Then, calculation methods are utilized to quantify the inflows and outflows. The calculation results obtained offer several indicators:

the energy used (GER - Gross Energy Requirement);

the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and the related (GWP - Global Warning Potential);

the consumption of non-renewable resources;

the contribution to the depletion of the ozone layer;

the contribution to (acidification, eutrophication, photochemical smog formation, and, therefore, to toxicity on humans and the environment.

GWP represented by the CO₂ eq parameter is the most used indicator generated by an LCA. The value, in this case, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is used to summarize the greenhouse gases: methane CH4, nitrous oxide N2O, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC ).

Interpretation of the data furnished by the analysis is of great significance. It enables the company to make comparisons between materials and products within the context of eco - design strategies. This interpretation also helps in evaluating the outcomes stemming from the adoption of new technologies or organizational alterations. Moreover, it allows the company to narrate the environmental history of the product in a rigorous and scientific manner.

Of course, the LCA does not provide all the answers, for example, it does not evaluate the social and economic cost of a product, but it indeed prevents it from slipping into the dangerous greenwashing and allows objective and documented assessments.

The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology, which was introduced by the European Commission to evaluate the environmental impact of products, is grounded in the principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Similar to LCA, PEF takes an approach that encompasses the entire life cycle of a product. However, it adheres to specific requirements for each product category and standardized specifications, which enhance the comparability of results. Notably, PEF also takes into account the environmental impact of a product at the end of its life. It provides practical criteria and a formula for this evaluation.

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