The assessment of a product's full environmental costs, from raw material to final disposal, in terms of consumption of resources, energy and waste.
a comprehensive examination of the environmental and economic effects of a product at every stage of its existence, from production to disposal and beyond. Also known as cradle-to-grave assessment.
An analytic approach which considers all aspects of a product from raw materials extraction through final product disposal within defined limits. The costs include energy, social, and environmental costs.
A methodology of quantitative assessment that determines the relative environmental "pluses" and "minuses" of a product, over its lifetime, on the topics of resource depletion, manufacture, installation methods, and recyclability and/or reuse.
Compilation and evaluation of inputs* and outputs*, as well as the potential environmental impacts due to a system of products* in the course of its life cycle. (*) The term "product" is taken in its broadest sense, i.e. designating the material goods or a service. The term "input" signifies matter or energy entering an elementary process*. The term "output" signifies matter or energy exiting an elementary process*. The term "elementary process" signifies the smallest part of a product system for which data are collected for life cycle analysis.
A system-oriented approach estimating the environmental inventories (i.e. waste generation, emissions and discharges) and energy and resource usage associated with a product, process or operation throughout all stages of the life cycle.
A quantitative approach that assess a product's impact on the environment throughout its life. LCA attempts to quantify what comes in and what goes out of a product from “cradle to grave,†including the energy and material associated with materials extraction, product manufacture and assembly, distribution, use and disposal and the environmental emissions that result. LCA applications are governed by the ISO 14040 series of standards ( http://www.iso.org).
LCA is a systematic technique for identifying and evaluating the potential environmental benefits and impacts (use of resources; human health; ecological consequences) associated with a product or function throughout its entire life from extraction of raw materials to its eventual disposal and assimilation into the environment. LCA helps to place the assessment of the environmental costs and benefits of these various options, and the development of appropriate and practical waste management policies, on a sound and objective basis.
A technique intended to quantify the total impact of a product during its production, distribution, use and recycling, treatment or disposal. Can be applied to sustainable waste management.
A method for determining the environmental performance of a product, from cradle to grave, including the depletion of resources and the release of polluting and harmful substances and their impacts, both at the local and global scale.
the measurement and aggregation of all factors relating to the production, use and disposal of materials.
A procedure which involves assessing the impacts of a product or material throughout its life cycle - ie from raw material extraction or production through manufacture and use, to disposal or recovery. Also called Life Cycle Assessment.
A process to identify and reduce the impacts of a product at all stages of its life cycle
A quantitative forecasting technique based on applying past patterns of demand data covering introduction, growth, maturity, saturation, and decline of similar products to a new product family.