Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) looks at the environmental impact of a product at every stage of its life — from raw materials to disposal. This helps us make more sustainable choices.
What is a Life Cycle Assessment?
An LCA evaluates the total environmental impact of a product over its entire life cycle:
- Extracting and processing raw materials
- Manufacturing and packaging
- Using the product
- Disposing of the product
💡 It considers factors like energy use, waste, pollution, and resource depletion.
The four stages of an LCA
Stage | Environmental Considerations |
Raw materials | Energy to extract, habitat damage, pollution |
Manufacturing | Energy for machines, waste from processing, emissions |
Use | Energy needed during use, lifetime of the product |
Disposal | Waste, landfill space, recycling potential, pollution |
Comparing products using LCAs
Example: Plastic vs Paper bag
Stage | Plastic Bag | Paper Bag |
Raw materials | Made from crude oil | Made from trees (renewable) |
Manufacturing | Uses less energy, more pollutants | More energy to make |
Use | Durable, reusable | Usually single use |
Disposal | Can take hundreds of years to decompose | Biodegradable but needs space to produce |
💡 LCAs help us see that the “greener” option isn’t always obvious.
Problems with LCAs
- LCAs can be complex and subjective
- Some impacts (like visual pollution) are hard to measure
- Can be biased if done by companies to promote their own products
Questions
- What does LCA stand for?
- Name one environmental concern when extracting raw materials.
- What is one benefit of a plastic bag over a paper one?
- What is one issue with LCAs?
- How many stages are in an LCA?
Summary
- Life Cycle Assessments analyse the impact of a product over its entire life
- It includes raw materials, manufacturing, use, and disposal
- LCAs help choose products that are more sustainable
- But LCAs can be difficult to carry out accurately and may be biased