What is an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)?

LCA is a Life Cycle Assessment. It is a method, which can be used to assess the total environmental impact of a product – from the cradle to the gate, the cradle to the grave or from the gate to the grave depending on the purpose of the assessment. The purpose can either be decided by yourself, where it must be used or for whom it is to be used. The method helps you identify the most important sources of environmental impacts and emission quantities. With an LCA calculation, you are also able to find out where to put your efforts or where not to.

what is the value/advantages of an lca?

The advantages of an LCA are numerous. From a technical point of view, you get a thorough picture of the total environmental impact of products and processes. At the same time, you get an overview of the environmental impact at all steps in the life cycle. The LCA follows a recognised method which makes it possible to compare products within the same product group or your own products. An LCA calculation can also help you avoid greenwashing and be the basis of your company’s green marketing. In addition to this, it can strengthen decision making processes and brand images.

how do you implement an LCA?

It is possible to implement an LCA in several ways, for example, through an EPD. First of all, you must define the purpose of the LCA project, and which environmental impacts are the most important for your company. In an LCA project, 16 environmental impacts are analysed – the climate being one of these. Then you must gather information about the components in the product, materials, energy consumption, packaging, and emissions during the whole production process. Finally, you must analyse the data to identify the most important environmental consequences of the product or product group in question.