This article explores the concept of life cycle assessment (LCA) and its significance in sustainability and circular economy. It explains the stages of a product's life cycle, the environmental impacts involved, and how businesses use LCA to design eco-friendly products, reduce waste, and comply with sustainability standards. Examples from IKEA, Apple, and Univer illustrate LCA's practical applications.
In this session, we explore the concept of the tragedy of commons and its relation to sustainability. To understand this context better, it is useful to first look at two important economic concepts: externalities and public goods. Building on earlier discussions about circular economies, we delve into the concept of life cycle assessment (LCA) of a product.
Everything we use has a life story, from the moment a product is made to when we dispose of it. This journey is known as the product's life cycle, often described as "cradle to grave." The life cycle approach involves examining all stages of a product's existence:
For example, consider a juice carton. It begins with trees being cut down for paper, plastic, and aluminum production, followed by transportation, packaging in factories, storage in your fridge, and finally being thrown away.
Each stage has environmental impacts such as energy consumption, water use, emissions, and waste generation.
Every product we buy carries hidden environmental costs that do not appear on the price tag but are very real. These include deforestation, carbon dioxide emissions from factories and transport, and waste ending up in landfills or oceans.
By considering the entire life cycle of a product, companies, consumers, and policymakers can make better choices. These choices might include designing products for durability, using renewable energy, or recycling at the end of the product's life.
This approach aligns with the circular economy concept, which aims to keep products in use longer through reuse, repair, redesign, and recycling, thereby closing the loop and reducing waste.
In a traditional linear economy, the product's story ends with disposal (cradle to grave). The circular economy, however, strives for cradle to cradle, where materials are continuously reused and recycled.
For instance, instead of discarding a broken phone, it could be designed for easy repair or upgrade. This circular thinking, based on life cycle awareness, influences every choice we make—from what to buy to how long to use something and whether to repair or discard it.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a scientific method used to measure the environmental impacts of a product or process throughout its entire life cycle—from raw material extraction to disposal or recycling.
LCA helps quantify and compare:
The first life cycle studies emerged in 1969 amid concerns about packaging waste in the United States. By the 1990s, the methodology matured and was formalized by organizations such as the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC).
Between 1997 and 2006, the ISO 14040 series was developed, establishing international standards for consistent and comparable LCA assessments across industries.
Businesses use LCA to:
LCA is also crucial in evaluating circular strategies, helping businesses decide whether recycling reduces emissions, if reuse is preferable, or how bio-based materials compare to conventional ones.
A notable example from a fashion company revealed through LCA that consumer washing habits had a greater environmental impact than production itself. This insight prompted the company to shift focus toward educating consumers on sustainable washing practices.
This highlights that LCA is not just about numbers but about using data to improve sustainability outcomes across design, production, and consumer behavior.
The life cycle approach and life cycle assessment provide a holistic view of a product's environmental impact. When combined with circular economy principles, they offer powerful tools to design, consume, and act with sustainability in mind.
To achieve a more sustainable future, it is essential to consider the entire story of a product, not just its final chapter. Businesses and consumers alike must embrace life cycle thinking to reduce environmental footprints and promote circularity in our economies.
