Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)

In an increasingly environmentally conscious world, companies and organisations are looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a fundamental tool for this purpose, as it allows the environmental impacts associated with a product, process or activity to be assessed throughout its entire life cycle.

What is Life Cycle Assessment?

LCA is a systematic methodology for identifying, quantifying and assessing the potential environmental impacts of a product, process or activity from start to finish. This includes the extraction of raw materials through to manufacture, use, transport, distribution, consumption and final disposal as waste.

Stages of Life Cycle Assessment LCA is carried out in four main stages:

1. Definition of objectives and scope:

Clearly state the objectives of the study and define the scope of the system to be analysed.
Identify the boundaries of the system, including which life cycle stages will be assessed and which environmental aspects will be considered.

2. Life Cycle Inventory:

Collect and quantify all material and energy inputs and outputs associated with the system under study.
This includes raw materials, water, energy, emissions to air, water and soil, and waste generated at each stage of the life cycle.

3. Life Cycle Impacts Assessment:

Classify and characterise the environmental impacts identified in the inventory.
Use environmental indicators to assess the potential impact of the system in different categories, such as climate change, acidification, eutrophication, resource depletion and toxicity.

4. Interpretation of Results:

Analyse the LCA results to identify areas of greatest environmental impact.
Draw conclusions about the environmental performance of the system under study and develop recommendations to improve its sustainability.

Applications of Life Cycle Assessment LCA has a wide range of applications in various sectors, including:

Product design: Developing more sustainable products with less environmental impact.
Materials selection: Choosing materials with a lower environmental footprint and from sustainable sources.
Process optimisation: Improving process efficiency to reduce resource consumption and emissions.
Environmental communication: Inform consumers about the environmental impact of products and services.
Regulatory compliance: Demonstrate compliance with environmental regulations and obtain eco-labels.

LCA Methodology and Standardisation

To ensure the consistency and quality of LCAs, internationally standardised standards and methodologies have been developed. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has established a number of standards related to LCA, including:

ISO 14040: General framework and principles for conducting an LCA.
ISO 14041: Procedures for defining the objectives and scope of the study.
ISO 14042: Guidance for the impact analysis phase of the LCA.
ISO 14043: Recommendations for the interpretation of LCA results.
ISO 14044: Requirements and guidelines for conducting an LCA.

IT tools for LCA

As LCAs can be complex, specialised software tools are available to facilitate their implementation. These tools allow for:

Collect and manage data efficiently.
Perform calculations and analysis automatically.
Generate reports and graphs to communicate the results clearly.

At Grup Carles we work with the GABI software and the SPHER and ECOINVENT databases, however, we adapt to your needs, so we can use other more specific tools.

For any question, you can contact our sustainability experts.