Since 2016, LCA Design Corporation has supported businesses in determining their environmental impacts through life cycle assessment to improve their sustainability and circularity. The analysis and feedback from the LCA can help propel a business forward in its mission to become more sustainable. Whether assessing one product or a product line, one process, or an entire plant, life cycle analysis (LCA) can be a powerful method to provide greater insight and clarity for your company. The results from the LCA can also be incorporated into annual corporate sustainability reporting and marketing to showcase the steps you have taken to improve your environmental impacts.

Sustainability Benefits of Life Cycle Analysis

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a methodology used to assess the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the disposal of the final product. LCA includes all the stages of a product’s life, such as raw material extraction, production, transportation, use, and end-of-life disposal. The goal of LCA is to identify and evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product or service and identify improvement opportunities. The results of an LCA can be used to compare the environmental performance of different products or services, to inform product design and development, and to support decision-making in environmental management, product labelling, and policy development. A third-party LCA expert can provide objective analysis and support while utilizing ISO 14040/44 Standards.

Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)

Life cycle analysis is also used for developing an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), and LCA Design can help you along the EPD process. An EPD is based on a transparent and open framework and international standards to give comparable information within the same product group. The EPD is the final report, while the LCA is the foundation.