Life Cycle of Products
Lesson Notes:
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Defined by ISO 14040 as the compilation and evaluation of the
inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life
cycle. It encompasses stages from raw material extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, and
end-of-life (e.g., landfill, recycling).
Examples and Related Concepts:
Raw Materials: The initial inputs for product manufacturing, emphasizing the
importance of sustainable sourcing.
Manufacturing: Focuses on energy, water usage, and material efficiency. Sustainable
manufacturing practices reduce environmental impact.
Distribution and Use: Consider the environmental effects of transporting products and
their efficiency during use.
End of Life: Explores options like recycling and repurposing to minimize waste.
Life Cycle Assessment Phases
Lesson Notes:
ISO 14040 Standards: Guides the LCA process, ensuring comprehensive evaluation across
various impact categories.
Inventory Analysis: A detailed collection and analysis of input/output data within the system
being studied, examining material and energy flows.
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA): Assesses the environmental significance of LCI results,
providing insights into potential environmental impacts.
Interpretation: The final phase where LCI or LCIA results are summarized for decision-making.
Goal and Scope Definition
Lesson Notes:
Goal: Specifies the LCA's purpose, target audience, and application, such as informing public
disclosures.
Scope: Outlines the product system, functions, functional unit, and other LCA parameters like
system boundaries and data quality requirements. This ensures the study aligns with its
intended goal and may be adjusted as information is collected.
Cleaner Production and Operations Management
Lesson Notes:
Emphasizes the importance of reducing environmental impacts and resource use across all life
cycle stages to prevent burden shifting. This approach encourages considering the entire life
cycle to optimize products sustainably.
Life Cycle Thinking
Lesson Notes:
Cradle-to-Grave: Full LCA from resource extraction to final disposal. Alternatives include Cradle-
to-Gate (from extraction to factory gate) and Cradle-to-Cradle (emphasizing recycling into new
products).
Demonstrates the need to consider environmental profiles across different stages, focusing on
sustainable packaging and manufacturing.
Carbon Footprint
Lesson Notes:
A subset of LCA focusing on Green House Gas emissions. It highlights the importance of energy
consumption in assessing environmental impacts, advocating for renewable energy and
efficiency improvements.
Sustainability Toolbox
Lesson Notes:
Discusses tools and standards for sustainability in the water industry, such as EPA WaterSense,
USGBC LEED, and PCR for water infrastructure. These tools help organizations align their
practices with sustainability goals.
NSF Standard Development Structure
Lesson Notes:
Details the consensus process for developing sustainability standards, leveraging expertise and
ensuring broad industry involvement for comprehensive and credible standards.
Sustainability Assessment Standards
Lesson Notes:
Covers key sustainability categories like Product Design, Materials Selection, Water Use, Energy
and Atmosphere, and Social Responsibility. These standards guide the comprehensive
assessment of products on a life cycle basis.
Product Design Strategies
Lesson Notes:
Encourages strategies like dematerialization, closed-loop systems, use of benign materials, and
sustainable materials to reduce environmental impacts from the design phase.
Example Criteria for Sustainability Assessments
Lesson Notes:
Focuses on energy and efficiency criteria, including the use of renewable energy, reduction
efforts, and greenhouse gas emissions inventories.
Potential for Tiered Performance
Lesson Notes:
Describes a system where products can achieve different levels of sustainability certification
(Conformant, Silver, Gold, Platinum) based on accumulated points across various criteria.
Product Category Rules (PCR)
Lesson Notes:
PCRs provide specific guidelines for developing Type III environmental declarations, detailing
required attributes and LCA criteria for products. PCRs are listed in ISO 14025.
PCR Defines LCA Analysis
Lesson Notes:
Outlines how PCRs guide the LCA process, including data collection, impact category selection,
and reporting parameters.
Example: Draft Flooring PCR
Lesson Notes:
A practical example of PCR elements for flooring products, covering definitions, characteristics,
material content, production methods, and life cycle assessment requirements.
Slide 18: Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)
Lesson Notes:
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD): A standardized way of quantifying the
environmental impact of a product or system. EPDs are based on a life cycle assessment (LCA)
and provide a transparent, verified, and comparable way of understanding the environmental
impacts associated with a product's life cycle from raw material extraction through
manufacturing, use, and disposal.
Key Concepts Related to EPD:
Transparency: EPDs provide detailed information about the environmental impacts of
products, offering greater transparency in product selection.
Verification: EPDs are often verified by a third party, ensuring the accuracy and
reliability of the information provided.
Comparability: By using a standardized methodology, EPDs allow for the comparison of
environmental impacts across similar products.
Example: For office chairs, an EPD might include information on carbon emissions, water usage,
and waste generated during the production and disposal stages. This allows purchasers to make
informed decisions based on environmental considerations.
Interpretation of EPD Data:
Life Cycle Impact Reporting: Detailed insights into each stage of the product's life,
offering a comprehensive view of its environmental footprint.
Decision-Making Tool: Helps stakeholders in making environmentally conscious choices
by providing clear, quantified environmental information.
Importance for Sustainability: Demonstrates a company's commitment to sustainability and
provides a benchmark for continuous improvement.
Comparison of EPDs to Sustainable Product Certifications
Lesson Notes:
Differences and Uses:
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) focuses purely on environmental data and
requires a life cycle assessment. It is a framework for reporting this data, highlighting
the environmental impacts without necessarily providing a performance rating.
Sustainable Product Certification goes beyond environmental impacts to include social
and economic aspects (triple bottom line), assessing products based on a set of
sustainability metrics and awarding certifications based on performance levels (e.g.,
Bronze, Silver, Gold).
Global Recognition and Market Influence:
EPDs have strong recognition globally, especially in the EU and Asia, and are influential
in green building schemes and purchasing specifications.
Sustainable product certifications can rank products based on sustainability
performance, offering a grading system that might be easier for consumers to interpret.
Strategic Importance: Both types of labels play crucial roles in the green marketplace, with EPDs
providing detailed environmental impact information and sustainable product certifications
offering an assessment of overall sustainability performance.
