Question

What is life cycle assessment and how does it relate to managerial decision making?

Answer 1

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique for assessing the potential environmental aspects and potential aspects associated with a product, by:compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs, evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with those inputs and outputs,interpreting the results of the inventory and impact phases in relation to the objectives of the study.

Life Cycle Assessment is a process to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a product, process, or activity by identifying and quantifying energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment; to assess the impact of those energy and materials used and releases to the environment; and to identify and evaluate opportunities to affect environmental improvements. The assessment includes the entire life cycle of the product, process or activity, encompassing, extracting and processing raw materials; manufacturing, transportation and distribution; use, re-use, maintenance; recycling, and final disposal.

An LCA starts with an explicit statement of the goal and scope of the study, which sets out the context of the study and explains how and to whom the results are to be communicated.
The data must be related to the functional unit defined in the goal and scope definition. Data can be presented in tables and some interpretations can be made already at this stage. The results of the inventory is an LCI which provides information about all inputs and outputs in the form of elementary flow to and from the environment from all the unit processes involved in the study.
The data must be related to the functional unit defined in the goal and scope definition. Data can be presented in tables and some interpretations can be made already at this stage. The results of the inventory is an LCI which provides information about all inputs and outputs in the form of elementary flow to and from the environment from all the unit processes involved in the study.

It relates to managerial decsion making that Life-cycle assessment has emerged as a valuable decision-support tool for both policy makers and industry in assessing the cradle-to-grave impacts of a product or process. Three forces are driving this evolution. First, government regulations are moving in the direction of "life-cycle accountability;" the notion that a manufacturer is responsible not only for direct production impacts, but also for impacts associated with product inputs, use, transport, and disposal. Second, business is participating in voluntary initiatives which contain LCA and product stewardship components.

The "life-cycle" or "cradle-to-grave" impacts include the extraction of raw materials; the processing, manufacturing, and fabrication of the product; the transportation or distribution of the product to the consumer; the use of the product by the consumer; and the disposal or recovery of the product after its useful life.