Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a process to quantify the potential environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product from raw materials to disposal. LCAs from different analysts and studies should not generally be compared due to inconsistencies in goal, scope, quality and other factors.
Why We Conducted an LCA
- Establishes a baseline for industry
- Provides insights and guides future research
- Identifies areas and opportunities to drive industry improvements
Challenges with Comparisons
- Background data can vary from one to another
- Goals of LCAs change from one to another and impact comparison
- Different (but valid) method choice affects each LCA and leads to different study outcomes
