Revisiting the Basics of Life Cycle Assessment and Lifecycle Thinking
Date
Authors
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI AG
Abstract
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a standardized tool (ISO 14040) used to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and processes across their entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal or recycling. It has become particularly important in the context of engineering materials, where sustainability considerations are critical. Despite challenges such as data quality limitations, variations in system boundary definitions, and methodological inconsistencies, LCA remains an essential tool for assessing and improving product sustainability. This work presents a foundational overview of LCA principles and describes a systematic, step-by-step procedure for its effective application. Additionally, this article revisits the fundamental concepts of carbon footprint (CF) analysis as a complementary tool for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions associated with products and activities. CF analysis underscores the necessity of adopting low-carbon materials and manufacturing processes to minimize embodied energy and reduce environmental emissions. Low-carbon materials are characterized by attributes such as being lightweight, recyclable, renewable, bio-based, locally sourced, and safe for public health. Their development balances the reduction of raw material and resource consumption during production, with increasing product performance, recyclability, and service life, reflecting a cradle-to-cradle, circular economy approach. The integration of LCA and CF methodologies provides an integral framework for assessing environmental performance and supports decision-making processes aligned with global sustainability targets.Description
Source
Sustainability, ISSN: 2071-1050 (Print); 2071-1050 (Online), MDPI AG, 17(16), 7444-7444. doi: 10.3390/su17167444
Publisher's version
Rights statement
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).