Materials and Energy: Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a technique used to assess the environmental impacts of a material or product throughout its lifecycle - from extraction and processing of raw materials, through to product manufacture, distribution, use, recycling and final disposal.
The purpose of LCA is to provide a complete picture of the environmental aspects and potential impacts of a product system, helping to inform decisions for more sustainable choices.
It is important to consider each stage of a product’s life. The ‘Cradle to Grave’ approach means considering all the stages from raw material extraction, processing, manufacturing, distribution, use and waste disposal.
LCA considers a wide range of environmental impacts such as resource use, air and water pollution, waste generation, land use, biodiversity loss, and contributions to climate change.
Raw Material Extraction: This stage involves the extraction of resources from the ground. These can be metals, fossil fuels, or even wood. Each type of resource extraction has different environmental implications like habitat destruction and air, soil, and water pollution.
Manufacturing: Once the raw materials are extracted, they need to be processed into a form that can be used to make products. This stage also has environmental implications, such as the release of CO2 emissions and other pollutants.
Distribution: Energy is used in the packaging and transportation of materials. Pollution and waste generation also occur during this phase.
Use: This stage involves the product’s actual use by people. Impacts during this phase often depend on the product itself, for example, a vehicle would have emissions associated with its use.
End of life: Disposal or recycling is the final step in the lifecycle. Disposal in landfills can lead to groundwater contamination and methane production. Recycling on the other hand, can save resources and energy but also requires energy to process the materials.
It’s important to remember that each stage of the lifecycle has potential for waste and disposal - not just the final ‘disposal’ stage.
In order to achieve a more sustainable future, materials should ideally have a low impact at each stage of their life cycle. This could mean choosing renewable resources, using energy-efficient manufacturing processes, implementing effective recycling programs, and encouraging responsible consumption patterns.
LCA can help to identify “hot spots” or stages where the greatest environmental impacts occur, enabling efforts to be focused on improving those stages.

That concludes the overview of “Materials and Energy: Life Cycle Assessment.”