Life Cycle Assessment: a review of the methodology and its application to sustainability

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analytical tool that captures the overall environmental impacts of a product, process or human activity from raw material acquisition, through production and use, to waste management. This comprehensive view makes LCA unique in the suite of environmental management tools. As found in all complex assessment tools, LCA has its limitations as well as its strengths. Although the International Standardization Organization (ISO) provides a general framework for conducting an assessment, it leaves much to interpretation. This paper presents ten important often overlooked or misunderstood aspects of LCA methodology and describes what users should be aware of when setting out to conduct an LCA or when reviewing an LCA conducted by someone else.