{"id":7545,"date":"2022-05-27T16:00:34","date_gmt":"2022-05-27T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circularity.com\/circularguide\/life-cycle-assessment-lca\/"},"modified":"2022-07-29T15:11:52","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T14:11:52","slug":"life-cycle-assessment-lca","status":"publish","type":"circularguide","link":"https:\/\/circularity.com\/en\/circularguide\/life-cycle-assessment-lca\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Cycle assessment (LCA)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach as a tool for measuring the environmental impact of production processes.The Life Cycle Assessment <\/strong>methodology is part of the broader theoretical approach of Life Cycle Thinking, which offers a holistic view of the production and consumption of goods or services<\/strong>, with the aim of evaluating the environmental impacts <\/strong>generated during the entire life cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To give a specific definition <\/strong>of LCA, it is possible to refer to that proposed by SETAC <\/strong>(Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) according to which \u201cAn LCA is an objective process of assessing environmental loads connected with a process, a product or activity, by identifying and quantifying the energy and materials used and waste released into the environment [\u2026]. The assessment includes the entire life cycle of the product, process or activity, including the extraction and treatment of raw materials, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, use, reuse, recycling and final disposal. \u201c<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on what emerges from the proposed definition, the LCA analysis can be considered a valid <\/em>support tool <\/strong>in the field of industrial policy, as, through an in-depth evaluation of the material and energy flows <\/strong>associated with a specific production process, companies can identify the process areas <\/strong>to be subjected to improvements with a view to reducing the environmental loads generated, efficient use of resources and cost rationalization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Start a LCA for your products<\/strong><\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The LCA procedure: the reference standards UNI EN ISO 14040 and UNI EN ISO 14044<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In order to create a reference common framework for the LCA procedure, over the years a progressive standardization process has been developed by national and international bodies which has led to the creation of the ISO 14040 family of standards. Specifically this provides the reference principles for carrying out a Life Cycle Analysis, in addition to some general methodological indications detailed in the subsequent ISO 14041, ISO 14042 and ISO 14043 standards, currently merged into the most recent ISO 14044 standard of 2018.

According to the provisions of the above regulations, the LCA procedure therefore consists of four main phases:<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n 1<\/span>\n
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Definition aims and objectives (Definition of objective and scope )<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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\n 2<\/span>\n
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Inventory analysis (Life Inventory )<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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\n 3<\/span>\n
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Impact assessment (Life Cycle Impact assessment )<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

<\/p> \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n 4<\/span>\n
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Interpretation and improvement (Evaluation of improvement )<\/span><\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

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1.Definition of goals and objectives<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The definition of the aims and objectives represents the initial phase <\/strong>of the evaluation, in which the purposes of the evaluation are established, as well as the impact categories <\/strong>that will be analyzed.
In this first moment, particular importance is attributed to the definition of the boundaries of the system <\/strong>that will be subjected to analysis, the latter definable as the set of <\/em>process units <\/em><\/strong>interconnected by product flows <\/em>(ISO 14040). Equally important is the identification of the functional unit<\/strong>, that is the reference respect to which all data (input and output) are normalized. In other words, it represents the product, service or function <\/strong>on which to set the analysis and comparison with possible alternatives.
For example, if you want to carry out the analysis of the impacts related to a recycling or waste treatment system, these could be evaluated per ton of waste treated (our functional unit in fact).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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2. Inventory Analysis (LCI)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The next phase of a LCA involves the creation and analysis of the inventory (LCI)<\/strong>, which includes the collection of data that will be used in the calculation phase, for the quantification of the impacts generated by the analyzed system.
More precisely, this stage envisages three fundamental steps <\/strong>which can be summarized as follows: the creation of a flow diagram that allows to identify the main operations of the analyzed process; the collection of data that can be classified in turn into primary <\/strong>(i.e. deriving from direct surveys), secondary <\/strong>(obtained from literature or existing databases), tertiary <\/strong>(calculated on the basis of estimates and average values); finally, the processing and presentation of results in different categories (consumption of raw materials, gaseous emissions, waste produced \u2026) with reference to the previously identified functional unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. \u00a0Evaluation of the impacts<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Moving on to the assessment of the impacts, it is divided into two mandatory phases <\/strong>(classification and characterization) and two optional (normalization and weighing). By focusing on the former, the classification represents the moment in which data collected in the previous phases are divided into specific impact categories <\/strong>having effects on a local, regional and global scale.
Among the main impact categories usually analyzed we find:<\/p>\n\n\n\n