WHAT IS LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT?

Life Cycle Assessment is the methodical environmental profiling of a product, process or service which takes into account all (in theory at least) the stages of its life cycle from "cradle to grave", from the extraction of materials to its end-of-life, considering also the in between stages such as production, transportation, and use.

Sometimes some stages are omitted, for example a manufacturer might do a "cradle to gate" LCA which accounts for stages only to the point of sale.

In the long term, the objective is use LCA to produce closed loop systems "from cradle to cradle" so that there are few or no emissions to the environment.

Total Fire Damage in South Africa – R 104 Billion (US $15 Billion). Includes loss of property, wages, health, incapacitation, unemployment, ….

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a decision making tool to identify environmental burdens and evaluate the environmental consequences of a product, process or service over its life cycle from cradle to grave (i.e. from extraction of resources through to the disposal of unwanted residuals).

Example of Need for LCA:Oil Sands

Oil sands hit major 'hurdle' in CaliforniaGLOBE AND MAIL – today

“While most new laws on cleaner-burning fuel look only at tailpipe emissions, the new California policy, announced this week by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, has an unusual twist. It will count gases discharged during the full life cycle of the petroleum.”

“Under the state’s so-called low-carbon fuel standard, all transportation fuel sold will have to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during its production and final use by at least 10 percent by 2020”