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authority it needed to penetrate deeper into industry, academia, and regulatory bodies worldwide. In 1997, the ISO integrated one of SETAC’s original phases, “life
cycle improvement assessment,” into the entire LCA methodology and added the
“interpretation” phase as the fourth (Rebitzer et al. 2004).
This chapter focuses on the first of the four iterative LCA phases established in
1997 and continued in the ISO 2006 edition of 14040: Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Principles and framework. The iterative nature of
the LCA process across phases allows the discussion of this first “goal and scope”
phase that precedes the subsequent three phases presented in Chaps. 6, 7, 8, and 9
as they potentially augment and enhance evolving design workflows.
5.2 What Is an LCA for and What Exactly Does It Measure?
“LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts
associated with a product by: compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs
of a product system; evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with
those inputs and outputs; [and] interpreting the results of the inventory analysis and
impact assessment phases in relation to the objectives of the study.” ISO 14040:
Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Principles and framework
1997(E). p.ii; International Organization for Standardization: Switzerland.
LCA documents are ultimately intended to produce conclusions regarding potential environmental impacts. In one sense, “potential” refers to future impacts that
may or may not be realized depending on certain contingent conditions. In another
sense, “potential” implies the likelihood of stored capacity embodied in the assessed
good or service to impact the environment. This conclusion is based on the assumption that there is a set of normal, constant conditions under which the odds are very
high that the end result in the real world will match the modeled prediction.
The datasets regarding conditions, materials, and use patterns on which the LCA
conclusion is based are a critical part of an LCA report’s stated assumptions. These
sets may be more or less complete or correct and can materially affect the conclusions regarding future environmental impact projections.
If a company wants to know how what it makes will potentially impact the environment throughout its life cycle, there are five typical key impact categories that
get measured and documented. After assessing all available, relevant, and compliant
data, a numerical value is assigned to a product or service that represents its
potential to:
1. Create acid rain (acidification)
2. Kill streams rivers and oceans (eutrophication)
3. Make smog (tropospheric ozone)
4. Make the hole in the ozone layer bigger (stratospheric ozone)
5. Make the earth warmer (CO 2 )
5.2 What Is an LCA for and What Exactly Does It Measure?
authority it needed to penetrate deeper into industry, academia, and regulatory bodies worldwide. In 1997, the ISO integrated one of SETAC’s original phases, “life
cycle improvement assessment,” into the entire LCA methodology and added the
“interpretation” phase as the fourth (Rebitzer et al. 2004).
This chapter focuses on the first of the four iterative LCA phases established in
1997 and continued in the ISO 2006 edition of 14040: Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Principles and framework. The iterative nature of
the LCA process across phases allows the discussion of this first “goal and scope”
phase that precedes the subsequent three phases presented in Chaps. 6, 7, 8, and 9
as they potentially augment and enhance evolving design workflows.
5.2 What Is an LCA for and What Exactly Does It Measure?
“LCA is a technique for assessing the environmental aspects and potential impacts
associated with a product by: compiling an inventory of relevant inputs and outputs
of a product system; evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with
those inputs and outputs; [and] interpreting the results of the inventory analysis and
impact assessment phases in relation to the objectives of the study.” ISO 14040:
Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Principles and framework
1997(E). p.ii; International Organization for Standardization: Switzerland.
LCA documents are ultimately intended to produce conclusions regarding potential environmental impacts. In one sense, “potential” refers to future impacts that
may or may not be realized depending on certain contingent conditions. In another
sense, “potential” implies the likelihood of stored capacity embodied in the assessed
good or service to impact the environment. This conclusion is based on the assumption that there is a set of normal, constant conditions under which the odds are very
high that the end result in the real world will match the modeled prediction.
The datasets regarding conditions, materials, and use patterns on which the LCA
conclusion is based are a critical part of an LCA report’s stated assumptions. These
sets may be more or less complete or correct and can materially affect the conclusions regarding future environmental impact projections.
If a company wants to know how what it makes will potentially impact the environment throughout its life cycle, there are five typical key impact categories that
get measured and documented. After assessing all available, relevant, and compliant
data, a numerical value is assigned to a product or service that represents its
potential to:
1. Create acid rain (acidification)
2. Kill streams rivers and oceans (eutrophication)
3. Make smog (tropospheric ozone)
4. Make the hole in the ozone layer bigger (stratospheric ozone)
5. Make the earth warmer (CO 2 )
5.2 What Is an LCA for and What Exactly Does It Measure?