An Integrated Framework for Life Cycle Engineering

Abstract

Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) was introduced as a concept more than 24 years ago in order to address emerging concerns about environmental sustainability in engineering. A number of methods and tools have been introduced to operationalise the LCE concept, but since then, the scope of sustainability has broadened, and as a result, LCE has evolved in parallel with other disciplines with similar aims. Currently, in addition to LCE, there exist a number of concepts such as Industrial Ecology, Cleaner Production, Life Cycle Management (LCM), Industrial Symbiosis, and Circular Economy. As a result, orientation becomes challenging and a framework to integrate them is required. The paper aims to introduce an integrated framework for LCE defining the concept and its boundaries, and it argues for the need to reorientate LCE towards the environmental dimension of sustainability. Through an integrated top-down and bottom-up approach, the framework establishes a relationship between LCE and the other concepts and positions them relative to the planetary boundaries and the concept of absolute environmental sustainability.