Critical review of life cycle analysis and assessment techniques and their application to commercial activities

Abstract

This paper summarises the basic methodology of life cycle analysis, and aims to show that without clear understanding of the technique, life cycle inventories (LCI) can be easily misused to give preferred results, or misunderstood to give erroneous results which could lead to detrimental environmental decisions. It highlights areas where most errors are likely to exist, namely through the definition of system boundaries and the collection of data, and shows through examples how these can drastically affect LCI results. The paper also touches briefly on life cycle assessment techniques, which are aimed at evaluating environmental damage, and concludes with a brief summary of the properties of an ideal LCI which would provide a comprehensive data base for life cycle assessment.