Abstract
The continuous increase of production and consumption of material in the developed world and the increase of the standard of living of the developing countries leads to the increase of the use of natural resources and the degradation of the environment. Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) is essential to sustainable consumption and production which will impact the use of limited resources. LCT is the process of taking into account in decision making both the resources consumed and the environmental and health pressures associated with the full life cycle of a product. It includes the extraction of resources, production, use, re-use, transport, recycling, and the ultimate waste disposal to provide goods and services and it helps in avoiding shifting the burdens among various life stages of a resource processing. It is important to use the life cycle thinking in analysing products because they may have different environmental impacts at different life cycle stages. It is important to note that some products have very high environmental impacts during the extraction and processing of their original natural resource but they may have minor environmental impacts when they are recycled. A good example is aluminium. The objective of this work is to analyze the importance of the life cycle thinking concept, and show its direct linkage to sustainability.
Highlights
Products contribute to various environmental impacts over their life-time
Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) is essential to sustainable consumption and production which will impact the use of limited resources
Engineers and designers apply life cycle thinking when designing products and services, via studies based on Life Cycle Assessment, Design-for-Environment programs and management systems oriented toward products or facilities
Summary
Products (goods and services) contribute to various environmental impacts over their life-time. LCT seeks to identify environmental improvement opportunities at all stages across its life cycle, from raw material extraction and conversion, through product manufacture, product distribution, use and fate at the end-of-life stage. The objective of this work is to identify improvements and to lower the impacts of goods or services (products) at all stage of associated life cycles, from raw material extraction and conversion, product manufacture, through distribution, use and eventual fate at the end-of-life. This is achieved using as a case study the life cycle analysis of a washing machine. The study aims to take into consideration the environmental impacts of the processes within our direct control, the raw materials used, supply chains, product use, the effects of disposal and the possibilities for re-use and recycling
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