Abstract
Quantitative environmental life cycle assessment of products can be a useful tool in product-oriented environmental management. With this methodology the environmental impacts of the product during its entire life cycle are attributed quantitatively to the functioning of the product as far as possible. Currently, the scientific basis of methods for assessing the environmental impacts of products is not yet adequate. Methods are divergent, yield conflicting results and contain considerable gaps. In two successive articles an overview of the similarities and differences between these methods, as developed in different countries, is given. To enable fruitful discussions on methods used, and to make life cycle assessment (LCA) an acceptable tool for product-oriented environmental management, a general methodological framework is proposed. In this first article a general introduction to LCA is given, a general methodological framework is proposed and two components of the methodological framework, the goal definition and the inventory, are discussed in more detail.
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