Use of life cycle assessment by companies in the Basque region. Results of survey research

Abstract

The importance firms, public institutions, and, more recently, consumers give to environmental issues has led in recent years to a surge in the development, dissemination, and application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Nevertheless, little is still known about this tool's effective deployment by companies, or about the level of knowledge they have of it in some specific geographical areas, as in the Basque Region in the north of Spain. This paper seeks to provide a starting point for subsequently addressing these unresolved issues.Through the analysis and treatment of the data collected via the questionnaire, this work aims to provide a snapshot of the LCA situation in the Basque Country. In turn, the specific objectives are to discover who is carrying out LCA studies, why and how they are doing it, and to publicize the benefits provided by this type of study.Among other things, the study reveals that the LCA is still a little-known tool used mainly by large companies in specific sectors. The LCA is perceived as a complicated methodology that reports few economic benefits, although its capacity to improve the environmental performance of the products and the image of the company is recognized. The companies also think that their use will be generalized in the future, although they complain about the lack of institutional support that is provided.