Life Cycle Assessment Steps Research Articles

Life cycle assessment of rice straw for energy valorization: A comprehensive review of methodological trends and future outlooks

AbstractIn response to the growing awareness of environmental preservation, there has been a surge in studies employing the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach which helps to identify and minimize environmental impacts associated with rice straw recovery processes. However, there is lack of comprehensive and trend analysis related to the development of critical methodological steps of LCA within this field. To fill the gap, this review examines 43 primary LCA studies from 2004 to 2023 period concerning the use of rice straw for bioenergy production and categorized into two groups: the “first‐year group” covering 2004–2013 and the “second‐year group” spanning from 2014 to 2023. This categorization serves to facilitate the examination of trends and patterns within each decade, offering insights into the evolution of research objectives, methodological advancements, and changes in research outcomes over time. The analysis reveals a shift from studying individual technologies to comparing various technologies, includes scenarios development and consideration of economic and social aspects. Furthermore, the “second‐year group” (2014–2023) exhibits a notable uptick in the exploration of gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion, and fermentation, whereas combustion technologies have experienced a slight decrease in the number of studies. Challenges in LCA studies arise from nonstandardized methodologies, introducing bias and uncertainty. To enhance the reliability and comparability of environmental assessments, it is recommended to establish standardized guidelines, improve transparency, and update databases. Overall, this review provides a foundational resource for future waste‐to‐energy studies and recommends steps to enhance the applicability and validity of LCA in forthcoming research.This article is categorized under: Sustainable Energy > Bioenergy Climate and Environment > Pollution Prevention Climate and Environment > Circular Economy

An endpoint model for life cycle impact assessment in China and preliminary normalization values: A case study of vehicles

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become a vital tool for selecting and developing green products to support decision-making. While there are various regional evaluation models for conducting life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), which is one of the key steps in LCA, a systematic LCIA model is still lacking in China. In this study, we propose an endpoint damage model for LCIA. We focus on three endpoint damage categories and eleven environmental impact categories based on local characteristics in China. By using the emission factor method, extrapolation method and other methods, the total emission of each pollutant is quantified. Localized per capita normalization values were calculated. Then, the potential value for environmental impact (PVEI) is acquired, which could be used to represent the impact of pollutant emissions and resource and energy consumption on the environment. With a base year of 2017, the regional per capita normalization values of human health, ecosystem quality and resources in China are 1.94 × 10−2 DALY, 6.08 × 10−5 species, and 2.47 × 103 MJ, respectively. The developed methodology is validated by applying it to the LCIA of vehicles, and the PVEI of three vehicles is ranked as follows: methanol vehicle (MV) > battery electric vehicle (BEV) > compressed natural gas vehicle (CNGV). The findings support the development of an LCIA method for China. The localization parameters supplement and improve the method of life cycle assessment in China, improve the scientificity of life cycle assessment results, and make the evaluation results more in line with China's actual conditions.

Life cycle assessment and its application in medical waste disposal

Environmental issues such as ozone depletion and global climate change are big challenges in today's globe, implying that the global climate is rapidly changing. Developing countries, such as India, are particularly affected by these issues due to garbage generated by industries, households, municipal trash management, and hospital waste. Medical waste management has not received enough attention in recent decades. The problems due to medical waste is increasing exponentially as it put on dual effects, firstly pollute the environment secondly it spread the disease, which effects the health of the people as well as the eco system. So, it is necessary to assess the environmental impact of medical waste. There are many tools available to assess the environmental impacts of the medical waste. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is the most suitable and reliable tool for environmental impact assessment of products and processes throughout their entire life cycle. This review highlights the necessary steps of LCA used in hospital waste management. The purpose of this research was to summaries the current status of LCApractice as it relates to medical wastes management by examining existing research on the ecological impact of relevant services, techniques, technology, and medications.

A framework for environmental evaluation of business models: A test case of solar energy in Kenya

Business models have the potential to deliver environmental sustainability in companies through innovative approaches to creating and delivering value. Business model innovation has been shown as a means to integrate circular economy principles into companies' operations. Several frameworks have been created to guide the transition from traditional to circular business models. However, there is a need for a framework that quantitatively evaluates business models to inform the transition based on their relative environmental performance in creating and delivering value. This study presents a new framework for evaluating the Environmental performance of Business Models (EBuM). The EBuM framework consists of sequential steps of life cycle assessment, participatory decision-making, and business model innovation. It enables organisations to integrate environmental considerations in their decisions and operations. The framework was applied to solar energy companies in Kenya. Life cycle assessments of the photovoltaic systems were conducted through the lens of business models of participating companies to provide insights into the hotspots of environmental impacts. Each company participated in two workshops to evaluate the potential of business model innovation in mitigating the environmental impacts of their activities. Findings showed that the environmental impacts of incumbent business models were generally higher than of their circular economy-oriented substitutes. Business model innovation could, for example, lower the climate change potential by 12 %–55 % and the metal depletion potential by 40 %–70 %. While the framework has been applied to solar energy companies, it can be applied to other business models in different sectors.

Life Cycle Assessment in Road Pavement Infrastructures: A Review

The need to meet society's demands for road infrastructure while minimizing the resulting environmental impacts is a source of great complications. In this context, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be useful by applying a set of rules and processes for the environmental assessment of projects. The objectives of this study were to present the main environmental impact categories associated with emissions from the life cycle phases of a road pavement and how to estimate them. In addition, this paper provides examples of LCA applications on these infrastructures. In view of the evolution of research on LCA, a compilation was made on: the main categories of environmental impact associated with emissions; phases of life cycle impact assessment; and procedures and methods of impact estimation. The impact categories presented are associated with climate change, acidification, ozone depletion, tropospheric ozone formation, eutrophication, and Particulate Matter Formation. Not all methods are able to generate indicators for all types of impact and, depending on the type of materials and services that make up the inventory of the alternatives analyzed, one specific method may be more appropriate to use. The conclusions are that for each environmental impact, the results depend on the input parameters, such as energy flows and materials, along with their processing by methods of life cycle impact assessment. Besides this, despite the great diversity of the databases for the steps of life cycle assessment of roadway pavement, there is a general consensus about the nature of these steps. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-06-015 Full Text: PDF

Investigating the integration between life cycle thinking, green chemistry principles and sustainability policies

Green chemistry and life cycle assessment are two methodologies used in environmental studies, both theoretically and practically. The purpose of this analysis was to assess whether and how green chemistry principles could be integrated into the life cycle assessment methodology and to local and international industrial policies to achieve sustainability goals at the territorial level. First, some contributions that life-cycle thinking gives to green chemistry and vice versa are proposed, based on existing research. Data are provided using tables to summarise contents and graphs to outline interconnections, also considering the four steps of life cycle assessment, showing some available references of previous studies. Secondly, some possible points of integration between the 12 principles of green chemistry and environmental policies are listed. For each principle of green chemistry, a possible integration with international and local strategies is proposed. A list of references that might be useful to investigate possible patterns of study for territorial and industrial uses, is provided too. The results show that life cycle thinking and green chemistry can be integrated into theoretical and practical case studies, since many interconnections exist. These interconnections permit one to use the best characteristics of each method to improve the reliability of the other method and, finally, to solve environmental, industrial, and engineering problems with a more comprehensive approach. In addition, green chemistry principles can be easily associated with main environmental policies at the international, national, regional, and local levels. This allows one to use results, knowledge, and expertise of the green chemistry framework and apply them to industries, territories, and communities. The similarities highlighted in this analysis need further investigation in future studies since they can help decision making process in sustainability policies.

A life cycle assessment framework for large-scale changes in material circularity.

Increasing material circularity is high on the agenda of the European Union in order to decouple environmental impacts and economic growth. While life cycle assessment (LCA) is useful for quantifying the associated environmental impacts, consistent LCA modeling of the large-scale changes arising from policy targets addressing material circularity (i.e., recycled content and recycling rate) is challenging. In response to this, we propose an assessment framework addressing key steps in LCA, namely, goal definition, functional unit, baseline versus alternative scenario definition, and modeling of system responses. Regulatory and economic aspects (e.g., trends in consumption patterns, market responses, market saturation, and legislative side-policies affecting waste management) are emphasized as critical for the identification of potential system responses and for supporting regulatory interventions required to reach the intended environmental benefits. The framework is recommended for LCA studies focusing on system-wide consequences where allocation between product life cycles is not relevant; however, the framework can be adapted to include allocation. The application of the framework was illustrated by an example of implementing a policy target for 2025 of 70% recycled content in PET trays in EU27+1. It was demonstrated that neglecting large-scale market responses and saturation lead to an overestimation of the environmental benefits from the policy target and that supplementary initiatives are required to achieve the full benefits at system level.

To what extent is the Circular Footprint Formula of the Product Environmental Footprint Guide consequential?

Modelling the use or the supply of recycled materials in a product-oriented Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is challenging and a step in LCA that is typically associated with diverging practices and outcomes. In the ambition to harmonize LCA practices and increase the comparability of studies, the European Commission published the Product Environmental Footprint Guide, with the Circular Footprint Formula to model recycling. The formula considers the market situation of recycled materials, which is consistent with a consequential LCA perspective. Therefore, this paper evaluates the extent to which the Circular Footprint Formula follows a consequential LCA approach. To evaluate this, the considered consequential approach is first systematized in the form of a Causal Loop Diagram that shows the relevant parameters and their relationships. From the diagram, a formula is extracted in the same style of the Circular Footprint Formula, enabling comparison. It is concluded that the Circular Footprint Formula has the potential to, but at the moment does not, provide a full consequential approach. Main discrepancies between the Circular Footprint Formula and consequential LCA are 1) the lack of including the marginal suppliers and marginal users of materials instead of average or specific suppliers and users in the life cycle under study, 2) predetermined limitations of the extent to which substitutions can be modeled, and 3) an incomplete modelling of the effects of recycling when demand is constrained. A few inconsistencies were identified that merit to be corrected in an updated version of the Circular Footprint Formula. It is acknowledged that the Circular Footprint Formula does not claim to be consequential. However, alignment of the method with a clear LCA objective – such as a reduction of environmental impacts – could enable the production of LCA results that better inform decisions of companies, consumers, and policymakers.

Handling uncertainties inherited in life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment method for improved life cycle assessment of wastewater sludge treatment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to evaluate environmental impacts of products or processes including wastewater treatment. Uncertainty has not received adequate attention in LCA studies. Uncertainty inherited in LCA steps such as the life cycle inventory (LCI) or the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) method use is unavoidable, but it affects LCA outcomes and associated decision-making. The objective of this paper was to show the impact of uncertainty from LCI and LCIA method on LCA outcomes by using a case study base approach on wastewater sludge treatment processes. A qualitative analysis included setting criteria about what data to be included in LCI, characterization of data, differentiating between major and minor contributors in LCI modeling, evaluation of data quality indicators, setting achievable alternative scenarios, and selecting proper LCIA method were used, in addition to quantitative analysis included assigning most appropriate values for data gaps and proper distribution, and conducting probabilistic analysis to evaluate overall uncertainty. This research used a full-scale wastewater treatment plant in Missouri, USA for case study in which multiple hearth incineration (MHI) is the existing process, while fluid bed incineration (FBI) and anaerobic digestion (AD) were proposed as the alternatives. Using ReCipe method, the study revealed that variation in LCA results of MHI is 63.4% for a single end-point score of 57.9 mPt. On the two alternative processes, it is 54.6% probable that FBI would have more environmental impact than AD. The case study showed that the proposed steps were able to address issues of data uncertainty. Due to differences in characterization, normalization, and weighting factors, different LCIA methods may point out different conclusions and need to be addressed in evaluation.

Application of analytic hierarchy process to develop a weighting scheme for life cycle assessment of agricultural production

The Impact Assessment (IA) step in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies is classified into three steps of characterization, normalization and weighting. In this research, various impact categories were weighted using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), as a multi criteria decision making tool. Iranian tobacco production system was the example of agricultural system. The data for LCA analysis were collected from 225 farms. The data for AHP analysis were gathered by surveying 12 LCA experts. The results indicated that on-farm emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O, NH3, NOx and SO2 were accounted for 25, 96, 93, 99, 21 and 2% of the total emissions (cradle to farm gate), respectively. The characterization indices for the impact categories of acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, global warming, phosphate resources depletion, potash resources depletion and fossil resources depletion for one ton tobacco production were calculated to be 13.87 kgSO2eq, 19.69 kgNOxeq, 1883.90 kgCO2eq, 19.69 kgNOxeq, 4.19 kgP2O5, 6.14 kgK2O, and 59,659.23 MJ, respectively. The LCA + AHP showed that the weighted factors of global warming, terrestrial eutrophication, acidification, fossil resources depletion, phosphate resources depletion and potash resources depletion were 1, 0.790, 0.518, 0.681, 0.422, and 0.263, respectively. Many agricultural systems could benefit from using the developed weighting factors for LCA studies in the agricultural sector. Based on the new developed weighted factors, the weighted indices of aforementioned impact categories for Iranian tobacco production were 0.24, 0.41, 0.19, 1.04, 0.23, and 0.20, respectively. This implies that fossil resources depletion impact category was attributed the highest negative environmental impacts of tobacco production followed by terrestrial eutrophication.

On the feasibility and interest of applying territorial Life Cycle Assessment to determine subnational normalisation factors

Normalisation is an optional step in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), often used in decision making since it helps interpreting the results of LCA studies with regard to some reference information. The applicable ISO standard recommends considering different reference systems to guarantee the robustness of the normalisation step, and so the availability of different normalisation datasets becomes of high relevance.Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods provide normalisation factors (NFs) for global and regional areas, but no NFs are proposed for smaller areas such as local or subnational scales. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility of using territorial LCA approach to determine subnational NFs. Normalisation datasets for both Galician (NW Spain) production and consumption activities have been calculated considering a life cycle perspective. In addition to this, the normalisation datasets calculated for Galicia have been used to evaluate two food products produced and/or consumed in the region as case studies. Then, the normalised results have been compared to those obtained using different reference systems (Europe and the World), calculated following the same methodology (ReCiPe).A qualitative uncertainty analysis of the NFs has been carried out, and the usefulness of territorial LCA to determine them has been discussed. It was concluded that territorial LCA is a promising way to determine NFs but that some improvements could be made, which have also been pointed out here.

Review of life cycle assessment towards sustainable product development

Nowadays, environmental problems have aroused public awareness about the trade-off between economic growth and environmental conservation. In this regard, sustainable development plays a crucial role in striking a balance between the demands of social productivity and the reserves of natural resources. In the realm of sustainable development, life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool to assist in ensuring proper sustainability through assessing the environmental impacts of product designs. Unlike previous reviews, which mainly focus on LCA methodology, this paper presents LCA related studies from the perspective of product development applications. In this article, the approach on how LCA can be used in product development is introduced step by step, from concept design, part design, and process design to decision making. The applications of LCA come in different forms such as impact assessment, selection, classification and decision support. The issues or challenges with respect to the four steps of LCA (i.e. goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact analysis, and interpretation) have been examined and investigated. Corresponding models and theories for coping with these challenges are reviewed. In particular, widespread and popular analytical tools are identified and highlighted. Considering the vague measurement of environmental impact in an agile manufacturing system, it is suggested that the development of LCA should keep pace with the advancing complex product development system. Overall, this article sheds light on the trend of LCA applications in sustainable product development and provides the prospect of promising research directions for LCA researchers and practitioners.

An introduction to life cycle assessment with hands-on experiments for biodiesel production and use

This paper describes a hands-on project that introduces first year engineering students to life cycle assessment (LCA) through the comparison of the environmental impact of the production and use of three diesel fuels: petroleum diesel, biodiesel from new vegetable oil, and biodiesel from waste vegetable oil. The purpose of this LCA project was to incorporate life cycle thinking into the engineering design process, to apply the four main steps of LCA (definition and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment and improvement assessment), and to explore some of the challenges associated with each step. The inventory for biodiesel production (from both new and waste vegetable oils) was based on measurements obtained by the students in laboratory experiments. The fossil diesel production inventory was obtained from the SimaPro® database. The inventory for the use of all three fuels was obtained from measurements taken during combustion of the fuels in a generator. A cradle-to-grave life cycle analysis was then conducted using SimaPro® for each fuel. The assessment of learning outcomes indicates a significant increase in conceptual understanding of the four stages of life cycle assessment, and an average gain of over 55% in overall knowledge of life cycle assessment.

Life cycle assessment of CO2capture and utilization: a tutorial review

Capturing CO2 and using it as an alternative carbon feedstock for chemicals, fuels and materials has the potential to reduce both CO2 emissions and fossil resource depletion. To assess the actual environmental benefits of CO2 capture and utilization (CCU), life cycle assessment (LCA) is considered as suitable metric. To enhance the use of LCA of CCU, this tutorial review gives a jargon-free introduction of LCA of CCU directed at LCA novices. Nine particularly important aspects for conducting an LCA of CCU are identified and illustrated with CCU examples. These aspects, phrased as action items, can serve LCA novices as a checklist through all steps in LCA of CCU: from defining the LCA purpose and the system boundaries, over data collection and environmental impact computation, to interpretation and sensitivity analysis of the results. Finally, in the context of CCU, an outlook is given on recent developments in LCA that aim to cover all pillars of sustainability (people, planet, and profit).

Bridging the gap between life cycle inventory and impact assessment for toxicological assessments of pesticides used in crop production

In Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) provides emission data to the various environmental compartments and Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) determines the final distribution, fate and effects. Due to the overlap between the Technosphere (anthropogenic system) and Ecosphere (environment) in agricultural case studies, it is, however, complicated to establish what LCI needs to capture and where LCIA takes over. This paper aims to provide guidance and improvements of LCI/LCIA boundary definitions, in the dimensions of space and time. For this, a literature review was conducted to provide a clear overview of available methods and models for both LCI and LCIA regarding toxicological assessments of pesticides used in crop production. Guidelines are provided to overcome the gaps between LCI and LCIA modeling, and prevent the overlaps in their respective operational spheres.The proposed framework provides a starting point for LCA practitioners to gather the right data and use the proper models to include all relevant emission and exposure routes where possible. It is also able to predict a clear distinction between efficient and inefficient management practices (e.g. using different application rates, washing and rinsing management, etc.). By applying this framework for toxicological assessments of pesticides, LCI and LCIA can be directly linked, removing any overlaps or gaps in between the two distinct LCA steps.

Analytical Propagation of Uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment Using Matrix Formulation

SummaryInventory data and characterization factors in life cycle assessment (LCA) contain considerable uncertainty. The most common method of parameter uncertainty propagation to the impact scores is Monte Carlo simulation, which remains a resource‐intensive option—probably one of the reasons why uncertainty assessment is not a regular step in LCA. An analytical approach based on Taylor series expansion constitutes an effective means to overcome the drawbacks of the Monte Carlo method. This project aimed to test the approach on a real case study, and the resulting analytical uncertainty was compared with Monte Carlo results. The sensitivity and contribution of input parameters to output uncertainty were also analytically calculated. This article outlines an uncertainty analysis of the comparison between two case study scenarios. We conclude that the analytical method provides a good approximation of the output uncertainty. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis reveals that the uncertainty of the most sensitive input parameters was not initially considered in the case study. The uncertainty analysis of the comparison of two scenarios is a useful means of highlighting the effects of correlation on uncertainty calculation. This article shows the importance of the analytical method in uncertainty calculation, which could lead to a more complete uncertainty analysis in LCA practice.

Life cycle assessment in green chemistry: overview of key parameters and methodological concerns

Several articles within the area of green chemistry often promote new techniques or products as ‘green’ or ‘more environmentally benign’ than their conventional counterpart although these articles often do not quantitatively assess the environmental performance. In order to do this, life cycle assessment (LCA) is a valuable methodology. However, on the planning stage, a full-scale LCA is considered to be too time consuming and complicated. Two reasons for this have been recognised, the method is too comprehensive and it is hard to find inventory data. In this review, key parameters are presented with the purpose to reduce the time-consuming steps in LCA. In this review, several LCAs of so-called ‘green chemicals’ are analysed and key parameters and methodological concerns are identified. Further, some conclusions on the environmental performance of chemicals were drawn. For fossil-based platform chemicals several LCAs exists but for chemicals produced with industrial biotechnology or from renewable resources the number of LCAs is limited, with the exception of biofuels, for which a large number of studies are made. In the review, a significant difference in the environmental performance of bulk and fine chemicals was identified. The environmental performance of bulk chemicals are closely connected to the production of the raw material and thereby different land use aspects. Here, a lot can be learnt from biofuel LCAs. In many of the reviewed articles focusing on bulk chemicals a comparison regarding fossil and renewable raw material was done. In most of the comparisons the renewable alternative turned out to be more environmentally preferable, especially for the impact on GWP and energy use. However, some environmental concerns were identified as important to include to assess overall environmental concern, for example eutrophication and the use of land. To assess the environmental performance of green chemicals, quantitative methods are needed. For this purpose, both simple metrics and more comprehensive methods have been developed, one recognised method being LCA. However, this method is often too time consuming to be valuable in the process planning stage. This is partly due to a lack of available inventory data, but also because the method itself is too comprehensive. Here, key parameters for the environmental performance and methodological concerns were described to facilitate a faster and simpler use of LCA of green chemicals in the future.

Incorporating the LCIA concept into fuzzy risk assessment as a tool for environmental impact assessment

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a procedural tool for environmental management that identifies, predicts, evaluates and mitigates the environmental impact of development proposals. In the process of EIA, EIA reports, prepared by developers, are expected to delineate the environmental impact, but in practice they usually determine whether the amounts or concentrations of pollutants comply with the relevant standards. Actually, many analytical tools can improve the analysis of environmental impact in EIA reports, such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental risk assessment (ERA). Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is one of steps in LCA that takes account of the causal relationships between environmental hazards and damage. Incorporating the concept of LCIA into an ERA as an integrated tool for the preparation of EIA reports extends the focus of the reports from the regulatory compliance of the environmental impact, to determine the significance of the environmental impact. Sometimes, when using integrated tools, it is necessary to consider fuzzy situations, because of a lack of sufficient information; therefore, so ERA should be generalized to a fuzzy risk assessment (FRA). Therefore, this paper proposes the integration of a LCIA and a FRA as an assessment tool for the preparation of EIA reports, whereby the LCIA clearly identifies the causal linkage for hazard–pathway–receptor–damage and then better explain the significance of the impact; furthermore, a FRA copes with fuzzy and probabilistic situations in the assessment of pollution severity and the estimation of exposure probability. Finally, the use of the proposed methodology is demonstrated in a case study of the expansion plan for the world’s largest plastics processing factory.

Life cycle assessment of a fluidized bed system for steam production

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is reported of a fluidized bed steam plant utilized in a textile factory in Torbali, Izmir, Turkey. Soma lignite is consumed as primary fuel, which has a comparatively high sulfur content. The LCA steps are coal mining, coal transportation, coal cleaning, plant operation, limestone use for desulfurization, and landfill of ash and calcium sulfate. Production and decommissioning for mining and landfilling equipment are considered in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent as well as energy consumption. The assessment is conducted for a lifetime of 30years of operation. It is found that the main source of carbon dioxide emission is the operation of the steam plant and that the main materials that have a major impact on energy use are steel and concrete.

The utility of Life Cycle Assessment in the ready meal food industry

Lifestyle and consumer habits increasingly demand ready meals with high quality standards. A ready meal is a packaged food product already prepared for eating with minimum handling. Generally, ready meals only require heating or hydration, and can even consist of a complete prepared dish including all the ingredients, such as a stew. The ready meals industry uses raw materials with high environmental loads, needs energy and water and generates solid and liquid waste that must be properly managed. The environmental performance of the food industry is an issue of great importance for consumers, companies and administrative authorities responsible for environmental policies. This work demonstrates the utility of using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to identify more sustainable options in the ready meals food sector. The complete production process for a canned ready meal, a stew product based on cooked pulses and pork meat cuts (sausages and ham), has been analyzed in a real factory using an LCA approach through its entire life cycle, with a cradle to grave perspective. Two different methodologies were applied for the impact assessment step in LCA: a problem-oriented method (midpoints) and a damage-oriented method (endpoints). The subsystems showing the highest environmental loads turned out to be food ingredients and solid waste management. The impact categories most affected by the production cycle of the ready meal were land use, fossil fuel consumption and water ecotoxicity. An impact analysis of different packaging systems for the specific product, applicable to packaging selection, was performed, considering five alternative scenarios to tinplate cans. The selection of biopolymer packaging systems as an alternative end-of-life scenario could help to reduce the environmental impacts of the ready meal product under study.