What is the focus of a Life Cycle Assessment?

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a systematic approach used to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life, from raw material extraction through production, use, and disposal or recycling. The assessment encompasses various environmental factors such as energy consumption, resource depletion, pollution, and waste generation.

The main goal of LCA is to provide a comprehensive view of the environmental consequences of a product across its entire lifecycle, which helps in identifying opportunities for improvement, guiding decision-making, and reducing negative environmental impacts. By considering every phase of a product’s life, LCA informs designers and companies about the trade-offs involved, ensuring a more sustainable approach to product development and resource management.

In contrast, focusing on profit margins, societal impacts, or marketing effectiveness does not encompass the overall environmental perspective that an LCA provides. Those aspects are important in their own right but are not the primary objective of a Life Cycle Assessment.