How it works
Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) quantify the environmental impacts of any product, service, or infrastructure in its whole life cycle (including extraction of raw materials, production, operational phase, end-of-life and any other life cycle phase).
Life Cycle Assessments are based on scientific data and are guided by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards.
Environmental impacts evaluated in Life Cycle Assessment studies include:
- greenhouse gas or carbon emissions
- stratospheric ozone depletion
- tropospheric ozone formation
- smog, particulate matter
- acidification
- eutrophication
- toxicity
- radiation.
LCAs also evaluate consumption of energy, materials, minerals, land, water and resources in the whole life cycle of any product, service or infrastructure.
Some of the advantages in undertaking Life Cycle Assessment study include:
In project development phase
LCA Assessments demonstrate the most environmentally sustainable materials, designs, processes or operations among different, competitive options in a conceptual or feasibility stage of a project, industry or business. This then informs the best possible decisions to maximize a business’ sustainability.
Hotspot analysis
Life Cycle Assessments demonstrate the hotspots of environmental impacts for any product, service, industry, or business. Processes, products and/or services with an intensive environmental impact can then be redesigned to lower their negative effect.
Latest trend in the industry
A Life Cycle Assessment is based on science and guided by ISO standards. Many carbon neutral certifications and environmental declarations require the provision of a Life Cycle Assessment study.
Some of the requirements in certifications, ratings and declarations in Australia include:
- Climate Active Certifications (Products & Services)
- Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) (ISO 14025, EN 15804, EN 15978)
- Green Star ratings (by Green Buidling Council of Australia)
- Infrastructural ratings (by Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia)
Our Expertise
Our team includes a highly experienced Life Cycle Assessment Certified Practitioner with accreditations from the Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society. We undertake screening LCA studies, streamlined LCA studies and highly detailed LCA studies for a broad range of products, services and businesses.
Our LCA practitioner also conducts independent, third-party critical review of other LCA studies according to ISO standards.