What is the purpose of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?

The purpose of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life, from cradle to grave. This means that an LCA takes into account the entire life cycle of a product, including raw material extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, and disposal. By assessing each phase of the product life cycle, LCA provides a comprehensive view of the environmental repercussions associated with a product, helping to identify areas for improvement, inform design decisions, and promote more sustainable practices.

This holistic approach is crucial for understanding how different choices and processes affect the environment, enabling businesses and policymakers to make informed decisions that reduce negative impacts. Other options do not capture the comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle, as they either focus on market viability, economic benefits of recycling, or consumer behavior, rather than the thorough environmental evaluation inherent in LCA.