An Overview of the Life Cycle Assessment Method – Past, Present, and Future

This chapter gives an overview of the mainstream method behind Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). It does so on the basis of the generally accepted principles, canonized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The first part of the chapter is an overview devoted to the method itself and the current state of the practice. The second part provides a sketch of the historical development that led toward the method. The chapter concludes with a description of present developments that are influencing the evolving method.

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