Lifecycle analysis: Uses and pitfalls

Lifecycle analysis (LCA) is a powerful tool, often used as an aid to decision making in industry and for public policy. LCA forms the foundation of the newly-invented field of industrial ecology. There are several possible uses and users for this tool. It can be used to evaluate the impacts from a process or from production and use of a product. Impacts from competing products or processes can be compared to help manufacturers or consumers choose among options, including foregoing the service the product or process would have provided because the impacts are too great. Information about impacts can be used by governments to set regulations, taxes, or tariffs; to allocate funds for research and development (RD or to identify projects worthy to receive tax credits. In addition, LCA can identify key process steps and, most important, key areas where process changes, perhaps enabled by R&D, could significantly reduce impacts. Analysts can use the results to help characterize the ramifications of possible policy options or technological changes.