If your company manufactures, imports or sells products, it is increasingly important to be able to answer the question:
what is the real environmental impact of that product throughout its life cycle?
LCA is an internationally recognised methodology for measuring and analysing the environmental impacts of a product, service or process, from the procurement of raw materials to end-of-life and waste management. It provides a comprehensive and comparable picture of a product’s impact on the environment.
What is LCA and why is it important?
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) looks at the product as a whole, not just at one stage of production or use. The analysis takes into account:
- origin and production of raw materials
- production processes and energy use
- transport and logistics
- operational phase
- end of product life (recycling, incineration, landfilling)
LCA helps business:
- Understand at which stages the greatest environmental impact occurs,
- make data-driven decisions in product development and procurement,
- reduce costs through resource and energy efficiency,
- meet customer, procurement and regulatory expectations.
When is an LCA necessary for a company?
The preparation of an LCA is particularly relevant when:
- prepared an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration).
- participate in construction tenders or international competitions
- customers or partners ask for transparent and verified environmental information.
- you want to develop products in a more environmentally conscious and competitive way.
- you need to meet the expectations of the ESG or CSRD frameworks.
In practice, the LCA is often the underlying document on which many other reports and declarations are based.
Smart Reporting offers LCA compilation services, from needs assessment and data structuring to the preparation of a standardised LCA report and its linkage to the EPD.
