Life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for evaluating potential environmental effects over the whole life cycle of a product, from resource acquisition through production and consumption to waste management (including disposal and recycling). Products include goods, digital tools, and services. LCA is a comprehensive analysis tool that considers the entire life cycle of a product and a variety of environmental aspects. These distinctive features of LCA make it easier to prevent problems due to moving from one stage of a product's life cycle or an environmental impact to the next. An outline of the methodology is provided in this article.