A-level Graphic Products/Edexcel/Unit 3 :Designing for the Future/Sustainability/Life cycle assessment

There is a balance that manufacturer need to get correct, this is the balance between making the product good for the environment and inexpensive to make/sell.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is the process of reviewing a product's life, from "cradle to grave" (from when the materials are being obtained from the ground until the point it is disposed).

Life-cycle inventory (LCI)
Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental impact of certain products. The BSI and ISO 14000 now demand that companies constantly improve their attitude toward the environment; this is measured through a life-cycle inventory.

A life-cycle inventory will look at all of the input and output processes that occur during the life-cycle of a product.

This is split into two parts:


 * Environmental inputs and outputs of raw materials and energy resources.
 * Economic inputs and outputs of products, components or energy that are outputs from other processes.