LCA: Life-Cycle-Analysis
Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a tool used to assess the environmental impact of a design. Sometimes called cradle-to-grave analysis or life-cycle assessment, these analyses look at all stages of a product's life:
extraction of raw materials
processing of materials
manufacture of the product
distribution of the product
use of the product by the user
repair and maintenance of the product during its usable life
recycling and disposal of the product at the end of its usable life
Designers use LCA to gain insight into the environmental impact of their design. Through conducting an LCA, designers can:
identify the relevant energy inputs (embodied energy) that go into the making, use, and disposal of the product
identify relevant material inputs that go into the manufacture and use of the product (raw materials, consumable materials used in the use of the product -- coffee filters used in a coffee machine, for example)
identify release of chemicals and harmful substances released into the environment (CO2 emissions, Greenhouse gases, etc.)
evaluate the impact of their design on the environment
Tips and Tools
Use an LCA to identify opportunities for innovation - great idea for an IA Design Project
Acting on analysis: What can designers do with this information?
The information in an LCA can be used by designers to identify areas for innovation that improve the overall environmental impact of a product.
Take, for example, the LCA of a coffee maker. Using the Ecolizer database, the design is assessed as follows:
From the analysis, we can see that 86% of the impact comes from the use of the design. Looking more carefully, we see that use has been broken down into two components: The electricity used to heat the coffee pot, and the use of disposable coffee filters:
This information can then be used by designers to improve the design in an innovative manner. For example, the use of a reusable coffee filter would greatly reduce the impact of the disposable ones. In addition, the designer could examine alternative ways to improve the heat efficiency of the design - perhaps including insulative materials in the coffee pot could reduce heat loss and keep the coffee warmer for longer periods.
Ecolizer
Ecolizer is an open LCA database sponsored by the Belgium Government
Designers can register for free and access the database to create LCAs of their designs
The example we look at below comes from their opensource database.
Ecolizer gives a score based on ReCiPe
You can learn more about the science and protocol of using ReCiPe here