ISO 14044 Life cycle analysis

What is it?

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) identifies the material and energy inputs and outputs of a product or service throughout its life cycle, from raw material acquisition through production, use, waste management and recycling to final disposal.

This international standard covers two types of studies: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA studies) and Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (LCI studies).

For the Life Cycle Assessment study it is necessary to follow four phases

• Define objective and scope
• Conduct a Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) analysis with previously collected inputs and outputs.
• Assess the environmental impact of the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) in order to better understand its environmental significance.
• Interpret LCI and LCIA results to establish conclusions, recommendations and decision making according to the defined objective and scope.

LCI studies are similar to LCA studies, but exclude the Impact Assessment phase of Life Cycle Inventory.

The objective of ISO 14044 is to provide a common, standardized framework for conducting life cycle assessments so that the results are comparable and transparent, facilitating informed sustainability decision-making.