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Life Cycle Assessment as an Environmental Management Tool
Citation:
CURRAN, M. A. Life Cycle Assessment as an Environmental Management Tool. Presented at A&WMA Webinar, cincinnati, OH, August 20, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Listed by Time Magazine as the method behind calculating “Ecological Intelligence,” one of “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now” (March 23, 2009), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the tool that is used to understand the environmental impacts of the products we make and sell. Join Mary Ann Curran, PhD, and the Air & Waste Management Association, for “Life Cycle Assessment as an Environmental Management Tool” to discuss: • The development of LCA methodology and the basic components of conducting an LCA • Key issues associated with data collection, impact assessment modeling, and interpretation of the results • Real world applications of LCA such as biobased products • The application of information generated by an LCA in a Life Cycle Management framework to lead to better-informed choices More about LCA LCA is an environmental accounting and management approach that considers all the aspects of resource use and environmental releases associated with an industrial system from cradle-to-grave. Specifically, it is a holistic view of environmental interactions that covers a range of activities, from the extraction of raw materials from the Earth and the production and distribution of energy, through the use, and reuse, and final disposal of a product. LCA is best used in a comparative way and not to make absolute evaluations, thereby helping decision-makers compare all major environmental impacts when choosing between alternative courses of action.
