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Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment

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Sustainable Supply Chains

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Supply Chain Management ((SSSCM,volume 4))

Abstract

This chapter gives an overview of the mainstream method of life cycle assessment (LCA) on the basis of the generally accepted principles as laid down in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) series of Standards on LCA. The first part is devoted to the key questions addressed by LCA and sketches the historical development towards that method. The second part provides an overview of the LCA method itself, while the third part discusses some examples of LCA applications. Finally, the fourth part discusses some of the future challenges to LCA including life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) and streamlined LCA techniques.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This chapter is partly based on Heijungs, R. & Guinée, J.B. (2012). An Overview of the Life Cycle Assessment Method—Past, Present, and Future. In: Curran, M.A. (Ed.), Life Cycle Assessment Handbook: A Guide for Environmentally Sustainable Products, pp. 15–42. Beverly: Scrivener Publishing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

    Jeroen Guinée & Reinout Heijungs

Authors
  1. Jeroen Guinée
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  2. Reinout Heijungs
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeroen Guinée .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Axe Logistique Terre Mer Risque, Ecole de Management de Normandie, Le Havre, France

    Yann Bouchery

  2. Anderson School of Management, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Charles J. Corbett

  3. School of Industrial Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Jan C. Fransoo

  4. School of Industrial Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Tarkan Tan

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© 2017 Yann Bouchery, Charles J. Corbett, Jan C. Fransoo, and Tarkan Tan

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Guinée, J., Heijungs, R. (2017). Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment. In: Bouchery, Y., Corbett, C., Fransoo, J., Tan, T. (eds) Sustainable Supply Chains. Springer Series in Supply Chain Management, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29791-0_2

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