Definition
According to ISO (the International Organization for Standardization), life-cycle analysis (LCA) is a “compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle” (ISO 2006). The life cycle is defined as “consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal” (ISO 2006).
Introduction
The usage of LCA began in the United States in the late 1960s with Coca Cola being one of the early adopters by examining the effects the materials, energy, and environmental effects throughout the package manufacturing practice (Hunt et al. 1996). Reducing solid waste was the main point of focus of LCAs until the mid-1970s when energy took the main stage due to the energy crisis. In 1987, the idea of considering the future environmental impacts as a whole on future generations gained attention when the United Nations issued the...
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Hopkins, E.A. (2019). Building Lifecycle Sustainability Analysis. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Sustainable Cities and Communities. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71061-7_11-1
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