Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Cleaner Production

Abstract

The application of the concept of cleaner production ( CP ) to practice requires a suitable tool. Life cycle assessment ( LCA ) is one such tool for assessing the overall environment burdens and resource consumption associated with products, processes services throughout their life cycle – from cradle to grave. Case studies are presented, mainly from the Asia – Pacific region, where LCA has been applied for product comparison, product improvement as well as comparing alternative waste management scenarios. The results of these studies indicate how LCA can help selecting as well as developing new products and services with less overall environmental burdens thus demonstrating the utility of LCA for CP.