IP Editorial

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment and its

Applications

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an emerging environmental tool that is increasingly being
used by governments, industry, and consumer groups. LCAs help us understand what the
true environmental impacts are of products during their whole life, from cradle to grave.
Once the impacts are understood, not only can changes be made in products to improve
their environmental performance, but policies concerning products can also be changed or
implemented.
During the last few years, professional organizations, such as the Society of Environmental
Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and SETAC-Europe have devoted considerable effort
towards improving the accuracy and usability of LCAs. Because of this continuing work,
the LCAs of tomorrow will certainly surpass those of today. However, given the cost of
conducting LCAs and the multitude of products either available now or entering the
marketplace, it is not reasonable to assume that a majority of products will ever be fully
analysed. It is critical, then, that strategic decisions be made by governments, companies
and non-governmental organizations as to when and where it is appropriate to apply this
tool. Also, perhaps more importantly, they must learn how to use the information it
provides. In June 1993 the Centre of Environmental Science (CML) at Leiden University
organized, in the framework of the Cleaner Production Programme of UNEP's Industry
and Environment Programme Activity Centre (IE/PAC), an expert seminar on Environmental
Life Cycle Assessment and its Applications. This seminar, held in Amsterdam, was part of
the process towards understanding how LCAs can help decision-makers orient production
and consumption towards environmentally better products. A selection of the contributions
to the seminar are presented in this issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production.
It is clear that, so far, developing countries and countries in transition have not been
part of the process of designing the LCA tool. Yet, trade among all countries will be
affected by LCA-based product decisions. Today, some are concerned about potential
effects of ecolabelling on trade--one use of LCAs. However, there are also good arguments
for the use of LCAs to help countries stay competitive, as concern grows over the
environmental impact of products. By ensuring the participation of developing countries,
the Amsterdam seminar was a step towards worldwide integration of this tool. UNEP IE/
PAC and CML will be furthering this process by producing, with support from the Dutch
government, a document on LCA. This new document and these proceedings will be
distributed widely throughout the world through the activities of UNEP's Cleaner Production
Programme.

Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel

Director, UNEP IE/PAC

0959-6526/93/3-4/0130-01
© 1993 Butterworth-Heinemann Lid

130 J. Cleaner Prod. 1993 Volume 1 N u m b e r 3-4