Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a scientific method used to measure the environmental footprint of a product. The result is a measurement of over 15 impact categories.
An LCA is far from simple – there are countless factors involved as you evaluate the potential environmental impacts throughout the entire life cycle of a product. This also includes the upstream (e.g., suppliers) and downstream (e.g., waste management) processes associated with the production, use phase, and disposal. It covers all relevant inputs from the environment (e.g., crude oil, water, land use) as well as emissions into air, water and soil.