Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) have become an essential tool for businesses, researchers, policymakers, and organizations of all kinds and sizes seeking to understand and mitigate the environmental impacts of products and processes. However, navigating the world of LCA can be challenging, especially with its specialized terminology.
Understanding the terminology of the Life Cycle Assessment world is a vital step toward leveraging this powerful tool for sustainability. By familiarizing yourself with LCA terms, you’ll be better equipped to interpret LCA studies, communicate effectively, and make decisions that align with environmental goals.
In this blog post, we are providing clear and concise definitions to the most common terms within the LCA landscape as a sneak peak of the Life Cycle Assessment from A to Z: The ultimate LCA glossary resource powered by P6 Technologies.
Assessment
Assessment is the process of collecting data and conducting calculations to generate results that describe a specific situation or process.
Background System
Processes and data representing activities that occur outside the system boundary but support it, like energy supply.
Baseline Scenario
A reference point for comparing environmental impacts in an LCA study.
Carbon Footprint
The total greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product or organization, expressed in CO2 equivalents.
Carbon Intensity
The amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of energy or activity.
Characterization Factors
Characterization factors are used to translate the amounts of elementary flows (inputs and outputs to the environment) into potential impacts on different environmental categories.
Circular Economy
An economic model focused on reducing waste by reusing, recycling, and remanufacturing materials.
Cradle-to-Gate
A partial LCA that considers impacts from resource extraction (cradle) to the factory gate before the product is used.
Cradle-to-Grave
A full LCA accounting for impacts from resource extraction to end-of-life disposal.
Decarbonization
The process of reducing carbon emissions in energy systems.
Dynamic LCA
An approach that incorporates time-dependent changes in life cycle impacts.
Ecoinvent
A widely used LCI database providing high-quality data for environmental assessments.
Emission Factor
A coefficient quantifying emissions from a specific activity or process.
Environmental Footprint
A measure of the total environmental impact of a product, process, or organization across multiple impact categories.
Environmental Impact
Any change to the environment, positive or negative, resulting from human activities.
Flow
Flows represent products, substances, or services that move throughout a life cycle, interconnected within the process network, and take the form of inputs, outputs, or emissions, for example, electricity, water, and CO2 emissions.
Fugitive Emissions
Unintended or irregular releases of gases or liquids, often from equipment leaks or industrial processes.
Gate-to-Gate
Gate-to-Gate in life cycle assessment focuses on the environmental impacts of a specific production process or stage, from input “gate” to output “gate,” without considering upstream or downstream processes.
Goal Definition
The initial phase of LCA where the purpose, scope, and objectives of the study are established.
Greenwashing
Misleading claims about a product’s environmental benefits.
GREET
GREET (Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies) is a lifecycle analysis tool developed by Argonne National Laboratory. It evaluates the environmental impacts of various fuels and technologies, including greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, across their entire lifecycle.
Hybrid LCA
A combination of process-based and input-output LCA methods to provide a more comprehensive analysis.
Hydrogen Fuel
A low-carbon energy carrier often evaluated in LCAs for its production, storage, and use impacts.
Impact Assessment
The phase of LCA that evaluates the potential environmental impacts of a product or system.
Impact Category
Class representing environmental issues of concern to which life cycle inventory analysis results may be assigned
Inventory Analysis
A phase in LCA where data on material and energy flows, as well as emissions and wastes, are collected and analyzed.
ISO 14040/14044
International standards defining principles and requirements for conducting LCA studies. ISO 14040 establishes the framework for life cycle assessments (LCAs) while ISO 14044 provides requirements and guidelines for conducting LCAs
Jet Fuel
A petroleum-based fuel commonly evaluated in LCAs of aviation for its carbon footprint and environmental impact.
Key Performance Indicator (KPI)
A measurable value used to track the effectiveness of a process or system in achieving environmental, economic, or social objectives, often included in LCA studies for sustainability assessment.
Life Cycle Costing (LCC)
An economic analysis method that evaluates the total cost of a product over its life cycle, including acquisition, operation, and disposal.
Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)
The data collection phase in LCA where inputs (materials, energy) and outputs (emissions, waste) are quantified for each process in the product life cycle.
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)
The phase of LCA where the potential environmental impacts of a product or process are evaluated based on inventory data.
Multi-functional Processes
Processes that provide multiple outputs, requiring allocation of impacts.
Net Zero
Achieving a balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and removed from the atmosphere.
Non-renewable Resources
Resources that cannot be replenished on a human timescale, like fossil fuels.
Offsetting
Compensating for greenhouse gas emissions by investing in equivalent reduction projects elsewhere.
Pathway
A sequence of processes or scenarios modeled in an LCA to represent a product’s life cycle.
Process-based LCA
A method using detailed data on processes to estimate environmental impacts.
Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)
A metric developed by the European Union to measure the environmental impacts of products throughout their life cycle, used to standardize LCA results and promote sustainability.
Product Flows
Product, material or energy flow occurring between unit processes of the product system being studied.
Product Life Cycle
The entire lifespan of a product from raw material extraction to disposal.
Qualitative Indicators
Non-numerical metrics used to evaluate environmental or social impacts.
Quality Assurance
Processes to ensure accuracy and reliability in LCA data and results.
Recycling
Converting waste into reusable material.
Renewable Energy
Energy from sources that replenish naturally, like solar and wind.
Renewable Resource
A resource that replenishes naturally within a short timespan.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
SAF is a low-emission alternative to traditional jet fuel, produced from renewable or waste-derived fuel to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation.
Sensitivity Analysis
Testing how changes in assumptions or data affect LCA results.
Social LCA (S-LCA)
Assessing the social and socio-economic impacts of a product or process.
Supply Chain
The sequence of processes involved in producing and delivering a product, from raw material extraction to distribution and disposal, often assessed in LCA for its environmental impacts.
Total Environmental Impact
The sum of all environmental impacts across the full life cycle.
Transport Emissions
Greenhouse gases or pollutants emitted during the transportation of goods or materials.
Uncertainty Analysis
Assessing the reliability of LCA results given unknowns or variability in data.
Unit Process
Smallest element considered in the life cycle inventory analysis for which input and output data are quantified.
Verification
The process of confirming that LCA results are accurate and comply with standards.
Waste Management
The collection, transportation, and disposal or recycling of waste materials.
Water Footprint
The total volume of freshwater used to produce goods and services.
X-factor
An unpredictable or unknown variable that can affect environmental outcomes, often considered in uncertainty or sensitivity analysis within LCA.
Yellow-Green Approach
A sustainability approach that focuses on integrating both environmental (green) and social (yellow) considerations into LCA, aimed at achieving balanced sustainability goals.
Zero Carbon Footprint
Achieving a balance of emitted and offset carbon emissions throughout a product’s life cycle.
Life Cycle Assessment glossary from A to Z
Got intrigued by these terms and want to keep navigating the complexities of life cycle assessments? Download the complete Life Cycle Assessment from A to Z: The ultimate LCA glossary resource and get a comprehensive guide to more than 100 terms within the Life Cycle Assessment landscape.
