Lifecycle Thinking - Lifecycle Mapping and Assessments Flashcards
What is Lifecycle Thinking?
Lifecycle thinking is a holistic approach to understanding the environmental and social impacts associated with a product, process, or service throughout its entire lifespan. This includes everything from the extraction of raw materials to the production, use, and end-of-life management.
Lifecycle thinking is rooted in
In systems thinking, which means acknowledging that our choices and actions have impacts beyond the immediate context. It requires considering the interconnectedness of various systems (social, environmental, economic) and how changes in one system can affect others.
Businesses can benefit from implementing lifecycle thinking in various ways such as:
Improved environmental and socio-economic performance
Informed Decision-Making
Risk and opportunity identification
Product Development and Innovation
Lifecycle Mapping
A qualitative approach that visually represents the key stages of a product, process, or service’s life cycle. This involves identifying the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental and social impacts at each stage.
Lifecycle Assessment (LCA):
A quantitative and standardised methodology that measures the environmental and social impacts of a product or service across its entire life cycle.
LCAs are used to generate data for comparing the environmental performance of different products, informing eco-design choices, and supporting claims of environmental preferability.
Steps for Conducting a Lifecycle Assessment
Determine the functional unit and system boundaries
Map the key stages of the lifecycle
Map the key environmental impacts
Map the key social impacts
Identify potential system interventions
Develop an action plan
Create a summary report
Lifecycle mapping step 1: Determine the functional unit and system boundaries
Define the specific product, service, or process to be analysed (functional unit), its intended function, and the geographical and temporal scope of the assessment.
Lifecycle mapping step 2: To map the key stages of the lifecycle
Identify the main stages, from raw material extraction to end-of-life management, and visually represent these stages in a diagram or flowchart.
Lifecycle mapping step 3: Map the key environmental impacts
For each stage, research and document the potential environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water use, pollution, and resource depletion.
(Considering the planetary boundaries can guide this)
Lifecycle mapping step 4: Map the key social impacts:
Repeat step three, focusing on social impacts, such as working conditions, human rights, community health and wellbeing, and social equity.
Lifecycle mapping step 5: Identify potential system interventions
Brainstorm strategies and actions that can be taken to mitigate the identified environmental and social impacts.
Lifecycle mapping Step 6: Develop an action plan
Prioritise the identified interventions based on feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with business objectives. Develop a plan outlining the steps, timelines, and resources required for implementation.
Life cycle mapping allows business customers, governments and other stake holders to make more informed decisions on
Purchases, designs, and regulations
Key stages of your product’s
lifecycle, including:
- generating your raw materials
- processing raw materials into components
- assembling and packaging your product
- distributing and selling it
- customer use and/or consumption
- recovering and/or recycling of materials or the
disposal of your product - Transportation (at all stages transportation will occur
Life Cycle Mapping Step 7: Create a Summary Report
Compile the findings of the assessment, including the lifecycle map, identified impacts, proposed interventions, and the action plan. This report communicates the key insights and recommendations to stakeholders.
