One of the tools that has been successfully used by many leading manufacturers to become effective product stewards is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This comprehensive, standardized analytical methodology can help a company develop an environmental ‘balance sheet’ for the environmental impacts of its products throughout the value chain. LCA is not just a data collection process. Rather, if fully integrated into a company’s environmental and product management system, LCA can be used to:
1. Help to secure market and competitive positions: a number of leading companies are using LCA effectively to position their products in a number of markets.
2. Answer customer’s requests for environmental and social information: Product stewardship is becoming a key issue in many countries, which is driving many purchasers to demand more information about how its suppliers manage their products.
3. Enhance a company’s public image: Effective environmental, health and safety programs are linked to good management.
4. Participating in green purchasing policies: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing schemes in the U.S. and elsewhere require that suppliers provide quantitative information on a company’s environmental profile.
5. Define R&D strategies and EMS Systems: The holistic focus can help refine a company’s environmental management system or even identify potential research targets.
6. Identify cost savings: In a number of instances, the big picture provided by life cycle management has helped firms identify a number of significant cost savings.
