Why every product and business leader should understand LCA
Product management is evolving and so is business. A practical guide to life cycle assessment for leaders who will never run one themselves.
By Writam Bugga · · 2 min read
Product management is evolving. Business is evolving. Life cycle thinking is becoming part of how products are designed, priced, sold and regulated. You do not need to run an LCA to lead well, but you do need to read one.
LCA in four stages
ISO 14040 describes four phases:
- Goal and scope: why the study exists, the functional unit and the system boundary.
- Inventory analysis (LCI): the inputs and outputs at each stage, from materials to energy to waste.
- Impact assessment (LCIA): converting the inventory into impacts such as global warming potential, water use and acidification.
- Interpretation: what the results mean, how reliable they are and what to do next.
The boundaries leaders should recognize
- Cradle to gate: raw materials to the factory door. Common for EPDs.
- Cradle to grave: including use and end of life.
- Cradle to cradle: designing so that end of life feeds a new cycle.
Why it is a business tool
- Hotspots: an LCA shows where impact concentrates, which is often not where the team assumed.
- Market access: in construction and the EU, EPDs increasingly decide whether a product is considered at all.
- Regulation: CSRD, CBAM and green public procurement all lean on product-level data.
- Product claims: credible numbers protect against greenwashing risk.
Tools to know
openLCA is free and open source, SimaPro is a widely used commercial tool, ecoinvent provides inventory data and Climatiq offers emission factors through an API. For digital products, the Green Software Foundation is the place to start.
If this feels like a lot, start with the surprising simplicity of a first LCA.
First shared on LinkedIn. Read the original article on LinkedIn
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