Prospects for life cycle assessment development and practice in the quest for sustainable consumption

摘要: Life cycle assessment (LCA) as a technique has been developed rapidly over the last four decades from its origins in energy accounting to international standards, global software tools and standard inventory protocols. Previous chapters have described salient aspects of this development, and charted applications in different case studies. Awareness of LCA is rising. While some users have found problems in application, such as time, resource and data difficulties, the experience and outcome is often revealing. Inevitably, LCA development to 2020 will involve refining existing approaches and devising new applications. The need for LCA will be shaped by different events and different stakeholders, and its use and spread will be shaped by the resulting demands. In this regard, a technique is similar to a technology–it is only useful in so far as it is applied to a relevant problem, and its use is a function of the ingenuity and appropriateness with which it is applied. Contemplating the next decade of LCA involves considering the dynamic processes in the human and natural environments that may drive the need for assessment of environmental burdens. In other words, what is the bigger picture within which LCA may take place and is LCA effective? This is discussed in Section 12.1. The next question is, given the ways in which LCA is used, how is this use likely to develop? This is addressed in Section 12.2 in the context of uptake across three sections of the economy: design and manufacturing, business management and policy making. In Section 12.3, the question posed is: What are the likely future limits of LCA? Trends are outlined and eight key …