Life Cycle Assessment - A study of the construction industry Part 2/3

A life cycle assessment (LCA), also known as: life cycle analysis is an input-output analysis of inputs like materials, energy and outputs like emissions, waste etc. The goal of LCA is to assess the environmental impacts associated with the product / process and to compare with the alternates available and choose that alternate which is least burdensome one.

The term ÔÇÿlife cycleÔÇÖ refers to the notion that a fair, holistic assessment requires the assessment of raw material production, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal including all intervening transportation steps necessary or caused by the product's existence. The sum of all these steps - or phases - is the life cycle of the product.

Read the rest of the article in the India Cement & Construction Materials Journal, Issue 17.