Are you curious about the insights you can expect when you conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of your product? Short answer; an LCA provides you with insight into your exact environmental impact. Additionally, an LCA assesses the environmental impact throughout the entire lifecycle of the product; from raw material extraction, production, use, to final waste processing. Thus, an LCA helps in identifying improvement opportunities and optimising environmental performance on multiple fronts.
Below, we list the different types of insights an LCA provides
More interested in the experience of another company?
Read this client-case, where we show what an LCA study meant to Coöperatie DELA.
Insights across all life stages
An LCA offers detailed insights into every stage of your product’s lifecycle. By examining each aspect—from the extraction of raw materials and energy consumption during production to the impacts of usage and final waste processing—an LCA enables you to get a holistic view of the environmental impact of your products.
These stage-specific insights are crucial for developing strategies to reduce the environmental footprint throughout the lifespan of your product.
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Insights into 16 impact categories
An LCA evaluates environmental impact across 16 different impact categories, including contributions to climate change (greenhouse gas emissions), eutrophication, acidification, and ozone depletion. This comprehensive insight allows you to understand the specific contributions of your product to issues like climate change or water pollution. By analysing the impact in these categories, you can take targeted actions to minimize your impact in the most relevant areas.
Read more about the impact categories in our article: There's More Than Carbon: Impact Categories Overview
Insights into environmental hotspots
An LCA reveals the so-called 'environmental hotspots'—the stages or processes that disproportionately contribute to the total environmental impact of your product. Identifying these hotspots is essential, as it allows you to implement targeted improvements in areas like design.
By knowing your environmental hotspots, you can thus implement improvement initiatives where they are most effective. Whether it's energy-intensive production steps, materials that cause significant environmental impact, or inefficiencies in the usage phase, understanding hotspots helps you to invest strategically in sustainable development.
Further benefits of an LCA
A well-executed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is more than just an analysis; it’s a roadmap to more sustainable business operations and a deeper understanding of the true costs—and opportunities—of environmental impact. You’ll gain a whole new perspective on your product and its environmental footprint.
The insights provided by an LCA not only help reduce environmental impact but also support compliance with regulations, improve brand image, and strengthen market position through sustainability initiatives.
With growing global attention to environmental legislation and sustainability reporting—such as the EU Green Deal and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)—an LCA helps companies not only meet legal requirements but also manage risks.
The results of an LCA can also be used to transparently communicate your sustainability performance to customers, investors, and other stakeholders. This enhances your brand image and builds trust among consumers, who increasingly value sustainability. Transparency in environmental impact can even stimulate market demand and lead to greater customer loyalty.
Want to learn more?
Explore how LCAs can benefit your business in the articles below, such as the value of an LCA for CSRD compliance or the importance of reliable sustainability communication and the role of LCAs in achieving it.
Curious about how an LCA could look for your product? Schedule a free consult with one of our experts.
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