This brief highlights how Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) can support global policy frameworks in addressing climate change, nature loss, and pollution. It also provides guidance on how to use LCAs reliably to make effective and informed decisions.
LCAs help policymakers to identify environmental 'hotspots', compare solutions fairly and avoid burden-shifting across a value chain. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) defines a life cycle as 'consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal' (ISO, 2006).
An LCA is defined as “the compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle” (ISO, 2006). By applying LCAs in the early stages of policymaking, governments can ensure interventions are focused where they matter most and are consistent across sectors.
