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158 • Green Project Management

• interpreting the results of the inventory analysis and impact assess-
ment phases in relation to the objectives of the study.

LCA studies the environmental aspects and potential impacts throughout
the product’s life (i.e. cradle to grave) from raw materials acquisition through
production, use, and disposal. The general categories of environmental
impacts needing consideration include resource use, human health, and
ecological consequences.

ISO 14040
The LCA is itself a project, and should be managed as such. The stages of
an LCA project are as follows:

1. Goal Definition and Scoping: Define and describe the product, pro-
cess or activity. Establish the context in which the assessment is to
be made and identify the boundaries and environmental effects to be
reviewed for the assessment.
2. Inventory Analysis: Identify and quantify energy, water, and materi-
als usage and environmental releases (e.g., air emissions, solid-waste
disposal, wastewater discharges).
3. Impact Assessment: Assess the potential human and ecological effects
of energy, water, and material usage and the environmental releases
identified in the inventory analysis.
4. Interpretation: Evaluate the results of the inventory analysis and
impact assessment to select the preferred product, process, or service
with a clear understanding of the uncertainty and the assumptions
used to generate the results.

Let’s go over each of these in some detail. A great source for a full treat-
ment of this subject, and on which much of this text is based, is the EPA’s
LCAccess Web site (http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/lcaccess/).

goal definition and scoping
The objectives of an LCA are to examine systemwide effects on a cra-
dle-to-grave basis, in order to assess all potential impacts to all media.
Only through the consideration of the entire suite of issues can potential
trade-offs be identified when systems are changed or a selection is made
between choices.