LCA developments for promoting sustainability

Weidema B P (2000)

Publication info

Invited keynote lecture for 2nd National Conference on LCA, Melbourne, 2000.02.23-24

Introduction

Promoting sustainability means changing the future.

Recent developments in the methodology of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) have been connected to the understanding of LCA as a tool for decision making ñ as a prospective assessment of the consequences of a choice between several substitutable product alternatives.
This implies that LCA must address the decision-making context in terms of:

• the stakeholders involved,
• issues that are important for sustainable development,
• the relevant product system (with regard to time horizon, scale, affected markets),
• secondary effects on other product systems.

This paper is devoted to discussing these demands in more detail, as compared to traditional practice.

Download PDF