Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
LCA is the systematic analysis of the environmental impact of fuels, products, structures and activities over their entire life cycle. A life cycle is comprised of production/construction, use/ operational, removal and disposal phases. Environmental impacts are evaluated comprehensively including the evaluation of upstream and downstream processes associated with the production (e.g. production of raw, auxiliary and operating materials) and with the disposal (e.g. waste treatment). Environmental impacts refer to all relevant extractions / removals from the environment (e.g. ores and crude oil), as well as discharges and emissions into the same (e.g. wastes and carbon dioxide) during the entire life cycle.