Environmental Life Cycle Assessment

IP

Editorial Environmental Life Cycle Assessment and its Applications Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an emerging environmental tool that is increasingly being used by governments, industry, and consumer groups. LCAs help us understand what the true environmental impacts are of products during their whole life, from cradle to grave. Once the impacts are understood, not only can changes be made in products to improve their environmental performance, but policies concerning products can also be changed or implemented. During the last few years, professional organizations, such as the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and SETAC-Europe have devoted considerable effort towards improving the accuracy and usability of LCAs. Because of this continuing work, the LCAs of tomorrow will certainly surpass those of today. However, given the cost of conducting LCAs and the multitude of products either available now or entering the marketplace, it is not reasonable to assume that a majority of products will ever be fully analysed. It is critical, then, that strategic decisions be made by governments, companies and non-governmental organizations as to when and where it is appropriate to apply this tool. Also, perhaps more importantly, they must learn how to use the information it provides. In June 1993 the Centre of Environmental Science (CML) at Leiden University organized, in the framework of the Cleaner Production Programme of UNEP's Industry and Environment Programme Activity Centre (IE/PAC), an expert seminar on Environmental Life Cycle Assessment and its Applications. This seminar, held in Amsterdam, was part of the process towards understanding how LCAs can help decision-makers orient production and consumption towards environmentally better products. A selection of the contributions to the seminar are presented in this issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production. It is clear that, so far, developing countries and countries in transition have not been part of the process of designing the LCA tool. Yet, trade among all countries will be affected by LCA-based product decisions. Today, some are concerned about potential effects of ecolabelling on trade--one use of LCAs. However, there are also good arguments for the use of LCAs to help countries stay competitive, as concern grows over the environmental impact of products. By ensuring the participation of developing countries, the Amsterdam seminar was a step towards worldwide integration of this tool. UNEP IE/ PAC and CML will be furthering this process by producing, with support from the Dutch government, a document on LCA. This new document and these proceedings will be distributed widely throughout the world through the activities of UNEP's Cleaner Production Programme.

Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel Director, UNEP IE/PAC

0959-6526/93/3-4/0130-01 © 1993 Butterworth-Heinemann Lid

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J. Cleaner Prod. 1993 Volume 1 N u m b e r 3-4