Which term is used for the assessment of a product's environmental impact across its entire life cycle from raw materials to disposal?

• A. Environmental Impact Assessment
• B. Product Life Cycle Review
• C. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
• D. Sustainability Scoring

Answer: (C)

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a systematic way to evaluate a product’s environmental footprint across its entire life, from raw material extraction through production, use, and disposal or recycling. It follows a structured process—defining goals and scope, compiling an inventory of inputs and outputs, assessing the potential environmental impacts in categories like climate change, resource use, and pollution, and interpreting results to identify improvement opportunities. This cradle-to-grave approach is what makes LCA the appropriate term for assessing environmental impact across a product’s life cycle. Standards such as ISO 14040/44 provide a consistent framework so findings are comparable. In practice, LCA helps designers choose materials and processes that minimize overall environmental burden, rather than focusing on a single stage or impact. Environmental Impact Assessment is typically project-focused, Product Life Cycle Review isn’t a standard formal method, and Sustainability Scoring is a broader, less formal rating approach.