Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Emission Estimation

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in emission estimation is a systematic approach used to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life, from raw material extraction through production, use, and disposal. In emission estimation, LCA helps quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollutant emissions across the entire supply chain, rather than focusing solely on direct emissions from a single process or product phase. This comprehensive perspective enables more accurate identification of emission hotspots and potential trade-offs, supporting informed decision-making for reducing overall environmental impact. LCA integrates data on energy consumption, material inputs, and waste outputs to model emissions associated with each life cycle stage. By doing so, it facilitates comparison of different products or processes on an equivalent basis and supports policy development, product design, and corporate sustainability strategies. In regulatory contexts, LCA-based emission estimation helps ensure that mitigation efforts address upstream and downstream emissions, promoting more effective climate action and resource management. Overall, LCA is essential in emission estimation for providing a holistic, transparent, and science-based framework to assess and reduce environmental burdens throughout a product’s life cycle.