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The activities of the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative have been crucial for the dissemination of LCA worldwide and the creation of a global life cycle community, since 2002, after the ISO 14040 series had been established. The Life Cycle Initiative not only contributed to capability development and the set up of national and regional life cycle networks in different parts of the world but also to enhancing and building global consensus on life cycle methodologies in areas such as life cycle inventory (LCI), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), social life cycle assessment as well as carbon and water footprinting. Moreover, the Life Cycle Initiative has successfully promoted the way leading companies are doing life cycle management (LCM) and the integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development in life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). The chapter opens with an introduction on how the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative came to life and developed over the years. Then the special relationship of the Life Cycle Initiative to The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment is highlighted. This section is followed by a description of the main contributions of the Life Cycle Initiative to the international community. In the subsequent section the key messages based on the work conducted during the last 10 years are described. The chapter finishes with some thoughts on the future of life cycle thinking and an introduction to the Phase 3 of the Life Cycle Initiative. The chapter includes the list of key achievements of the Life Cycle Initiative's Phase 1 and 2 activities that are the creation of a global life cycle community, the LCI Registry, the LCIA Midpoint-damage Framework, the USEtox model, the LCM guide and capability maturity framework, the social LCA guidelines, the LCSA framework and the global guidance principles for LCA databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]