Life cycle assessment.

The article discusses the environmental impact of life cycle assessment (LCA). Some proponents of life cycle assessment advocate its use as a tool of environmental policy akin to cost-benefit analysis or risk assessment. Life cycle analysis was devised for companies to determine the environmental impact of their products and manufacturing processes. There are four steps of life cycle assessment. The initial step consists of laying out the scope and defining the goals of the study. The next phase is to produce the inventory. The third stage, impact assessment, attempts to translate the inventory data into effects on human health, ecological health, and resource depletion. And the final step is improvement analysis, in which recommendations are made based on the results of the inventory and impact stages.