How to Apply Life Cycle Thinking in Environmental Management

In this post we are going to cover how lifecycle thinking can be applied in environmental management. This is an important topic that will help significantly reduce environmental impact more than just by assessing impacts that occur directly from an organisation.

Did you know that Global waste is predicted to grow 73% by 2050 to 3.9 billion tonnes, life cycle thinking (LCT) is an approach that will assist in cutting waste, energy and other impacts, targeting interventions in these areas to where they are really needed.

What is Life Cycle Thinking

The term lifecycle is defined in the ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System standard as being:

‘consecutive and interlinked stages of a product (or service) system, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal. NOTE: The life cycle stages include acquisition of raw materials, design, production, transportation/ delivery, use, end-of-life treatment and final disposal’

By adding the word ‘thinking’ to this definition, LCT is basically an approach by organisations to understand their environmental impacts from cradle to grave. 

An organisation manufactures a product and often understands the impacts on the environment from this process. LCT takes this further and considers other environmental impacts associated with the product such as those in the supply chain and those associated with the use and disposal of the product. 

It is important to understand the full life cycle of a product, service or process as this gives a more accurate picture of its significant environmental impacts. For example, the environmental impacts of manufacturing clothing are often minimal in comparison to those associated with the growing of the raw materials to make the clothes, such as cotton, in addition to those associated with  washing them on a regular basis. Social and economic impacts can also be covered along the lifecycle to gain an insight into where the key sustainability risks occur.

Learning about LCT is a key skill  for environmental management professionals to acquire both now and in the future  as it is a requirement of the environmental management system standard ISO 14001:2015 and as such is covered in training courses that cover this requirement.

LCT involves understanding two types of environmental impacts, those that are ‘direct’ and those that are ‘indirect’. Direct impacts occur from the organisation itself such as emissions and wastes from the production process causing  pollution. Indirect impacts are those that do not occur from the organisation itself rather from an activity that is related to it in some way. These could include greenhouse gas emissions from activities such as the transport of raw materials, the use of the product and its final disposal. 

The Five Stages of Life Cycle Thinking

LCT is an approach that considers the impacts for a product from the material extraction phase (for example mining or agriculture) all the way to its final disposal. This is often known as ‘cradle to grave’. Common stages covered in LCT with examples include:

• Material extraction  – the growing of cotton for clothing or the mining of metal.
• Production/service – the making of a product in a production facility or the carrying out of a service 
• Distribution/sale – the operation of warehouses to store a product or shops to sell a product
• Product/service use – the use of a product so for example the washing of clothes or the heating of food.
• End of life/disposal – the impacts associated with the recycling, recovery or disposal of a product.

The term ‘upstream’ is often used for those parts of the life cycle that are above the production phase such as material extraction. Conversely, the term ‘downstream’ is used to categorise those parts of the lifecycle that lie below the production phase such as the product distribution, use and final disposal. 

The Linear and Circular Economies

A linear economy is one where raw materials are extracted, made into a product, used and at the end of its life it is disposed of, usually by landfill or incineration (without energy recovery).  This differs from the concept of a circular economy, where at each stage of the lifecycle the impacts are minimised and when the product comes to the end of its life then as much material as possible is recovered which can then be used to make a new product. 

It is similar to the way that nature operates – imagine tree leaves falling to the land in autumn, these decompose and fertilise the soil. Nothing is wasted! A circular economy requires a good knowledge of a product’s lifecycle and is an applied version of LCT.

Benefits of Life Cycle Thinking for Your Organisation

LCT allows for the analysis of the whole lifecycle to determine which parts have the most significant impact, these are often known as ‘hotspots’. This is a much better approach than covering just one phase of the lifecycle, traditionally the production phase, as the most significant impacts can often occur elsewhere. Interventions can then be developed that are targeted to these areas of impact rather than covering impacts that are not significant. Environmental risk will be much better controlled.

As developing a lifecycle model involves analysis of supply chains, it can highlight any areas of inefficiency in the supply chain in areas such as resource use and waste production. These can then be rectified and reduce financial costs substantially.

LCT can be highlighted in marketing materials, providing an increase in reputation and corporate image of the organisation and strengthening its reputation with key stakeholders such as customers, regulators and the local community. Helping to add to the value of the organisation.  

How to Apply Life Cycle Thinking in Your Organisation

A good first place to start to implement the principles of LCT in an organisation is to consider the lifecycle stages and understand the ones that have the most environmental impact. Take a look at this example for buildings to see in more detail a case study of potential impacts across the lifecycle. 

Once the key lifecycle impacts are understood  then consider the life cycle stages where significant impacts occur that can be controlled or influenced by the organisation and develop interventions to deal with them. Examples include:

• Purchasing – setting up processes to evaluate suppliers to determine the impacts of their products.
• Production – is it possible to be more resource efficient in production, common interventions might include minimising waste, reducing energy consumption and reducing pollution.
• Transportation/delivery – assessing contractors and having sustainability at the forefront of selection criteria. 
• Use – the product’s impact could be reduced at the use phase by design such as making it more durable or more energy efficient.
• End of life/disposal – again good design can play a key part in reducing impacts through mitigations such as packaging minimisation or supplying products that can be more easily reused or recycled. 

A more thorough approach is that of commissioning a life cycle assessment which involves a full quantified assessment of the impacts, this will give a more accurate picture of the key lifecycle impacts that require control. See below for more on LCAs.

To be successful LCT needs to be implemented as an overarching strategy that includes an assessment of all products to determine their key lifecycle impacts and implementing measures to control them. This will require significant organisational commitment, but the benefits will be substantial. 

Life Cycle Thinking vs Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a tool that provides a mechanism to identify and measure the environmental impact of a product or service through its life cycle – from cradle to grave. Such information can then be used to determine what needs to be done to reduce impacts at areas of high impact within the lifecycle. ISO 14040:2006 is an international standard the provides a systematic framework for the completion of LCAs. It involves the following stages:

• Definition of goal and scope – the purpose and coverage of the LCA such as the stages of life cycle covered and the inputs and outputs that will be assessed.
• Inventory analysis – data collection stage where the inputs and outputs into each part of the lifecycle are identified and quantified.
• Impact assessment – assessment of the environmental impacts of the inputs and outputs.
• Interpretation of results – the data collected from the previous stages are brought together such that conclusions and recommendations can be developed. 

Life cycle thinking is a concept that can be applied to environmental management generally. It dictates that the lifecycle should be considered when making decisions about environmental management. It is really a change in mindset or approach. LCA is a recognised quantitative technique to assess the environmental impacts of a product, service or organisation across the life cycle. It is a tool used to determine environmental impact.

LCAs can be used for many different scenarios such as to provide marketing material,  save costs by informing better design and to allow the environmental impacts of different products within a group to be compared. Full LCAs are usually undertaken by specialist consultants.

By completing an LCA it will assist in embedding LCT in an organisation, as it provides useful information. But, much more is needed for LCT to become a guiding organisational principle such as appropriate governance structures, competency and high level commitment.

Conclusion

Life cycle thinking is an approach that considers environmental impacts from cradle to grave. This gives a more accurate picture of the environmental impacts of a product, service or organisation than considering the production phase. LCT is a key skill for environmental professionals to acquire both now and in the future. LCT has numerous benefits for organisations such as improving supply chain efficiencies, reducing environmental impact and making cost savings. Life cycle analysis is a tool that is used to assess the impacts of a product, service or organisation from cradle to grave.

LCT is an important part of designing and managing an ISO 14001 EMS. RRC’s ISO 14001 courses can help to support development in putting life cycle thinking into practice. The topic is also covered in many other Environmental Management courses.

John Binns BSc (Hons), MSc, MISEP (formerly IEMA)