Life-cycle assessment or analysis (LCA) is a formal process used to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with a company’s products, from production to use, and finally to disposal. This process can also be used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a process or activity.[i] Knowing the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle is important when trying to decide which products are the least harmful. Consumers are growing increasingly interested in accessing this sort of information about the products they buy, so that they can make informed choices when trying to become more sustainable.
Environmental impacts are estimated during the four major stages of an LCA study, which are raw material acquisition, manufacturing, use/reuse/maintenance of the product, and disposal.[ii] Throughout these stages, energy, water, and land use impacts are evaluated. Greenhouse gases and toxic byproducts are also estimated.[iii]
The EPA recently released the final report on their LCA of the materials used in the insulation and jacketing of wire and cable products. The project investigated baseline and alternative sheathing materials in three different types of wire and cable products:
- Category 6 riser-rated communication cable
- Category 6 plenum-rated communication cable
- Non-metallic sheathed low-voltage power cable as used in building wire
These products were featured because they represent a significant share of the wire and cable market and contain materials for which alternatives are being sought. The report and a factsheet on the project can be downloaded here <http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/index.htm#wirecable>
[i] http://www.life-cycle.org/ accessed June 26, 2009.
[ii] http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/lcaccess/lca101.html accessed June 26, 2009.
[iii] http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/lcaccess/lca101.html accessed June 26, 2009.