Competence Area

Envisioning Sustainable Futures
Life Cycle Analysis

Key messages

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a method to assess the environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire lifespan. The five stages of a product's life cycle include: Raw Material Extraction, Manufacturing, Transportation, Use, and End of Life. Each stage of a product's life cycle consumes resources and generates environmental impact (e.g., energy use in manufacturing, carbon footprint from transportation, waste in landfills). Consumers have choices at the "End of Life" stage, such as recycling or proper disposal, which significantly impacts the product's environmental footprint. Understanding LCA helps consumers make more informed and sustainable choices about the products they buy and how they dispose of them.

Learning Objectives

Define Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and its purpose in evaluating environmental impacts. Identify and describe the five main stages of a product's life cycle. Understand the environmental impacts associated with each stage of a product's life cycle, such as resource depletion, energy consumption, and pollution. Recognize the role of consumer choices in influencing a product's overall environmental footprint, especially at the "End of Life" stage. Instructions to introduce the topic and deliver the video/presentation/micro resource:

Follow-up activity

No

Instructions to introduce the topic and deliver the video/presentation/micro resource

Introduce the concept of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) as a tool to understand the full environmental journey of a product. Explain that this video will take them through the typical stages of a product's life and its environmental consequences. After the video, open the floor for questions and reflections. Ask: "Which stage surprised you the most in terms of environmental impact?" or "How does understanding a product's life cycle change how you might shop or dispose of items?"

Suggestions for discussions and activities after viewing the material

Discuss related and personal practices in small groups

Download

micro learning resources materials