Life Cycle Assessment
A quantifiable broadbased approach to evaluating environmental performance
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in an internationally recognised approach to evaluating the potential enviromental impacts of products and services. LCA looks at environmental impacts from raw materials extraction and processing through to end-of-life.
LCA underpins most of the Centre for Design's work, either directly by providing information and data, or indirectly through the application of life cycle thinking as a fundamental approach when considering sustainability and its relationship to production and consumption.
The centre has undertaken LCA research in areas such as;
- Packaging
- Building components and building products
- Liquid fuels and electricity
- Waste management
- Metal production and manufacture
- Furniture
- Recycled products
- Transport
- Plastics and plastic products
- Office equipment and office consumables
An LCA can be done at a many levels - from small LCA projects done in less than 1 day to provided internal advice on a design project; through to detailed public studies that may take up to 12 months to complete.
The Centre for Design has experience in the development of LCA tools, data acquisition and verification, methodological refinement and associated software manipulation for both manufactured goods and buildings. The LCA capability at the Centre is a valuable resource for governments and business.
The Centre is the Australasian agent for SimaPro software - the most widely used LCA software in the world. Promoting greater awareness and understanding of LCA and its application is a major priority of the Centre's LCA program, especially through the regular delivery of short courses that take place across Oceania and Asia.
For more information on the Life Cycle Assessment Program, contact:
Dr Karli Verghese, ph +61 3 9925 2237, email Karli.Verghese@rmit.edu.au