Discusses the stages in a product life-cycle, including raw materials acquisition, materials manufacture, product fabrication, and consumer use and disposal. The book also describes the components of a product life-cycle assessment: inventory analysis; impact analysis; and improvement analysis.

This book describes the importance of the goal and scope phase for the entire LCA study. Although not specified in the ISO standards, Attributional LCA and Consequential LCA are presented in order to appropriately determine the goal and scope of an assessment.

This student version of the popular bestseller, Life Cycle Assessment Handbook, is not a watered-down version of the original, but retains all of the important information and valuable lessons provided in the first book, along with helpful problems and solutions for the student learning about Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

As the last several decades have seen a dramatic rise in the application of LCA in decision making, the interest in the life cycle concept as an environmental management and sustainability tool continues to grow. The LCA Student Handbook offers a look...