Life cycle assessment and sustainability: supporting decision making by business and policy

Enhancing the comprehensiveness of sustainability assessment requires the adoption of methodologies for integrated assessments. Nowadays, decision makers in business and policy are increasingly confronted with multifaceted challenges in their search of sustainable solutions. A close link between science and decision making especially on strategic level has been considered a key step for developing robust and effective decisions that can contribute to a more sustainable society. In this context, life cycle assessment (LCA)—due to its systemic approach—is considered crucial to provide support in better integrating environmental sustainability into decision making. Evidence thereof is given in numerous cases developed by organisations at different level and illustrated in the present contribution, with a focus on the European context. Two policy related initiatives are discussed in more detail: the EU Ecodesign Directive, aiming at setting ecodesign requirements for energy related products; and the EU Communication on Building a Single Market for Green Products and the related Recommendation on the use of common methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of products and organisations.

SALA Serenella;  MATHIEUX Fabrice;  PANT Rana; 

2016-01-18

John Wiley & sons, Ltd

JRC92688

9781118933947,   

http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-111893394X.html,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC92688,