What is the primary use of Life Cycle Assessment in product sustainability?

• A. To quantify environmental impacts throughout the product life cycle, including embodied energy and carbon.
• B. To measure financial profitability.
• C. To rank suppliers by price.
• D. To assess marketing impact.

Answer: (A)

Life Cycle Assessment focuses on environmental performance across the entire life cycle of a product, from raw materials through manufacture, distribution, use, and end-of-life, including embodied energy and carbon. By gathering inputs and outputs at each stage and translating them into common impact measures, LCA lets you compare design options, identify where the most emissions or resource use occur, and drive changes that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The other options describe financial profitability, supplier pricing, or marketing effects, which lie outside the environmental lifecycle perspective LCA provides. So the primary use is to quantify environmental impacts throughout the product life cycle to inform sustainable design and decision-making.