by Shane Henson — June 8, 2012—A new report from Deloitte, global providers of audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management and tax services, can inform business owners and facilities managers on how conducting life cycle assessments (LCA) can help them analyze a number of sustainability metrics to better inform business decisions and activities. LCA is designed to measure and quantify the end-to-end environmental and economic impacts of a product, process or service in alignment with specific sustainability goals.
The report, Enhancing the Value of Life Cycle Assessment, outlines how LCA can be used to rigorously examine environmental impact across the entire product life cycle from development, sourcing and manufacturing through distribution, marketing, use and disposal.
The report provides examples of how customized LCA studies can support significant sustainability objectives, including the ability to:
- Identify cost savings: Provides a data-driven approach to identifying potential operational efficiencies through reducing energy use, material consumption, water consumption, waste generation and emissions;
- Enhance brand value for competitive differentiation: Compares the environmental impact of an organization’s product to alternatives to determine which benefits are distinguishable;
- Improve design decisions: Evaluates resource and materials use to inform product and process design decisions that increase environmental efficiencies;
- Make better procurement decisions: Engages multiple stakeholders and suppliers to allow organizations to make procurement decisions that significantly boost their sustainability efforts;
- Meet communications needs: Provides a platform for authentically communicating positive environmental attributes about products to buyers and consumers;
- Achieve compliance: Addresses regulatory mandates at local, national and international levels; and
- Create better policies: Evaluates internal and external policies of the organization to determine realistic objectives.
- Enhance brand value for competitive differentiation: Compares the environmental impact of an organization’s product to alternatives to determine which benefits are distinguishable;
