Is it a good evaluation tool or process in identifying “green packaging”?
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be an incredibly effective tool that identifies the environmental impact (in millipoints, carbon equivalent, or even landtake) at each stage of the product’s life. There are a number of commercially available software packages that allow you to undertake this kind of analysis yourself, or you can use a specialist consultancy. However, there are a number of points that you need to consider. The first relates to the level of detail that you need. A full LCA would provide very detailed data that may not be required during the design process. A simple cut-down analysis taking a quarter of the time and cost may well give you the level of detail that you need. Second, there are a number of assumptions built into every LCA tool and it is essential that you understand the assumptions made and their implications. It sounds as if a cut-down assessment would be enough to give you a strong steer on packaging design. It is also worth looking at the Envirowise Pack-In
