The EGD Guide to Product Life Cycle Assessments
- duncan4171
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
What's a life cycle assessment? And why are they important?
A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a rigorous process that evaluates the environmental impact of a product across its entire lifecycle, from raw material extraction to disposal.
In this guide, we'll use the example of a recycled steel insulated tumbler that we at Event Goods Delivered crafted for the ParalympicsGB team during the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
The LCA provides a detailed carbon footprint analysis across all stages of a product's creation, use, and disposal.
We work with our partner Greenly to generate these LCAs for our clients. We draw heavily on their expertise and models to create accurate data for each item.
An LCA methodology is essential because it enables precise measurement of emissions beyond just the manufacture of the item. In some cases, the manufacturing of the item can be less than 10% of an item's overall emissions profile.
An LCA allows for fully informed decision-making and therefore truly sustainable choices. After all, only what is measured is managed, and managing the environmental impact of our activities is increasingly a vital part of good business practice, as well as vital to the health of our ecosystems and planet.
Understanding the LCA
A life cycle assessment breaks down a product’s environmental impact into distinct stages, each represented by a label.
Generally, these stages include raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-of-life treatment, providing a holistic view of emissions. Sometimes you may see emissions associated with design and ideation - although that wasn't the case for this tumbler.
Here's a quick overview of what's involved with each category of emissions.
Raw material extraction and processing
This stage captures the environmental cost of gathering and preparing the materials needed for a product. For the tumbler, this refers to the impact of sourcing and processing recycled stainless steel, the primary material, reflecting the energy and resources involved.
Manufacturing
This covers emissions from the production process, including factory operations and energy use. It encompasses the transformation of raw materials into the final item, often relying on heavy machinery and power sources that contribute to the carbon footprint. The local energy infrastructure therefore has a large impact on the emissions for the manufacturing stage.
Transportation and distribution
This accounts for emissions from moving the product from the factory to its end user. For the tumbler, this includes the shipping journey from Guangzhou to its destination, a notable but secondary contributor.
Use phase
This measures the impact of using the product, such as energy for maintenance or its operation. In the case of this tumbler, the emissions profile reflects the emissions from washing the tumbler during its lifetime, based on typical usage patterns (provided by Greenly).
End-of-life treatment
This assesses the environmental impact of disposing of or recycling the product. For the tumbler, this covers the minimal impact of recycling its steel, highlighting an efficient end-of-life process.
How the emissions are calculated
We work closely with Greenly to find ways to effectively measure the emissions. While each stage requires input either from us or the manufacturer, the emissions calculations from that data are then handled by Greenly.
Taking the example of the manufacturing stage, we provided a form that allowed the supplier to effectively measure the electricity usage needed for each tumbler's production. Greenly then used this data and calculated the emissions profile of each tumbler based on the electricity mix used by the factory.
EGD LCAs
We're glad to be able to offer LCAs for the products that we source for our clients. This is an additional service that allows our clients to effectively measure the impact of their merchandise provision at major sporting events.
