Environmental (and social) impacts can occur throughout a product’s life cycle: From raw material acquisition to production (cradle-to-gate) or from raw material acquisition to use and end-of-life (cradle-to-grave).
A product’s contribution to global warming (the so called carbon footprint) is only a part of an LCA. Besides the contribution to global warming, LCA also encompasses impacts such as depletion of the ozone layer, nutrient enrichment, acidification, smog, land use, depletion of resources and more.
Danisco uses LCA as a decision support tool that focuses on key life cycle stages while addressing the most important types of impacts.
