ISO 14001:2015LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS• The revised environmental management standard requires businesses to

undertake a life cycle perspective of their goods and services. • This involves looking beyond the business processes and considering the

entire life cycle of the product or service.• Enables the processes with the dominant environmental impacts to be

revealed.• Need not necessarily be one’s own production process. Depending on the

type of product and use, the raw materials, transportation, use phase or disposal may be the main drivers of environmental impacts.

WHAT IS A LIFE CYCLE?

The definition of life cycle is ‘Consecutive and interlinked stages of a product (or service) system, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal.

Life cycle stages include acquisition of raw materials, design, production, transportation/delivery, use, end-of life treatment and final disposal.’

WHY INCLUDE LIFE CYCLE PERSPECTIVE?

• According to ISO 14001 - A systematic approach to environmental management can provide top management with information to build success over the long term and create options for contributing to sustainable development by controlling or influencing the way the organization's products and services are designed, manufactured, distributed, consumed and disposed by using a life cycle perspective that can prevent environmental impacts from being unintentionally shifted elsewhere within the life cycle.

LIFE CYCLE APPROACH

• ISO 14001:2004 identified environmental Aspects that relate to products and services, with most organisation concentrating on onsite activities only.

• This misses the environmental and business opportunity of addressing the often more significant environmental impacts occurring in the supply chain, in use phase or during disposal. The 2015 standard adds emphasis on lifecycle thinking.

• • Environmental aspects should be considered at each stage of the lifecycle (design, procurement, use, transport, end of life etc.) and not just those relating to onsite activities

LIFE CYCLE APPROACH

• Consideration of environmental requirements at the design stage and during procurement

• Information should be provided about potential significant environmental impacts during the delivery of the products or services, during use and at the end-of-life treatment of the product

PRACTICAL HELP – LIFE CYCLE PERSPECTIVE

When applying a life cycle perspective to its products and services, the organisation should consider the following:

the stage in the life cycle of the product or service, the degree of control it has over the life cycle stages, e.g. a

product designer may be responsible for raw material selection, whereas a manufacturer may only be responsible for reducing raw material use and minimizing process waste and the user may only be responsible for use and disposal of the product,

PRACTICAL HELP – LIFE CYCLE PERSPECTIVE• the degree of influence it has over the life cycle, e.g. the designer may

only influence the manufacturers production methods, whereas the manufacturer my also influence the design and the way the product is used or its method of disposal,

• the life of the product, • the organization’s influence on the supply chain, • the length of the supply chain, and • the technological complexity of the product.

• The organisation can consider those stages in the life cycle over which it has the greatest control or influence as these may offer the greatest opportunity to reduce resource use and minimize pollution or waste.

LESSONS LEARNT FROM CERTIFICATION AUDIT• Address the life cycle in the environmental aspects and implact• Create a Life Cycle Perspective document which looks at the

following• Suppliers who feed in to the supply chain• Have the supplier ISO 14001 or an Environmental Policy• Has a life cycle assessment been carried out on the aspect they

suppliers to the final product or service.