Life Cycle Assessment: Principles, Practice and Prospects

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has developed in Australia over the past 16 years in a fragmented way with many different people and organizations contributing to the area at different times, and largely through informal or unpublished work. This publication will legitimize and document LCA research and methodology development to act as a record of what has happened and a basis for future development and application of the tool. The Centre for Design at RMIT has been a leading research center in Australia through its work on data collection, methodology development and contribution to knowledge through undertaking LCA studies for leading companies and government departments ranging from products, packaging, buildings, water management and waste management. This work, in addition to key work undertaken by other researchers, will be presented. The book will become a bridge between LCA implementation and life cycle management (LCM) and provide discussion on how LCA development will be in the future and how it integrates with available software tools.