Impact Assessment of Life Cycle Assessment

Case Study of LCA of Lighting Fixtures

Abstract

Matushita Electric Works has been using life cycle assessment (LCA) to estimate the environmental impact of lighting products throughout their functional life and to guide the design of environmentally conscious products. This report summarizes LCA studies on the company's high frequency lighting fixtures. LCA helped clarify product planning and development objectives, and provided a quantative comparison of the environmental impact of related products. Although development of standardized procedures and case-study databases will be required to take full advantage of LCA, the technology has already proved useful in identifying particular phases of the product life cycle where environmental impact can be reduced, and promises to contribute to the development of environmentally-conscious products.