Greening the product life cycle: Two tools to measure and improve your
product’s environmental impact
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Two tools—life cycle analysis and input-output analysis—can help managers assess the environmental impact of a
product. Life cycle analysis evaluates the environmental impact of a product or process over its entire cycle of
design, production, and disposal. Input-output analysis uses publicly available data on interrelationships among
an economy’s industries. Together, these tools help managers identify organizational changes that may improve
the environmental performance of their products or processes and weigh alternatives from an environmental
standpoint.
BACKGROUND
Measuring the environmental impact of individual
products over their life cycle can help reduce
environmental damage from industrial activity. The
life cycle assessment techniques currently available are
often difficult to implement because product inputs are
part of a system with complex interdependencies. The
author suggests that economics-based input-output
models, which use publicly available data, can be used
to overcome these difficulties.
FINDINGS
 The input-output analysis used by economists can be
adapted as a tool for life cycle assessment of
individual products. This technique is convenient
because it uses publicly available data. For example,
the author applies the technique to compare use of
steel versus plastic fuel tanks in automobiles. Plastic
tanks are found to have a better environmental
performance over their life cycle, yielding similar
results to life cycle assessments conducted using
other techniques and data sources.
 The model is sufficiently flexible to allow users to
weight the inputs with their own values (e.g.,
economic value, toxicity).
in each stage of the product’s life cycle that needs to
be measured
Results can be used as decision-making criteria to
identify the more environmentally friendly alternatives
among a set of products or processes.
IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCHERS
The main contribution of this paper is the extension of
economic input-output models to assess the
environmental impact of individual products and
processes. However, the models make certain
assumptions (such as constant prices) that can introduce
some error into the analysis. Future research should aim
to further improve the robustness of models.
METHODS
The study mathematically models input-output analysis
to enable an environmental life cycle assessment of
products. In practice, the technique uses publicly
available data on the interrelationships between
industries provided by the U.S. Department of
Commerce. The data used to demonstrate the value of
this method are drawn from 498 commodity sectors in a
498 x 498 input-output matrix. Comprehensive
environmental impact matrices are developed to
augment this data.
IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS
Managers can use the input-output analysis technique
to measure the environmental impact of individual
products or processes both over their entire life cycle
and in different stages of their life cycle. The author
provides the formula, and then the manager can input
the following data:
1.
The input-output matrix of the economy’s
commodity sectors (provided by the Department of
Commerce in the United States)
2. Estimates of environmental burden per dollar
output of each commodity sector for each
environmental burden that needs to be measured
(several estimates are provided in this paper)
3. Estimates of all commodity sector inputs required
CITATION
Joshi, S. (2000). Product environmental life-cycle
assessment using input-output techniques. Journal of
Industrial Ecology. 3(2-3), 95-120. Full article source.
SUMMARIZED BY
Mohammad Keyhani & The Network Team
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This Research Insight was developed with support from
Environment Canada.