Understanding Life Cycle Assessments: Common Questions and Considerations

Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) are becoming an increasingly important tool in the medical device industry as companies and customers strive to reduce their environmental impact. However, understanding and comparing LCAs can be challenging. By focusing on the right areas, it becomes more manageable.

What is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a valuable tool used to identify environmental hotspots and address the most significant issues first. However, the lack of standardized product categories in the medical device industry can make LCAs difficult to interpret. Comparing LCAs can be particularly challenging due to variations in input variables, study designs, and boundaries. With an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), there is a higher degree of standardization, which helps set limits on study design, boundaries, and how results are presented.

Identifying Environmental Hotspots

To effectively focus on reducing your environmental impact, it’s advisable to begin by mapping your GHG inventory and identifying your environmental hotspots. For products that contribute significantly to your environmental impact, requesting an LCA can help verify the impact and refine your overall calculations, leading to more strategic choices for reducing your footprint.

Key Questions to Ask About LCAs

Asking the right questions and setting achievable goals is crucial for making informed decisions that drive sustainability. Here are some key questions to consider:

Tender-Related Questions:

Has the LCA been performed in accordance with the ISO 14040-series?
Has the LCA been third-party reviewed?
If comparisons have been made, has a panel review been conducted?
What are the potential drivers of environmental impact according to the report?

These questions will help you better understand and utilize the information provided in an LCA.

How to Compare LCAs

Comparing LCAs between different companies and products is challenging due to the lack of Product Category Rules (PCRs) for EPDs or similar comparison formats. It is essential to only compare reductions and products if they are from the same company and factory, with LCAs performed in the same way, using the same functional unit and with the same assumptions and scope of the study.

Remember, an LCA represents a snapshot of the product at a specific time when the assessment was conducted. Standardized requirements for presenting LCAs in medical device products would be beneficial, providing more comprehensive information. In the absence of EPDs for most products, standardized factsheets can be a practical solution to summarize environmental impact data clearly, making it easier for customers to use and reducing the time and costs associated with assessments.

Top Three Key Takeaways About LCAs in Procurement

Understand Your Environmental Hotspots: Identify the top contributors to your environmental impact to target your reduction efforts effectively.

Require LCAs on Relevant Products: Request LCAs for products with significant environmental impacts to ensure informed decision-making.

Standardized Factsheets: While EPDs offer higher comparability, standardized factsheets are an effective way to present environmental impact information concisely when EPDs are unavailable.

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