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Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract: 
The purpose of the article is to articulate the ineffectiveness of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a policy driver. While market process provide information about scarcity, it does not include the price of environmental impact, deriving the purpose of LCA, in the view of many, as a policy making tool. Tradeoffs for more environmentally friendly products can have unexpected consequences. What one study finds as an environmentally sustainable alternative may be too costly, or may have overlooked another impact of the product. The paper concludes that a buyer and seller market will eventually lead to the best and least wasteful products, even while not explicitly taking into account all of the externalities.
Author: 
Mark Duda, Jane S. Shaw
Institution: 
Social Science and Public Policy
Year: 
1997
Domains-Issue Area: 
Region(s): 
Industry Focus: 
Other Services
Datatype(s): 
Theory/Definition