Environmental Profile Assessment of Passenger Car Components

Abstract

A comprehensive, high-quality product offered in the network of automotive suppliers must meet increasingly stringent environmental criteria and standards. The assessment of the environmental quality of a product must cover all stages of its life cycle, from ‘cradle to cradle’, and must result in an improvement in the producer’s environmental performance. The paper identified, analysed and evaluated the environmental aspects, impacts and risks of individual phases of the production components life cycle of a passenger car, bumper, fender, and door. In the evaluation phase, progressive environmental management tools, LCA and the eco-indicator method were used in the case studies. Their combination for individual components created a methodological procedure that can be used to evaluate the environmental profile of other components of cars and other products in general.