Considerations in performing life‐cycle assessments on forest products

Abstract

Life‐cycle assessment (LCA) is a theoretically attractive approach for evaluating resource consumption and environmental emissions associated with the production, use, and disposal of products. Current LCA guidelines suggest adherence to conventions that can significantly affect results. Conventions of special importance in LCAs of forest products are those pertaining to sustainability of natural resources, recyclability and biodegradability of products, and use of renewable energy in manufacturing processes. More general methodological issues (e.g., relating emissions to impacts, site‐to‐site variability in loads, data quality) are also important in forest‐product LCAs. Copyright © 1994 SETAC