Paying attention to detail with a life cycle analysis

More businesses are focusing on going green and trying to make eco-friendly products. Their plants are also receiving major overhauls to try and make them eco-friendly as well. A life cycle analysis provides you with a chance to see how the products you produce are affecting the environment. Using the life cycle analysis you will map out a few different strategies that provide you with a quality product that will not have damaging impacts on the environment.

When you are performing a life cycle analysis, you need to look at the following factors:

• Raw goods used


• Production and manufacturing of raw goods


• Distribution


• Disposal

Many companies find that once the product is in the hands of the consumer, there is little they can do to make sure it is disposed of correctly. Some companies have found ways to set up recycling procedures with their customers. One such company is Nike. At Nike locations, they have a large bin where you can recycle your old shoes. The rubber is then ground up and used for tracks, Frisbees, license plate frames, sunglasses frames, and a handful of other useful products. This is a great way to make sure you are following through with the complete life cycle analysis program.

To help you perform a life cycle analysis, here are the 4 steps you need to follow and what you need to do.

Goal and Scope
The first phase is called goal and scope. This involves setting system boundaries or goals for the company. You need to decide upon what the main goal of your assessment will be and what are the different factors you are going to use to make this assessment.

Life Cycle Inventory
Your next phase deals with the life cycle inventory. This is where you will gather data pertaining to your products and create several models and predict the outcome of the various models. This allows you an opportunity to try and limit your impact on the environment as much as possible as you are searching for the most eco-friendly solution.
Some of the data you gather will include air and water emissions along with solid waste that your company is producing. You will need a software program to track the date as you must present the data in tables where it can be interpreted. You must show all the inputs and outputs pertaining to your products life cycle analysis.

Life Cycle Impact Assessment
The third phase is the life cycle impact assessment phase. This is where you will take a look at the results from the second phase and evaluate them. You need to determine which method is going to be the best for your business and for the environment. Watch for air pollutants along with things that can impact global warming as this will not only cause you to have a bad life cycle product, it won't win you any fans in the Public Relations world. You will use a process known as weighting to assess the different outcomes. Each design will be given a weight that ranks it by its impact on the environment and the importance it is to your business.

Interpretation
The final phase is interpretation. With this phase you will finally be able to consider all the factors and finically make a decision and conclude the life cycle analysis. This is a great way for you to find out how your company impacts the environment and what you plan to do about it. A life cycle analysis is easy to do and it's a procedure that will benefit your company in numerous ways.