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Adapting life cycle assessment to the partial product innovation phase

Initial product modeling begins with the establishment of an initial list of products belonging to the same company range, whose LCA results, calculated on the basis of the same functional unit, are available. Each product must be able to be differentiated on the basis of a list of characteristics that can be easily filled in during the innovation phase. For example, in the case of a car manufacturer, once the connecting platform for an innovation is known, it could be the following characteristics: segment, finish, fuel type, gearbox, etc.

The LCA results of these initial products are then collected and classified by environmental impact category and life cycle stage. The first step is to identify the stages of the life cycle that generate the greatest impact (typically, these are the raw materials extraction, manufacturing, use and end-of-life stages), and the...