Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) is about going beyond the traditional focus on production site and manufacturing processes to include environmental, social and economic impacts of a product over its entire life cycle.
The main goals of LCT are to reduce a product’s resource use and emissions to the environment as well as improve its socio-economic performance through its life cycle. This may facilitate links between the economic, social and environmental dimensions within an organization and through its entire value chain.
Looking at the industrial sector, taking LCT as an approach means going beyond the more narrow traditional focus on an enterprise’s production facility. A product life cycle can begin with the extraction of raw materials from natural resources in the ground and the energy generation. Materials and energy are then part of production, packaging, distribution, use, maintenance, and eventually recycling, reuse, recovery or final disposal.
In each life cycle stage there is the potential to reduce resource consumption and improve the performance of products.
Related people
Markos Ieridis
I am a consultant, supporting UNEP on topics related to the use of chemicals in various products and the potential impact these can have on human health and the environment.
Robert J. Reinhardt
Colin Lang
Program Officer – ADEME—French environmental agency Responsible of Extended Producer Responsibility. (EPR) program for chemical products Supervise and monitor EPR program performances Recommend strategy and advise the competent authorities (MoE).
Feng Wang
Valerie Daniela Murcia Rojas
Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has great potential for use and generation, taking into account the technological progress of recent decades, but also the implementation of concepts such as obsolescence.
Sandra Averous
Related projects
Related Topics
Articles of interest
3 resources found
Toward a Circular Economy for the Electronics Sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC): Overview, Actions and Recommendations
This report provides an overview of the current status and conditions of the Circular Economy in the electronics value chain in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, identifies key areas of concern, provides appropriate recommendations, and proposes priority actions to improve circularity of the sector. The recommendations and roadmap focus on the individual life cycle stages of the electronics value chain, as well as on aspects that cut across the value chain. The transition towards a more circular electronics sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) would require a holistic and coordinated approach to progress toward a more circular electronics value chain in the CEE region.
This publication was prepared under the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) full-sized project 9771: Global best practices on emerging chemical policy issues of concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). This project is funded by the GEF, implemented by UNEP and executed by the SAICM Secretariat.
Toward a Circular Economy for the Electronics Sector in Central and Eastern Europe: Overview, Actions and Recommendations
This report provides an overview of the current status and conditions of the Circular Economy in the electronics value chain in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, identifies key areas of concern, provides appropriate recommendations, and proposes priority actions to improve circularity of the sector. The recommendations and roadmap focus on the individual life cycle stages of the electronics value chain, as well as on aspects that cut across the value chain. The transition towards a more circular electronics sector in Central and Easter Europe (CEE) would require a holistic and coordinated approach to progress toward a more circular electronics value chain in the CEE region.
This publication was prepared under the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) full-sized project 9771: Global best practices on emerging chemical policy issues of concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). This project is funded by the GEF, implemented by UNEP and executed by the SAICM Secretariat.
Eco-innovation (Eco-i) manual – Electronics Supplement
UNEP's new Eco-innovation Electronics Supplement was created to respond to the electronics sector's need for more guidance in building resilient, competitive, and sustainable business models for SMEs. Designed together with the World Resources Forum and to be read alongside UNEP's Eco-innovation (Eco-i) Manual, the supplement provides electronics specific examples, learning case studies, and advice on applying the eco-innovation methodology and its opportunities in the electronic sector.
This publication was prepared under the framework of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) full-sized project 9771: Global best practices on emerging chemical policy issues of concern under the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). This project is funded by the GEF, implemented by UNEP and executed by the SAICM Secretariat.