Question

Which of the following options is/are directly associated with the steps involved in carrying out life cycle assessment (LCA)?

• A. Determination of functional unit
• B. Defining goal and scope
• C. Defining technology readiness level
• D. Listing out inventory of inputs and outputs

Hint:

Recall the four ISO 14040 phases of LCA (goal and scope, inventory, impact assessment, interpretation) and check which listed item does not belong to this framework.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A, B, D

Step 1: Recall the four phases of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as defined in ISO 14040/14044. LCA is carried out in four connected phases: goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis, life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), and interpretation.

Step 2: Examine what the goal and scope phase covers. Defining the goal and scope (option B) is the very first step of an LCA study. It fixes the purpose of the study, the system boundaries, the functional unit, and the level of detail required. Determination of the functional unit (option A) is the quantified reference unit against which all inputs, outputs and impacts are normalised, and this is decided as part of the goal and scope phase, so it is directly associated with the LCA procedure.

Step 3: Examine the inventory step. Listing out the inventory of inputs and outputs (option D) corresponds to the life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis phase, where all raw material and energy inputs and all emissions, effluents and waste outputs for every unit process in the product system are compiled. This is also a core, directly associated LCA step.

Step 4: Examine option C. "Technology readiness level" (TRL) is a scale used in project and technology management to judge how mature a particular technology is for deployment; it does not appear anywhere in the ISO 14040/14044 LCA framework and is not a step of LCA.

Step 5: Conclude. The steps directly associated with carrying out an LCA are determination of the functional unit, defining the goal and scope, and listing the inventory of inputs and outputs, so options A, B and D are correct while option C is not part of LCA.