A vision of a world where recycled materials, fairness for suppliers and top-notch quality unite – Blue Standard Inc exists to revolutionize sustainability. One of our primary goals is to inform and educate eco-warriors, environmentalists, and more audience around the globe about the crucial benefits and returns of advocating sustainability. A huge part of this article goes to explaining the basic knowledge that you need to know about Life Cycle Analysis and its main correlation with sustainability. We’ll also dive into both Life Cycle Assessment and using sustainable materials as a way of being kinder to our planet while fostering innovation in product design.

Read on, and we’ll guide you through!

What is Life Cycle Analysis?

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a process of assessing the sustainable impacts of a product from its inception to its end use. It provides invaluable insights for sustainable material choices by analyzing the impacts on people, environment, and the planet. This gives us an understanding of the environmental impacts of products over their entire life cycle - from start to finish. Sustainable materials are not only better for the environment, but also have the potential to create lasting beauty and infinite texture possibilities.

With LCA, you’ll be able to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of a product or service during its entire life cycle. This includes the upstream (e.g., suppliers) and downstream (e.g., waste management) processes associated with the production (e.g., production of raw, auxiliary and operating materials), use phase, and disposal (e.g., waste incineration). The International Organization for Standardization provides guidelines and requirements for conducting a Life Cycle Assessment according to ISO 14040 and 14044.

The Main Phases of Life Cycle Assessment

Goal and Scope

The goal & scope definition of a life cycle analysis involves determining the product/service to be assessed, using it as a functional basis for comparison and noting the required level of detail. It also sets objectives by auditing the established goals and evaluates if there should be an appraisal done on said process afterwards.

Inventory Analysis

A Life Cycle Analysis also begins with an Inventory Analysis, which involves collecting and assessing data to create a complete list of inputs and outputs throughout the product or service's life cycle. This is essential for understanding all associated environmental impacts. The aim of this phase is to create a comprehensive list of all inputs and outputs associated with your product or service over its entire life cycle.

Impact Assessment

During the impact assessment phase of a life cycle analysis, resource usage and emissions generated are classified in relation to their potential impacts. These effects can then be quantified with regards to a select number of categories that hold relevance for achieving the end goal of this type of study.

Interpretation

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) enables an in-depth evaluation of how products and services influence the environment. This systematic approach allows for identifying opportunities to reduce environmental impact while keeping a focus on avoiding burden shifting between different points within their life cycles. LCA provides useful insights into contributions, relevance, robustness, data quality and limitations associated with each product or service analyzed.

Life Cycle Analysis can be performed for various scopes: cradle to gate (raw materials to the factory gate), gate to gate (only focusing on the manufacturing processes) or cradle to grave (raw materials up to disposal).

Why perform an LCA?

Utilizing an LCA is key to helping your business make informed decisions that can significantly reduce the environmental impacts of product development, marketing activities and even policymaking. Product designers have access to immediate feedback on how their design choices affect sustainability while sustainable managers gain insight into portfolio performance and potential improvements in achieving carbon footprint objectives. Marketing teams benefit with accurate data for boosting internal or external communications centered around sustainability, ultimately resulting in smarter purchasing processes by identifying suppliers supplying more ecologically sound products/materials.

Importance of LCA in Businesses

• An LCA study is the quantitative basis for your sustainability strategy and helps you make tactical sustainability decisions.

• It offers you great insights to innovate with intention.

• It enhances your brand value and gives you a competitive advantage in the industry you belong to.

• An LCA provides you with credible data to justify your sustainable claims

Importance of LCA for Consumers

• This gives you the information that can help you in choosing which brands to use for a greater cause.

• It gives you a more extensive knowledge on the kinds of products that you use.

• Lastly, in your own subtle or unconscious way, you are able to help save the environment and help the planet!

We are 100% Pro-Sustainability!

Blue Standard Inc. is leading the way in sustainability initiatives, utilizing life cycle analysis and tracking recycled raw and sustainable materials to gain certifications from renowned institutes like Nova-Institute & Recycled Claim Standards. This allows us to not only certify the content of our products but significantly lower their carbon emissions impact on a global scale - setting new standards for environmental responsibility!

At BetterBone and REPots, we are devoted to using sustainable resources in our products. We only source all-natural materials for the former while relying on recycled commercial fishing nets and maritime gear for the latter, taking part in a collective effort that could make an incredible difference to preserving Earth's ecosystems.

Partnership with BetterBone

It's no surprise that animal-lovers also care about their environment - it just goes hand in hand!

Blue Standard Inc. & The BetterBone has developed industry-disrupting, innovative pet products founded on 25 years of circular, recycled, and sustainable manufacturing and material innovation. 

Check out its shop for tons of pet toys, treats, and more!