Life Cycle Assessment in a Nutshell: Best Practices and Status Quo for the Plastic Sector

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an internationally standardized methodology to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of products and technologies and assists in lowering their negative environmental consequences. So far, extensive knowledge of LCA—their application and interpretation—is restricted to experts. However, the importance of LCA is increasing due to its application in business, environmental, and policy decision-making processes. Therefore, general knowledge of LCA is critically important. The current work provides an introduction to LCA for non-experts discussing important steps and aspects and therefore can be used as a starting point for LCA. In addition, a comprehensive checklist for non-experts with important content and formal aspects of LCA is provided. Specific aspects of LCA for the plastics sector along the value chain are also discussed, including their limitations.