Investigating Environmental Impact of Consumer Products from various Manufacturers using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Sustainable design has become a top priority in design of new products. Through sustainable design companies are trying to reduce environmental impacts of products through its lifecycle. However some companies are more successful in sustainable design than others. This project will analyze the environmental impact of three products designed by different manufacturers from USA, Europe, and China using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). First, three products from three different manufacturers will be acquired (total of nine products). The resource consumption during use and manufacture phase of these products will be calculated. Then the products will be dissected and detailed life cycle inventory will be tabulated. After that LCA will be conducted using SimaPro software and environmental impact of these products in terms of green house gas emissions and other pollutants will be determined. Using this information the products will be ranked according to their environmental impacts. The differences in the design of these products will be analyzed in detail to highlight the design and material selection approaches that can lead to sustainable design. Finally a list of best practices for sustainable design will be compiled using the findings from the analysis