Materials

Refers to the initial stage of a product’s life cycle. It is here that all activities required to obtain and prepare raw materials before they enter manufacturing or further processing steps take place.

• Raw material acquisition includes the extraction or harvesting of resources (such as mining minerals, logging timber, or extracting oil). This stage also covers the transportation of raw materials prior to production.
• Pre-processing involves the initial treatment or refinement of these raw materials to make them suitable for manufacturing. This can include cleaning, crushing, sorting, or converting raw resources into intermediate forms (e.g., smelting ore into metal or refining crude oil).

Together, these steps are critical in LCA because they often contribute significantly to the environmental impacts of a product, including energy use, and resource depletion.

Things to consider:

• Ensure recycled materials remain recyclable
• Reduce your overall material use — whether recycled or virgin

Manufacturing

Refers to the stage where pre-processed material inputs are transformed into finished products ready for distribution. It typically includes energy (electricity and/or heat) consumption, production waste generation, and emissions associated with production activities (e.g., metalworking, textile weaving or furniture assembly).

Manufacturing is a critical phase in LCA because it often accounts for significant environmental impacts such as high energy use, and waste production.

The impact of proportion of pre-processed material that ends up as waste from the manufacturing process(s) is also accounted for in the Manufacturing phase.

Did you know?

• For one material different manufacturing processes are usually possible
• Different manufacturing processes require different types and amounts of energy

Things to consider:

Production waste

• Minimise production waste by optimising production techniques
• Avoid using fabrics with patterns that need to be cut in a specific way
• Design products according to standard raw material sizes

Upholstery

• Avoid textiles with wool and choose artificial leather
• Use recycled wool and leather

Surface treatment

• Reduce the often high amounts of waste from wet spraying and instead apply by hand
• Use bio-based heat or green electricity for drying the surfaces
• Use paints or oils based on linseed oil which contains no solvent and hence consumes less material

Manufacturing

• Switch to renewable energy on your production facilities or switch to suppliers that use green energy in their production.
• Invest in energy efficient machines, and save energy by turning off equipment when not in use.
• You can utilise surplus heat from production to heat office buildings nearby.

Distribution

Refers to the stage where finished products are transported, stored, and delivered from the manufacturing facility to the final client. This phase includes all activities and resources involved in moving products through the supply chain, such as:

• Transportation by road, rail, air, or sea
• Warehousing and storage
• Handling and packaging for shipment

Distribution is a critical phase because it contributes to environmental impacts through fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource use associated with logistics and packaging.

Things to consider:

• To lower the emissions from transport method, you can switch to electric cars and lorries, and avoid air transport.
• To lower your impact from transport length, you can switch to suppliers closer to your distribution center.
• If your box container is light weight (<300kg/m3), your transport is volume dependent, and you can lower your emissions by packing your products more compact, for example as flat-packed.

Use Phase

Refers to the period where a product is actively operated, consumed, or otherwise utilised by the end user after distribution and before reaching the end of its life. This phase includes all activities and resource consumption associated with the product’s intended function, such as:

• Energy consumption during use (e.g., electricity for lighting or an adjustable height table).

While some products, such as electric kettles or hairdryers, are made from relatively simple materials and have low production impacts, they require a considerable amount of electricity during use. As a result, their overall environmental impact is often dominated by energy consumption in the use phase.

• Maintenance, repairs, and replacements required to keep the product functional (e.g. washing textiles or oiling wooden furniture).

For instance, a wooden chair may need to be oiled several times over the years to maintain its condition. In such cases, the emissions associated with producing and transporting the oil are accounted for each time the treatment is applied, rather than just once.

• Consumables needed for operation (e.g., light bulb or batteries).

The use phase is significant in LCA because it can account for a significant part of a product’s overall environmental footprint.

Things to consider:

• Create energy efficient electric appliances
• Advice your customers to wash and dishwash less frequently and on lower degrees and with less detergent.

End of life

Refers to the final stage in a product’s life cycle, involving all processes related to the product’s disposal, recycling, or recovery after its useful life has ended.
This stage evaluates the environmental impacts associated with different End of Life scenarios such as:

• Landfilling: the material is disposed of, with no further applications
• Incineration: the material is burned to produce energy
• Recycling and material recovery: the material is reintroduced in the raw material stage, of a future material

The End of life phase is critical in LCA because it determines how the product’s materials are managed after use and waste generation.

For example:

If a chair ends up in landfill, its materials go to waste and if it contains biobased components like wood, fibres or foam, these can break down without oxygen and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

If the chair is incinerated instead, it might generate energy, but also CO₂eq emissions. On the other hand, if the materials can be separated and recycled by removing metal parts from fabric for instance, some of the environmental impact can be avoided by giving the materials a new life in other products.

Proper recycling and reuse management, can significantly reduce environmental burdens and support circular economy principles by diverting waste from landfills and reducing the need for virgin raw materials.

Things to consider:

• Design for disassembly in order to increase recycling
• Create take-back systems