A Study on a Web-Based LCA System Framework for an Environmental Impact Assessment of Consumer Electronics

Climate change threatens to undermine the past 50 years of gains in economy for consumers and productivity in the manufacture industry. The impact of manufacturing industry on the environment, which is one of the main factors affecting the environment, becomes more and more serious. LCA is used to assess environmental impacts associated with a product, process or service throughout its entire life cycle. That is to say, LCA evaluates environmental load, occurring especially in product manufacturing, in order to design and manufacture products with better environmental performance. In order to produce electronic products with such environmental performance, environmental impact assessment through LCA is necessary. In the case of electronic products, since the types and numbers of components that make up the product are numerous, the LCA work of electronic products takes up considerable time and cost. Therefore, an LCA system that provides accessibility and work convenience to users and can provide an automated workflow is required. This research is to investigate the difference of LCA software tools which used to be popular currently to reduce environmental footprint of consumer electronics. It is to suggest Web-based LCA framework that allows users to easily perform LCA tasks regardless of time and place, and consists of a web-based user interface, automated life cycle inventory generation, and simplified LCA calculations and interpretation.