Contents

Abiotic depletion is an impact category concerned with the use or depletion of non-living natural resources such as minerals, metals or fossil resources.

Acidification potential is an impact category estimating the contribution of emissions to acidifying effects on soils, water bodies or ecosystems.

Allocation is the partitioning of inputs, outputs or impacts among co-products, functions or systems in an assessment.

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process in which microorganisms break down organic material without oxygen, producing biogas and digestate.

Attributional LCA is a life cycle assessment approach that describes the environmental impacts associated with a product system under defined average or existing conditions.

The background system is the set of upstream or supporting processes in an assessment that are usually modelled using databases or secondary data.

A bio-based material is made wholly or partly from biological resources rather than fossil-derived inputs.

Biodegradable means a material can be broken down by biological processes, but the claim is incomplete without conditions, timeframe and environment.

Biogenic carbon is carbon contained in or released from biological material such as plants, biomass or soil organic matter.

Bioplastic is a broad term for plastics that are bio-based, biodegradable, or both, depending on the specific material and claim.

Carbon handprint is a claimed positive climate contribution or avoided-emissions effect associated with a product, service or action compared with an alternative.

A characterization factor is a coefficient used in life cycle impact assessment to convert an inventory flow into a common impact category indicator.

Chemical recycling is the processing of materials through chemical or thermal methods intended to break them into feedstocks, monomers or other inputs for new production.

A circular economy is an economic model that aims to keep products, materials and resources in use for longer while reducing waste and virgin resource extraction.

Closed-loop recycling is recycling in which material is recovered and used again in the same or a closely equivalent product system.

A comparative assertion is a claim that one product, service or system has better or worse environmental performance than another.

Composting is the controlled biological decomposition of organic material into a soil-like amendment under suitable conditions.

Consequential LCA is a life cycle assessment approach that estimates environmental consequences caused by a decision or change in demand.

Cradle to cradle describes an approach in which materials are intended to circulate safely in biological or technical cycles rather than become waste.

Cradle to gate describes a product boundary from raw material extraction through production up to the factory gate, excluding later use and end-of-life stages.

Cradle to grave describes a product boundary from raw material extraction through production, use and end-of-life treatment.

Critical raw materials are materials considered economically important and exposed to supply risk within a particular policy, industry or technology context.

Cut-off criteria are rules for deciding which inputs, outputs or processes may be excluded from an assessment because they are below stated thresholds or relevance limits.

A data quality indicator is a measure or rating used to describe the reliability, representativeness, completeness or precision of data used in an assessment.

Dematerialization is the reduction of material use needed to deliver a product, service or function.

A deposit return scheme is a system in which a refundable deposit is charged on a product or container and returned when it is brought back for collection.

Design for disassembly is the practice of designing products so components and materials can be separated more easily for repair, reuse, recycling or recovery.

Design for recycling is the practice of designing products and packaging so materials can be effectively collected, sorted and recycled.

Downcycling is recycling that turns a material into a lower-value or lower-performance application than its original use.

Ecoinvent is a life cycle inventory database used by practitioners to model environmental flows for products, materials and processes.

Economic allocation is allocation based on the relative economic value of co-products or outputs.

Ecotoxicity is the potential for substances or emissions to cause harmful effects in ecosystems.

An endpoint indicator is an impact measure that estimates damage at a final area of protection such as human health, ecosystem quality or resource availability.

An Environmental Product Declaration is a standardised document that communicates quantified environmental information for a product, usually based on life cycle assessment and product category rules.

Eutrophication potential is an impact category estimating the contribution of nutrient emissions to excessive enrichment of water or land ecosystems.

Feedstock is a raw material or input used in a production, recycling, energy or conversion process.

The foreground system is the part of an assessment that is most directly controlled, specified or studied by the practitioner or organisation.

A functional unit is the quantified function of a product system used as the reference basis for comparison in life cycle assessment.

The GHG Protocol Product Standard is a method for accounting and reporting greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product over its life cycle.

Home compostable means a material is intended to break down in domestic composting conditions, which are usually less controlled than industrial facilities.

Hotspot analysis is the process of identifying the stages, processes, materials or assumptions that contribute most to an environmental impact result.

Human toxicity is the potential for substances or emissions to cause harmful effects on human health.

Industrially compostable means a material is designed to break down in controlled industrial composting conditions within specified parameters.

ISO 14040 is a standard that sets principles and framework requirements for life cycle assessment.

ISO 14044 is a standard that sets requirements and guidelines for life cycle assessment practice.

ISO 14067 is a standard for quantifying and reporting the carbon footprint of products.

Land footprint is an assessment of land occupation, transformation or use associated with a product, organisation, process or activity.

Land use change emissions are greenhouse gas emissions associated with changes in land cover or land management, such as conversion of forest to agriculture.

Landfill diversion is the redirection of waste away from landfill toward reuse, recycling, composting, recovery or other treatment routes.

Life cycle assessment is a method for evaluating environmental impacts associated with a product, service or system across defined life-cycle stages.

Life cycle impact assessment is the stage of life cycle assessment that translates inventory data into potential environmental impact categories.

Life cycle inventory is the data-collection stage of life cycle assessment that quantifies inputs, outputs and emissions for the assessed system.

A linear economy is a take-make-use-dispose model in which resources are extracted, made into products, used and then discarded.

Material footprint is a measure of the material resources used or mobilised to support consumption, production or an activity.

Material intensity is the amount of material used or required per unit of product, service, revenue, output or function.

Material recovery is the collection, sorting or processing of discarded materials so they can be reused, recycled or otherwise returned to productive use.

Mechanical recycling is the processing of materials through physical methods such as sorting, washing, shredding, melting or re-forming without intentionally changing their chemical structure.

Microplastics are small plastic particles or fragments, commonly understood as being below a defined size threshold, that can persist in the environment.

A midpoint indicator is an impact category measure located partway along an environmental cause-effect chain, before final damage outcomes.

Normalization is an optional life cycle impact assessment step that expresses impact results relative to a reference value or context.

Open-loop recycling is recycling in which recovered material is used in a different product system or application from its original use.

Organisation Environmental Footprint is a European method for assessing environmental performance at organisation level across relevant activities and life-cycle aspects.

Ozone depletion potential is an impact category estimating the contribution of emissions to depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer.

Photochemical ozone formation is an impact category estimating the formation of ground-level ozone or smog from precursor emissions.

Physical allocation is allocation based on a physical relationship such as mass, energy content or another measurable property.

Planned obsolescence is the design or commercial practice of limiting a product's useful life or desirability to encourage replacement.

Post-consumer recycled material is recovered from products or packaging after use by households, businesses or other end users.

Post-industrial recycled material is recovered from manufacturing or industrial processes before reaching a final consumer.

Primary data is data collected directly from the specific process, site, supplier or activity being assessed.

Product Category Rules are specific rules that define how environmental product declarations or similar product assessments should be prepared for a product category.

Product Environmental Footprint is a European method for assessing and communicating the environmental performance of products across life-cycle stages.

Product lifetime extension is the use of design, maintenance, repair, reuse or business models to keep a product in service for longer.

Product-as-a-service is a business model in which users access a product's function through service, leasing or subscription rather than owning the product outright.

Proxy data is substitute data used when direct or representative data is unavailable.

Recycled content is the proportion of a product or material made from recovered material rather than virgin material.

Recycling is the processing of waste materials into materials or products that can be used again.

Reference flow is the amount of product, material or service needed to fulfil the functional unit in a life cycle assessment.

Refurbishment is the process of restoring, cleaning, updating or repairing a used product so it can be used again.

Remanufacturing is an industrial process that restores used products or components to a specified performance condition, often similar to new.

Repair is the action of restoring a product or component to working condition so it can continue to be used.

Repurposing is the use of a product, component or material for a different purpose than the one for which it was originally designed.

Resource efficiency is the use of fewer materials, energy, water or other inputs to deliver the same or improved function or output.

Reuse is the use of a product, component or material again for the same or a similar purpose without major reprocessing.

Reverse logistics is the movement of products, packaging or materials back from users or downstream points for return, repair, reuse, recycling or disposal.

Screening LCA is a simplified life cycle assessment used to identify likely impact hotspots or priorities before a more detailed study.

Secondary data is data taken from existing databases, literature, models or other sources rather than collected directly from the assessed activity.

A secondary raw material is material recovered from waste or used products and prepared for use as an input in new production.

Sensitivity analysis tests how changes in assumptions, data or methods affect assessment results and conclusions.

The sharing economy is the use of platforms or arrangements that allow assets, products or services to be shared, rented or accessed by multiple users.

System boundary is the defined set of processes, life-cycle stages and flows included or excluded from an assessment.

A take-back scheme is a system through which products or packaging are returned after use for reuse, repair, recycling, recovery or proper disposal.

Uncertainty analysis evaluates the possible range or confidence in results caused by data limitations, model choices or variability.

Upcycling is the conversion of discarded or low-value materials into products or applications with higher perceived or functional value.

Urban mining is the recovery of valuable materials from existing products, buildings, infrastructure or waste streams.

Virgin material is newly extracted, harvested or produced material that has not previously been used or recycled.

The waste hierarchy is a prioritisation approach that generally favours prevention and reuse before recycling, recovery and disposal.

Waste to energy is the conversion of waste into useful energy, commonly through combustion, anaerobic digestion or other treatment processes.

Water footprint is an assessment of water use, consumption or pollution associated with a product, organisation, process or activity within a defined boundary.

Weighting is an optional assessment step that applies relative importance values to different impact categories.

Zero waste is an ambition or management approach aimed at preventing waste and keeping materials in use, rather than sending them to landfill or disposal.