LCA in Environmental Management Systems—Results of Individual Interviews with Selected Enterprises from Poland and Sweden

Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman

Department of Industrial Products Ecology and Quality, Faculty of Commodity Science, Poznan University of Economics, Poznan, Poland.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2013.47080                

Abstract

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analytical tool used for the environmental optimization of products and services within the entirety of its life cycle. ISO 14040 recommends use of the technique in numerous areas of environmental management such as in designing for the environment, eco-labelling, environmental communications and the assessment of the effects of environmental activities. Despite being theoretically feasible, certain applications of the ecological assessment of a life cycle such as the possibility of identification and evaluation of environmental aspects with the use of LCA are, in practice, still new to many environmental managers. With its strong points, the technique seems to be a valuable tool, especially in the context of apparent concepts of Product-Oriented Environmental Management Systems (POEMS). In order to verify the hypothesis, the author decided to verify the level of use of LCA in the area of identification and assessment of environmental aspects in selected organizations. Therefore, questionnaire interviews were conducted with representatives of selected Polish and Swedish enterprises who, at the time of the interview, had certified environmental management systems. The organizations were analyzed with respect to applied methods and techniques used for identification and assessment of environmental aspects as well as the degree of use of LCA both in this respect and in other areas of environmental management. This paper will present the results of this research and conclusions.

Keywords

Environmental Management System; Life Cycle Assessment; ISO 14001; Environmental Aspects; Identification; Assessment

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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