Product Life Cycle Assessement Worksheet
Product Life Cycle Assessement Worksheet
Product Life Cycle Assessement Worksheet
Inventory analysis
Step 1 Materials Acquisition: Each material in a product has its own
life cycle of use and waste. List all the materials (metal, plastic) in
your product. One point is assigned for each different material in
the product.
Total Points
Step 2 Materials Processing: Most metals and plastics must be processed before they are in a
useful form for manufacturing. Again, list the metals and plastics in your product. Assign one
point for each material.
Total Points
Step 3 Manufacturing: All of the processed materials in your product must be formed and
shaped into something useful for the product (like a metal screw or a plastic lever). List the
different parts and pieces of your product that have been manufactured here. Assign one point
for each part.
Total Points
Step 4 Packaging: How is your product packaged for sale? Mark the boxes that correspond to
the packaging of your product here. Add of the total points for the packaging of your product.
Packaging Points
None 0
Total Points
Transportation Points
Yes, by plane, truck, or boat 15
None 1
Total Points
Step 6 Use of the Product: all products have an amount of time that they can be used and
reused. Check the box below that describes how long your product can be used.
Total Points
Step 7 Disposal: Once a product has been used, it can be disposed of or recycled. Check the box
which describes your product below.
Total Points
Impact analysis
Add up the points for your product to determine its overall impact on the environment:
Total Points
How did the overall environmental impact of your product compare with another product in
your class?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Improvement analysis
1. What could you change in your product to improve its impact on the environment?
Describe your improvements here.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Life Cycles: Lesson 1, Product Development and the Environment Activity –
Life Cycle Assessment Worksheet 4
Name: ___________________________________________ Date: ______________________
2. Look at your Inventory Analysis above. Re-calculate your score if you were to use the
improvements you just described. Did your score change? By how much?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. What would you need to do to reduce the environmental impact of your product even
more?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. There are several types of engineering life cycle assessments. Read the three descriptions
below.
Cradle-to-Grave: The full life cycle of a product from raw materials (cradle) to the disposal
phase (grave).
Cradle-to-Gate: A partial product life cycle assessment that investigates a product from raw
materials (cradle) to the gate of the manufacturing facility (gate) before transportation to
the consumer.
Cradle-to-Cradle: A product life cycle assessment, where the end phase includes recycling of
the product into a new product. The recycled product can be identical or different to the
original product.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________