Introduction; Product Sustainability; EU Integrated Product Policy; Environmental Impact; Life Cycle Analysis; Eco-Profiling of Plastics; Eco-Profile of Polyvinyl Chloride; LCA Models; Design for the Environment (DfE); Sustainability of Plastics Products; Abbreviation and Acronyms; Additional References; Abstracts from the Polymer Library Database; Subject Index
Summary
Life-cycle analysis is a technique used to quantify the environmental impact of products during their entire life cycle. The different parts of the life cycle are examined from raw material extraction, manufacture, transport and use through to waste processing. For each stage an inventory is made of the energy and material consumption and of any emissions to the environment. This makes it possible to identify components where improvement can be made to benefit the environment. This type of investigation of products may bring economic advantages, as often material and energy consumption are red
