According to ISO 14001 - A systematic approach to environmental management can provide top management with information to build success over the long term and create options for contributing to sustainable development by controlling or influencing the way the organization's products and services are designed, manufactured, distributed, consumed and disposed by using a life cycle perspective that can prevent environmental impacts from being unintentionally shifted elsewhere within the life cycle. A system or life cycle can begin with extracting raw materials from the ground and generating energy. Materials and energy are then part of manufacturing, transportation, use, and eventually recycling, reuse, or disposal. In the context of this standard, the term life cycle refers to the consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system from the acquisition of raw materials to end-of-life disposal. A life cycle perspective means we recognize how our choices influence what happens at each of these points so we can balance trade-offs and positively impact the economy, the environment, and society. A life cycle approach is a way of thinking which helps us recognize how our selections – such as buying a new machine or a raw material – are one part of a whole system of events. A life cycle perspective identifies both opportunities and risks of a product or technology, all the way from raw materials to disposal. The life cycle a product system includes all associated activities, products, and services and may include procured goods and services as well as end-of-life treatment, decommissioning and disposal. A life cycle perspective includes consideration of the environmental aspects of an organization’s activities, products, and services that it can control or influence. Stages in a life cycle include acquisition of raw materials, design, production, transportation/delivery, use, end of life treatment, and final disposal. When applying a life cycle perspective to its products and services, the organization should consider the following:
The stage in the life cycle of the product or service,
The degree of control it has over the life cycle stages, e.g. a product designer may be responsible for raw material selection, whereas a manufacturer may only be responsible for reducing raw material use and minimizing process waste and the user may only be responsible for use and disposal of the product,
The degree of influence it has over the life cycle, e.g.
the designer may only influence the manufacturers production methods, whereas
the manufacturer my also influence the design and the way the product is used
or its method of disposal,
The life of the product,
The organization’s influence on the supply chain,
The length of the supply chain, and
The technological complexity of the product. The organization can consider those stages in the life cycle over which it has the greatest control or influence as these may offer the greatest opportunity to reduce resource use and minimize pollution or waste.â€The reason according to ISO 14001 is that ‘Some of the organization’s significant environmental impacts can occur during the transport, delivery, use, end-of-life treatment or final disposal of its product or service. By providing information, an organization can potentially prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts during these life cycle stages. The organization considers the extent of control or influence that it can exert over activities, products and services considering a life cycle perspective.
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