Explain why companies might misuse a selective or abbreviated life cycle assessment when making claims about their products.
Written & reviewed by James Millett — Biology (Imperial College London), PGCE Science (University of Cambridge).
A washing-up liquid manufacturer publishes a life cycle assessment claiming its product is environmentally friendly. The assessment only considers the manufacturing stage of the product's life cycle.
Model answer (4 marks)
A selective or abbreviated LCA only examines some stages of the life cycle rather than all four stages.
Stages with large environmental impacts can be deliberately left out or ignored.
This makes the product appear more environmentally friendly than it actually is.
Because allocating numerical values to pollutant effects requires value judgements, the process is not purely objective and can be manipulated to support advertising claims.
Stages with large environmental impacts can be deliberately left out or ignored.
This makes the product appear more environmentally friendly than it actually is.
Because allocating numerical values to pollutant effects requires value judgements, the process is not purely objective and can be manipulated to support advertising claims.
Examiner tips
- Use the exact wording from the mark scheme; list each point in order.
- Show clear cause–effect links: omission → misleading claim.
- Mention that value judgements allow manipulation.
- Keep the answer concise – 4 short sentences are enough.
Common mistakes
- Writing a long paragraph instead of separate points.
- Omitting the point about value judgements.
- Using vague terms like ‘bad’ instead of ‘large environmental impacts’.
Mark scheme (4 marks)
- A selective or abbreviated LCA only examines some stages of the life cycle (rather than all four stages)
- Stages with large environmental impacts can be deliberately left out / ignored
- This makes the product appear more environmentally friendly than it actually is
- Because allocating numerical values to pollutant effects requires value judgements, the process is not purely objective and can be manipulated to support advertising claims
Related
- All AQA GCSE Chemistry (8462) revision notes →
- How to answer a "Explain" question →
- Decode the mark scheme abbreviations →
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