Explain why selective or abbreviated life cycle assessments (LCAs) can be misused by companies.
Written & reviewed by James Millett — Biology (Imperial College London), PGCE Science (University of Cambridge).
A manufacturer of plastic carrier bags publishes an LCA claiming their bags have a lower environmental impact than paper bags. The LCA only considers the manufacturing and packaging stage.
Model answer (4 marks)
A selective or abbreviated LCA only examines a few stages of a product’s life cycle, such as manufacturing and packaging, and ignores others such as transport, use and disposal.
Because it omits stages, the overall environmental impact is not fully assessed and important effects may be left out.
Assigning numerical values to pollutant effects involves value judgements; companies can choose data or boundaries that favour their desired conclusion.
Thus a selective LCA can be used to make misleading advertising claims, presenting a product as more environmentally friendly than it actually is.
Because it omits stages, the overall environmental impact is not fully assessed and important effects may be left out.
Assigning numerical values to pollutant effects involves value judgements; companies can choose data or boundaries that favour their desired conclusion.
Thus a selective LCA can be used to make misleading advertising claims, presenting a product as more environmentally friendly than it actually is.
Examiner tips
- Use the exact wording from the mark scheme – ‘selective/abbreviated LCA’, ‘overall environmental impact’, ‘value judgements’, ‘misleading advertising claims’.
- Show the four points in separate sentences or numbered points to match the 4 marks.
Common mistakes
- Focusing only on the environmental impact of manufacturing and ignoring that the LCA is incomplete.
- Using vague terms like ‘environmentally friendly’ without linking to the omission of life‑cycle stages.
- Failing to mention that value judgements can manipulate results.
Mark scheme (4 marks)
- A selective/abbreviated LCA only looks at some stages of the product's life cycle (and ignores others)
- This means the overall environmental impact of the product is not fully assessed / important environmental impacts may be left out
- Allocating numerical values to pollutant effects requires value judgements, so results can be manipulated to favour a desired conclusion
- Companies can use a selective LCA to make misleading advertising claims / to make their product appear more environmentally friendly than it is
Related
- All AQA GCSE Chemistry (8462) revision notes →
- How to answer a "Explain" question →
- Decode the mark scheme abbreviations →
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