Activities

Phase I (2002 – 2007) focused on establishing the Initiative as a global focal point of life cycle related knowledge and activities, and building a community of practitioners and stakeholders. Activities to move the life cycle agenda forward concentrated on three important fields – life cycle management, life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment – as well as the cross-cutting area of social impacts along the life cycle.

During Phase II (2007 – 2012), the Initiative became more participative by actively seeking out the involvement of global stakeholders. Common understanding and agreement were achieved on questions like life cycle assessment databases. The main Phase II accomplishments provide support for the application of sustainability-driven life cycle approaches, based on lessons learned from leading organizations.

Although progress has been achieved on global consensus about key life cycle topics, a number of issues still need attention and will be addressed in Phase III (2012-2016).