Cradle to Grave

Andrea Paulillo

Chapter 29 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, 2026, pp 96-98 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Cradle to Grave refers to a metaphor widely used to define a holistic approach that looks at the entire life cycle of a product: the “cradle” represents the extraction of raw materials (e.g. minerals or fossil fuels) and the “grave” the end-of-life, which includes either the final disposal of the product (e.g. via incineration or landfill) or its recycling. In Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and other life cycle-based methodologies, the expression is used to identify the type of system boundary applied. A Cradle to Grave is the most comprehensive type of system boundaries whereby all activities that make up the product's life cycle and that are required to deliver the functional unit are accounted for. Cradle to Grave system boundaries are appropriate for most applications including for identifying the (environmental) hotspots and for comparative analysis. Cradle to Grave system boundaries are contrasted to “partial” system boundaries like Cradle to Gate where only parts of the life cycle are considered.

Keywords: Life cycle thinking; Cradle-to-grave analysis; Whole building; Whole life; Well-to-wheels; Goal and scope definition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035309887
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