Downstream

Giulia Cavenago and Lucia Rigamonti

Chapter 44 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, 2026, pp 154-157 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In the context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the entire life cycle can be divided into three main stages: upstream processes, core processes, and downstream processes. “Downstream” refers to the later stages of a product's or service's cycle, starting from its exit from the company gate to its end-of-life (grave or cradle in case it enters a second life cycle). Downstream phases include distribution (e.g. transportation of the product to retailer/consumer), use (e.g. electricity usage, water consumption, and generated emissions during product use), maintenance (e.g. repairs using specific materials or inspection/audit), and end-of-life (recycling, reuse, remanufacturing, or disposal). Downstream phases are often characterized by significant variability, such as varying methods of product use or different end-of-life treatments upon disposal. Analyzing downstream processes is important to obtain a holistic and comprehensive understanding of the environmental impacts associated with a product's complete life cycle.

Keywords: System boundary; Unit processes; End-of-life; Maintenance; Use; Distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035309887
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035309894.00049 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:22215_44

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jack Sweeney ().