Elementary flow

Benedetto Rugani

Chapter 55 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, 2026, pp 194-196 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The International Organization for Standardization refers to a functional unit in LCA as the to an elementary flow in the life cycle assessment (LCA) method as the “material or energy entering the system being studied that has been drawn from the environment without previous human transformation, or material or energy leaving the system being studied that is released into the environment without subsequent human transformation”. Elementary flows thus constitute the input (of biotic or abiotic, energy or non-energy, land type, etc.) or output (emissions to soil, water, atmosphere, etc.) elements of the unit processes in the life cycle inventory of product systems in LCA. This entry analyzes how elementary flows are defined and used in LCA, and discusses current gaps associated with a still partial harmonization of the ecosystem services in the life cycle inventory.

Keywords: Ecosystem service; Elementary Flow; Emission; Land; Life cycle inventory (LCI); Resource (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035309887
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