Inventory analysis

Petra Zapp, Sally Springer and Christina Wulf

Chapter 96 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment, 2026, pp 357-359 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The life cycle inventory (LCI) analysis is one stage of a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA). Following the ISO 14040/14044 standards, it comprises several steps involving data collection, validation, and calculation for all processes of the system under study, depending on the understandings of the goal and scope definition. The main outcome is a list of quantified elementary flows, into and out of the system investigated, providing the basis for the subsequent Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). The different steps of preparation for and actual data collection, LCI calculation, and reporting are introduced to guide practitioners through this core element of each LCSA. Its overall results depend highly on the LCI quality, including criteria such as representativeness, completeness, and reliability.

Keywords: Inventory analysis; Inventory table; Life Cycle Phase; Data collection; LCSA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035309887
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781035309894.00101 (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_96

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 ().