LCA and Carbon Footprint - Assignment Example

LCA and Carbon Footprint Various websites provide carbon footprint calculators to help various individuals and organizations identify the extent to which they are affecting the environment. Some of these websites calculate carbon footprint based on annual emission from the previous 12 months. Consequently this means that all calculations are based on assumptions that effects on the environment can only be felt after 12 months have expired, which is not a true depiction of the reality (Carbon Footprint Ltd).

Every day there are vehicles that combust fuel hence emitting smoke into the atmosphere. In addition, there are individuals who on a daily basis cut down trees to charcoal and building materials. This means that most of these calculators do not give the right size of carbon footprint given that they are based on a 12-month period. Moreover, their sources of data to help in updating information within such websites are limited to Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, WRI, VCA, USEPA, Green House Office, and Standard Associations (Natural Conservancy).

There is no doubt that most of these organizations do not obtain the relevant information on a daily basis but rather after a given period, which means that the data will be inaccurate. These are only secondary data and no primary data. Therefore, from this perspective there is no harm concluding that most of the results obtained from such calculators are not fair and accurate as they are only based on secondary data and not primary data yet the effect on the environment should be calculated based on these two forms of data.

Nevertheless, the websites providing such formulas provide an overview of the effect of the environment from different lifestyles and regions. Such results can act as ways of providing cautionary information to people and organizations on different activities that should be reduced in order to regulate effects of human activities and businesses on the environment. Life Cycle Analysis takes into account various considerations concerning the size of carbon footprint that a country portrays. For instance, the LCA takes into account raw material sourcing, transportation, and conversion into final goods.

Some of the factors that would contribute to carbon footprint product and their measurement include: Extraction of raw materials. Transportation of the extracted raw materials. Converting raw materials into finished products. The carbon footprint can be measured through the following steps; Defining the boundary of an organization in question Collecting all relevant source data without limiting such data on carbon dioxide Calculating the carbon footprint from collected data with Defra metrics as the basis Analyzing the benchmark performance of the industry or organization in question All obtained results are input into carbon management plan after which a report is given.

Works Cited Carbon Footprint Ltd. Carbon footprint calculator. Web. Accessed 17 November 2011. Natural Conservancy. The natural conservancy: Protecting nature. Preserving life. Web. Accessed 17 November 2011.