# data[].attributes.body
The first scientific journals to mention cleaner overall production and resources in the internal journals of LCA.

https://www.rilem.net/images/publis/917db4447994958c78e8f7a51ca2677d.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
UN Earth Summit brings attention to the LCA issues. The summit is attended by hundreds of world leaders, which helps shed light on the growing issues and their solutions.

https://www.britannica.com/event/United-Nations-Conference-on-Environment-and-Development

# data[].attributes.body
SETAC of Europe issues its code of practice, which would help build the ISO Standards to come.

https://sea2see.eu/general-overview-of-life-cycle-assessment-lca-in-the-industry-origin-uses-and-applications/#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20in%201990%20LCA,Cycle%20Assessment%20(S%2DLCA)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The current need to transform production and consumption systems in an integrated way towards sustainable and/or circular processes is a necessity, given that current strategies focused on linear production alone have proven to be limited. The recent use of environmental tools is moving in this new direction, promoting a life-cycle approach to transform unsustainable consumption and production patterns that can leave a better future for upcoming generations.
What is LCA?
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a product, service or activity involves the evaluation of the environmental impacts generated throughout its life cycle, from its origin as a raw material to its end of life, usually as waste. LCA is the most widely used tool in environmental impact analysis and sustainable management solutions and is recognized for its robustness and reliability.

Its holistic approach identifies all stages of a product's life cycle (extraction of raw materials, processing and production, distribution, consumption/use and disposal or waste management) and describes factors such as energy consumption or emissions to air, water and soil. The use of this methodology is particularly relevant in the context of the circular economy and sustainability, as it helps industry to optimize its resources and reduce its polluting emissions, thereby encouraging more responsible and sustainable consumption.
History and Standards
The history of LCA is complex and its beginnings are difficult to establish. According to Vigon et al. (1993), one of the first studies was carried out in 1963 by H. Smith, who calculated the energy required to produce chemicals. As early as 1969, Coca-Cola commissioned the Midwest Research Institute to conduct one of the first formal LCA studies to determine the type of packaging with the lowest environmental impact. The oil crisis of the 1970s prompted a series of more detailed studies into the optimal management of energy resources, including raw material consumption and waste generation. This led to the development of 'energy analyses' which also estimated emissions and discharges. Hunt's study in 1974 for the US EPA was a precursor to modern LCA, using the term "Resource and Environmental Profile Analysis" (REPA) and considering the full life cycle of products.

In 1979, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) was founded to develop LCA methodology and criteria. In the same year, Boustead and Hancock (1979) published a study that systematized the treatment of energy and established criteria for comparing different energy sources. In 1984, EMPA incorporated health effects into emissions studies, facilitating assessment and decision making by considering parameters such as energy consumption, pollution and waste.

Access to public data and increased environmental awareness in the 1980s and 1990s led to new LCA projects in industry and the public sector. For example, in 1990 LCA became internationalized through conferences of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), EPA, SETAC, etc.

This growth led to the publication of papers to standardize criteria for LCA studies. In 1993, ISO developed a technical committee to standardize LCA, resulting in standards such as ISO 14040. In 2002, in response to the Malmö Declaration of 2000, the UNEP/SETAC Life Cycle Initiative was launched, based on ISO 14040, to develop practical tools for assessing products and services throughout their life cycle.

Currently, the ISO LCA standards include many aspects of interest for the application and evaluation of products/services under the LCA approach, among which we find some relevant, such as:

ISO 14040:2006 Life Cycle Assessment-Principles and Framework.

ISO 14044:2006 Life Cycle Assessment-Requirement and guidelines

ISO/TS 14048:2002 Life Cycle Assessment-Data Documentation Format

ISO/TR 14047:2012 Life Cycle Assessment-Examples of Application of ISO 14044

ISO 14071:2024 Critical Review Processes and Reviewer Competencies for LCA

ISO 14072:2024 Organizational Life Cycle Assessment

ISO 14075:2024 Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA)

Within the framework of all these standards, the use of LCA makes it possible to establish the environmental profile of a product by identifying and quantifying the consumption of natural resources and emissions to air, water and soil, and expressing them in terms of environmental impacts. It should be noted that it is not always necessary to apply LCA to the entire life cycle; sometimes it is focused on a specific process or service, such as the assembly of an aquaculture system or the transport of raw materials to industry, which can facilitate more informed decision making.
LCA Framework and Phases
A full LCA study typically consists of four iterative phases:

1) the definition of the objective and scope of the study (including the system boundaries (cradle-gate; gate-gate; cradle-grave);

2) an allocation (biophysical or economic) for the definition of the functional unit, etc.); in the case of fisheries and aquaculture products, this would include the specification of the species, the harvesting or farming techniques and the specific processes of the system);

3) the development of the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), including the quantification of all resources, such as fuel for boats, materials for nets and cages, water consumption and emissions resulting from the transport and

4) preservation process of the fish, linked to the flowchart of the system/process as required.

In this context, SEA2SEE project wants to assure that the solutions developed and all results obtained are efficient, environmentally friendly, social accepted and techno and economically feasible. The LCA will work as an environmental accounting tool for delivering critical information necessary to improve the sustainability of seafood products and then, will increase the confidence of the consumer.

This system generally consists of a chain of interconnected sub-processes that can be implemented at different places and times; 3) Impact assessment, which will consist of the steps of classification, characterization and evaluation of the inputs/outputs of the LCI in the different impact groups to be assessed, such as the impact of CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels or the use of chemical products in fish farms, as well as the impact on the depletion of natural resources such as water and biodiversity in marine and freshwater ecosystems; and 4) interpreting the results, identifying and discussing opportunities for process improvements, such as the use of cleaner fuels or supply/process chain optimization or efficiency.

Figure 1. Phases of LCA according to ISO 14040:2006 Challenges and Tools
Given the complexity of LCA calculations, it is common to employ software based on LCA methodology to facilitate the calculations. Most of these programs include databases that can vary in the amount and quality of data and in price market. The software used is usually based on an interface, a database, a calculation engine and a report processor. However, the powerful software tools that simplify the work can be divided into tools that facilitate the development of LCA inventories; tools for complete LCA development (Gabi, SimaPro, OpenLCA, etc.) that include methodologies and databases; simplified LCA tools (Eco Indicator '95) or specific/adapted tools for definitive products, as in the case of packaging (Ecopack; Repaq; etc).

The main difficulty in carrying out a LCA is the reliability and representativeness of the data used for the LCI, in particular the lack of data on aspects of the economic flows of the processes and their emissions to the environment. The quality of the LCI data has a direct impact on the quality and representativeness of the results. Obtaining primary data of sufficient quality was a priority, although secondary information from scientific studies and databases can be used to fill some gaps and for background processes (e.g. chemical production or electricity generation).

There are various systematizations in the form of data expressions, one of which is that defined by the Society for the Promotion of Life Cycle Development (SPOLD), which distinguishes between the reference of input and output data to nature and/or the Technosphere.

Table 1. Inventory table defined by SPOLD Applications in Industry and Policy
Depending on the context, LCA can be useful both as a conceptual framework and as a set of practical assessment tools.

In strategic management, for example, companies can find significant improvements in their products, particularly in identifying new ways of optimizing processes and, in some cases, developing radically new designs to meet their needs.

Following the Rio Summit in 1992, sustainable development has become a priority on government agendas, making it essential to ensure that actions are focused on a more sustainable future. As such, LCA has important applications in policy formulation, decision support, industrial applications and from a consumer perspective. In policy formulation, the European Commission has promoted Integrated Product Policy (IPP) to minimize environmental impacts by considering all stages of the product life cycle. The main challenge for this is the communication of environmental performance, for which the Single Market Initiative for Green Products and the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) have been launched as a common measurement method. In decision support, LCA is used to advise on the introduction of new technologies or the choice of waste management systems, as required by the EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC.

At the industrial level, companies use LCA for product and process development, marketing purposes, supplier selection and strategic planning. Furthermore, this approach has become an integral part of eco-design, sustainable development and corporate social responsibility strategies for fisheries and aquaculture products.

From a consumer perspective, LCA results can support informed purchasing decisions through ecolabels or other information provided by manufacturers, e.g. when choosing the least environmentally damaging product among similar options, leading to ecolabels (category I, II and III) or other certifications.

In addition, the current LCA framework not only assesses environmental impacts, but also encompasses a variety of dimensions, including social, economic and nutritional impacts, providing a holistic approach to sustainability. New applications of LCA in complex functions such as multifunctional systems (cascading processes) or multi-criteria systems-based decision making are now being explored.

However, LCA of seafood can pose challenges to its development. For example, a common challenge is to define the boundaries of the system, as this determines which processes are included and excluded from the assessment. If the boundaries are too narrow, important environmental impacts may be missed, but if they are too broad, the assessment may become too complex and unmanageable.
Challenges in the Seafood Industry
Regarding the allocation of impacts, seafood industry is often a system that may produce more than one product and therefore it is necessary to consider how the environmental impacts should be allocated appropriately among all of these products. In addition, environmental impacts are often referred to as "potential impacts" and are usually related to an often-arbitrary functional unit when identifying significant issues, assessing results and formulating conclusions. Furthermore, it is common to give greater weight to a single impact, such as greenhouse gas emissions, which can lead to a biased understanding of the overall environmental footprint of a product. Thus, although LCA aims to be scientifically objective, it involves various technical assumptions and value judgments based on the person performing the assessment. Another limitation can be the availability of quality data, and although databases are being developed and their format is being standardized, the existing data is often at a block level rather than for specific individual processes. In addition, it can be difficult to obtain accurate and complete data, particularly for processes upstream or downstream in the product life cycle from suppliers not involved in the assessment.
Contribution to Sustainability
Finally, the use of circular economy approaches in LCA aims to minimize waste and maximize recycling and reuse of materials. In this context, LCA helps to identify opportunities for circularity in fisheries and aquaculture. For example, LCA helps to identify by-products that could have an additional use instead of being discarded, such as the use of fish parts to produce fishmeal or fish oil, or the reuse of aquaculture water in fish farms for relevant purposes, to promote the efficiency and sustainability of the fisheries and aquaculture products sector.

For all these reasons, the LCA approach has become an essential tool for assessing the sustainability and circularity of processes in the seafood industry. Its application allows companies to identify and improve the environmental impacts associated with each stage of the life cycle of their products, promoting the adoption of more sustainable practices. As the industry faces new and growing environmental and social challenges, LCA provides a comprehensive guide to moving towards a more sustainable and responsible circular economy, optimizing the use of resources and minimizing negative impacts on the environment and society.

Incorporating the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into the traceability of fisheries and aquaculture products, as is being performed in the SEA2SEE project, makes it possible to assess and minimize their environmental impact at each stage of the seafood value chain. This fact will ensure a sustainable and transparent management that protects marine and aquatic ecosystems and supports responsible and informed customer choices to safeguard the future for new generations of consumers.
Contributor: ANFACO-CECOPESCA References

Abaza, H., Bisset, R., & Sadler, B.A. (2004). Environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment: towards an integrated approach.

Boustead, I. and Hancock, G. (1979), Handbook of Industrial Energy Analysis, Chichester: John Wiley and Ellis Horwood, New York, chap. 3.

Guinee, J.B. Handbook on life cycle assessment operational guide to the ISO standards. Int J LCA 7, 311-313 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02978897

Matthias, Finkbeiner & Schau, Erwin & Annekatrin, Lehmann & Traverso, Marzia. (2010). Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment. Sustainability. 2. 10.3390/su2103309.

Product Environmental Footprint Category-RulesGuidance-Version 6.3.2018.European platform on LCA.

Recchia, L. & Boncinelli, Paolo & Cini, Enrico & Vieri, Marco & Pegna, Francesco & Sarri, Daniele. (2011). Multicriteria Analysis and LCA Techniques. With Applications to Agro-Engineering Problems.

SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) (1993), Guidelines for Life- Cycle Assessment - a Code of Practice, Sesimbra/Portugal SETAC workshop report, SETAC Press, Pensacola, FL.

Sonnemann, G., Castells, F., Schuhmacher, M. et al. Integrated life-cycle and risk assessment for industrial processes. Int. J. LCA 9, 206-207 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02994195

U.S. EPA (1995). Users' Guide for the Industrial Source Complex (ISC3) - Dispersion Models Volumes I-II. EPA-454/B-95-003a, EPA-454/B-95-003b. Triangle Park, NC.

Vigon, B.W., Tolle, D.A., Corneby, B.W., Lotham, H.C., Harrison, C.L., Boguski, T.L., Hunt, R.G., and Sellers, J.D. (1993), Life-cycle assessment: inventory guidelines and principles, conducted by Battelle and Franklin Associates for the EPA, Ltd. Office of Research and Development, EPA/600/R-92/245.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
General overview of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the industry: origin, uses and applications

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The current need to transform production and consumption systems in an integrated way towards sustainable and/or circular processes is a necessity, given that current strategies focused on linear production alone have proven to be limited.

# data[].attributes.body
Japan enforces its packaging law

This was significant to the movement because Japan is a world leader in initiatives like this, and several other countries have since followed suit on some of their laws.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es101316v#:~:text=During%20this%20period%2C%20LCA%20also%20became%20part,the%201995%20Packaging%20Law%20in%20Japan%20(28).

# data[].attributes.body
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) publishes the standards for the Life Cycle Impact Assessment.

This leads companies to follow their guidelines and makes the movement more mainstream.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19005806/#:~:text=Abstract,part%20of%20the%20true%20analysis.