Flooring and Life Cycle Thinking

The shift to life cycle thinking supports the selection and specification of building materials that protect the environment, improve the lives of the people who produce the goods, and safeguard the health of the people who use them. It represents a holistic approach, examining the impacts of a product from raw materials, through production, use, and final disposal – from cradle to grave.

What is Life Cycle Thinking?

Life cycle thinking represents a holistic approach, examining the impacts of a product from raw materials, through production, use, and final disposal – from cradle to grave. It is made operational through life cycle management which provides a method for putting life cycle thinking into action towards continuous improvement. Life cycle tools such as life cycle assessment or life cycle cost analysis, measure, monitor, and communicate products’ impacts, both social and environmental, and reveal the impacts on human health, allowing the worst and the best performing products to be more easily identified.

Why Life Cycle Thinking?

Life cycle thinking positively impact the economy, the environment, and society. A life cycle approach means we recognize how our choices influence what happens from raw materials to disposal so we can balance trade-offs and recognize how our selections – such as buying flooring – are one part of a whole system of events.