Life cycle costing (LCC) is an assessment of all Costs associated with the life cycle of a product. This methodology gives a full economic evaluation by tracking costs across all stages of a product's existence, from raw material extraction through production, use, and end-of-life disposal.
Whilst the ISO 14040 series standards that govern Life Cycle Assessment do not explicitly define life cycle costing, the approach aligns with the life cycle thinking principle that underpins LCA. By applying the same system boundaries and life cycle perspective to economic analysis, LCC complements biophysical LCA to give a more complete picture of product sustainability.
The distinction between traditional life cycle costing and Environmental Life Cycle Costing is important. Traditional LCC typically focuses on internal or private costs that are directly paid by economic actors in the life cycle. Environmental Life Cycle Costing extends this by also including externalities that are anticipated to be internalised in the decision-relevant future, ensuring that the economic analysis is performed with system boundaries consistent with the environmental analysis as prescribed by the ISO 14040 series. This integration allows more robust sustainability assessments that account for both market and anticipated future costs.
As Chief Operating Officer, Iris leads our organisational development and oversees day-to-day operations. Before joining 2-0, she worked in the biotechnology sector. As an LCA consultant, Iris has devoted her expertise primarily to the domains of sustainable agriculture and food production. She is dedicated to teaching LCA and is responsible for our educational efforts. Iris holds an M.Sc. in Biology – Biotechnology from the University of Copenhagen.
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