College of Business Administration

1) Welford states on page 214 that “…life-cycle assessment has been taken seriously by businesses…”

In your view, is this is an accurate statement? Why or why not?

2) Performing a life cycle assessment can be extremely laborious and therefore very costly for companies.

Do you see this as a potential deterrent?

Should the government offer incentives to firms willing to take on this task?

What would be the impact on small businesses?

3) Welford states that LCA is being conducted on factors that are most easily controlled (wastes, polluting emissions, energy consumption).

What is practical way to take into account the factors that are not as easily controlled (Biodiversity, endangered habitats, human and animal rights, non-renewable resources)?

Who should decide the weight of those factors?

4) Explain how full cost accounting can or should be incorporated into life cycle assessment? Can the two processes exist independently?

5) Welford argues that there is a need for increased legislation in order to ensure a level playing field among corporations as it pertains to environmental management and competition.

Since there is currently no standard format for conducting a product lifecycle assessment, is this something which can or should be legislated, and who would be the governing body?

6) One of the biggest challenges surrounding the use of LCA is that it is largely “unbounded”.

Where would you begin to set boundaries in the LCA and should companies be permitted to set their own boundaries?

7) Welford insists that the new standards should insist on public disclosure of environmental information, and goes further by having the data verified by a third party.

Do you believe there is a need for public disclosure of environmental information?

If businesses were required to disclose all environmental impact information regarding their products, do you think that this would encourage them to pay more attention to the life cycle of their products?

Is this financially realistic?

8) In your view, should eco-labeling be regulated and mandatory? Would it really make a difference to consumers?

9) Which LCA method, seems the most practical for application? [Eco points (Government policy driven), EPS (market / financially driven), or (environmental damage driven)]

10) In evaluating the Swedish Dairy Association life cycle assessment of milk, can you identify factors in the cradle-to-grave cycle of milk which were not addressed by their assessment? What are they? Does this assessment take into account the considerations of equity and future which Welford contends are generally missing from most corporations’ environmental considerations?

11) From the HP website: “We continue to work toward a balance between environmentally responsible design, customer needs and cost.” Explain how the process of LCM can help managers facilitate this balance.

12) Steelcase has developed a detailed model for the recycling of their furniture products at the end of the product life cycle. What measures should Steelcase take to ensure that consumers will participate and follow through with these recycling measures?