Globalisation and Mainstreaming of LCA

The chapter describes how a globalised economy exacerbates the need of a mainstreaming of LCA, in particular the emergence of long, complex and geographically highly dispersed global value chains (GVCs). In documenting the three phases of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative, a conventional roadmap for global mainstreaming of LCA is drawn. However, the questioning by some South governments of the rationale and a North methodological bias of LCA draws attention to the significance of national and local contexts in developing countries. The chapter argues a more elaborate concept for building capacity for LCA in developing countries and suggests how to strategize national LCA agendas.