The life cycle of products or technologies can be very complex and
therefore the LCA approach is comprehensive. Hence, it is still a challenge
to make LCA accessible to a broader range of practitioners in industry in
order to integrate sustainable thinking in product development. Experience
shows two main obstacles that prevent companies from applying LCA
internally: the cost for specific software and the almost permanent demand
of human resources. This paper describes how LCA can successfully be
realized in any business by using life cycle simulation models based on
spreadsheet software. Detailed life cycle models allow the ISO compliant
calculation of a product LCA but can also be used to compare technologies
or monitor and optimize processes.

spreadsheet; models; LCA; LCC; business