Matsushita Electric Works has been using life-cycle assessment (LCA) techniques to estimate the environmental impact of lighting products throughout their functional life and to guide the design of environmentally conscious products. This reportsummarizes LCA studies on the company's "Twin Pa' lighting fixtures. LCA helped clarify product planning and development objectives, and provided a quantitative comparison of the environmental impact of related products. Although development ofstandardized procedures and case-study databases will be required to take full advantage of LCA, the technology has already proved useful in identifying particular phases of the product life cycle where environmental impact can be reduced, and promises to contribute to the development of environmentally conscious products.
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