The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has produced a standardised ISO-certified method and management tool called the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and it is widely considered that this tool is the most appropriate to evaluate the environmental impact of industrial activities. A LCA quantifies and assesses the emissions, resources consumed and pressures on human health and the environment that can be attributed to different goods and services throughout their life cycle. It seeks to quantify all physical exchanges with the environment, sometimes termed the ‘cradle to grave’ method. The key aim is to avoid burden shifting – meaning to avoid that minimising impacts at one stage of the life cycle leads to larger increases elsewhere.