Break down the search into categories that make up the inputs and outputs of the entire life cycle of the product in question, including transportation involved. This involves examining the entire product supply chain.
Stages of the product life cycle include: raw material extraction, processing or refining, manufacturing, assembly, product use, reuse, maintenance, and finally the end of life. The end of life includes the energy requirements and environmental wastes associated with disposing of the product or material.
For each stage, you can try to find articles, websites or books that discuss the product at this stage. In some cases, you may find an article, report or video where a researcher has already done an LCA for a product. Determine how to search by brainstorming a list of questions.
Stage |
Possible Questions to Consider |
|---|---|
|
Raw materials |
What raw materials make up a product? How are the materials extracted from the earth? Mined? Harvested? How much energy is consumed in obtaining raw materials? How are they transported? What effects do these processes have on the ecosystem, environment, or health of local populations? |
|
Manufacturing: |
How are the raw material processed for use? Are the raw materials converted somehow? How are the products fabricated? Filled or packaged? Prepared for shipping or distribution? Do the products go direct to consumers, to a retail outlet, to a supplier to a vending machine, etc? Are there environmental impacts associated with product sales? |
|
Use & reuse |
What energy demands does the product have? Any wastes from product storage or consumption? Any maintenance (service, upkeep, or repair) needed to keep a product in use? |
|
End of life or disposal |
How much energy is involved in disposing of the product? What components does the product break down into? Are these components recyclable? Will the components decompose naturally? What is the rate of decomposition? |
Abstracts from the Compendex database, which includes the electronic version of Engineering Index, with links to full text articles, patents, standards and handbooks in scientific, applied science, technical and engineering disciplines. Comprising journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, standards, books, and recently preprints, Compendex content is sourced from thousands of publishers from around the world, including major engineering societies such as IEEE, ASME, SAE and ACM.
Google search for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports on all topic areas. Use to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, prepublication repositories and universities.
Information on all aspects of human impact to the environment. Includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records.
Full text news, legal, business, and biographical information.
Search the Gale databases provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, including: Gale Academic OneFile,Gale Academic OneFile Select, and more. This resource is provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) in partnership with the Massachusetts Library System (MLS). The purchase is supported by funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Search for WPI library materials including print and electronic books, journals, and audio visual materials.
Catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide.
Most of the time you will have to brainstorm, break down your product into components and assess them individually. A few search examples:
Sustainability in Manufacturing Recovery of Resources in Product and Material Cycles by 
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Goods and Services by 
Design for Environmental Sustainability by 
Cycle Assessment and Environmental Impact of Plastic Products by