White Paper

This project uses an input-output lifecycle assessment approach to estimate the GHG and conventional pollutants related to the goods and services consumed by the typical U.S. household. Direct and indirect sources of emissions are considered in five categories of consumption: transportation, housing, food, goods and services. The model reveals the relative contribution of some 200 individual consumer decisions to environmental degradation.

Life cycle assessment is a powerful framework for economic, social, and environmental cost pricing of consumer goods and services. We have extended the capacity of input-output life cycle assessment to approximate cradle-to-consumer environmental impacts from the manufacturing, transport and trade of >600 categories of consumer products and services.