The life cycle of a product is commonly modelized with five stages: raw materials procurement (the so-called cradle stage), manufacturing, distribution, consumer use and disposal (the grave stage). The product impacts the environment at each of these stages.

A life cycle assessment (LCA) (also life cycle analysis or ecobalance) is an evaluation of the environmental burden that a good or service represents from its cradle to its grave.

The need to understand the environmental impact of products along their entire life is a strong force behind the construction of sustainable supply-chains: as manufacturers realize that their products are only as sustainable as the raw materials they use, they increasingly involve their suppliers in the search of environmental impact reduction opportunities.

LCAs can be conducted at various levels of complexity (qualitative analyses are the simplest, quantitative the most complex) and using various approaches. The ISO 14000 establishes standards to conduct them and many software and databases are available.