Life Cycle Management (LCM) is the commitment to improving the sustainability of businesses and public enterprises, by minimising the environmental and socio-economic burdens associated with their products, services and activities throughout the entire material life cycles and value chains to which they contribute.
LCM is first and foremost about management, and this requires well-developed decision making protocols and practices – both for strategic planning and daily operations – all informed by the overriding commitment to Life Cycle Thinking and Sustainable Development.
With a theme of “The Global Challenge of Managing Life Cycles”, LCM 2009 will examine the management of products and processes in both developed economies and emerging markets, the global flows of products and resources, and implications for trade.
“LCM is for organizations which have expressed a wish to produce or trade products, which are as sustainable as feasible; to improve their public image, visibility, general relations with stakeholders; increase their shareholder value, as well as awareness of and preparedness for changing regulatory contexts. LCM is not a single tool or methodology but a management system collecting, structuring and disseminating product-related information from various programs, concepts and tools.”
UNEP SETAC (2007) “Life Cycle Management”
LCM2009 is committed to working closely with business, researchers and consultants to explore how formative insights can help stimulate LCM to new levels of productivity and relevance in the broader community.
