Environmental, social and economic impact happens at all stages of the life of natural resources, from the way they are extracted, to the way they are used in production processes and are recovered after the consumption stage. Life-cycle thinking provides us a methodology to systematically analyse how resources are used across extraction, production and consumption systems, and to look for opportunities to increase resource efficiency and value.

In today’s world, natural resources are at the core of complex global value chains, where production, distribution, consumption and recovery activities often take place far away. Decisions at any stage inevitably have profound consequences for the entire chain’s management of resources. By mapping and including all chain actors in our activities, we are able to discover levellers for change and increase the effectiveness of policy and practical interventions.