The environmental impact generated by a natural healthcare product measured through the Life Cycle Assessment approach

The following study examines the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in evaluating the potential environmental impacts generated by a 100 per cent natural and biodegradable medical device produced by Aboca S.p.A. Società Agricola (henceforth referred to as Aboca for brevity). The product, named TesterA, is composed of organic medicinal plants produced in-house according to a fully vertically integrated production chain. The Functional Unit (FU) chosen is 180 g of finished product, including primary, secondary and tertiary packaging with a cradle to gate approach, and the method applied is the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The study highlights some limitations of the tool in considering all the peculiarities of the analysed product, in particular, its level of biodegradability and the benefits of organic farming in terms of biodiversity. However, also considering the European legislative context deriving from the publication of the Green Deal that places the LCA as a fundamental tool to support decision-making and certification processes for consumer protection and to counteract the phenomena of Greenwashing, the study confirms the LCA as a reliable scientific methodology to highlight potential environmental hotspots and direct companies towards improvement actions.