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This article reviews efforts made by the United Nations Environment Programme to assess the progress in life cycle assessment (LCA) implementation worldwide. The effort was approached in two stages. First, research was carried out which included a document search and a survey of LCA practitioners. Secondly, an expert workshop of LCA practitioners was held to review the survey results and to develop recommendations for action. Results highlight that there is significant and growing interest in LCA and that its use is increasing. To foster better LCA adoption, industry, government and other societal groups will have to address barriers due to a lack of: a perceived need for LCA, of expertise or know how, of funding and a lack of data and methodology.