Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become an important tool used to enhance the environmental performance of process systems and products. LCA is an essential element in design for environment (DfE) because LCA can be utilized to evaluate and analyze environmental impacts incurred in the life cycle and supply chain. This review presents methodologies that can be used to integrate LCA into DfE activities and reduce environmental impacts from process systems and products; and introduces case studies for water supply systems and cellular phones. LCA is first used to quantify environmental impacts and identify the principal contributor to high impacts. In the next step, environmental impacts from principal contributors can be reduced by using mathematical optimization tools as an engineering and technological approach and by utilizing the cooperation of professionals from a diverse range of fields. Because the methodologies and case studies can be applied and extended to other fields, this review paper can contribute to helping prevent environmental pollution and enhance the sustainability of our society.