Life cycle assessment of polycarbonate production: Proposed optimization toward sustainability

•A life cycle assessment of two polycarbonate production processes was conducted.•Bisphenol A production and coal mining and burning were identified as key factors.•The leading-level polycarbonate green factories can reduce carbon emissions by 10%.•Mechanically recycled polycarbonate could yield environmental benefits of over 82%.•Green mines and bio-based plastics were suggested to optimize the environment.