Send an inquiry Order newsletter Life Cycle Assessment Life cycle assessment (LCA) provides information about the environmental impacts of products, services, or systems during their life cycle. Information can be used for versatile purposes: to support the research and development work of companies as a background information when applying funding and in communication and marketing. In addition to LCA, we conduct environmental product declarations (EPDs) and critical reviews for carbon footprint and LCA studies.
Key Benefits Improving the environmental performance of products Multiple use cases for results Data driven communication of environmental benefits Improving the understanding of environmental performance of products Life cycle assessment (LCA) to reveal environmental impact Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a systematic and widely used method to evaluate the environmental impacts of products, systems and services. Environmental impacts are typically evaluated throughout the entire life cycle – from cradle to grave – to identify most significant life cycle phases from the standpoint of environmental impacts. LCA pinpoints the opportunities for improving the environmental performance of your products. Different environmental impacts can be evaluated with LCA such as, climate change, acidification, eutrophication, water footprint, and depletion of natural resources. LCA is based on international standards (ISO 14040 and 14044). If needed, other LCA-based standards and calculation rules, such as PEF/PEFCR, can be applied instead of ISO-standards. LCA studies can be used for a variety of purposes, such as in R&D (e.g. product development), communications, and marketing. The intended use case of an LCA study defines the extent and content for the review, however always consider your information needs and each study case-by-case. Our experts have honed their expertise to the top level through hundreds of LCA and carbon footprint studies. We have conducted LCA studies for both internal use (e.g. R&D) and public stakeholder communication. Environmental product declarations (EPD) An EPD is a standardized document used in both B2B and B2C communication. EPD describes the environmental impacts of your product transparently and comprehensively. EPDs are verified by a third party and are always made based on specific calculation guidance (PCR, product category rules). The results presented in EPD can thus be compared to the results of competitors that have obeyed the same PCR. EPDs are always based on life cycle assessment study. Our goal in EPD projects is not only to create EPD document itself but to increase the understanding and knowledge of our customers by comprehensively describing the results and factors affecting the results. We provide in-depth and comprehensive information about the environmental performance of your product in addition to the EPD documents. Appropriate product category rules are always followed to comply with EPD guidelines, not forgetting customer-driven mindset with customer communication. By keeping customers’ information needs in focus, we ensure the quality of our projects.
Critical review for quality assurance for LCA or carbon footprint studies Critical review ensures that an LCA or a carbon footprint (CFP) study has been carried out transparently and consistently, and the guidelines and recommendations of standards are followed. Critical review provides quality assurance for an LCA or CFP study. It ensures that the study has been carried out according to guidelines and standards, and that the methods and choices are scientifically and technically valid. The findings and results of critical review are compiled in a separate report and critical review statement. We critically review LCA and CFP studies according to international standards (ISO 14044 and ISO/TS 14071). Either external or internal critical reviews can be conducted, depending on the practitioner of the study. In the case of internal critical review, we make sure that the reviewer has not been involved with the study in other respects. The details and practicalities of critical review are always defined case-by-case depending on the information needs of customers and intended use purpose of the study. Trainings related to life cycle assessment In addition to life cycle assessment, we offer training tailored to customers’ needs, so that decision making based on facts and conversation with stakeholders would be easier. We have held training days at a common level about the key features of life cycle assessment but also trained companies for more specific topics, for example GaBi and EoL modelling and methods. Training can be held for individual companies, or they can be tailored for one field or industry. Through our training, our customers understand better the life cycle assessment and the communication related to it. Our customers have also gained the ability to discuss life cycle assessment as support for sales and marketing, for example.
