Life Cycle Assessment in Engineering Projects

4 months into my first sustainability job, and I can't believe more companies aren't doing life cycle analysis. I regularly analyse products from start to finish - raw materials, manufacturing, transport, use, and disposal. The insights are eye-opening. Here's what I've learned: Life cycle analysis reveals hidden environmental impacts that companies frequently miss. It can identify cost-saving opportunities and carbon emission hotspots that often go unnoticed. It helps create better products that customers actually want! On the surface, the process isn't complicated: 1. Collect data from supplier/manufacturer 2. Input materials, processes and waste management 3. Analyse and understand impact categories 4. Find improvement opportunities 5. Implement changes Small changes make big differences. One of our recent projects reduced water usage by over 90% AND decreased CO2 by over 50% just by changing the material (yes, I couldn’t believe it either). Don't wait for regulations to force your hand. Start analysing your products now. The data is there, the methods are proven, and the benefits are clear.

🌱 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝘾𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 (#LCA): A Critical Tool for Measuring Sustainability In a world where sustainability is non-negotiable, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) stands out as a comprehensive methodology for understanding and reducing environmental impacts. Here’s an in-depth look at what LCA is, its key phases, and why it matters: 📖 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙇𝘾𝘼? Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluates the environmental impact of a product, service, or process across its entire lifecycle. From raw material extraction to disposal, LCA provides a detailed, data-driven picture to guide sustainable decisions. 🔍 𝙋𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝘾𝘼: 1️⃣ 𝙂𝙤𝙖𝙡 & 𝙎𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 - Purpose: Set the objectives of the assessment (e.g., reduce carbon footprint, optimize distribution). - Scope: Decide boundaries: Cradle-to-Grave: Covers the entire lifecycle from raw material to disposal. Cradle-to-Gate: Ends at the point the product is ready for shipping. Variants: Cradle-to-Cradle: For fully recyclable products. Well-to-Wheel: Focuses on fuel and transport impacts. 2️⃣ 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 & 𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 Focus: Data collection and quantification of resources and emissions. - Key Emission Categories (GHG Protocol): Scope 1: Direct emissions (owned/controlled sources). Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased electricity/energy. Scope 3: Indirect emissions across the value chain, including: Purchased Goods & Services 🛠️ Upstream Transportation & Distribution 🚚 Use of Sold Products 🏭 End-of-Life Treatment ♻️ 3️⃣ 𝙀𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝘼𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 - Objective: Measure impacts using 15+ categories, including: Climate Change 🌍 Ozone Depletion 🌫️ Acidification 🌧️ Human Toxicity 🚨 Outcome: Summarize the total environmental burden by calculating category-specific equivalents. 4️⃣ 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 - Analysis: Identify significant environmental impacts (e.g., hotspots in emissions). Recommend actionable solutions. Deliverables: Summarize limitations, insights, and sustainability strategies. 🌟 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙇𝘾𝘼 𝙞𝙨 𝙀𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡: - Informed Decisions 💡: Helps businesses identify opportunities to improve sustainability. - Regulatory Compliance ✅: Supports frameworks like CSRD and ISO 14040. - Transparency & Credibility 🤝: Builds trust with stakeholders through data-backed assessments. - Product Innovation 🚀: Encourages sustainable design and lifecycle optimization. #LifeCycleAssessment #LCA #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #CarbonFootprint #GHGProtocol #EnvironmentalImpact #GreenBusiness #ClimateAction #Transparency #Innovation

🌿 LCA Basics: Types of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods 🌿 In this 11th post of LCA Basics - An information series, we are going to talk about the various types of LCIA methods. Each LCIA method provides distinct insights, and the choice depends on the product or process being evaluated. Here’s a focused overview of widely used/popular LCIA methods: 1. TRACI (Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts) **Measurement: Midpoint **Applications: Common in North America, particularly for building materials, chemicals, and energy systems. 2. ReCiPe (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu Recipe) **Measurement: Both (Midpoint and Endpoint) **Applications: Suited for consumer goods, agriculture, and building materials, offering a balance between detailed midpoint results and aggregated endpoint results. 3. CML (Centre of Environmental Science at Leiden University) **Measurement: Midpoint **Applications: Popular for chemicals, transportation, and waste management, with a strong focus on precise environmental categories like climate change and resource depletion. 4. EF Method (Environmental Footprint Method) **Measurement: Midpoint **Applications: Ideal for consumer goods, packaging, and European market products, aligning with EU’s circular economy goals and harmonized LCA practices. 5. EN LCIA Method (European Norms for Life Cycle Impact Assessment) **Measurement: Midpoint **Applications: Specifically designed for construction materials, often used with EN 15804 standards for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). It provides standardized impact assessment for buildings and infrastructure projects in the EU. Choosing the Right LCIA Method The choice of an LCIA method should align with the desired impact results and the specific characteristics of the product or process being evaluated. For example, "EN LCIA" is indispensable for construction materials, while "EF Method" supports broader applications in consumer goods and packaging. Comment on your way of choosing LCIA in your LCA projects. In the next post, we will be moving to impact categories and midpoint/endpoint classification. 🔗 Let’s connect to exchange insights on LCA and drive meaningful action together. Reference: [1] https://lnkd.in/gCH4n_9C #Sustainability #LCA #LifeCycleAssessment #ImpactAssessment #GreenDesign #CarbonFootprint #LCIA

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗼𝗻, 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 — 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲. A new paper Nature Magazine from Microsoft researchers, (led by Husam Alissa and Teresa Nick), demonstrates the power of life cycle assessment (#LCA) to guide more sustainable data center design decisions — going beyond operational efficiency. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞:  While LCAs are often conducted after design and construction, this paper highlights the value of applying them much earlier. Integrated into early-stage design, LCAs help balance sustainability alongside feasibility and cost — leading to better trade-offs from the start. For example, the study found that switching from air cooling to cold plates that cool datacenter chips more directly – a newer technology that Microsoft is deploying in its datacenters – could: ▶️reduce GHG emissions and energy demand by ~15 % and ▶️reduce water consumption by ~30-50 % across the datacenters’ entire life spans. And this goes beyond cooling water. It includes water used in power generation, manufacturing, and across the entire value chain. As lead author Husam Alissa notes: "𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 — 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳." To support broader adoption, the team is making the methodology open and available to the industry via an open research repository: https://lnkd.in/gC5jdkMs The work builds on Microsoft’s continued efforts to construct unified life cycle assessment methods and tools for cloud providers. (read more about this here: https://lnkd.in/gq24wMrA) 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: 👉https://lnkd.in/gVm25zzh #sustainability #climateaction #innovation #sciencetoaction