Life Cycle Assessment Consulting

We use Life cycle assessment (LCA) method to assess the environmental impacts of a product or service. LCA looks on the whole life cycle. Hence, the environmental impacts of a product are evaluated from cradle to grave, which means from the resource extraction up to the disposal of the product. ESU uses the method to analyse and optimize products, to compare different products with each other or to declare the environmental impacts.

The general procedure of conducting an LCA in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 is standardised by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). An LCA consists of four stages:

1. Goal and Scope Definition
2. Inventory Analysis (LCI)
3. Impact Assessment (LCIA)
4. Interpretation

Why we carry out life cycle assessments

Life cycle assessment allows the systematic balancing and analysis of environmental impacts in the life cycle of products and services. We use it to answer the following questions for you:

• Where are the main environmental impacts in the life cycle of your products?
• What opportunities for reducing environmental impact and CO2 footprint arise from this?
• How does the environmental impact of different products compare?
• What environmental impact do your products cause and how can you declare this in a fact sheet?

The four stages of LCA

The Goal Definition (phase 1) covers the description of the object of investigation. The environmental aspects to be considered in the interpretation are also defined here. The Scope Definition includes the way of modelling the object of investigation, the identification as well as the description of the processes of importance towards the object of investigation. The functional unit, which determines the base for the comparison, is defined here.

The direct environmental impacts (emissions and ressource uses), the amount of semi-finished products, auxiliary materials and energy of the processes involved in the life cycle are determined and inventoried in the Inventory Analysis (phase 2). This data is set in relation to the object of investigation, i.e. the functional unit. The final outcome consists of the cumulative resource demands and emissions of pollutants.

The Inventory Analysis provides the basis for the Impact Assessment (phase 3). Applying current valuation methods, e.g. eco-indicator, ecological scarcity or CML, to the inventory results in indicator values that are used and referred to in the interpretation.

The results of the inventory analysis and the impact assessment are analysed and commented in the Interpretation (phase 4) according to the initially defined goal and scope of the LCA. Final conclusions are drawn and recommendations stated.

We offer you to elaborate a life cycle assessment according to your questions and needs

We would be happy to provide you with a quote for a life cycle assessment. In order to prepare a quotation, we need some information about the objective and scope of the desired study. Some questions are listed below:

• Who is formally the client (please provide full billing address)?
• Which language for quotation, reports and deliverables should be used (German or English)?
• Why do you want to start this project (e.g. EPD, environmental declaration, analysis of a product, comparison of different variants)?
• Which of your products/services should be analyzed (please provide available product information, photos, links to your website, etc.)?
• Do you see specific advantages for your product from an environmental point of view and what are they?
• What are the key questions to be answered?
• What environmental indicators should be calculated (CO2, full life cycle impact assessment)?
• What comparisons should be made and what would be possible comparison products?
• Do you need a complete report, or is a presentation / Excel table with the main results sufficient?
• Do you want to use the study internally or publish it?
• Which standards or PCR (product category rules) should be followed (e.g. ISO 14040, EN 15804, etc.)?

For questions about this, you can book the date for a meeting. If you are located in another time zone, you can switch to your time zone (below the calendar). This will should show you correctly slot in your time zone. You should receive an email with a calendar invitation and Teams link after choosing the time and date. Please check your Spam folder if you do not receive such an invitation, or contact us by Email answering the questions above.

LCA case studies by ESU

ESU-services investigates all types of products and services in LCA case studies. Some working examples are:

• Life cycle assessment of pets
• Comparison of energy systems
• Comparison of mineral water and tap water
• Comparison of different conversion processes for BTL-fuels (biomass-to-liquid)
• Energy analysis of beef from Argentina and LCA several other food products
• LCA of photovoltaics and other types of electricity production
• LCA of skiing, cruises and other types of holidays

A full list of published case studies can be found in the section on publications. A full list of projects and some information of working examples can be found in another section of this webpage.

LCA methodology development

The influence of normalization and weighting on results by different possibilities given in the ISO Standard. Presented by Jungbluth, Niels during 72nd LCA Forum - Normalization and weighting: The forgotten theme in LCA