Life cycle assessment

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What is at stake?

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an analytical method used to quantify the environmental impacts generated by a product or service throughout its life cycle. LCA is governed by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards.

Why is it important?

Life Cycle Assessment is a method of measuring the environmental impact of a product or service throughout its life cycle.

Although LCA is often associated with established products or industries, it can also be applied to startups to evaluate the environmental impact of their products, processes, or services.

Conducting an LCA can:

➡️ Ensure compliance with regulations (RE2020, Climate Law...);

➡️ Improve the environmental performance of products (eco-design);

➡️ Attest to the credibility of environmental initiatives;

➡️ Clearly inform customers/consumers about the environmental quality of products and services, offering a significant competitive advantage.

When to conduct your LCA? It's not feasible to undertake this exercise at the prototype stage. To successfully complete an LCA, it's necessary to gather data related to the product's lifecycle. While certain default scenarios exist (especially regarding end-of-life considerations), manufacturing and distribution data cannot be fabricated!"

Marie Voyer, CPO & Co-fondatrice de Qweeko, Alumni EDHEC Entrepreneurs & Future 40 (2022)

Three key steps to take

1️⃣ Define the scope of the LCA

Clearly define the scope of the Life Cycle Assessment by identifying the specific products, processes, and services you want to assess. This will help to target your efforts on the most relevant and significant elements for the startup.

2️⃣ Collect data and assess impacts

Gather relevant data for each life cycle stage identified within the LCA scope. This could involve information on energy consumption, emissions, materials used, waste management, etc. Once the data is collected, assess the environmental impacts associated with each stage using appropriate evaluation methods.

3️⃣ Analyze results and identify improvement opportunities

Analyze the LCA results to identify areas of high environmental impact and improvement opportunities. These could include process optimization, reducing energy consumption, using more sustainable materials, enhancing waste management, and more.

📚 For further reading

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