Introduction
In 2025, there is a growing push for companies to become more transparent regarding their sustainability efforts. Conducting Lifecycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are a productive method for businesses to invest in to become more sustainable and reach their science based targets.
Both LCAs and EPDs contribute towards meeting corporate sustainability targets, but they each serve different purposes. In this article, we explore what each term means, who needs to do them, the process of both, as well as the benefits of conducting LCAs and EPDs in today’s competitive market.
What Is An LCA?
An LCA stands for a Life Cycle Assessment, and is a technique to measure the environmental impact of a product over its entire lifecycle. This lifecycle considers:
- Resources (Material Extraction)
- Processing
- Manufacturing
- Distribution
- Use and end of cycle
- Recycling, landfill, disposal etc.
Types of LCA
- ‘Cradle to grave’
- ‘Cradle to gate’
- ‘Cradle to gate with options’
Specifically, ‘Cradle to grave’ covers the whole lifecycle of a product. Alternatively, ‘Cradle to gate’ measures the lifecycle impact up to the point that the product leaves the factory or production centre’s gates. ‘Cradle to gate’ only concerns CO2e impacts.
Who Needs To Do an LCA?
An LCA is valuable to a large number of industries looking to improve their environmental impact and reach sustainability targets. The following groups are most likely to benefit from conducting an LCA:
- Manufacturers – Companies producing goods, from construction materials to consumer products.
- Construction and Building Industry – Builders and developers use LCAs to monitor the environmental impact of materials and construction processes.
- Businesses seeking Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) – Companies looking to provide transparency in their sustainability efforts and need to conduct an LCA as a foundation for an EPD.
The LCA Process
Set your Goal and Scope
The terms “goal” and “scope” are essential components of the LCA. They are the first step in the process to define the purpose, boundaries, and objectives of the environmental assessment for a particular product.
Goal: The LCA goals capture the overall aims and purposes of conducting the environmental assessment. They help provide a clear statement of the assessment aims and demonstrate sustainability commitments to stakeholders.
Scope: The scope defines the boundaries and extent of the environmental assessment. Specifically, it identifies the aspects of the life cycle which will be considered. These include raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, use, and end-of-life phases. Additionally, factors such as geographical boundaries and functions can be considered.
Setting goals and scopes for your environmental assessment provide a clear roadmap, ensuring that the evaluation remains consistent, transparent, and aligns with the objectives.
Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)
The Life Cycle Inventory is a technical process that provides an inventory of all the inputs and outputs during a product’s lifetime.
This inventory includes data on raw material extraction, energy consumption, emissions, waste generation, and other relevant factors such as production to use and disposal. The Lifecycle Inventory serves as the foundation for quantifying the environmental impacts of a specific product or system, offering productive insights into resource consumption and potential environmental implications.
Life Cycle Impact Interpretation
This term refers to the process of identifying , checking, and evaluating the results of a Life Cycle Inventory. They consist of the following:
- Identify important issues.
- Evaluate the completeness, sensitivity, and consistency of the data.
- Draw conclusions and make recommendations.
Once the data has been rigorously checked, conclusions about the results can be drawn and goals put in place regarding ways to improve sustainability.
Benefits of an LCA
An LCA is a progressive way for a company or manufacturer to move towards sustainability. Some of the main benefits include:
- Reducing Environmental Impact: Identifying environmental hotspots in the lifecycle of products, revealing where potential improvements can be implemented. This hotspot can improve the overall environmental impact of a product.
- Preserving Resources: Identifying where resources are being used ineffectively, or where alternative products or processes could be used more sustainably.
- Saving Money: Organisations could act on the recommendations in the LCA and adopt more efficient processes and less expensive, more sustainable materials.
- Managing Risks: Identifying potential risks associated with the manufacturer, use and disposal of a product, which may lead to implementation of risk management strategies.
- Improving Relationships with Stakeholders: Demonstrating an organisation’s commitment to sustainability, strengthening relationships with stakeholders and eco-friendly customers and NGOs. Sustainability credentials and transparency can lead to improved brand reputation and provide competitive advantage.
What is an EPD?
To become an EPD, your LCA must adhere to stricter regulations and product category rules. The LCA should have gone through a series of rigorous checks and have had them verified by an external third party arms length verifier.
Types of EPDs
Single Company, Single Product – This EPD is the most common and describes the life cycle impact of one product from one manufacturer (applicable to several factories).
EPDs For Forthcoming Products – Products which are developed but not on the market, environmental profiles of forthcoming products will be updated and re-verified after one year of production at the latest.
Group EPDs – Similar products made by the same manufacturer.
Average EPDs – These are developed by industry associations and declared as the average product of multiple companies in a clearly defined area. These are known as “generic EPDs”, “industry wide EPDs” and “industry average EPDs”.
Who Needs to do an EPD?
EPDs have become much more popular in recent years. Large supply chain owners are now demanding EPDs, especially within the construction industry. Construction products make up about 80% of all EPDs, while food and beverages, paper and plastic, metal, minerals and glass make up the remaining 20%. The top countries with the most EPDs are:
- Italy
- Sweden
- Spain
- Turkey
- UK
The EPD Process
Next, an LCA must be verified by a third party in order to become an EPD. This verification ensures all data has been collected in life with all product category rules and meets ISO requirements.
Certification bodies and accredited organisations with expertise in LCA methodologies and standards are responsible for conducting this verification. These bodies review the EPD methodology data and conformity with established standards including ISO14025 ad ISO 14040/44.
The verification process aims to confirm that the EPD adheres to all recognised standards, that the date is accurate, and that the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology used is appropriate. Once the EPD meets this criteria successfully, it can be verified as a credible and trustworthy document.
Best Practices for EPD Creation and Usage
When the EPD is being created, it is important to start by clearly defining the product scope and ensure all relevant life cycle stages and environmental impacts are considered.
Additionally, collecting significant data from suppliers and conducting a detailed life cycle assessment are crucial in order to ensure accuracy and completeness of an EPD.
Importantly, an EPD is just one report in a whole scheme of relevant factors including cost, functionality, and user needs.
Promoting the standardisation of EPD methodologies and aligning them with international norms such as ISO 14025, can enhance consistency, transparency and comparability across products and industries.
It is also vital to regularly update and verify EPDs inbound order to ensure that information remains accurate and relevant over time. EPDs require a commitment to transparency, collaboration and continuous improvement to promote more sustainable and environmentally responsible product choices.
To Summarise…
Overall, LCAs and EPDs are two important documents which highlight the significance of transparency and informed decision-making when building a sustainable business.
Their usage of objective numerical data enables organisations to find ways to improve their sustainability efforts. These efforts build corporate transparency and allow stakeholders and consumers to make environmentally-friendly decisions with confidence.
Why Enistic?
Enistic sells four things to help companies with their sustainability requirements. These include:
- AI-enabled software and solutions to calculate and manage your carbon footprint: Carbon footprint calculations, sustainability report production, supply chain carbon emissions calculations, sustainability data centralisation and visibility.
- Sustainability plans that help companies become more sustainable. ESOS action plans, carbon reduction plans, science-based targets, and ESG reports.
- Product carbon footprints that show clients the carbon emissions of their products. Lifecycle assessments, environmental product declarations, digital product passports.
- Legal compliance solutions. SECR, ESOS, TCFD, CFDR, IFRS, CSRD, CBAM, DPP.
Our team of carbon assessors can help you determine whether EPDs and LCAs is something your business requires and how it can benefit you. If you are at all interested, please don’t hesitate to book a call with us today.
Thank you for reading!