Seminar for Stockholm Material Hub

Last week we had the pleasure of holding a presentation on LCA and EPD for the Stockholm Material Hub.

We walked SMH´s members through new sustainability regulations, the process of getting an LCA and EPDs, showed a fictional LCA study in SimaPro, and discussed why and how they should plan to do one. 🗓️

We received an interesting question from the audience we wanted to share with you:

❓How replicable are LCA results and what affects their quality❓

Though there is a certain degree of subjectivity in LCA modelling, there are ways to minimize it through observing the LCA standards, general programme instructions (GPI) of the programme operator, and product category rules.

✔️ First, supporting documentation that justifies the numbers used in modelling needs to be provided. This can be a bill of materials, invoices, certificates of origin for electricity consumption, and so on.

✔️ Second, methods such as sensitivity analysis and specific data requirements facilitate the quantification of uncertainty in the model.

✔️ Third, using conservative assumptions and voluntarily declaring as much information as possible is a good practice, especially if some data are missing or are very approximate. Additionally, variation in product and production sites needs to be accurately described.

✔️ Finally, implementing internal and external LCA reviews makes LCA results more credible. For example, with Type III ecolabels such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), third-party verification is mandatory in order to ensure proper data handling and documentation. During the verification process, the supporting documentation, the LCA model, and compliance with applicable standards in the final report are checked.

Does that mean you can be confident in the results you receive? Yes! LCA is a useful tool for the quantification of environmental impacts and for us at Xylo Sweden, it is of the highest importance to thoroughly get to know your product and value chain should you choose to join us on an LCA journey. 🛣️🚴‍♀️