LCA Engineering case studies
LCA Engineering · Put your knowledge to work in context.
LCA Engineering credentials are aimed at professionals who build and defend quantitative life cycle assessments rather than merely read them: sustainability engineers, EHS and product stewardship specialists, consultants, and procurement or design staff who commission studies. The exam tests working command of the ISO 14040/14044 framework end to end - framing goal and scope and a defensible functional unit, constructing and allocating inventory data, selecting and interpreting impact assessment methods, and communicating uncertainty honestly. The LCA Engineering case studies are 5 cases and about 2,955 words.
1Sawmill co-product allocation: mass versus economic keys
A sawmill processes 9,000 t of roundwood per year. Outputs are 4,500 t of kiln-dried sawn timber, 2,700 t of wood chips sold to a panel mill, and 1,400 t of sawdust and bark sold as biomass fuel; 400 t is lost as moisture and residue.
648 words, about 3 min2Reusable versus single-use beer bottles: functional unit and reuse-loop boundary
A brewery delivers 1 million litres of beer per year to retail in 0.5 L glass bottles. It is comparing single-use bottles with a reusable bottle system.
646 words, about 3 min3Wastewater biogas CHP: GWP horizon, biogenic carbon and avoided grid electricity
A municipal wastewater treatment plant treats 50,000 m³/day. The baseline uses activated sludge with grid electricity and anaerobic digestion; biogas is flared.
564 words, about 3 min4Vietnam furniture EPD: proxy data and a comparative claim
A furniture manufacturer in Vietnam produces 120,000 oak chairs per year for export to the EU. The LCA model uses a generic 'electricity, medium voltage, Vietnam' dataset from a commercial database, last updated five years ago.
540 words, about 3 min5Concrete EPD comparative assertion: declared unit, fly ash and critical review
Two ready-mix concrete mixes are compared in a manufacturer's EPD. Mix A is C30/37 with 320 kg cement/m³; Mix B is C50/60 with 420 kg cement/m³ and 80 kg fly ash/m³.
557 words, about 3 min