LCA Technology case studies
LCA Technology · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The LCA Technology exam is an independent, vendor-neutral credential for professionals who build and interpret life cycle assessment models. It suits LCA practitioners, sustainability analysts, product stewards, and consultants who already know the ISO 14040/14044 framework and now need to prove technical fluency in data, software, and exchange formats. The LCA Technology case studies are 5 cases and about 2,538 words.
1Co-product allocation at a dissolving pulp mill
Northern Pulp AB operates a mill in northern Sweden that produces 500,000 air-dried tonnes (adt) of dissolving pulp per year and co-produces 45,000 t of crude tall oil (CTO) and 120 GWh of surplus electricity exported to the grid. A European customer wants to compare this pulp with dissolving pulp from a Chinese supplier.
573 words, about 3 min2Proxy dataset and double counting in a PCB carbon footprint
An electronics OEM is calculating the cradle-to-gate carbon footprint of a 6-layer printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) weighing 0.8 kg, assembled in Vietnam. Primary data from the contract manufacturer cover electricity (6.0 kWh per m2 of board), gold (0.4 g per board) and copper (200 g per board); other materials and processes are not measured.
529 words, about 3 min3Midpoint, endpoint and biogenic carbon in an insulation comparison
A construction client compares two insulation options for 1 m2 of facade at R = 4.0 m2K/W over a 50-year building life: 200 mm wood-fibre board (density 160 kg/m3) and 120 mm mineral wool (density 40 kg/m3). The practitioner runs ReCiPe 2016 v1.1 midpoint (H) and EF 3.1.
500 words, about 3 min4Verification and critical review of a cement EPD with a comparative claim
A ready-mix concrete producer commissions an EPD for CEM I 42.5 R cement, declared unit 1 t, to EN 15804+A2. The consultant uses ecoinvent 3.8 cut-off although the EPD template states 3.9.1; alternative fuels (tyres, biomass) are allocated by economic value; internal transport of limestone from the quarry to the kiln is excluded because it takes place 'within the site'; GWP-biogenic is reported but GWP-luluc is left blank.
471 words, about 2 min5OpenLCA JSON-LD to ILCD round trip and model versioning
A consultancy models a cradle-to-gate LCA of a heat pump in openLCA 2.0 and exports the product system as openLCA JSON-LD for a client who uses SimaPro 9.5 and ILCD. The model contains a parameter 'grid share' (0.6 wind, 0.4 grid) and links to ecoinvent 3.10 APOS.
465 words, about 2 min