Professional Training

The objective of this training is to provide an understanding of the scope of life cycle assessment (LCA) (information generated and potential applications) in order to strategically integrate it into a decision-making process. Elements presented: life cycle concept, stages of an LCA according to ISO 14 040 and concrete examples of companies that have integrated life cycle thinking into their practices.

Social Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) aims to identify and analyze the potential social impacts arising from the activities of companies involved in the value chain of a product or service, and their effects on the various stakeholders. Through this approach, public and private decision-makers can better understand the social consequences of their decisions and identify opportunities for improvement (such as investment choices, supplier selection, income distribution, etc.).

This course deals with the water footprint based on life cycle analysis, as defined in the ISO 14 046 standard. The implementation of sustainable water management involves the identification of impacts. of human activity and the determination of possible levers of action: this is the goal of the water footprint. The water footprint quantifies the potential impacts associated with water, both in terms of water quality and quantity.

In order to meet the challenge of climate change, companies will need to create low-carbon products and services and reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. This training aims to highlight exactly what the carbon footprint is, how to measure it and its role in the fight against climate change.

The purpose of the training is to provide the necessary knowledge to perform life cycle analysis (LCA) on openLCA independently. openLCA is a free and open source ACV software. A general knowledge of LCA is required. Note that a general knowledge of LCA is required to attend the training (see prerequisities).

Brightway2 is an open source (Python) LCA platform, useful for creating models that go beyond the conventional limits of LCA. The goal of the training is to provide the knowledge needed to start using Brightway2 in your projects. An understanding of LCA and the calculations involved, as well as a basic knowledge of Python is required.

With the growing interest of organizations in the concept of circular economy, many strategies are put forward to improve the circularity of products or services. But what are the environmental benefits or impacts of these strategies? Is it always better to close the loop? How can the circular economy be anchored more concretely in a context of sustainability? Life cycle thinking, and one of its tools, life cycle assessment, can provide answers to these questions.

The final step of a life cycle assessment (LCA) is the interpretation of the results. This interpretation then enables informed strategic decisions to be made (e.g., understanding which life cycle stages contribute most to the potential impact, identifying eco-design opportunities). To properly interpret an LCA result, it is necessary to understand and master the various methods for assessing impacts.

The goal of the training is to provide the necessary knowledge to perform life cycle assessments (LCA) on SimaPro independently. A general knowledge of LCA is required.

Input-Output provides an easy-access to economic an environmental sectoral data, as well as coarse estimates of the effect on the environment of a change in behaviour/policy. The goal of the training is to allow participants to learn how to understand and manipulate Input-Output tables such as Exiobase.

The GHG Protocol is a standardized and internationally recognized methodology that enables companies to rigorously and transparently identify their most significant sources of GHG emissions.