Bringing Life Cycle Thinking to Brazilian Universities: The UFSCar Experience 

The Life Cycle Initiative’s e-learning modules on Life Cycle Thinking aim to make life-cycle knowledge widely accessible by providing clear, practical introductions to life-cycle concepts and their use in policy, business, and consumer decision-making. The modules help learners understand when and how to apply life-cycle tools, using real-world examples to demonstrate their relevance in practice. 

In Brazil, the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), Sorocaba campus. has actively promoted the Life Cycle Initiative’s online materials among its students since 2019. In 2020, the course, was translated into Portuguese under the coordination of Prof. Dr. Diogo Aparecido Lopes Silva, an effort to make the course fully accessible to Lusophone learners and opened the door for its use in Brazilian universities. 

Every year since, UFSCar students in the School of Management and Technology complete this course as part of the assessment process. For many students, this is their first structured encounter with Life Cycle Thinking and with the concept of environmental footprints. 

Prof. Silva, highlights that the e-learning modules have proven to be a powerful complement to classroom teaching. Their clear, and simple structure helps students grasp foundational concepts and prepares them for more advanced work in LCA. By combining academic instruction with interactive digital learning, students benefit from both conceptual clarity and practical engagement.  

The impact of this blended learning approach was published in 2023, which examined experiences in teaching Life Cycle Assessment using active learning methodologies. The article proposed a step-by-step approach for LCA education and highlighted e-learning tools as a key component of modern, effective teaching strategies. 

We would like to express our appreciation to Professor Diogo Aparecido Lopes Silva and the UFSCar team for their leadership in implementing and promoting the e-learning modules. Building on this momentum, the Life Cycle Initiative encourages universities worldwide to integrate these modules into their programs, helping to establish Life Cycle Thinking as a core component of sustainability education globally.