News for the Global Life Cycle Community • LC Net • March/April 2019 Edition

March/April 2019 Edition

• LC Net Focus

• Announcements

• Life Cycle Initiative project updates

• Our calendar of upcoming events

Contact us:

[email protected]
www.lifecycleinitiative.org

LC Net Focus

The 4th Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA4)

The Life Cycle Initiative is in full speed with the preparations for the UNEA4, which will take place in Nairobi from 11-15 March (with related events already from 4 March). The Initiative and its UN Environment Secretariat are leading and supporting events, providing inputs to the Ministerial Declaration, as well as supporting the various Resolutions that member states have put forward.

The global environmental agenda will be discussed from various perspectives throughout UNEA4, and the Initiative is actively:

• Providing resources and technical inputs during discussion of resolutions among government officials of Members States (December 2018-March 2019)

• Designing and supporting a high-level leadership dialogue on Life Cycle Approaches “Life-cycle approaches to resource efficiency, energy, chemicals and waste management” (15 March 2019)

• During the Science, Policy and Business Forum (8-10 March), present the Sustainable Consumption and Production Hotspots Analysis Tool (SCP-HAT), and explore the potential opportunities brought by frontier technologies to exploit Big Data for LCA dataset generation.

• Organising panels and talks during the Sustainable Innovation Expo, including the Panels on “Working Together to Beat Plastics Pollution”, Sustainable Textile Value Chain, and sustainable procurement in the tourism sector.

Please keep a close eye on the updates of our social media in March during UNEA4, as well as the event’s website http://web.unep.org/environmentassembly/.

Announcements

2018 Progress Report published

Life Cycle Initiative’s 2018 Annual Activity Report is online! 2018 was an exciting year packed with many deliveries. Highlights include growth in our engaged and active membership base, the addition of two new funding partners, the election of three new Steering Committee members and good progress on our three main programme areas: Technical and policy advice, Capacity development, and Knowledge.

Get details on all the progress and achievements made in the 2018 Progress Report.

Social LCA workshop by the European Commision

The European Commission, in cooperation with UN Environment and the Life Cycle Initiative, is organizing the first social LCA metrics workshop open to all stakeholders, members states, and LCA practitioners on the 5th of April 2019. The aim of the workshop is to monitor the status of Social LCA and have an open debate on future steps. Please note that the participation is free of charge, however there is no possibility to offer travel support to participants. There is a limited number of places and the workshop will take place in DG GROW premises (Avenue d'Auderghem 45, 1040 Bruxelles) therefore registration is absolutely required for security reasons. More details will be available in DG GROW website.

For more information and registrations please contact Manfred Fuchs or Claudia Topalli.

Invitation to participate in the online consultation “Linking SDGs to LCA”

In the Initiative’s project ‘Linking the UN Sustainable Development Goals to life cycle impact pathway frameworks’, LCA 2.-0 Consultants and PRé Sustainability aim to create a methodology to link the SDGs to life cycle assessment. Using this methodology, companies can measure and report their impact on the SDGs. The project team have now developed two approaches to link SDGs and LCA.

In order to make use of relevant scientific and business knowledge, we are organizing a stakeholder consultation process that runs in parallel with the technical development throughout the project. The aim is to continuously inspire and challenge the development of our approaches and to reflect on the experiences of using the project outcomes. We would be happy to receive your input on 4 key topics we address in the first stage of our project.

Join the online consultation!

The Business Case for Life Cycle Thinking

The Life Cycle Initiative will launch “The Business Case for Life Cycle Thinking” in March during UNEA4. This booklet is a compilation of stories from diverse businesses throughout the world that take on Life Cycle Thinking approaches to improve their companies’ environmental footprint as well as economic results. The compilation presents case studies from different projects undertaken by the UN Environment and the Life Cycle Initiative and shows how Life Cycle Thinking can be integrated via three related approaches:

• The Life Cycle Management Capability Maturity Model (LCM-CMM)

• Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (O-LCA)

• Eco-Innovation

The case studies show applications in diverse sectors with examples from 10 different countries. Such diversity shows that the application of Life Cycle Thinking is moving towards the mainstream. It is a great indication that the Life Cycle Initiative is advancing on its goal to enhance the feasibility of life cycle approaches on a global scale. The report will be available for download on the Initiative website in mid-March.

Product Environmental Footprint Training during SETAC Helsinki

On 26 May, the European Commission, in collaboration with UN Environment and the Life Cycle Initiative, is organizing a free training for LCA practitioners of the PEF/OEF rules in Helsinki, back-to-back with the SETAC Conference. Please note there is no possibility to offer travel support to participants, but a share of the 50 places will be provided in priority to participants from developing countries and emerging economies. Save the date in your agenda!

Get more details and how to register.

Win participation in the LCM 2019 conference

The Life Cycle Initiative is thrilled to announce a competition to win participation in the 9th International Conference on Life Cycle Management, to take place on 1-4 September 2019 in Poznan, Poland. Participating is easy! All you have to do is to complete the e-learning module on Life Cycle Thinking and tell us how you are using Life Cycle Thinking in your personal or work life.

One winner will be selected among all submissions. The winner will receive travel support (according to UN rules and regulations) as well as access to the conference.
In order to be eligible for participation, the following criteria apply:

1. You must have completed at least two blocks of the e-learning module (in whichever language you like).
2. You must submit a short description (maximum of 1000 words) of how you are applying the concept of Life Cycle Thinking in your personal or work life and what kind of impact it has had. Submissions must be made in English.

Members of the conference organising committee cannot apply to this competition.
This competition is held under the REAL project with the financial support from the European Commission.

Please send your submission to Ms Kristina Bowers by 12 July 2019.

Global Plastic Leak Project kicks off, with support from the Initiative

Quantis and EA launched the Plastic Leak Project (PLP) in Feb. 2019, to develop robust metrics to help shape operational solutions and effective actions to address the plastic and microplastic pollution crisis. The project will develop a methodological guide for companies to locate, map and assess plastic leakage along their value chain. UN Environment and the Life Cycle Initiative sit in the strategic committee of the PLP project, to provide technical guidance on the development of the methodology. The PLP project also collaborates closely with the Initiative’s project “National Guidance For Marine Plastic Hotspotting and Shaping Action”, to ensure consistency of the methodologies developed for countries and business.

Read the press release.

WRF 2019 and Call for Papers

This year’s World Resources Forum (WRF 2019) will take place in Geneva, October 22-24, 2019. The overall topic of the conference is “Anchoring Sustainable and Efficient Resource Management” with emphasis on following topics: I. Policies and Governance; II. Technology, Industry and Environment; III. Sustainable Lifestyles, Communication and Education. Life cycle thinking is a cross-cutting topic in the program.

Scientific Sessions are a key element of the WRF 2019 overall program and the Call for Papers is now open. We invite you to submit scientific abstracts by April 19.
Participants from least developing countries with outstanding contributions looking for partial funding are encouraged to submit the abstracts by 20 March.
For more information, please contact the WRF Secretariat.

The Young Champions of the Earth 2019 Awards

We call all life cycle minded young champions out there to apply for the Young Champions of the Earth 2019 awards! Please share your ideas by applying by 31 March 2019, and we hope to have one young champion from the life cycle community to share your creative solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Life Cycle Initiative project updates

LCA Award: news from Africa, Latin America and Asia

An LCA Awards scheme was launched in 2017 by the Life cycle Initiative to support selected practical projects in implementing Life Cycle approaches. This activity leveraged support from LCA experts and providers of LCA software and data. 62 applications were received, out of which 44 were accepted and granted with LCA tools for implementing proposed projects from July 2017 to July 2018. Of the 14 final reports received, assessment varied across sectors including textiles, building materials, waste and agri-food products (coffee beans, cassava, etc.), covering social and/or environmental impact as well as mapping the hotspots. Based on the results of LCA tools applied, studies propose strategies and recommendations to mitigate impacts.

We would like to take the opportunity to thanks the great contribution from FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and WRF (World Resources Forum) for organising and monitoring the awards. We are also grateful for all the devoted sponsors who kindly provided free LCA software and data to awards winners: Gabi (thinkstep), SimaPro (PRé Consultants), Umberto (ifu Hamburg - member of iPoint Group), Ecoinvent, WebLCA+CLCD (IKE), PSILCA (GreenDelta), and SHDB (New Eearth B).

Our Calendar: where we and our partners will be active

United Nations Environmental Assembly of the United Nations Environmental Programme – Fourth session | 11-15 March 2019 | Nairobi, Kenya

The Life Cycle Initiative is preparing for the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA4) that will take place in Nairobi in March 2019 and will focus on “innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable consumption and production”. This year, one key focus area will be life-cycle approaches to resource efficiency, energy, chemicals and waste management.

>> Read more

2nd consultation workshop for the review of the Social LCA Guidelines |24-26 April 2019 | Paris, France

Life Cycle Initiative’s new project “Towards an updated Guidelines for Social LCA – Scale up and road testing of Social LCA & Social Organizational LCA (S-LCA & SOLCA)” is organizing a face-to-face workshop to consult stakeholders on the revision and use of the Social LCA guidelines in April 2019. If you are interested to participate in the revision process please email Elisabeth Ekener to be added to the mailing list.

SETAC Europe 29th Annual Meeting | 26-30 May 2019 | Helsinki, Finland

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Europe 29th Annual Meeting will feature a variety of training, networking and learning opportunities on the theme “One Environment. One Health. Sustainable Societies.”. One overlying track of the meeting will be “Life Cycle Assessment and Footprinting” and will feature several interesting sessions which revolve around Life Cycle Thinking.

>> Consult the event website

CILCA 2019 Conference | 15-19 July 2019 | Cartago, Costa Rica

The eight edition of the CILCA Conference of the Iberoamerican Life Cycle Network (RICV) will take place in 2019 in Costa Rica (Cartago), from 15 to 19 July 2019. CILCA 2019 is being co-organized with the Association for LCA in Latin America (ALCALA), and the Costa Rica National Life Cycle Network. The CILCA 2019 has adopted as the overarching central topic “LCA: Global Competitiveness” to frame the discussions and exchanges

The deadline for abstract submissions has been extended until the 30th of November. To submit an abstract please click in here. For more information please contact [email protected]

>> Consult the event website

9th International Conference on Life Cycle Management | 1-4 September 2019 | Poznań, Poland

The LCM (Life Cycle Management) conference series is one of the world’s leading forums for environmental, economic and social sustainability. The focus is on practical solutions for the implementation of life cycle approaches into strategic and operational decision-making, whether in science, industry, NGOs or public bodies. TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FUTURE is LCM2019's draft title and the conference will consider the current challenges and prospects in life cycle management. Note that the deadline for LCM2019 abstract submission has been extended to 31th of January 2019.

>> Consult the event website

LCA XIX | 24-26 September 2019 | Tucson, AZ, USA

The American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) is hosting its 3rd LCA conference in Tucson, Arizona. It is a great opportunity to connect with experts from academia, industry, consulting and, government and NGOs on the latest innovations in life cycle thinking.

>> Consult the event website

Joint conference: 4th Congress of Engineering, Science and Environmental Management and 5th International Conference of Greening of Industry Network | 28-30 October 2019 | Mexico City, Mexico

The Congress is organized by the Mexican Association of Engineering, Science and Environmental Management (AMICA) and Greening of Industry Network (GIN). The deadline of abstract submission is 15 March 2019.

You can also consult our Events page for more information about the events above. Is there an event coming up in your area? Just let us know and we'll add it to our list.

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On-going Call for LCNet Contributions!

Members of the Life Cycle Initiative, please feel free to submit your event, job vacancy, news, capacity development opportunities, topics and stories related to life cycle thinking and LCA, to be shared with the global life cycle community. We are always looking for featured coverage on the experience how life cycle thiking contributes to different policy agendas, sustainable business and decision making, in various countries and regions. You may send your content to info(at)lifecycleinitiative.org and copy Feng Wang. Note that we cannot accept contributions of a commercial nature.

LCNet is released bimonthly in the beginning of January, March, May, July, September and November, so please send us your piece approximately at least two weeks before the release date.

We look forward to your contributions in disseminating life cycle knowledge from global policy and business agendas!

Thank you to the Life Cycle Initiative Funding Partners!

Secretariat of the Life Cycle Initiative

For more information, please visit our website, or feel free to contact us by email.