Essentials of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a critical tool for businesses and organizations aiming to improve sustainability, optimize resource efficiency, and comply with environmental policies. This course will guide professionals through fundamental LCA concepts, case studies, and real-world applications across various industries such as engineering, manufacturing, energy, construction, and consumer goods. Unlike traditional academic-focused LCA courses, this course is designed by professionals, for professionals—taught by experts who conduct and review LCAs on a regular basis at the industry level.

The goal of this course is to provide professionals with an introduction to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)—a systematic approach for evaluating the environmental impacts of products, processes, and services. Participants will gain hands-on knowledge of the why we use LCA, LCA methodologies, data interpretation, regulatory considerations, and industry applications.

Through hands-on exercises and industry-specific discussions, you'll learn not just how LCA works, but how to actually use it to drive sustainability decisions, meet regulatory requirements, and create business value.

Why Enroll?

Learn from leading professionals – Taught by experts who conduct and review LCAs at the industry level on a regular basis.
Enhance your career – Gain skills that are increasingly in demand for sustainability and regulatory roles.
Flexible learning – Balance your learning with your work schedule.
Industry-relevant discussions - See how LCA is used for regulatory compliance, corporate sustainability, product design, and procurement.
Understanding of relevant tools – Get an overview of major LCA tools (SimaPro, GaBi, OpenLCA). No prior experience or software license is required.
Beyond calculations – Learn how to communicate results, integrate LCA into business decisions, and comply with regulations.

Upcoming dates (1)

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Discounts

When two people sign up from the same employer, the course fee is $1,695 per person.

When three or more sign up from the same employer, the course fee is $1645 per person.

What You Will Learn:

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its role in sustainability.
Understand ISO 14040/14044 standards and regulatory frameworks for LCA.
Be able to communicate the benefits of LCA and understand where it can be applied effectively
Perform basic LCA calculations and interpret results effectively.
Assess and compare the sustainability performance of different products and processes.
Understand options for LCA software tools and databases.
Understand Product Category Rules (PCRs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
Identify key environmental impact categories (e.g., carbon footprint, water use, energy consumption).
Develop data-driven strategies for sustainability improvements in business operations.

Who Should Attend:

Engineers & product designers
Environmental consultants
Those seeking to commission LCAs or understand LCA results
Regulatory & compliance managers
Sustainability and Environmental Management
Manufacturing and Product Development
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Engineering Consultants
Corporate sustainability officers
Procurement & supply chain professionals
Those looking to apply LCA in a business setting

No prior experience in LCA is required

Course Details: RA00076-D821

Course Outline

Session 1: Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment

Overview of LCA and its importance in sustainability
Why use LCA

Benefits of LCA

Applications of LCA

Where can it be used and for what purpose
How can it benefit organizations and their goals
Explore how to communicate LCA and its applications to others
Introduction to Product Category Rules (PCR) and Environmental Product Declaration(EPD)
Regulatory Compliance & ESG Reporting
Product Innovation & Eco-Design
Competitive Advantage & Consumer Trust

Key concepts: Functional units, system boundaries, impact categories
Methodological Framework for LCA

LCA frameworks and standards (ISO 14040/14044)

Integrating LCA into a corporate sustainability program

Session Objective: Understand the fundamental principles and applications of LCA.

Session 2: LCA Data and Data Collection

Explore Use Cases and types of LCAs. How are the results going to be used?

Screening LCAs – internal use only
Product Design & Development
Regulatory Compliance & ESG Reporting
Green Building & Construction
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) focused reporting
Other topics

Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data collection – Iterative Approach
Primary vs. secondary data sources

LCA databases (e.g., Ecoinvent, GaBi, SimaPro)

Benefits of one database over the other, depending on use case

Session Objective: Explore use cases and learn how to identify data sources, collect and organize LCA data effectively.

Session 3: Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)

Environmental impact categories (carbon footprint, water use, toxicity)
Impact assessment methods (e.g., TRACI, ReCiPe, etc)
Results Interpretation and Uncertainty Analysis – data quality

Qualitative vs quantitative
Sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis, contribution analysis

Session Objective: Evaluate and compare the performance of different products and processes.

Session 4: LCA Software and Tools

Overview of LCA software (SimaPro, GaBi, OpenLCA, Umberto, etc)

Note: Detailed training on a specific software will not be provided
Conducting a basic LCA study using LCA software & Data

Mapping out the model – use a class example
Product System – System Model
Life-cycle stages/phases

Overview of

GaBi
SimaPro
Umberto
Open LCA
Spreadsheet based approach

Where to get data

Session Objective: Understanding commonly used LCA tools and software.

Session 5: Applications of LCA in Industry

Organizational LCA and GHG protocol

Carbon Footprint & Climate Strategy
Calculating total emissions (CO¿, methane, etc.) across a product’s life cycle
Identifying opportunities for carbon offsetting
Measuring and reducing emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3)

LCA in product design and development

Material Selection and Optimization (de-materialization/lightweighting)
Energy & Resource Efficiency in Product Manufacturing
LCA in supply chain management and procurement – evaluation

Identify hot-spots in the supply-chain
Transportation/logistics

Durability & Performance
Packaging Sustainability
End-of-Life (Extended Producer Responsibility)

Comparative Analysis – marketing & making claims

Environmental Product Declaration(EPD)

Engineering consulting - Use as a decision-making tool
Case studies from energy, manufacturing, construction, and consulting

Session Objective: Understand real-world applications of LCA across different industries.

Session 6: Regulatory and Business Considerations – Reporting/Disclosing

Best practices for reporting and communicating results
Critical review / review panel, comparative analysis, etc
Regulatory frameworks (EU Green Deal, SEC climate disclosures, EPA guidelines)
Governance – Business Strategy

Corporate sustainability strategies and reporting

Embedding Sustainability into Business Strategy

Board Level Decision making backed by data
Integrating LCA into decision-making processes
Compliance with Global Regulations
Transparency
Managing Risk – in terms of sustainable practices

Session Objective: Understanding best practices for reporting and communicating. Apply LCA to regulatory compliance and business decision-making.

Additional Information

The course will be offered as a live online course, with recordings made of each session so that participants can watch them at other times if they are not available at the meeting time. Therefore, this course can be flexible and accommodate a variety of schedules. The course meetings will take place once a week over a 6-week period, for a total of 6 sessions. Each session will be approximately 2 hours. There will be minimal work outside of the live sessions.

Course Schedule

Registration Date/Time:
10/6/2025 9:30am Central Time

Event Dates/Times:

10/6/2025 10:00am - 12:00pm Central Time
10/13/2025 10:00am - 12:00pm Central Time
10/20/2025 10:00am - 12:00pm Central Time
10/27/2025 10:00am - 12:00pm Central Time
11/3/2025 10:00am - 12:00pm Central Time
11/10/2025 10:00am - 12:00pm Central Time

Program Director & Instructors

Program Director
Adib Amini
Adib Amini
Program Director
Adib Amini, Ph.D., PE, ENV SP, BCEE serves as Program Director in the College of Engineering’s Office of Interdisciplinary Professional Programs, with a focus on Water, Wastewater, Stormwater, and Sustainability. Dr. Amini also works with cities and industries as an engineering consultant, with experience in both drinking water and wastewater treatment. Dr. Amini has expertise in sustainability, engineering design, technology innovation, and renewable energy. Dr. Amini’s work has included the design of novel technologies, including on-site energy systems at facilities. He spearheaded the designs for the first wastewater treatment facilities in Iowa that are 100% powered by on-site renewable energy systems. Dr. Amini invented a novel system for ventilation of rated spaces, such as wastewater headworks buildings, for which he holds a provisional patent. Dr. Amini also has performed award-winning research in technology innovation and sustainability. Dr. Amini has spoken widely at conferences on topics related to water/wastewater treatment, sustainability, PFAS, on-site energy systems, and resilient infrastructure.
Lisa Peterson
Lisa Peterson is an engineer and executive manager who has supported the telecommunications, defense, medical, water/wastewater, and plastics industries with an eye toward process efficiency, cost reduction, and continuous improvement. She holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University, a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering specializing in Lasers and Optics from Cornell University, an MBA from National Technological University specializing in International Business, and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Drexel University. Lisa’s PhD research focused on sustainability assessment of biofuels, energy, and municipal infrastructure using Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Costing, and Techno Economic Assessment. She holds Professional Engineering licensure in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Michigan and is a Lean Six Sigma Blackbelt. She is a member of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Engineering Surveying and Geologists Licensure Board, and a member of the NCEES committee on engineering licensure. She is currently the Principal Engineer and owner of Aftan Engineering, supporting clients with process improvement, cost reduction, and corporate sustainability initiatives, especially LCAs and reviews of LCAs. She has served and continues to serve on various not-for-profit boards. As hobbies, Lisa enjoys archery hunting on her farm and traveling internationally to lesser-known locations.
Rebecca LeBlanc
Ms. Rebecca LeBlanc is a sustainability consultant based north of Boston, Massachusetts. She holds degrees in Business from Endicott College and Technical Management from Wentworth Institute of Technology. Through her consulting practice (LCA Resource) she has worked with companies in the farming/dairy, food, chemical, non-woven, electronics, mining, plastics & automotive sectors helping them provide solid metrics (LCA, PCF) to support their sustainability claims. Most recently she has been certified in climate change risk assessment through GARP and is working towards becoming an En-ROADS Climate Ambassador.

Total Credits:

CEU 1.2,

PDH 12,

Course Administration

Payment Options

If you are planning to attend an Interdisciplinary Professional Programs course, payment is required at the time of registration. Below are the payment options:

Pay by Credit Card

Enroll online and pay by credit card.

Search for the course on the website and then click on the Enroll Now button from the course webpage.
Enter all necessary course attendee information and payment information on the course enrollment page.
You will receive an email to confirm successful enrollment and payment.

Enroll over the phone and pay by credit card.

Call CERC Registrations at 608-262-2451.
Provide the registrations representative with:
- the course name, dates, and/or course number.
- the necessary course attendee information and payment information.
You will receive either a mailed document or an email to confirm successful enrollment payment.

Pay by Check

Mail in a completed registration form and check payable to UW Madison.

Fill out a registration form (found either in the back of the course brochure you received in the mail or here).
Prepare a check, made payable to UW Madison.
Mail the registration form and check to: CERC Registrations 21 N Park St, Ste 7101 Madison, WI 53715
You will receive either a mailed document or an email to confirm successful enrollment and payment.

Pay by Purchase Order

Request Purchase Order information from interpro@union.wisc.edu
- If a fee quote is needed, contact custserv@interpro.wisc.edu first
You will receive an invoice from UW–Madison Business Services for payment, usually within 3–5 business days

Military

If using SF-182 form, please call our registration number at 608-262-2451 or email interpro@union.wisc.edu for details and instructions.

Event Cancellation

We reserve the right to cancel a course due to insufficient enrollment or unforeseen events. If we cancel a course, participants will be notified via email or phone and will be given the option for a full refund or to transfer their registration and any fees paid to another course. We are not responsible for non-refundable plane tickets, hotel reservations, and other travel related expenses. For enrollee Course Cancellation, refer to notes on course page.

Cancellation Policy

If you cannot attend, please notify us no later than one week before your course begins, and we will refund your fee. Cancellations received after this date and no-shows are subject to a $150 administrative fee. You may enroll a substitute at any time before the course starts.