Faced with the environmental challenges that companies are confronted with today, what tools do they have at their disposal? Many now know the carbon footprint, an indispensable step to know one's dependence on carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, the carbon footprint only focuses on impacts on climate change. What about other environmental impacts? To what extent do my product or products also contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer, fine particle emissions, terrestrial and freshwater acidification, or the eutrophication of freshwater? And above all, how can we ensure that our activities are as least impactful as possible?
Moreover, while the carbon footprint is very relevant at the organizational level, it is not suitable for reporting impacts at the product/solution level. Which stages of my product's life cycle are the most impactful? If I slightly increase environmental impacts at one stage of the life cycle, do I significantly reduce them at another stage? Or vice versa.
This is where a second tool comes into play, less well-known than the carbon footprint but increasingly integrated into companies' environmental strategies: life cycle assessment, LCA.
LCA has become the reference tool for assessing the environmental impacts of a product or service, particularly because it takes into account all stages of the life cycle of the system studied.
It is thus indispensable for any company wishing to launch an eco-design approach for its products, communicate on the impact of its products, compare itself to certain competitors, or respond to the challenges of environmental labeling.
However, there are different types of LCA: simplified LCA, with or without environmental labeling, and LCA compliant with the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards. Which one is most suitable for the company's objectives? What are the differences between them? How to fund them? We take stock, strategy by strategy.
1. Presentation of the different types of LCA
Let's start with a quick definition of the different LCAs that will be discussed in this article.
1.1 Simplified LCA
The so-called “simplified” LCA is a relatively free and pragmatic approach to LCA as defined by the ISO 14040/44 standards (see below). While maintaining a high level of rigor and robustness, it focuses on the key elements of the study. It is particularly well suited to the internal needs of companies.
These LCAs can be multi-criteria or focused solely on greenhouse gas emissions, which is called a carbon LCA.
These LCAs can be “cradle-to-grave”, covering the entire life cycle, or “cradle-to-gate”, i.e., stopping at the gate of the company that manufactures the product, without taking into account the subsequent stages of its life cycle.
These LCAs can be focused on a specific product, or compare several products including that of a competitor, which is called a comparative LCA.
To carry out one, you need to follow 4 main steps:
- definition of objectives and scope of the study
- life cycle inventory (LCI), i.e., data collection
- impact assessment (carbon or multi-criteria)
- interpretation of results
1.2 LCA in the context of environmental labeling
In France, the textile and food sectors, and soon the furniture and cosmetics sectors, are affected by environmental labeling. This device aims to enable consumers to have a clear view of the environmental impact of each product.
And it is LCA that has been chosen as the basic tool to calculate the “eco-scores” that will appear on this environmental labeling. The approach is carried out in “cradle-to-grave” covering the entire life cycle of products, and is mandatorily multi-criteria as it is based on the 16 indicators recommended by the European Commission, with additional criteria, specific to the specific challenges of each sector (microfibers for textiles or agricultural diversity and breeding conditions for example for food).
The methodology, based on LCA references adapted to sector-specific requirements, is being finalized and will thus allow better comparability between products, but does not require compliance with ISO 14040/44 standards.
1.3 LCA compliant with ISO standards
This is the complete LCA, the one compliant with the standards ISO 14040 and 14044. It has additional elements compared to the simplified LCA explained previously:
- The methodological rules to follow are demanding and require a very detailed level of analysis, which takes more time;
- A methodological report of 40-80 pages must be produced to precisely explain all the assumptions made and the data used;
- This report must be reviewed by an independent expert who will point out any methodological discrepancies and/or express any reservations about the interpretation of the results;
- Note that in the context of a comparative LCA, including a competing product, a panel of experts consisting of at least 3 people will carry out the critical review.
These elements provide a stronger guarantee of methodological robustness and reliability of the results, which allows for transparent and scientifically rigorous communication to the general public.
These LCAs are multi-criteria, but can focus on 1 or more environmental impacts such as the impact on climate change (carbon footprint).
Do you want to know what the main steps are to carry out an LCA? What is expected in the content? What are the specific indicators? How are the results interpreted? Or what are the differences with the carbon footprint? Find our complete article dedicated to the subject: understanding life cycle analysis (LCA).
2. I want to know the impact of my product / my solution…
The simplified LCA will be the approach to prioritize to start the environmental analysis of your products / solutions. It can be implemented in different ways.
2.1 …on climate change or a set of environmental criteria?
- On climate change
Whereas the carbon footprint studies greenhouse gas emissions at the company and its value chain level, it is also quite possible to know the carbon footprint of a particular product.
You then need to turn to a carbon LCA, also called Product Carbon Footprint (PCF). It will focus solely on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a product or service, thus providing a precise idea of the carbon impact of the system observed. This simplified LCA covers all stages of the product's life cycle.
“Often, the company knows the carbon impact of the transformation stage it controls. But it does not know or knows very little about the carbon impact of the stages upstream or downstream of its product, even though they are sometimes more important in the total carbon footprint. Therefore, doing a carbon LCA will allow it to know the basics, the orders of magnitude, to see the first tracks of reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and thus to guide its strategy. To start with, the carbon LCA is very interesting.”
Julien Mercier, senior consultant at Sami, specialist in LCA and eco-design strategies.
- On a set of environmental criteria
Beyond carbon, a multi-criteria LCA will allow you to identify several key environmental indicators for your activity, and to engage in a holistic approach to environmental impact. In total, the European Commission recommends, through the PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) method, to analyze 16 impact criteria, including climate change but also ozone depletion, fine particle emissions, terrestrial and freshwater acidification, freshwater eutrophication or land use.
These simplified multi-criteria LCAs are what companies often do when they carry out their first LCA(s). But you can also decide to focus on some criteria and not others. In the case of environmental labeling, this multi-criteria approach is mandatory.
Carbon or multi-criteria, the work of data collection and life cycle analysis remains the same. The difference lies in the complexity of interpreting the results.
2.2 …on a single product or several in my portfolio?
Again, to start, we recommend starting with one product, the most sold and/or the most representative. Engaging in the process on a limited scope will help to better understand the stakes of data collection, to build skills in environmental impact analysis, and above all to have key first information to properly guide the next steps of the environmental strategy.
Once the LCA is carried out on a product, it will be easy to replicate the analysis on similar products (different sizes, close formulation, slightly different packaging, etc.).
In the case of a very varied product portfolio, product-by-product analysis will allow comparing products with each other and highlighting differentiated reduction axes. The company can then orient its strategy based on the results: decide to prioritize the production and marketing of the least impactful products and/or decide to focus its eco-design strategy on those with the poorest results.
Internal comparative LCAs can also help the company verify that a new process or a new material integrated into a product actually reduces the environmental impact compared to the previous version.
2.3 …on a specific product or in comparison with a competitor's product?
This is one of the major challenges that an LCA is capable of addressing: comparing the environmental impact of one or more of its products with those of its competitors. This allows the company to position itself and evaluate the relevance of commercial arguments based on better environmental performance.
“This is what we did with a client. The company wanted to compare a product that integrated one of its components with a similar product but which integrated a different component made by a competitor. And it estimated that its component allowed for a lower environmental impact. So we carried out the LCA of the two goods. In this type of situation, companies use LCA to confirm (or disprove, in some cases) that their product is indeed less impactful.”
Julien Mercier
However, these comparative LCAs must remain internal if they are simplified LCAs. Indeed, to publicly present the environmental advantages of a product, the company must demonstrate the greatest possible robustness and scientific rigor, all the more so if competitors are directly concerned. This is what compliance with an ISO standard and verification by an independent third party guarantees.
3. I want to implement an eco-design strategy to reduce the environmental impact of my product / solution
According to the ADEME's definition, “eco-design allows reducing the negative impacts on the environment of products, processes, or services throughout their life cycle”. In short, its objective is to reduce all the environmental impacts of products from their design phase.
Once the LCA is calculated, the eco-design strategy will start by varying parameters theoretically in the modeling of the life cycle of the initial product to study their influence on the different environmental impacts. Faced with the multitude of choices that can be made to reduce the impacts of a product, some will have more weight than others. This eco-design work will serve to ask questions and obtain quantified answers. For example, how much does the carbon footprint decrease if I replace virgin plastic with recycled plastic? Does increasing the lifespan of my product significantly reduce its impact per functional unit?
Or again: does implementing such action improve all environmental indicators or do some worsen? And if I reduce the environmental footprint of my manufacturing materials, will I not have a higher impact during the use of my product? Yes, because one of the risks of eco-design is to generate pollution transfers, i.e., shifting impacts from one stage of the life cycle to another, or from one environmental criterion to another. To avoid this, a good eco-design strategy will be in “cradle-to-grave” (the entire life cycle) and multi-criteria environmental (not just carbon).
Finally, this eco-design approach can be based on a simplified LCA if it responds to an internal approach, i.e., if the results are not published with commercial arguments or do not serve to publicly compare several products with each other.
4. I want to communicate about the environmental performance of my product / solution
This is a recurring request, and LCA is the right tool! Attention, if simplified LCAs are relevant for internal approaches, additional precautions must be taken for the public.
4.1 I want to communicate about the environmental footprint of my product to clients who request it
LCA can meet an internal need of the company but also an external one: requests from customers wishing to know the environmental footprint of one or more products, or even the entire product portfolio of their supplier. And very often, it is only the carbon footprint that is requested.
In industrial sectors, companies that manufacture products that are then integrated by other companies in the design of goods are increasingly confronted with this type of request. Their customers indeed wish to know the carbon footprint of the products they purchase and also to be able to compare the products with each other.
When only one environmental figure is presented to customers, without claiming good or better environmental performance, a simplified LCA is sufficient. A comparative LCA on the products of your own portfolio can also be communicated to your customers. However, to support commercial arguments, or in the case of highly competitive sectors, an ISO standard LCA will be recommended.
“I accompanied a company specializing in the production of raw materials that are then integrated into very broad industrial sectors: agriculture, construction or cosmetics. Several of its clients asked him for the carbon footprint of his products. We therefore carried out simplified LCAs on his entire portfolio. He was then able to send, on request, a PDF file with the results for each of the products.”
Julien Mercier
4.2 I want to communicate to the general public as part of environmental labeling
For products in the textile and food sectors, and soon for furniture and cosmetics, it will therefore be necessary to carry out an LCA in accordance with the reference frameworks established for these sectors. The environmental score that results from this makes it possible to provide clear and transparent information to the consumer to enlighten his purchase act; it is up to him to compare several products with each other.
4.3 I want to communicate to the general public about the environmental performance of my products (outside environmental labeling)
As explained previously, to highlight a good or better environmental performance with customers, the ISO standard LCA will be indispensable to give you all the necessary guarantees. The critical review by an independent expert as well as the application of a recognized international framework will strengthen confidence in the results and the related commercial arguments, for you as for your customers.
“The company can very well start with a simplified LCA to confirm that the product has a good environmental performance. And if it wants to communicate about it, we switch to an ISO LCA. We take up the analysis, we check certain methodological rules and above all we have the complete report audited by a third party. In this case, the company can then communicate very widely about the results of its LCA.”
Julien Mercier, senior consultant at Sami, specialist in LCA and eco-design strategies.
4.4 I want to communicate to my customers or to the general public that my product has a better environmental performance than my competitors
This is the exercise that requires the most scientific rigor and controls: it is not an expert but a panel of at least 3 experts that is required by the ISO 14040/44 standard in this context. The panel must include LCA experts but also experts in the product or sector in question.
Note that compliance with the ISO standard, the writing of the report, and the critical review by a panel is a process much longer than a simple simplified LCA. We therefore recommend being sure of the results before committing to it.
“You must also be careful that the difference between the two or more products analyzed is sufficiently important (+/- 20%) to cover the margin of error that exists in any LCA. If this is not the case, if the difference is small, we advise the company not to publish it.”
Julien Mercier
5. Subsidies for an LCA
The Eco-design Diag
The Eco-design Diag is a device funded by the ADEME and operated by Bpifrance. It aims to reduce the environmental impact of a product, service or process of a company thanks in particular to an environmental assessment based on life cycle analysis.
The support lasts between 6 and 8 months and includes:
- An analysis of the context, definition of the perimeter and the issues
- Awareness of eco-design and training of an eco-design referent
- The realization of an environmental assessment based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
- Identification of eco-design levers
- Preparation for the implementation of an action plan
SMEs with fewer than 250 employees and with a turnover of less than 50 million euros or a balance sheet total of less than 43 million euros are eligible.
After subsidy, the price is:
- 5400€ HT for companies with 1 to 49 employees and less than 10M€ in turnover or total balance sheet.
- 7200 € HT for companies with 50 to 249 employees and less than 50M€ in turnover or 43M€ in total balance sheet.
Several of our consultants are part of the selected and authorized consultants to accompany companies in the Eco-design Diag and thus carry out LCAs within your company.
This approach, which is based on simplified LCA, is relevant to understand from which elements of the life cycle the main environmental impacts come from and thus to tackle reducing them. It also makes it possible to demonstrate a commitment to reducing its impacts, and to communicate a carbon footprint or an environmental score to customers who request it. However, it does not allow to claim environmental virtues or a better performance than competitors. For this, the eco-design DIAG must be completed by an LCA compliant with ISO 14040/44 standards, including a critical review by one or more independent experts.
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