Writing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report is often a necessary step when making external claims, or in preparing for a third-party verification process of your LCA results. This article outlines the steps to create the first draft version of your LCA background report, ready to be checked by an external party. This article covers the following questions:
Why create an LCA report?
What is the structure of an LCA report?
Are there templates for creating an LCA report?
Update 19/08/2024: This first version of the article contains a generic reporting template that can be used for multiple purposes and use cases. We are working on offering diverse templates for various use cases in the coming period!
Why create an LCA report?
Creating an LCA background report might seem challenging and time-consuming, but it's an essential step to conclude your LCA study. Even if you don't plan to seek external verification, a report strengthens and secures your LCA knowledge and experience within your company, which helps ensure a smooth project handover, for example.
What is the structure of an LCA report?
The structure of an LCA background report for third-party verification must comply with ISO 14040/44 standards, which define several key sections. These sections ensure that the assessment is comprehensive, transparent, and consistent. The following subsection provides an example structure based on the ISO 14040/44 standards.
Example LCA report structure according to ISO 14040/44
1. Introduction
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Include the LCA commissioner, practitioner, and the date of the report.
Refer to the applied LCA standards.
1.2 Purpose and audience of the study:
State the reason for the study, intended applications, and target audience.
Indicate if it is a comparative study with public disclosure.
1.3 Verification:
Reserve space for the third-party review statement and signature.
2. Goal & Scope Definition
2. Goal & Scope Definition
2.1 Functional unit:
Define the functional unit or product unit used.
Example: "Production, construction, use, and end-of-life of 1 m² of ceramic facade brick with a reference service life of 100 years."
2.2 Product description:
Provide descriptions and relevant technical information for each product type included in the LCA study.
Include pictures for clarity.
2.3 System boundaries:
Describe the life cycle stages included and excluded.
Specify whether the assessment was cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave.
Include a process tree image to highlight the life cycle stages.
2.4 Allocation and cut-off criteria:
Explain the allocation methods and cut-off items. Refer to the LCA standard (e.g., EN15804+A2) followed in the study for specific allocation and cut-off rules.
Describe how impact is assigned to recycled materials.
3. Inventory Analysis
3. Inventory Analysis
3.1 Data collection procedures:
3.1 Data collection procedures:
Describe the data collection methods and sources.
3.1.1 Involved suppliers:
List suppliers who provided specific data in the form of an EPD, PCF, or specific production data.
Include this information in the appendices.
3.1.2 Data sources:
Describe how data was collected from internal systems, specifying the production year and administrative sources.
3.2 Inventory and allocation
3.2 Inventory and allocation
Detail all data and assumptions used in the model per life cycle stage.
3.2.1 Raw materials
Include your product’s bill-of-materials or ‘recipe’, specifying the amounts and names of all raw materials used.
3.2.2 Transport to production site
Provide a table listing all raw materials, including supplier information (name and location), transport distance, and mode of transport. Indicate if the return trip to the supplier is modeled as empty (standard) or full.
3.2.3 Production
Outline the usage, emissions, and waste generated during the production of your products. Explain how these items are allocated to the products. This can be simple (one production process based on volume) or more detailed (multiple processes based on product properties).
3.2.4 Transport to construction/ user site
Describe the transportation mode and distance to the construction/user site. State if the return trip to the supplier is modeled as empty (standard) or full.
3.2.5 Installation on site
Explain the assumptions for inputs and outputs during the installation phase.
Example: To construct facade bricks, mortar is added, and packaging materials are processed as waste. Account for construction or installation losses, typically around 3-5%.
Example: Installing a bookcase often requires electricity if using an electric drill. Detail how you calculated the necessary electricity.
3.2.6 Use phase during building’s life
Describe the inputs and outputs during the product's use phase.
Example: A hair dryer or electric solar shading consumes electricity during use. If the product requires refurbishment or replacement, model the transport movements, replacement components, and waste processing of discarded items.
3.2.7 Demolition and waste processing phase
At the end of the product's life, describe your assumptions about the end-of-life scenario. Ask yourself: Is the product fully recycled, incinerated, or partially recycled and incinerated?
Include details about the de-installation process (e.g., is a facade brick wall demolished?), transport to processing facilities, and the waste treatment processes (reuse, recycling, incineration, landfill). For example, explain the recycling process for bitumen roofing material.
3.2.8 Environmental loads and benefits of recycling and reuse
Describe how you applied the concept of 'system expansion'. This depends on the LCA method followed.
4. Data quality
4. Data quality
4.1 Data quality
4.1 Data quality
4.1.2 Representativeness:
Describe how recent and representative (i.e., geographically, technologically) your data is.
4.1. 2 Completeness of environmental interventions and economic flows:
Discuss potential omissions of relevant environmental interventions.
4.1.3 Consistency and Reproducibility:
Explain how project data and sources are recorded (using appendices, project files, and specific software such as Ecochain Helix or Ecochain Mobius).
4.2 Energy & Mass Balance
4.2 Energy & Mass Balance
Describe how energy and material usage are assigned to products.
4.2.1 Energy balance
Explain how you assigned energy usage to the products in your LCA study. If your study includes fewer products than those produced at your facility, this is where you should mention it.
4.2.2 Mass balance
Ensure that the materials required for the product during the life cycle stages reflect the functional unit. Include a quantitative material flow analysis in a flow chart format, specifying amounts in kilograms. This also serves as a check for any omissions in your work. For example, if your functional unit is 1 m² of installed product weighing 10 kg with 5% installation losses, you should:
Include 10 kg of raw materials in the raw materials stage.
Add 0.5 kg (5%) extra raw materials in the installation stage to account for installation losses.
Model the 0.5 kg (5%) installation losses as waste in your model.
End up with 10 kg of raw materials in the waste processing stage again.
4.3 Qualitative and quantitative description of processes, scenarios, and literature sources
4.3 Qualitative and quantitative description of processes, scenarios, and literature sources
Provide a table detailing the following:
Emission source: Specify the raw material, type of energy, or transport type.
Dataset: Indicate the dataset chosen to represent the environmental impacts associated with this emission source (e.g., a supplier-specific EPD or PCF, or a specific dataset from a publicly available database).
Database version: Mention the database version from which the dataset was selected (e.g., Ecoinvent 3.9.1).
Substantiation: Provide a short description explaining why the selected dataset is the most representative or appropriate for the emission source.
5. Results
5. Results
5.1 Overview of results:
Provide a comprehensive overview of the LCA results. List all the environmental indicators and parameters for each life cycle stage as described by your chosen LCA method. This is best done in a table format within the report for a few products. For multiple products, you can include this information in an Excel appendix.
Note - displaying an overview of results: Only simple tables are included here; graphs, diagrams, interpretation, and analyses belong in section 6.
5.2 Weighting environmental impacts:
If your analysis includes a weighting factor (such as the single score for the MKI), list the weighting factors in this section.
6. Analysis
6. Analysis
6. 1 Hotspot Analysis:
Identify which parts of the life cycle (specific materials, production, transport, construction, or end-of-life) with the greatest environmental impact.
Include visual aids like bar charts for clarity.
Example - hotspot analysis process:
Analyze the Climate Change indicator and other significant indicators visually in your LCA software. If using a single score like the MKI, visualize it per life cycle stage with bar charts showing indicator contributions.
Describe the results, highlighting key impacts and specific emission sources.
For high-impact stages, further analyze and chart the contributions of individual raw materials to pinpoint major contributors.
6.3 Sensitivity analysis:
Assess the sensitivity of results to changes in assumptions or data.
7. References
7. References
List all LCA standards, methods, and other sources (e.g., PCRs) referred to in the report.
Are there templates for creating LCA background reports?
Do you use Helix or Mobius and want to speed up the process of writing LCA background reports? Well, you’re in luck!
If you're making use of Mobius, use the following template to make a report. Add your LCA data & results from the software to the report accordingly.
Reporting templates in Helix
Helix offers a semi-automated LCA background report template. Find it under ‘input -> your templates’.
Next steps
Creating an LCA background report is essential for third-party verification of your LCA results. This article explains the process of drafting a comprehensive report, ensuring it complies with ISO 14040/44 standards.
Upon completing a report once, you will have a report that is a 'template' specific for your company. As such, future reporting will be simple as only minor changes will have to be made to your company-specific report when changes occur.
Even if external verification isn't planned, completing an LCA report helps secure the LCA knowledge within your company and facilitates a smooth project handover. By following this structured approach, you ensure that your LCA study is thorough, transparent, and reliable, setting a solid foundation for future assessments and verifications.
