Bring on 2021!
We’ve said good-bye to 2020 and have jumped into 2021 with renewed vigour
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2020 was certainly a memorable year with COVID dominating globally. While the switch to a virtual world meant cancelled events and lost opportunities for spontaneous encounters, the Life Cycle community continued its diverse work, helping to drive the uptake of life cycle thinking around the world. For the Life Cycle Initiative Secretariat, the year has built on the strong push that life cycle approaches received in UNEA4, in March 2019. We have been busy delivering, among others, the request from member states to deliver LCA studies comparing single-use plastic products and their alternatives, as well as the enabling conditions for life cycle approaches to be used globally. Particularly, the work on single-use plastic products has brought the Initiative much closer to the policy-making scene, with the presentation of these studies to e.g., the ad hoc expert group that is debating on a potential global agreement to combat plastic pollution in the context of UNEA, or to a joint commission of Mexico’s Senate and Congress Houses preparing the revision of legislation on single-use plastic products; the “next stop” will be the Geneva “Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues” in the run up to UNEA5 (see calendar section). The Initiative is also shaping action of countries to deal with plastic pollution hotspots.
2020 also saw the launch of the Global LCA Data Access network (GLAD), and of Phase 3 of the Global Life Cycle Impact Assessment (GLAM), a multi-stakeholder effort of over 300 LCA experts working collectively to create a comprehensive, consistent and global environmental Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method (LCIA). The much-awaited 2020 revision of the Social LCA Guidelines was also just released as we were closing the (virtual) office for the year. Other highlights included expanding the application of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Hotspots Analysis Tool (SCP-HAT), which helps users analyse hotspots in a country or at the sector level where unsustainable consumption and production is happening. E-learning was pushed to the fore as workshops and university classes moved on-line. In this area, on-line courses developed by the Initiative have been enriched with the in-kind translation of the introductory module to Portuguese by Prof. Diogo Aparecido Lopes Silva’s group, and the ongoing agreements by universities across the globe to incorporate these modules in their curricula (e.g. U of Balamand in Lebanon; Witwatersrand in South Africa; Politécnica de Madrid in Spain; Suez Canal in Egypt; to name a few). It is this active engagement from the Life Cycle community which enables the Initiative to punch above its weight, and to bring life cycle approaches to a whole new level of application, both in business and in policy making. We need and appreciate your support, and we look forward to strengthening our collaboration with you and your institution in the new year.
The above is just a snapshot of what the life cycle community is working on. The pandemic has taught us what matters most, and the significant recovery packages being pumped into the economy open the opportunity to "Build Forward Better". The Initiative is striving to provide countries with information of their key areas of unsustainable consumption and production, so the economic recovery plans can be the seed of a sustainable new economy. Don’t forget to stay abreast of all developments; bookmark the Initiative website.
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Welcome to our new interns :-)
The Life Cycle Initiative team is significantly strengthened by the arrival of Naomi Odigbo and Kaushik Narasimhan Andakudi Kesavan
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In late November 2020, the Initiative Secretariat welcomed two new members to UNEP’s Life Cycle team, Naomi Odigbo (left) and Kaushik Narasimhan Andakudi Kesavan (right). Naomi is a Nigerian and South African national, currently based in Paris where she just finished her Master in Political Science on 'Governing the Large Metropolis' at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Kaushik is an Indian national, who has just returned to Chennai after completing his MSc in Sustainable Technology at KTH-Stockholm. They will be with us until April of this year.
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Making impact in times of COVID-19
We ramped up the Initiative’s on-line and social media presence in 2020: how did we do?
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We do not usually speak about our online presence, but 2020 has moved everyone online, so we thought it would be good to provide a snapshot of how this translated for us.
 Compared to 2019, visits to our website increased by nearly 30% to almost 120k visits per month. The top downloads, both with over 1300 accesses, were:
On social media, LinkedIn posts have been driving four times more traffic to the website compared to 2019, and the webinars organised by the Initiative this year have attracted thousands of participants. We are humbled by the ongoing positive response of the community and (possibly most importantly) to increased interest and awareness on the work on life cycle approaches from those beyond the life cycle community... You can count on us to keep this up!
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InTex: Call for Proposals
Increasing Eco-innovation and the use of Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) in SMEs in the textile sector in Africa
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 Starting February 2021, UNEP will begin implementing InTex, an EC-funded project designed to increase Eco-innovation and the use of Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) in SMEs in the textile sector in Africa. Capacity-building of local partners to continue to deliver knowledge and capacity beyond the project lifespan is included to ensure sustainability of the approach; the project also includes a strong component on LCA data generation. The project will be implemented in three African countries and will run until July 2023. The countries are being selected through a call for proposals. This process is still open; submission deadline is 25 January 2021.
The work is funded by the European Commission (EC) to promote innovative business practices and economic models in the textile value chain.
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Bringing Together Circular Economy and Life Cycle Thinking
Life Cycle Initiative community's article to be published in upcoming International Journal of LCA
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The Life Cycle Initiative community has just submitted an article that is soon to be published in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment (Int J LCA). The article looks at the interface between a circular economy and life cycle thinking.
The current global interest in circular economy (CE) opens an opportunity to make society's consumption and production patterns more resource efficient and sustainable. However, such growing interest calls for precaution as well, as there is yet no harmonised method to assess whether a specific CE strategy contributes towards sustainable consumption and production. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is very well suited to assess the sustainability impacts of CE strategies.
A position paper, published in July 2020 and the basis for the Int J LCA article, provides an LCA perspective on the development, adoption, and implementation of CE, while pointing out strengths and challenges in LCA as an assessment methodology for CE strategies.
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AMARU is (a)live!
Open knowledge initiative promoted by the Ecuadorian Network of Life Cycle and Circular Economy now operational
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 Amaru is an open knowledge initiative promoted by the Ecuadorian Network of Life Cycle and Circular Economy. Inspired by the Andean snake deity whose scales reflected everything and every living being, Amaru wants to spread life cycle thinking and approaches, promoting access to knowledge as a public good and strengthening capacities for the application of criteria of sustainability in all decision-making processes.
A national database of life cycle inventories on electricity generation data is currently available. In addition to the datasets (which can be downloaded), you can use the platform to explore and visualize life cycle impacts as well as carry out contribution analysis. The aim is to make sense of the available data and build a bridge between the LCA knowledge and its application in decision making.
Amaru was developed with the support of UNEP and funding from the European Commission under the project "Resource Efficiency through Application of Life cycle thinking (REAL)”. The platform is available both in Spanish and English; we would love to have your feedback.
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Survey on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment
With your help, we want to learn how LCSA is used in practice today and how the methodology can be further applied
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Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is the sustainability assessment of product systems according to three pillars (environmental, social and economic), using a life cycle perspective. But, despite its importance, it’s not widely understood how LCSA is used in practice today and how the methodology can be further applied. Can you help?
We have developed a survey to get a better idea of LCSA’s use. It only takes 5 minutes to complete; your participation is anonymous, and any data submitted will be treated as confidential and used exclusively in the context of this study. Results will be used to in the development of the Life Cycle Initiative’s Position Paper on Principles for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and published in a scientific paper. Thank you in advance for your time and participation.
The deadline to complete the survey is 29 January 2021. Please do not hesitate to contact Jana Backes with any questions.
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Project & Activity Updates
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Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products & Organizations 2020
The 2020 edition of the Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products and Organizations is now available for access.
Since the launch of the first edition by the Life Cycle Initiative in 2009, the practice of social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) has evolved from a small circle of academic practitioners to one that now includes stakeholders from industry, policy makers, and business.  This new edition facilitates understanding for non-experts and ensures that the right tools are in the hands of the decision-makers. These 2020 Guidelines do not dictate one path but rather explain the strengths and challenges of different approaches, thereby helping to solve multiple questions. It will soon be possible to read the Social LCA Guidelines 2020 in French and Dutch, thanks to an in-kind (and very kind!) collaboration between the Belgian and Quebec governments. Watch this space.
You can hear all about the revised guidelines in a virtual launch on 21st January, check the calendar section for more details!
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Global Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method (GLAM)
The implementation plan for the creation of a Global Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method (GLAM) has now been defined. Over 280 people participated in the 2020 stakeholder consultation meetings (May and November); we collected a wide range of comments that will inform the method structure.
Implementation has begun under four task forces: 1. human health 2. ecosystem quality 3. natural resources and ecosystem services 4. normalisation weighting and LCIA-LCIA linkage and implementation.
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Single-Use Plastic Products Studies
For much of 2020, the Initiative has been working on various meta-studies on single use plastic products (SUPP) and their alternatives. Three reports were published covering single-use plastic bags, plastic bottles and take-away food packaging.
We are in the process of finalising other studies including single-use beverage cups, tableware, nappies, feminine hygiene products and personal protective devices (masks). You will be able to find them shortly in the same website, so keep an eye out! This work is part of UNEP’s response to the UN Environment Assembly Resolution 4/9, on addressing single-use plastic products pollution.
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E-Learning Courses on Life Cycle Thinking
 The e-learning courses on Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) have shown great progress in 2020. We have seen the largest number of registrations and module completions in the last 6 months, with the maximum number of registrations coming from Colombia and Brazil. We are now roughly only 1,000 trainees short from reaching our 2017-2022 target of training 2,500 professionals on LCT.
With life cycle terms becoming increasingly prominent in policy and business decision-making, it is important to be informed. To facilitate the growing need, the Life Cycle Initiative offers three free e-learning modules on LCT in various languages covering a wide array of topics, from its applicability in business decision-making to policy-making. Certificates are also issued on successful completion of each course. We highly encourage universities and training centres to partner with us in using these course modules and in sharing your success stories after completion.
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National Guidance for Plastic Pollution Hotspotting and Shaping Action
Following the release of the report on UNEP-IUCN National Guidance for Plastic Pollution Hotspotting and Shaping Action in July 2020 and the release of its associated modules and tools in October 2020, the pilot reports of 5 countries (Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Thailand, and Viet Nam) are available now on the project website. The Guidance has been piloted by IUCN in these 5 countries in 2019-2020. These pilot reports produced substantial amounts of data and are being used to guide policy-makers to develop interventions.
IUCN is currently piloting the Guidance in Cyprus, Menorca (Spain), and Tanzania. The Guidance may also be piloted in Brazil, Colombia, Portugal, Panama and Jamaica. More pilot reports will be published at a later stage.
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 Linking the UN Sustainable Development Goals to Life Cycle Impact Frameworks
The working publication on LCA-based Assessment of the Sustainable Development Goals provides an update on the development and preliminary findings of the project, Linking the UN Sustainable Development Goals to Life Cycle Impact Frameworks.
The project is developing a method for businesses and governments to integrate systematically the SDGs into decision-making and progress monitoring, thereby allowing companies to measure their contribution to the SDGs.  Further, this will substantially help to coordinate action and increase efficiency in implementing the 2030 Agenda. The outcomes will also be useful for streamlining and harmonisation of sustainability reporting. Learn more about this project in the webinars planned for 28th January, see the calendar section below.
This Life Cycle Initiative project is co-led by PRé Sustainability and 2.-0 LCA Consultants.
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Sustainability & Circularity in the Textile Value Chain
 UNEP has published a new report “Sustainability and Circularity in the Textile Value Chain” that identifies the key environmental and socio-economic impacts along the textile value chain, based on life-cycle approach. It also takes stock of existing initiatives working to address them. The report identifies three priority actions needed to achieve a more sustainable and circular textile value chain.
The work draws on research by UNEP and FICCI and is complemented with multi-stakeholder consultations. A short video highlights the key findings of the report. Our thanks to GGKP for their support in these launch events.
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 Social LCA Guidelines 2020 official launch
Join us on January 21st, 2021 • 14:00 CET
Get insights to the new “Guidelines for Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products and Organisations 2020” on 21st January, 2021 at 14:00 CET at the official publication launch, together with the project Chairs and the first companies to apply the new guidelines, who will share their experiences and discuss the associated benefits.
We look forward to meeting you online!
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Discover the Potential of SDGs for your Business Strategy
Join the webinar on January 28th 2021 • 9:00 CET or 15:30 CET
2030 is getting closer and closer. To reach the goals the United Nations (UN) set in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we have to cooperate on all levels, and we see more and more businesses that want to do their part. Join us Thursday 28 January to hear how companies are approaching the SDGs in their business practices. To cover various time zones, the event will be held twice: 09:00-10:30h CET OR 15:30-17:00h CET (pick the time that works best for you).
During this online event we will discuss how the SDGs can add value to your business sustainability strategy, and how you can make the SDGs more pragmatic for businesses by using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). PRé and 2.0-LCA, together with the Life Cycle Initiative, will provide insights of the project ‘Linking the UN Sustainable Development Goals to life cycle impact pathway frameworks’ by sharing the approaches they have developed so far. Business partners from the project will share their experiences from applying the methodology within their organization. Time will be reserved for questions to fuel a lively discussion. To prepare for the event, you can download the publication and read more about the approach and method.
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Life Cycle Thinking in the Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues
Join the dialogue on February 11th 2021 • 14:00 CET
This first series of the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution dialogues is being held to build momentum towards the first session of UNEA-5. It aims to facilitate further engagement and discussions among actors across the regions and support coordinated approaches that can lead to more efficient global decision making in the area of plastics pollution.
The Life Cycle Initiative’s work supporting LCA of single-use plastic products and their alternatives will feature in the closing session of the Dialogues on 11th February at 14:00 CET, ahead of the high-level dialogue on plastics governance. You can register now for this session via the button below.
By the way, you can also register for other dialogue sessions on Plastics and Human Rights; Plastics and Health; Plastics and Standards; and Plastics and Trade.
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Invitation to GLAD Developer Days
Join the sessions on February 10-11 2021 • 12:00-15:00 CET
Can you help GLAD to perform better, extend its functionalities and become the reference tool for finding LCA data, everywhere? Can you join us to think and code together?
UNEP will organise two sessions with an introduction to the technical structure of GLAD (on Day 1), followed by an open forum for discussion and hands-on sessions with fellow software developers. If you are a developer or there are developers in your organization that can join us, please register today.
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Additional events
- Ecobalance 2020: 4&5 March 2021 | Call for papers until 11 January
- CILCA 2021: IX International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment in Latin America - "Think long term and act immediately" I 29-31 March 2021 I Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Unilever Environmental Sustainability Scientist
Unilever is looking for 3 talented and experienced environmental sustainability scientists/practitioners to join their SEAC team in the UK. The individuals will be involved in conducting research to help advance life cycle and related approaches needed to assess the environmental sustainability of business actions.
Application deadline: 6 January 2021.
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Sofies Sustainability Consultant
Sofies UK is recruiting an individual focused on LCA to join their team in London as soon as possible. They are looking for a Sustainability Consultant with LCA skills to perform complex LCAs and calculations on various environmental metrics for wide-ranging projects, in addition to contributing to business development activity.
Application deadline: 15 January 2021.
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Ongoing call for LC Net contributions
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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 thinking contributes to different policy agendas, sustainable business and decision making, in various countries and regions.
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; please send us your piece approximately two weeks before the release date. We look forward to your contributions in disseminating life cycle knowledge from global policy and business agendas.
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THANK YOU TO OUR FUNDING PARTNERS!
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