Live LCA

Project: Live LCA

Combining Life Cycle Assessment and Material Flow Cost Accounting

Challenges and opportunities

Climate change, digitalization, Industry 4.0, or the Internet of Things are just some drivers of change that generate new challenges but also new opportunities for producing industries. The Live LCA solution provides quantified sustainability information and cost transparency for any specific product and production step. This results in improved economic and environmental performance.

Combining LCA and MFCA

The Live LCA solution combines the methods Life Cycle Assessment (LCA, product view) and Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA, production view) and includes live data for energy use, material consumption and waste generation.

Live Data and Full Cost Transparency

This enables full transparency where energy and material costs arise within the production system as well as live and automated LCA. This combination is the basis for energy and material efficiency, risk assessments, sustainability improvements and product development.

Project details

Project duration

03/2018-05/2020

Project partners

iPoint
TU Braunschweig
dormakaba
brands&values
eit InnoEnergy

Methods & Objectives

The energy efficiency and the environmental impacts for each manufactured product and each process step within the production and along the product life cycle were evaluated. This evaluation was based on existing data in a company, e.g. from energy monitoring systems, production planning systems, etc.

Access data

Quickly access Life Cycle Information, e.g. EPD for specific products or orders
Increase the use of live data from production monitoring system to replace generic data

Identify potentials

Systematically identify improvement potentials in energy and material use and environmental performance

Enable innovation

Improve internal collaboration and communication for sustainable innovation
Include primary use phase life cycle information to enable life cycle innovation