Progress toward more consistent LCA standards

At the halfway point, the project Consistent Standards for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is making progress in tackling inconsistencies across LCA standards. Through case studies, industry collaboration, and contributions to international initiatives, the project aims to create clearer, more aligned frameworks.

“We identified the key issues to work with, and so far, we’ve started several case studies, had two conference contributions accepted, and actively contributed to the ongoing revision of ISO 14067 and the development of ISO 14077,” says Tomas Ekvall, researcher, and project leader for the initiative.

Since the project’s launch in November 2024, these topics in LCA methodology have been highlighted as priorities: allocation, electricity modelling, biogenic carbon modelling, chain-of-custody approaches, and data management. These are areas where standards such as ISO and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) often diverge, leading to confusion and inconsistency.

“Many share our view that LCA-related standards need to be harmonized, both within ISO and between ISO and the GHG Protocol. Several international initiatives are now being launched with this aim,” says Tomas Ekvall.

Industry partners see shared challenges and opportunities

The project’s industry partners agree on the difficulties posed by inconsistent standards, and the benefits of working together to address them. Electrolux emphasizes the value of collaboration and practical case studies for understanding how carbon accounting schemes are applied.

“Participating in the project helps us understand how other industrial sectors approach emissions quantification and apply standards. We’ve also gained valuable insights into models and standards we don’t currently apply, such as chain-of-custody.”

Höganäs highlights the opportunity to deepen their understanding of methodological differences across standards and highlight their implications to their work procedures and results.

“Harmonization will enhance data sharing and utilisation of results among industries of the same supply chain. Moreover, conducting case studies that follow the same principles is very important for comparative assessments and for benchmarking purposes.”

For SKF, the project offers a way to navigate increasing reporting and customer requirements related to environmental performance, and improve the efficiency of their data collection.

“The project has provided a setting for investigating the impact methodological inconsistencies have on our PCF calculations, deepening our understanding of the challenges and potential solutions in harmonizing methodologies.”

Boliden underscores the growing need for harmonization in environmental data and the importance of consistency to support trust and comparability.

“Harmonization is important for building trust and enabling fair comparisons. A consistent standard helps level the playing field, and makes it easier for customers, regulators, and investors to make informed decisions.”

Next steps for the project

As the project moves into its second phase, the focus turns to completing the case studies and deepening the analysis. The project is also preparing a scientific paper and plans to engage further in international efforts.

“We aim to join the international groups and activities now forming around standard harmonization and will continue contributing to the ongoing development and revision of individual LCA-related standards. The full ISO Technical Committee on Environmental Management will meet in Toronto in October. This will be an important opportunity to communicate across subcommittees and working groups,” says Tomas Ekvall.

About the project

Consistent Standards for Life Cycle Assessment is a collaboration between Swedish Life Cycle Center at Chalmers University of Technology and TERRA, in partnership with Electrolux, SKF, Essity, Höganäs, Jernkontoret, and Boliden.

The project is funded by Net Zero Industry, a joint initiative by Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency, and runs from November 2024 until January 2026.