LCA

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized method for evaluating the environmental impacts of a product, process, or system by analyzing its entire life cycle.

An LCA takes into account all stages of a product’s life — from raw material extraction, production, and distribution to use, disposal, or recycling. This holistic approach helps to identify where the greatest environmental impacts occur and provides a foundation for improving sustainability performance.

What does an LCA include?

An LCA typically covers:

• Upstream processes such as resource extraction and material production
• Core processes including manufacturing and assembly
• Downstream processes such as product use, reuse, recycling, and final disposal

The analysis considers various impact categories, including carbon footprint (CO₂e), energy use, water consumption, and waste generation.

Why is LCA important?

Life Cycle Assessment provides valuable insights for:

• Sustainable product design and material choices
• Corporate environmental reporting and Scope 3 emission analysis
• Regulatory compliance, e.g., CSRD, Ecodesign, or Product Environmental Footprint (PEF)
• Supporting Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculations and overall carbon accounting

By quantifying environmental impacts across the full product life cycle, LCA helps companies make data-driven sustainability decisions and identify effective reduction strategies.

How Sustamize supports LCA and PCF calculations

Sustamize enhances LCA workflows by providing high-resolution CO₂e databases and automated PCF tools that supply the accurate, standardized data needed for lifecycle-based assessments. Our datasets cover materials, electronics, logistics, energy systems, and manufacturing processes — enabling companies to replace generic LCA averages with precise, region-specific, and up-to-date carbon data.

With tools such as Matcher, Interpreter, Assembler, and MPN Search, sustamize helps turn complex lifecycle information into actionable insights. These tools automate data mapping, process Bills of Materials (BoMs) in seconds, and generate ISO 14067-aligned Product Carbon Footprints that are consistent with LCA principles. Because sustamize’s methodology is independently validated by GUTcert, companies can rely on verified data that is both audit-ready and aligned with international standards.

By integrating sustamize into LCA or PCF processes, organizations can significantly speed up their assessments, reduce manual workload, improve accuracy, and ensure that product and supply-chain decisions are based on transparent, science-based data.

Want to enhance your LCA or PCF workflows with verified CO₂e data?

Contact our team or request access to sustamize’s databases and tools to streamline lifecycle assessments and carbon footprint calculations.