Frequently asked questions.

Our primary focus is on the food and beverage industry, as this is what we know best. However, the principles, methodology and standards of LCA are common across almost all industries. The difference is primarily in the processes and materials that are specific to each industry. Landmark LCA looks forward to extending our expertise in Life Cycle Assessments to a broad range of sectors and geographies, helping them to identify where and how to reduce their emissions.

This really depends on the complexity of the client’s production process and the availability of data required to calculate emissions and other impacts that result from the outputs. Much of this requires direct measurement on-site (for example, energy usage, water consumption, pesticide use, etc). However, a growing amount of useful data is captured in a variety of subscription databases, which can help accelerate completion of the assessment. Typically, an LCA can take between 4 weeks and 4 months.

Again, this can vary significantly depending on project complexity and access to data. One of the goals of Landmark LCA is to make Life Cycle Assessments more accessible and more affordable to a wider range of businesses, without compromising the integrity of the LCA methodology. We are efficient, rigorous and competitive in our approach to LCA.

Since 1996, The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published the ISO 14000 family of environmental management standards. These include ISO 14040 and 14044 (specific to the practice of Life Cycle Assessment) as well as standards relating to the communication of LCA results through product claims, ecological labelling and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

Within the EU, the European Green Deal encompasses a number of policy initiatives that draw upon LCA to support programs such as the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Farm2Fork Strategy, and the Biodiversity strategy.

More recently, the European Parliament adopted the Green Claims directive which aims to tackle “greenwashing” by ensuring that sustainability claims are substantiated by reliable and verifiable assessments.

At least 9 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals are directly relevant to Life Cycle Assessments, in the sense that LCA can help enable delivery of the goals.

These include Climate Action, Responsible Consumption and Production, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Affordable and Clean Energy, Life on Land, Life Below Water, Clean Water and Sanitation, Good Health and Well-Being, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.