22.1.2026

*Many companies have experience with product-level environmental assessment – so called life cycle assessment (LCA). In an LCA, you need to map the complete life cycle of your product and collect relevant input and output data from each step. While your first LCAs can be challenging endeavors, the thoroughness of process establishes a great foundation for understanding the concepts and how to interpret the results. *

Whether or not your company already took those first steps, building an LCA roadmap means asking “what’s next?”. For example, what are the key business drivers? What is needed to make LCA an integral part of the strategic sustainability work? How can we scale the processes from one-off product analyses to portfolio-wide continuous evaluations? And what regulatory requirements do we need to prepare for? In this post, we explore key trends in the area of LCA and what those might mean for your company.

Automation and scale-up – This might be the biggest buzz in the LCA community at the moment. And for good reasons. Conducting LCAs has traditionally been a slow process with lots of manual work required. Now, more and more LCA software providers are presenting exciting solutions for automation and scale-up. But remember that any one platform is unlikely to serve all your needs for data collection, data management, calculations, data visualization, reporting, etc. Much like for organizational climate analysis, the data you need comes from many different sources, and any software solutions you select need to fit into that larger ecosystem.

→ Your LCA roadmap needs to be closely linked to your company’s overall strategy around data management and IT infrastructure. Taking the time to understand this well can save you a lot of time and headache further down the line.

Interactive tools for different stakeholders – Well presented, LCA results can be fundamental in finding concrete actions for impact reduction that help you meet your sustainability targets. Don’t let the results get stuck in a static report! There are a range of use-cases for tools in which different stakeholders can interact with the LCA model. For example, your sales team can evaluate the environmental impact of customized product configurations with your customers, your R&D team can test design changes, and your sustainability team can create future-looking scenario analyses.

→ Think creatively – how do we make the most of the LCA analysis, data, and results? New ideas will likely pop up as you go. Ensure that the solutions that you plan for are modular and adaptable to future needs.

Reliable and representative results – LCA results are becoming key business metrics that can make or break a sales deal. Naturally, the requirements for reliability and comparability of results are increasing. In many sectors, important developments are taking place to define product-specific methodologies. The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) system is based on product-category rules (PCRs) and EU’s Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) method is complemented with highly detailed, so-called Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) for specific sectors. The product-specific rules specify aspects such as system boundaries, required company-specific data, choice of secondary data, and allocation methods. Key words are transparency, representativeness, and verifiability. In short, the expectations on data quality and transparency are leveling up. Ever more reason to really take control of your data!

*→ Your roadmap needs to consider key methodological developments. Engage in the ongoing initiatives for your sector - this will also prepare you for future regulatory requirements. *

Regulatory landscape – The EU landscape around LCA is changing fast and a comprehensive outlook would require its own blog post. Top-of-mind developments are the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) as well as sector-specific regulations, such as the Construction Product Regulation (CPR) and Battery Regulation. All three are expected to include requirements about LCA-based environmental footprinting information in Digital Product Passports (DPP). Companies can also expect stricter rules around environmental marketing claims, although the next steps are still unclear for the proposed Green Claims Directive.

→ Considering the regulatory developments is crucial for any successful roadmap. There are many different regulations with LCA touchpoints, and the landscape is highly dynamic. As you prepare for compliance, make sure to actively engage in making the developments meaningful and effective for your company - and for the wider sector in which you operate.

How Knowit can support

*Knowit combines expertise in data management and sustainability with business insight, to support our clients in building sustainable organizations and achieving science-based transitions. We have extensive experience helping clients on their journey to a more digitalized way of working – from understanding the organization’s real needs to implementing and integrating systems and tools. * *Need LCA help but not yet ready for a fully integrated digital solution? Our LCA experts are here to help you take the next steps, wherever you are starting from. *

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