Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment
Other Engineering
A course by
Massey University
An introduction to life cycle thinking and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as an analytical tool for environmental management, supporting decisions from a 'cradle to grave' perspective.
NZ$518
inc GST
Enquire about international pricing
Core skills this course teaches
Commission LCA studies
Confidently commission a Life Cycle Assessment study tailored to specific decision-making needs.
Interpret LCA results
Critically interpret and use Life Cycle Assessment results to support environmental and organisational decisions.
About This Course
This short course introduces life cycle thinking as a guiding concept and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a powerful analytical tool to support environmental management. Learners will develop an understanding of how LCA underpins sustainable consumption, circular economy, and carbon and water footprinting, enabling better decision-making regarding the environmental impact of products and processes. By the end of the course, participants will be able to confidently commission, interpret, and use LCA studies to support a range of professional decisions.
Course Content
- Introduction to Life Cycle Thinking (LCT): principles, role of LCT, comparison to other environmental management tools, functional unit and system boundaries.
- Life Cycle Assessment as an environmental management tool: aligning LCA with study goals, attributional and consequential modelling, four phases of LCA methodology.
- Use of LCA to support decision-making: critical review of LCA studies, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), certification schemes, making the most of LCA results.
- Three interactive one-hour Zoom sessions, plus independent learning exercises.
Build towards these roles
Environmental ManagerProduct DesignerPolicy AnalystSustainability AdvisorEngineerCertification Specialist
Build skills in these industries
Environmental ManagementSustainability
