Conducting a thorough Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be complex, especially when navigating incomplete supplier data, evolving standards, and the need for external verification. Many companies find it challenging to know how to interpret results, ensure comparability across products, or respond to customer audits among other things.
And you know what we think about sustainability challenges? Well, we won’t say we love them exactly, but we sure do enjoy solving them!
That’s why we hosted our recent webinar – LCA masterclass for 2026: Real company stories and expert guidance. On the panel for this webinar — the fifth edition of our Making Sustainability Work webinar series — was one of Dazzle’s LCA experts, Nico van Eeden, as well as Tiziano Piccardo, Global Climate and Sustainability Lead for Marelli, and Paul van der Meer, Sustainability Manager for Van der Valk Solar Systems.
Together, drawing on both technical expertise and real-world implementation experience, the panel shared practical insights into how organizations should approach LCAs today, and how they can prepare for what lies ahead. And as always, throughout the webinar, attendees were able to ask questions in the chat section. In this blog, we’ve compiled our panel’s answers to those questions!
So whatever your LCA challenges are as we move into 2026, we hope the guidance below can help you move forward with greater clarity and assurance.
You asked, we answered: Insights from our recent LCA Q&A
Internal ownership and decision-making
Q: Who should ‘own’ the LCA process inside a company?
A: This depends on the organization’s structure. It could be that an ESG/sustainability team is in charge of the LCA.
But usually, an engineering and/or R&D department is also a logical actor for an LCA since they have the best in-depth product knowledge and make design choices.
Q: How do LCA insights feed into product design or procurement decisions in practice?
A: Sometimes R&D teams use ‘quick’ LCA scans and/or software to calculate the impact of design choices. Then it can be fully embedded in the design process. LCAs can also form the basis for roadmaps/key improvement areas based on product hotspots.
Q: How do you prioritize which LCAs to update when you have a large product portfolio?
A: Ideally, I would maintain consistent assumptions across all LCAs. It’s also best to prioritize updates strategically, focusing on the most commercially relevant products or those with significant environmental impact.
Q: If we outsource LCAs, how do we make sure we don’t become dependent on external consultants?
A: In my opinion, it is key to build internal ‘capacity’ as well through training, templates etc.
Q: Can LCAs help us make a business case for sustainability investments?
A: Yes, since with LCAs you can demonstrate an extensive environmental profile, and this can be a basis for calculating (savings on) CO2 tax and other schemes as well.
LCAs can also support targeted investments by allowing the comparison of more sustainable alternatives, for example CO2 saved per euro invested.
External stakeholder expectations
Q: When interacting with customers undergoing audits, do they typically rely on your documentation, or do they prefer to perform their own recalculations? What challenges have you encountered from auditors regarding LCA?
A: Customers often rely on the documentation provided. Challenges are typically limited to scrutinizing assumptions, scopes, and methodology, rather than recalculating numbers. Some customers may request a third-party verified LCA if they lack internal resources.
In these cases, involving the customer in the LCA process step-by-step can provide sufficient assurance, effectively acting as a verification.
Q: Are your customers requesting roadmaps for future years, for example PCF value estimations for 2030? How are you managing this?
A: Yes, some customers request decarbonization curves or target estimations for future years (2030, 2045). Some only request target values, while others require detailed engagement, including actions to achieve targets.
This often extends to suppliers, who may be asked to provide decarbonization plans with actionable steps, ensuring that targets are realistic and implementable.
External verification
Q: What common LCA verification methods/schemes/requirements exist, and who provides verification?
A: Verification can be performed by certified third-party bodies, which may be global or local organizations recognized for this purpose. Verification approaches include either individual LCA validation, or process/methodology certification on a multi-year cycle.
Product Category Rules (PCRs) simplify verification by providing standard assumptions, but general ISO requirements can also serve as a baseline. Verification is mainly required for external communication of LCA results.
Q: How do buyers question/assess the outcome of an LCA? Is assurance of correct LCA calculations a common practice? (Competitors may bluff or underscore your LCA score if there is no control mechanism. Any experience?)
A: The approach depends on the intended use of the LCA. If the LCA is only for internal purposes, full third-party verification may not be necessary. For communicating results externally, verification is increasingly expected.
Verification can be done either at the level of individual LCAs or through certifying the process/methodology, often on a multi-year cycle (similar to ISO 14001). Product Category Rules (PCRs) can make results more comparable and easier to verify, but if PCRs don’t exist, general ISO standards are commonly used. Collaboration with peers or competitors to define internal rules can also improve comparability.
Data challenges
Q: Sometimes suppliers can only share partial usage data, and in many cases they themselves source inputs from other suppliers further upstream. How do you handle situations where supplier data is incomplete or not fully reliable? Do you also sometimes resort to literature?
A: Ideally, primary supplier data is used. If data is incomplete or unreliable, validated secondary sources such as recognized databases (e.g., Ecoinvent) or peer-reviewed literature can be used instead. It is important to evaluate the maturity of supplier data: if suppliers can demonstrate correct calculation methods, use it; otherwise, fallback to verified secondary data is recommended.
Q: How often should we update LCA data—annually, or only when products change?
A: You should update LCAs whenever there are major design changes or changes to product rules, and also based on the purpose of your LCA, for example if you plan to use it for external verification. Reviewing your LCA annually helps determine if updates are needed.
Policy
Q: Under the Green Claims Directive, what counts as scientifically valid proof, and how should raw materials using a mass balance approach be treated?
A: LCA is referred to as the key method behind making green claims, together with using reliable and verifiable data. (The Green Claims Directive refers to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as the key methodology for substantiating environmental claims, provided it is based on reliable, verifiable data and follows a full life-cycle perspective. Claims must be transparent, comparable, and supported by scientifically robust methods, with third-party verification expected for external communication).
The mass balance approach is applied in LCA when raw materials cannot be physically allocated. Currently, mass balance approaches are not often explicitly named in LCA/EPD standards. Therefore, its use should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and aligned with the requirements of the specific LCA standard being followed.
Making LCAs work for you
It is completely normal for the LCA process to feel overwhelming at times. How could it not? It’s a complex process that requires careful, informed decision-making.
Hopefully though, with these insights from our webinar in your back pocket, those decisions will become clearer, and the whole process much less stressful.
Of course, if you want to guarantee a stress-free experience and quality results, you can always choose to work with one of Dazzle’s experienced LCA experts, such as Nico, who can provide ongoing advice and support.
Feel free to reach out today if that sounds like the most promising plan for you, and we can connect you with the LCA help you need within 48 hours.
That way, you can perform your very own LCA masterclass in 2026.
