Greetings!

 

We hope you are enjoying the beautiful (though sometimes erratic) weather that continues to mark the spring of 2012. Here's hoping your sustainability work is going smoother than the weather!

 

To help our clients address their LCA requirements and sustainability-related challenges, we continue to develop new solutions that integrate software, training, and consulting. We call them our Integrated Solutions. This month, we're highlighting our Life Cycle Capacity Builder, which integrates the leading Life Cycle Assessment software, SimaPro, with our leading edge training and sustainability consulting services.

 

Many of our training programs have become increasingly popular and space is limited. Here are several of our featured upcoming training programs:

• Customizing an Impact Assessment Method will be held July 12. 
• Register Today for our Interpretation Class. Held on July 17-19, each day includes a three-hour live Web class. 
• Back by popular demand! We just scheduled our four part live web class Environmental Mechanisms and Impact Assessment Methods for Aug 22, Sept 6, Sept 19 and Oct 3. 

Also on the training front, we recently published an informative white paper called 7 ½ Steps to Creating a Successful LCA Training Program.

 

Another free resource: download our recent What's the Business Value of LCA? webinar.  

 

Still haven't had your question answered? Click on our Ask the Experts section to submit a question. We may even publish your question - and its answer - in our next newsletter. 

From May 16-18, The IEEE held the 2012 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST).

 

EarthShift founder Lise Laurin participated in several panels, including the Social Impacts session, discussing the pros and cons of several Social LCA methods and presenting the Sustainability ROI methodology as an alternative. The discussion was well received by both industry and academic participants, "particularly those from developing countries," says Laurin.

 

EarthShift also chaired a session on Life Cycle Dialogue. "The goal of the session was to test the hypothesis that if we talk with each other up and down the supply chain and across disciplines that we'll get to Sustainability faster," says Laurin.

 

Bill Flanagan, Director, Ecoassessment Center of Excellence at GE Global Research spoke about how GE is using LCA to identify areas of opportunity and then talking with suppliers about how to alleviate those hot spots.

 

John Malian, Manager, Global Supply Chain Management at Cisco, spoke about routine certification and audit with members of the supply chain. He also discussed the concept of supplier sustainability awards to encourage more sustainable behaviors.

 

Darlene Schuster, director of the Institute for Sustainability at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, presented some examples where engineers from different disciplines are coming together and generating new solutions to some tough problems.

 

Sarah Brown of the Green Alliance, the luncheon keynote speaker, joined in the session and suggested that larger companies need to open up dialogue with both smaller companies and the consumer. "In her opinion, these groups are hungry for better, more open communication around sustainability issues," says Laurin.

 

Opening such a dialogue is one of the big reasons EarthShift attends conferences like ISSST. 

 Free Download: Business Value of LCA Webinar

 

On May 17th, EarthShift and Clean Agency conducted a joint webinar called "What's the Business Value of LCA?" The event was well attended and shared some keen insights into the business value behind conducting an LCA.

 

Key highlights included:

• Business case for LCA
• 5 keys to integrating LCA in companies
• Tool review with PackageSmart walk through

 

1)The first Interpretation Class runs from  July 17-19. Each day includes a three-hour live web class and counts as one of the critical pieces of the LCA Practitioner Certificate.

 

The interpretation phase of an LCA is exacting, time consuming and not easy to learn. You must delve into the details and then pull yourself out of these and look at the big picture as defined by your goals and scope. Done effectively you will save time, and strengthen your conclusions. Done in-effectively you will miss details and undermine results. Take this course to learn the skills of robust interpretation.  

2) Back by popular demand! We just scheduled the four part Environmental Mechanisms and Impact Assessment Methodsclasses for Aug 22, Sept 6, Sept 19 and Oct 3. This class also counts toward the LCA Practitioner Certificate.

 

There are a number of great sustainability-related conferences around the world that we attend - to network, stay engaged, and learn about the latest developments in the world of LCA, technology, and environmental management.

 

Here are some of the conferences we recommend:

• The American Center for Life Cycle Assessment - September 25-27, 2012 
• Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry - North America - November 11-15, 2012
• International Conference of Life Cycle Assessment - March 24-27, 2013 
• Conference on Life Cycle Management - August 25-28, 2013
• Sustainable Packaging Forum - September 11-13, 2012
• Sustainability in (Bio) Pharmaceuticals - November 11-14, 2012
• Ecobalance - November 20-23, 2012
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers - October 28-September 2, 2012

*indicates on-site class (all others are online)

Impact Assessment Methods - June 5 

To give students hands-on experience building a custom impact assessment method in SimaPro.

Communicating LCA Results - June 6 

3-hr course to prepare students to critique their internal LCA reports

 *Sustainability-ROI Facilitation Workshop - June 7, Portsmouth, NH   

To teach the Sustainability Return on Investsment (S-ROI) methodology and train participants to become a workshop facilitator for your company.

*Introduction to LCA in SimaPro - June 20 & 21, Portsmouth, NH

To introduce students to SimaPro and teach the methodological details as standardized in the ISO 14040/14044 LCA methodology. 

Ecoinvent 3 - Unleashing the Power - June 26 

Applied LCA in SimaPro - June 27 and 28 

This is a two part, six hour online providing hands-on experience learning the SimaPro software and reviewing the basics of life cycle assessment (covered in our Introduction to LCA course).

Practical LCA in PackageSmart - July 6

This is a three hour online course providing hands-on experience learning the PackageSmart software and reviewing the basics of life cycle assessment

End of Life Beginning - July 10

Take this course to learn the how to quickly and easily build life cycles and accurately represent the end of life of products in your LCA.

Creating Impact Assessment Methods - July 12
To give students hands-on experience building a custom impact assessment method in SimaPro.

Interpretation - July 17-19
To explain the methodological details required to interpret an LCA study, so as to steer the study and provide robust conclusions/recommendations.  

Introduction to LCA - July 19

To introduce students to the concept of life cycle thinking, and the ISO standard methodology for conducting a LCA.

*Introduction to LCA in SimaPro - July 24 & 25, Portsmouth, NH

To introduce students to SimaPro and teach the methodological details as standardized in the ISO 14040/14044 LCA methodology.  

Ecoinvent 3 - Unleashing the Power - July 26  

 

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