From early ideas to global standards: the story of LCA - A thinkstep-anz webinar

LCA is not new. Neither are the rules. Life cycle assessment (LCA) did not begin with carbon footprints or environmental product declarations (EPDs). Its foundations were laid decades ago by people trying to understand environmental trade-offs across a product’s full life cycle. In this webinar replay, thinkstep-anz CEO Barbara Nebel interviews Chris Koffler, Technical Director LCA at thinkstep-anz, and international LCA leader and SETAC Fellow Jim Fava. Together, they explore how LCA began, why shared standards were needed and what experienced practitioners can teach us about the future of LCA. Here is what we covered: 03:17 – Where LCA began How an early packaging study revealed trade-offs instead of one clear environmental winner. 11:30 – Why a shared framework was needed How industry, government and academia came together to create a credible methodology. 17:09 – How LCA gained its four phases The thinking behind goal and scope, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation. 23:21 – Why the standards still work How procedural standards provide guardrails while allowing an LCA to be shaped around its purpose. 29:18 – Making LCA useful now and in the future Why results need to support real decisions and why experienced judgement remains important as AI develops. This webinar was recorded in August 2026. Further sustainability webinars with more than 100 speakers can accessed here: https://www.thinkstep-anz.com/resrc/w...