106
did among corporate LCA practitioners, and fi nally we will describe how we can
link the LCA practitioners to corporate developments to make them more relevant
in the business.
2 Understanding Major Product Sustainability Trends
About a decade ago, the LCA community was somewhat taken by surprise by the
increasing popularity of the cradle to cradle approach. Multi-national companies
followed suit; they did in most cases not abandon LCA, but became very active in
cradle to cradle. Cradle to cradle now seems to be surpassed in popularity by
Circular Economy, partially due to the lack of transparency in the cradle to cradle
approach.
Interestingly enough, Circular Economy is also not a very concrete methodology; there is no ISO standard and there are no precise rules. In fact, it misses all
aspects we in the LCA world fi nd so relevant. Yet in spite of this, it has gotten a huge
uptake with major companies that are even turning around the way their business
works. Circular economy is of course more than an assessment method; it is a vision
towards a desired future. It tries to transform linear models (produce, distribute, use
and dispose) into a circular loop of products. For instance, instead of burning coal
and selling electricity, major energy companies are now transforming themselves to
be ready for the new reality: electricity is traded between small producers and
individuals with solar cells on their roof. While this is a clear example with major
sustainability benefi ts, many ideas in circular economy discussions are not really
assessed, and often it is not clear at all what the sustainability merits are.
So what makes these methodologies popular if it is not primarily their ability to
measure? What really works is that they present a vision; they tell companies, follow us, follow our guidance and we will not only help you to make products less
bad, but we simply turn them into good products, as the cradle to cradle community
often said, without ever substantiating what “good” is. And is vision not something
which we as the LCA community are often too hesitant about?
2.1 Understanding “Alternatives” to Life Cycle Assessment
While LCA aims to be a neutral basis to measure sustainability impacts without
having a vision for a desired future, we also see attempts to make LCA more meaningful (Kiron et al. 2015 ). In December 2013 a large conference around natural
capital was organized in Edinburgh and over 500 people joined; many industry leaders and leaders of international organizations all shared their enthusiasm for this
new concept called natural capital (or as we say in LCA: monetization). We spotted
M. Goedkoop et al.
did among corporate LCA practitioners, and fi nally we will describe how we can
link the LCA practitioners to corporate developments to make them more relevant
in the business.
2 Understanding Major Product Sustainability Trends
About a decade ago, the LCA community was somewhat taken by surprise by the
increasing popularity of the cradle to cradle approach. Multi-national companies
followed suit; they did in most cases not abandon LCA, but became very active in
cradle to cradle. Cradle to cradle now seems to be surpassed in popularity by
Circular Economy, partially due to the lack of transparency in the cradle to cradle
approach.
Interestingly enough, Circular Economy is also not a very concrete methodology; there is no ISO standard and there are no precise rules. In fact, it misses all
aspects we in the LCA world fi nd so relevant. Yet in spite of this, it has gotten a huge
uptake with major companies that are even turning around the way their business
works. Circular economy is of course more than an assessment method; it is a vision
towards a desired future. It tries to transform linear models (produce, distribute, use
and dispose) into a circular loop of products. For instance, instead of burning coal
and selling electricity, major energy companies are now transforming themselves to
be ready for the new reality: electricity is traded between small producers and
individuals with solar cells on their roof. While this is a clear example with major
sustainability benefi ts, many ideas in circular economy discussions are not really
assessed, and often it is not clear at all what the sustainability merits are.
So what makes these methodologies popular if it is not primarily their ability to
measure? What really works is that they present a vision; they tell companies, follow us, follow our guidance and we will not only help you to make products less
bad, but we simply turn them into good products, as the cradle to cradle community
often said, without ever substantiating what “good” is. And is vision not something
which we as the LCA community are often too hesitant about?
2.1 Understanding “Alternatives” to Life Cycle Assessment
While LCA aims to be a neutral basis to measure sustainability impacts without
having a vision for a desired future, we also see attempts to make LCA more meaningful (Kiron et al. 2015 ). In December 2013 a large conference around natural
capital was organized in Edinburgh and over 500 people joined; many industry leaders and leaders of international organizations all shared their enthusiasm for this
new concept called natural capital (or as we say in LCA: monetization). We spotted
M. Goedkoop et al.