How can we compare similar products and services?

One of the major sustainability challenges on the industry level is that different companies in the same sector calculate their products’ environmental footprint in different ways, because they all start from scratch using the generic LCA methodology. This makes individual assessments very costly.

In addition, because it’s hard to compare two products assessed with different methods, buyers will need to ask questions and ask for more – tedious and expensive – analyses before they believe the results. Especially for the SME in your sector, it can be challenging to meet these requirements.

One set of rules for the whole sector

Harmonizing LCA rules creates common ground in a sector. It makes comparability possible and reduces the cost of each individual assessment. A harmonized approach also strengthens the sector: it shows that the sector has thought about measuring environmental impact and takes it seriously.

Various sectors already have such harmonized LCA approaches. Since PRé has been actively involved in developing several of these, we can be a great partner: we can help with understanding and implementing the existing initiatives and developing new harmonized sector approaches.

The basis of a strong harmonized sector approach is a common understanding of the sector’s main environmental contributors. This understanding is created by conducting case studies amongst member companies in your sector, with confidential handling of input data. With these case studies, we can determine the hotspots and test the robustness of the harmonized sector approach.

Increased credibility and a level playing field

Harmonizing LCA rules gives your sector a unified approach to measure sustainability. This makes environmental assessments more accessible for all types of organizations, including SMEs. Individual assessments will become less expensive, both the study as and the critical review.

As a result, harmonizing LCA rules creates a level playing field for all actors in the sector and increases comparability of assessments and products. In addition, it provides insights into improvement opportunities – both for the sector as a whole and for individual organizations.