A look back at 2018
What we love about life cycle assessment (LCA) is that it can be applied to anything. This means that we get to be involved in a wide variety of projects across industries. A couple highlights of 2018 include our participation in an ongoing USDA NIFA Integrated Biorefinery Optimization grant research project and an LCA for a new luxury sustainable wellness brand to determine the environmental impacts of benchmark packaging options which will inform the design of the brand’s refillable packaging. Both projects, while very different, share a desire to innovate and bring about positive change for society and the environment. It’s very exciting for us to be able to participate in these innovations and make a contribution.
On the software side, we supported an ever-growing North American SimaPro user network and assisted in rolling out the new advantageous add-ons now included in SimaPro service contracts: Report Maker, a dynamic tool that makes creating LCA reports and EPDs easier and more efficient, and Collect and Share, a web based platform that allows you to easily gather data and share scenarios or LCA results.
We continuously and collaboratively updated our dataset DATASMART; the results of which were recently released in December 2018 and included 75 new Chinese processes, new US carbon fiber data, and an update to the hydropower and nuclear energy production processes to more accurately account for the water balance. If you are interested in learning more about this dataset and the 2018 update, please join us February 12 for a free webinar.
Our extensive training programs continued full steam ahead and the ACLCA approved our popular SimaPro User Certificate training courses as a recommended path to learning the LCA methodology. We are excited to provide those interested in becoming LCA Certified Practitioners with the training they need to sit for the LCACP exam. Our 2019 training calendar is up and the next classes to complete the SimaPro User Certificate, Applied LCA in SimaPro and Modeling in Product Stages, are coming up on February 6, 7 and 14. And did you know that if you register for all the classes in one of LTS’s Certificate Training Programs at once you get 15% off?
Prefer an on-site class? Join us in Burlington, Vermont on April 17 & 18 for our Introduction to LCA and SimaPro class, the on-site version of our SimaPro User Certificate.
Additionally, in 2018 you may have caught us and our presentations at the Dwell on Design conference in Los Angeles and at the LCA XVIII conference in Fort Collins.
As we look ahead to 2019, we want to hear from you!
What are your plans and how can we help? Whether it’s developing data or methods, learning specific LCA or SimaPro skills, getting your LCA team up and running or conducting a consulting project – let us know!
Wishing you the very best in 2019!
