SustainCERT launches Life Cycle Assessment critical reviews

SustainCERT is pleased to announce that we are able to support companies with comprehensive critical reviews for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), aligned with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.

Life Cycle Assessments rely on methodological choices — including system boundaries, allocation rules, and data sources. Small differences in these choices can change outcomes and affect how results are interpreted.

SustainCERT provides independent assessment against ISO requirements and the study’s stated objective. This brings clarity to the assumptions behind the results and strengthens their use in claims, reporting, product comparisons, and internal decision-making.

What is a Life Cycle Assessment?

Life Cycle Assessment is a systematic method for evaluating environmental impact categories across a product’s life cycle. This means that LCA addresses the potential environmental impacts of a product from raw material acquisition through production, use, end-of-life treatment, recycling and final disposal (i.e., cradle-to-grave).

LCA can be a useful tool for:

• Identifying opportunities to improve the environmental performance of products
• Informing strategic planning, priority setting, and product/process design
• Selecting relevant indicators of environmental performance, e.g., measurement techniques
• Marketing a product, implementing an ecolabelling scheme, or making environmental claims

What does a Life Cycle Assessment Critical Review involve?

The scope of an LCA, including system boundary and level of detail, depends on the subject and the intended use of the study. SustainCERT conducts LCA critical reviews in line with ISO 14044 and an ISO-aligned review procedure, assessing whether the study’s goal and scope, system boundaries, data quality, and interpretation are appropriate for the intended use. Under ISO 14044, critical review is required when LCA results support comparative assertions intended to be disclosed publicly.

SustainCERT supports companies operating in complex value chains, including food, agriculture, and apparel sectors.