Industry-wide LCA
An industry-wide Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) helps an industry association and its members speak with one consistent, credible, footprint story. Instead of multiple LCAs that use different assumptions (and therefore deliver numbers that are hard to compare), you align on one methodology and create an industry-average baseline that downstream users can rely on.
This page focuses on what’s specific to an industry-wide LCA, why it’s useful, and how to run the project efficiently. For an introduction to LCA, take a look at our LCA guide.
Why does industry-wide LCA matter now?
Footprint questions are increasingly part of day-to-day business decisions. Customers request data for their reporting and procurement, policymakers and standard setters want evidence that reflects sector reality, and internal teams want to understand hotspots and improvement potential. If you don’t provide robust sector figures, stakeholders may fall back on generic datasets that can be too broad, outdated, or not representative.
An industry-wide LCA gives you a way to stay in control. You provide a sector baseline that is transparent, harmonised, and practical to use.
Key takeaway: A good industry-wide LCA delivers more than a number, it delivers alignment.
- One shared methodological backbone (scope, assumptions, modelling rules)
- One industry-average footprint baseline that supports consistent communication
- Optional company-specific results calculated in the same model, so individual members can use results strategically without creating fragmentation
What is an industry-wide LCA?
An industry-wide LCA is a joint LCA for an industry-average product (or product group), built from aggregated data from multiple participating companies. The industry association typically coordinates the process and participating companies provide product and production data.
This approach is well suited when participating products:
- have the same function and broadly similar composition, and
- are used in markets where consistent, reliable communication matters (from construction materials and chemicals to metals and manufacturing products)
A common question is whether this removes differentiation. In practice, it doesn’t have to. The project can be designed so that industry-average results can be used for sector communication and policy dialogue, while companies can obtain company-specific results for customer communication or internal improvement work.
Why choose an industry-wide LCA?
1. Harmonisation
Independent LCAs often differ in system boundaries, assumptions, databases, and allocation choices. That makes results harder to compare and easier to challenge. An industry-wide LCA forces early alignment on:
- product definition and functional unit
- cradle-to-gate vs broader system boundaries
- scenarios and assumptions (especially if downstream stages are included)
- data rules and modelling approach
This avoids “apples vs pears” discussions later.
2. Stronger stakeholder communication
Downstream users want footprint data that is consistent and usable. With an industry-wide LCA, you can provide a unified baseline across manufacturers, which supports clearer conversations with customers and other stakeholders.
3. Efficiency and shared learning
A joint project avoids duplicated work. You invest once in the core model and reporting backbone, while members build practical capability in data collection and hotspot understanding. For many sectors, this is simply a more efficient route than commissioning separate studies.
4. Alternatives (and typical drawbacks)
- Generic database values: easy to use, but often too broad or not representative for your geography, technology, or product variants.
- Individual company LCAs: useful for differentiation, but often lead to inconsistent assumptions and higher total cost across the sector.
In contrast, an industry-wide LCA provides a common baseline and still allows optional company-specific results where they add value.
What do you need to get right for an effective industry-wide LCA?
1) Scope first, data second
Most delays come from unclear scope. Agree upfront on:
- which products are in scope (and how you group variants)
- boundaries and life cycle stages
- default scenarios (use, transport, end-of-life if included)
- how results will be used and published (industry average only, or more)
2) Confidentiality and anonymity
Like in any LCA project, safeguarding confidentiality of sensitive company data is a condition for almost all manufacturers. This can be guaranteed in various ways, such as anonymising model inputs, outputs and results through an averaging approach.
3) Practical and coherent data collection
Most industry-wide projects collect, per company:
- a bill of materials
- site-specific production data (energy and key inputs, yields, waste streams)
- agreed logistics and scenario inputs (where relevant)
A strong data template and one alignment meeting ensures streamlined data collection. Bilateral data collection support meetings can also be beneficial to ensure consistency and progress.
How does the project typically run?
An industry-wide LCA typically takes around 1 year and may include:
- Kick-off: objectives, governance, timeline, roles
- Scope workshop: product definition, boundaries, assumptions, data rules
- Data collection: one shared session + bilateral support where needed
- Modelling & first results: build the industry-average model; run checks
- Review & final report: incorporate feedback; finalise publication approach
- Optional verification: depending on the intended use
- Optional company-specific results: calculated in parallel, same backbone
Ecomatters Support
An industry-wide LCA is one of the most effective ways for an industry to create a harmonised, credible footprint baseline, without forcing every member to start from scratch or accept inconsistent assumptions.
If you would like to discuss working with Ecomatters on industry-wide LCA, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or schedule a call with one of our experts.
LCA Services
Our experts
Wouter van Kootwijk
Freya Goffart De Roeck
Call with our consultant
Do you want to know more about how we can help? Schedule a call with one of our consultants to ask your questions.
