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The Science of Climate Change

Climate change is no longer a distant threat or just a possibility, it is now a reality for all of us. In this pathway, Kevin Trenberth, a renowned climatologist, delves into the science behind climate change. He first introduces the climate system, its main components and forces.

Tackling the Plastic Crisis

Plastic pollution is by far the biggest threat to our oceans and this remains an incredibly tough problem to solve. Plastic credits could potentially serve as one of the much needed solutions for this crisis.

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The Scale of the Net Zero Challenge

The price of meeting net zero is estimated to be between $100-150 trillion over the next 30 years. Regardless of this cost, we need to reach net zero before climate change does irreversible damage to the environment and the economy.

ESG, Sustainability and Impact Jargon Buster

ESG, sustainability, impact… they all just mean green, right? Not quite. Despite being used often interchangeably, there are distinct differences between these terms.

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The Science of Climate Change

Climate change is no longer a distant threat or just a possibility, it is now a reality for all of us. In this pathway, Kevin Trenberth, a renowned climatologist, delves into the science behind climate change. He first introduces the climate system, its main components and forces.

Tackling the Plastic Crisis

Plastic pollution is by far the biggest threat to our oceans and this remains an incredibly tough problem to solve. Plastic credits could potentially serve as one of the much needed solutions for this crisis.

More pathways

Ready to get started?

Our Platform

Expert led content

+1,000 expert presented, on-demand video modules

Learning analytics

Keep track of learning progress with our comprehensive data

Interactive learning

Engage with our video hotspots and knowledge check-ins

Testing & certification

Gain CPD / CPE credits and professional certification

Managed learning

Build, scale and manage your organisation’s learning

Integrations

Connect Sustainability Unlocked to your current platform

Featured Content

More featured content

The Scale of the Net Zero Challenge

The price of meeting net zero is estimated to be between $100-150 trillion over the next 30 years. Regardless of this cost, we need to reach net zero before climate change does irreversible damage to the environment and the economy.

ESG, Sustainability and Impact Jargon Buster

ESG, sustainability, impact… they all just mean green, right? Not quite. Despite being used often interchangeably, there are distinct differences between these terms.

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Ready to get started?

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Introduction to Life Cycle Assessments

Introduction to Life Cycle Assessments

Daniel Collado-Ruiz

18 years: Life Cycle Assessment

For greener products, we need greener decisions. And for greener decisions, we need well informed decision makers. Join Daniel Collado-Ruiz as he breaks down life cycle

For greener products, we need greener decisions. And for greener decisions, we need well informed decision makers. Join Daniel Collado-Ruiz as he breaks down life cycle

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Introduction to Life Cycle Assessments

10 mins 5 secs

Key learning objectives:

  • Define a life cycle assessment

  • Outline the steps of the LCA process

Overview:

Human production models have evolved to be unsustainable. We emit substances that end up impacting human health and biodiversity and consume non-renewable resources such that future generations will not have access to them. All these impacts are affected by how we consume resources from nature, and how we emit substances to it. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an internationally standardised, science-based, quantitative method for assessing impacts, evaluating decisions, making better decisions, and reporting on the benefits. The ISO 14040 defines four distinct stages to an LCA: goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation.

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Summary

What is a life cycle assessment (LCA)? 

Life cycle assessment is an internationally standardised, science-based, quantitative method for assessing impacts, evaluating decisions, making better decisions, and reporting on the benefits.

How do you do a life cycle assessment? 

The ISO 14040 defines four distinct stages to an LCA: goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation.

1. Goal and scope definition

We must spell out what we are measuring, what we intend to find out, how far we will go with each of the threads, and how we will deal with data quality and uncertainty. 

2. Inventory analysis

This entails collecting data from the life cycle of our product. For example, how much of each material, process, energy or chemical do we have as input or output? 

3. Impact assessment

This is where we convert all that information into environmental impacts. In practice, we end up with numeric values for each of the environmental impacts we are measuring. 

4. Interpretation 

We interpret the results.

 

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Daniel Collado-Ruiz

Daniel Collado-Ruiz

Daniel Collado-Ruiz is the Chief Product Officer at Earthster, where he builds next-generation tools to measure environmental impact. He was an academic, entrepreneur, and innovation consultant before founding Earthster to turn LCA into what the world needs to deal with environmental challenges.

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