Life Cycle Assessment Curriculum

Although Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a protocol standardized by the International Standards Organization (ISO) to quantify environmental impacts, the framework is well suited for assessment of economic and social impacts as well. The intent of LCA is to capture impacts from cradle-to-cradle, including the acquisition and processing of resources, product manufacturing/ construction, and product use, maintenance, upgrade, and retirement (reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, treatment, disposal). 

LCA has many roles in the classroom: serving as the sole course topic, serving as an Industrial Ecology or Design for Environment tool, or providing further insight into a discipline specific subjects such as the use of thermodynamics in power plant or power train design.  College and University courses including LCA have engaged students in engineering, the sciences, business administration, and public policy for many years.

Example LCA pedagogy is provided by ME515, a LCA course offered at the University of Washington. ME515 is project-based and supported by discussion-rich lectures that provide 'just-in-time' knowledge for student projects. Project feedback is provided through three interim reports, the first describing the goal and scope of their project, the second describing and presenting their inventory analysis and the third describing their impact characterization. The final report combines these three interim reports (with responses to instructor comments), and adds the student's interpretation of the results. Students are encouraged to select projects related to their graduate research, which has contributed not only to the student experience but also to an understanding of LCA in research labs throughout the university. Although student projects are limited in scope and by simplifying assumptions, computational nuances and all steps in the LCA process are implemented.

Additional information about ME515 and LCA curriculum in general can be found in:

• the ME515 course website (including the syllabus, reading materials, and the project description),
• the ME415 course website (a Design for Environment course including LCA), and
• related publications:
  • Cooper, J.S., J. Fava, "Teaching Life Cycle Assessment in Universities in North America," Journal of Industrial Ecology, 3, 13-17 (2000)
  • Cooper, J.S., J. Fava, " Teaching Life-Cycle Assessment at Universities in North America, II: Building Capacity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, 4, 11-15 (2001)
  • Cooper, J.S. “Evolution of an Interdisciplinary Course in Sustainability and Design for Environment,” International Journal of Engineering Education, 23  (2007)
  • Cooper, J.S., “Teaching Life Cycle Assessment to Interdisciplinary Graduate Students,” International Journal of Engineering Education, 23(6) 1090-1095 (2007)

LCA curriculum development is among the interests of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA). The ACLCA was founded in 2001 by Rita Schenk (Institute for Environmental Research and Education), Mary Ann Curran (USEPA), and Joyce Cooper (University of Washington).  Support of education and outreach through conferences, online educational opportunities, information exchange and other media is among the goals of the ACLCA. 

For more information, contact Associate Professor Joyce Smith Cooper at cooper@me.washington.edu