New Zealand Life Cycle Assessment 2012 Conference

New Zealand Life Cycle Assessment 2012 Conference

Life Cycle Assessment: A business compass for sustainable development

LCANZ and the NZLCM Centre are co-hosting this event following the very successful NZ Life Cycle Assessment conference held in Wellington in 2010.    

This year the conference will take place March 28th to 29th in Auckland; the focus is the role and application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Management (LCM)  in businesses. The title of the conference “LCA: a Business Compass for Sustainability” expresses the increasingly important role that LCA plays in guiding and shaping business operations, management practices and strategies.

With a focus on the integration of LCA into sustainable business practices, particularly in the New Zealand context,  the conference will explore questions such as:

• What’s the business case for adopting a life cycle approach and conducting LCA?

• How do I understand, measure and capture the benefits of LCA?

• Can I use LCA as a marketing tool?

• How can I integrate LCA in new product development?

• What role does LCA have in addressing supply chain issues?

• How do I build a strategic approach to the use of LCA and LCM? 

• What is the path forward for using LCA in New Zealand?

PE INTERNATIONAL as official sponsor is conducting two workshops on March 27th and March 30th flanking the conference.

Free GaBi 5 Workshop

Date: 27th March 1.30pm – 4.30pm

Venue: tbc

Presenters: David Drysdale (advanced GaBi user in research and science) & Dr. Barbara Nebel

Cost: Free

Aim: This hands-on workshop is ideal for beginners with LCA software and enables anyone to complete an LCA in a short time using the latest GaBi 5 software. Existing GaBi software users are also welcome to attend to learn about the latest features of the recently released GaBi 5 solution. GaBi 5 is the next generation product sustainability solution with a powerful Life Cycle Assessment engine.

You will build your own LCA model from scratch and undertake the assessment under the supervision of experienced and professional GaBi 5 trainers and users. Everyone will have access to a computer with the GaBi 5 software installed.

Workshop Environmental Product Declarations

Date: 30th March 9.30am – 12.30pm

Venue: Conference Venue

Presenters: PE INTERNATIONAL

Cost: $199

Aim: Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are a way to communicate your product’s environmental profile to your clients in an unbiased and verified way. EPDs according to ISO 14025 allow you to communicate your existing LCA study in an externally verified, uniform and internationally recognized format. EPDs combine LCA results with other relevant environmental, health and safety aspects throughout a product’s life cycle.

This workshop will introduce the concept of EPDs, inform about the different standards on EPDs and future developments, discuss different forms of EPDs, give insights into an EPD project. We will also provide you with examples on how individual companies or associations have successfully used EPDs. We will share with you our experience in developing over EPDs in Australasia, North America and Europe.

Date & Venue

March 28-29, 2012

Waipuna Hotel, Auckland, New Zealand