As regulatory landscapes continue to shift, businesses are taking charge of their sustainability initiatives—even as public discourse around climate action becomes more complex. Despite political uncertainties, companies recognize that investing in sustainability is both a business necessity and a competitive advantage.
Understanding the difference between Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Carbon Accounting is crucial for organizations looking to make data-driven decisions, reduce emissions, and improve financial performance. By leveraging these tools, businesses can stay ahead of evolving regulations while enhancing operational efficiency and brand reputation.
Breaking It Down: Life Cycle Assessment vs. Carbon Accounting
At a high level, the key differences between a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Carbon Accounting lie in their scope, audience, and objectives.
An LCA is granular. It is a bottom-up approach to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal (cradle to grave). An LCA or PCF (Product Carbon Footprint) helps businesses make data-driven decisions to reduce environmental impact, meet customer expectations, and align internal stakeholders around sustainability goals. A PCF is a subset of LCA, specifically targeting the carbon footprint of a product.
Carbon accounting, sometimes called greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, provides a top-down approach to measuring GHG emissions throughout an entire organization, categorizing them into:
Scope 1 - Direct emissions from sources the company owns or controls, such as onsite manufacturing or fuel combustion in equipment
Scope 2 - Indirect emissions from purchased energy, such as electricity, purchased steam, or purchased chilled water
Scope 3 - Indirect emissions generated throughout a company’s value chain, including those from suppliers, product transportation, customer use, and end-of-life disposal.
Scope 3 typically accounts for a majority of a company’s emissions and is crucial for businesses looking to comply with climate-related regulations, investor expectations, and corporate sustainability goals.
Where Do LCA and Carbon Accounting Overlap?
While LCA and Carbon Accounting have distinct approaches, they complement each other in a company’s sustainability strategy. For example:
Carbon Accounting helps organizations understand their overall emissions footprint and identify high-impact areas for reduction. Data from Carbon Accounting on the facility-level is an important input into an LCA.
LCA or PCF provides granular insights into how specific products contribute to those emissions, allowing for targeted sustainability improvements.
To accurately measure Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions in the supply chain), companies benefit from PCF data from suppliers for the goods that are purchased.
By using PCF data from suppliers, companies can bridge the gap between product-level emissions (LCA) and corporate-level emissions (Carbon Accounting), ensuring more accurate Scope 3 calculations.
Benefits of Integrating PCF data into Scope 3 Carbon Accounting
By integrating PCF data from LCA into Scope 3 Carbon Accounting, companies can:
Improve the accuracy of their emissions reporting
Identify emissions hotspots in their supply chain
Make informed decisions about suppliers and product design
Strengthen compliance with regulations and investor expectations
Untangling the Data: How Does Each Service Differ?
The type of data needed varies based on the methodology assessment used, specifically Scope 1, 2, 3 emissions reporting, PCF, and LCA. Understanding these differences helps businesses determine what data they need to collect based on their sustainability goals.
Moving Forward: Practical Steps for Lasting Impact
Sustainability isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and businesses that successfully integrate both Carbon Accounting and LCA gain a competitive advantage. By leveraging these tools, companies can reduce emissions, optimize supply chains, and meet the growing demand for responsible products—all while maximizing ROI and boosting profitability.
YOUR PARTNER In STRATEGIC IMPACT AND PROFITABILITY
At Sustainable Solutions Corporation, we help businesses navigate the complexities of performance measurement and strategy. Whether you’re in the early stages of your sustainability journey or looking to refine your approach, our expertise can guide you toward impactful, data-driven decisions.
By leveraging product-focused methodologies for PCFs and LCAs, we can strengthen your connection to Scope 3 calculations, ultimately enhancing sustainability disclosures and providing clearer insights for decision-making.
Ready to take the next step? Contact us today to explore how LCA and Carbon Accounting can work for your business.
About the Author
Cara Vought, LCACP, LEED AP ID+C
Senior Technical Consultant
Cara has over 13 years of experience in product stewardship and corporate sustainability strategy. She specializes in developing life cycle assessments (LCAs) and product carbon footprints, conducting independent LCA reviews to ISO standards, supporting industry associations and collaboratives in program development, and facilitating audits for sustainable manufacturing initiatives and LEED certifications.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware, with minors in Sustainable Energy Technology and Environmental Engineering. Cara also served as an adjunct professor at Jefferson University, where she taught architecture and design students how to think about materials sustainably. She believes that sustainability is an ever-evolving field that requires continuous learning and adaptation. With a passion for education, she works closely with SSC’s clients to help them expand their knowledge and integrate sustainability into their business practices.
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