On Friday, 5 and 19 September 2025, KU Leuven’s Doctoral Researcher Paniz Pouryaghoubi (DC8) hosted two interactive workshops on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology and the use of GaBi (Sphera) software for environmental sustainability evaluations. The goal of the sessions was to deepen participants’ understanding of sustainability metrics and environmental impact analyses while equipping them with the essential knowledge to conduct LCA modeling.
LCA is a powerful methodology for evaluating the environmental impacts of a product or process throughout its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal. As highlighted during the sessions: “What gets measured, gets managed. LCA makes the hidden trade-offs in sustainability visible.”
🌏 Day 1 – Foundations & Theory
The first workshop introduced key LCA fundamentals aligned with ISO standards, sustainability principles, and climate change impacts. It helped participants understand environmental assessment frameworks and explore how LCA supports climate solutions and sustainable decision-making.
🖥️ Day 2 – GaBi in Practice
The second workshop provided step-by-step guidance on building life cycle models in GaBi, followed by real case studies. Participants learned to identify hotspots, perform various analyses, and interpret results effectively.
Beyond knowledge transfer, one of INCLUE’s key objectives is to develop preliminary LCA models usable in later phases of the project. By covering the fundamentals of environmental impact modeling, these workshops directly support decision-making processes. This work aligns with the INCLUE project’s overarching goal of developing circular solutions for sustainable resource recovery from wastewater sludge. With this shared knowledge, we are building the foundations to evaluate new technologies in ways that are scientifically robust, economically sound, and socially accepted.