This page features guidance documents to help with conducting life cycle assessments. Most of the information on this site was sourced from the Global CO2 Initiative’s guidelines, and there are different approaches or emphases in other guidance.
However, both the Global CO2 Initiative’s guidelines along with those from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) are consistent with the ISO 14040 and 14044 life cycle assessment guidelines. This article expands on this subject.
- Global CO2 Initiative Techno-Economic Assessment & Life Cycle Assessment Guidelines for CO2 Utilization
- This document provides guidance on conducting techno-economic assessments (TEAs) and life cycle assessments (LCAs), with particular emphasis on carbon utilization technologies. Integration of assessment results and reporting are discussed as well.
- Global CO2 Initiative Making Sense of Techno-Economic Assessment & Life Cycle Assessment Studies for CO2 Utilization
- Deriving from the Techno-Economic Assessment & Life Cycle Assessment Guidelines, this report describes how decision-makers can use results from TEA and LCA along with how commissioners of such studies can shape the process.
- U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory Carbon Dioxide Utilization Life Cycle Analysis Guidance
- NETL’s guidance document provides information on how to conduct life cycle assessments specifically for carbon utilization technologies.
- The carbon footprint of the carbon feedstock CO2
- This article is a follow-up to the Techno-Economic Assessment & Life Cycle Assessment Guidelines that describes how to approach life cycle accounting for captured carbon dioxide used in carbon-utilizing processes.
- ISO 14040
- This ISO standard describes the principles and framework for standardized LCAs, including various LCA phases and limitations.
- ISO 14044
- This follow-up to ISO 14040 specifies requirements and guidelines for conducting and analyzing LCAs.
- International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook – General Guide for Life Cycle Assessment
- Published by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, this document provides guidance and rules for conducting life cycle assessments.
- Best Practices for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Direct Air Capture with Storage (DACS)
- Published by the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the U.S. Department of Energy, this report provides general best practices for performing LCA of DAC systems.
- Life Cycle Assessment: Quantitative Approaches for Decisions That Matter
- This free textbook on LCA was written by professors at Carnegie Mellon University and is available in several languages. Each chapter covers a different LCA topic in depth.
- Handbook on Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment
- This collection of articles provides a state-of-the-art overview of developments, issues, and opportunities across the field of industrial ecology and LCA.
- Life Cycle and Techno-Economic Assessment Templates for Emerging Carbon Management Technologies
- This article offers background information on carbon management and technology assessment and proceeds to develop Excel-based LCA and TEA templates for various technologies that are also available on the Templates and Videos pages on this site.
- Adapting Technology Learning Curves for Prospective Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessments of Emerging Carbon Capture and Utilization Pathways
- This article describes the concept of technology learning curves, introduces a framework for applying them to costs and emissions CCU technologies, and offers a related case study on CO2 mineralization.