2 years ago, LCA4Regions’ 9 partners gathered together for the first time in Brussels to discuss the project's strategy aiming on improving environment and resource efficiency through use of Life Cycle Instruments for implementation of regional policies of the EU. Let's go through these two years in numbers...
#1 project consortium
Behind the LCA4Regions project you will find:
4 governmental authorities:
- Lombardy Region (IT)
- Lodzkie Region (PL)
- Baixo Alentejo Intermunicipal Community (PT)
- Government of Navarre (ES)
3 research institutions:
- Kaunas University of Technology (LT)
- National Institute of Chemistry (SL)
- Pyhäjärvy Institute (FI)
1 industrial association;
- Industrial Association of Navarre (ES)
1 advisory partner:
- ACR+ (BE)
#1 Goal: spreading the life cycle approach
How do we want to contribute to expand the use of life cycle methods as a holistic approach when conceiving and implementing public policies related to environmental protection and resource efficiency? Check this video for a short summary of what we want to achieve through this project!
#6 thematic pillars
To reach its objective, LCA4Regions focuses on the following 6 thematic pillars:
- Implement of LCA in environmental and resource efficiency policies - from theory to practice;
- LCA for resource efficiency;
- LCA in waste and material flows;
- LCA in public procurement;
- Training and capacity building in LCA;
- LCA in monitoring and evaluation.
#4 years of travel within LCA
We are now only halfway through the project. In total, partners will be working together for 4 years, divided into 2 phases.
Phase 1
The first phase of the project includes the 7Transnational Learning Journeys (TLJ) during which partners are exchanging experiences and identifying good practices (GP) to elaborate 7 Action Plans transferring these good practices to their territories.
This phase has not finished yet though. We are looking forward to our 5th TLJ at the end of the month! Will you join us?
We have already identified 49 good practices during the last 4 TLJs. Here are some examples:
- Energy and resource efficiency in hotel industry
- Resource efficient land use to promote sustainable land design and development
- Application of Life-cycle assessment in optimization of municipal waste management systems
- Healthy and sustainable menus in municipal schools of Pamplona
You can have a full overview of the Good Practices here.
Phase 2
The second phase is focused on the implementation of the Action Plans produced with the aim of improving partners' policy instruments. It starts in 116 months, in August 2022.
#+40 Stakeholder events
On each territory, a stakeholders group has been created. The 7 Stakeholder groups are meeting every 6 months and the events are organized with some main agenda points such as project presentation, LC methodologies, Policy instruments, regional analysis, GPs sharing and identifying, discussion, and contributions from stakeholders. The project partners also share the outcomes of the TLJs with their stakeholder groups in each region through emails, calls, articles, press releases, website, newsletter, and social media.
#1 Summer school participation
At LCA4Regions we like cooperating and learning new things, so we joined a summer school. Several partners of LCA4Regions were among the 28 students to attend the Forum for Sustainability in Life Cycle Innovation Summer School 2020 for 3 weeks between 22 September and 8 October 2020. The Summer School was an opportunity for professionals and regional managers to learn how to extend evolving life cycle management tools into new application areas in sustainable development – in this instance in the context of developing a deeper understanding of the bio-economy and food life cycle related issues.
We also contributed to the following edition of the LC Summer School, this time focused on life cycle approaches to sustainable building and construction.
In addition, 3 partners participated in an international food sustainable assessment to learn and exchange methodological approaches.
