Session
WE.3.D || Life Cycle Management in Education and Culture
Authors
Harding, Kevin; Horta Arduin, Rachel; Miao, Zoe Chunyu; Sonnemann, Guido; Strothmann, Philip; Viere, Tobias; Wright, Laurie; Zeller, Vanessa
Abstract
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is taught all over the world and integrated into different study programs and disciplines. Depending on the desired learning outcome and competency level, teaching content and scope vary. Due to this variety of what is taught, it is not easy for prospective students interested in acquiring life cycle literacy to identify, which programs offer what level of competency. What is also lacking is not only an overview of what kind of LCA competency is taught at which institution, but also an understanding within the life cycle community of what should be taught at various levels. These issues were identified and highlighted in a recently published paper produced by the FSLCI’s Working Group on LCA in Higher Education (Viere et al. 2021). Building on the initial work that led to the publication of the paper, the working group is now planning to further address the outlined gap in form of a global study. The presentation presents an empirical research design that is intended to survey and evaluate the state of LCA teaching around the world. Initial results and findings are presented, contributing to a better understanding of the academic implementation of LCA worldwide and highlighting development needs and challenges in the field. Viere, T., Amor, B., Berger, N. et al. Teaching life cycle assessment in higher education. Int J Life Cycle Assess 26, 511–527 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-020-01844-3