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Code
SE-LCA1
Version
5.0
Offered by
Supply Engineering
ECTS
5
Prerequisites
Main purpose
The purpose of this course is to:
Equip ÈÕº«¸£ÀûÍøÖ· with in-depth knowledge of Circular Economy (CE) and its role in sustainable business development, while demonstrating how LCA serves as a fundamental tool in CE strategies.
Provide ÈÕº«¸£ÀûÍøÖ· with a solid understanding of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), including its principles, methodologies, and practical applications in engineering.
Ensure that ÈÕº«¸£ÀûÍøÖ· can conduct and critically interpret LCA analyses of selected products and systems.
Develop decision-making skills that integrate LCA results into sustainability assessments, regulatory compliance, and Circular Economy frameworks.
Knowledge
​Students completing this course will be familiar with:
- The role of LCA and Circular Economy in global and national sustainability initiatives, including Planetary Boundaries, Absolute Environmental Sustainability Assessment (AESA), the UN SDGs, Sustainability Certifications, and the EU Taxonomy.
- International and national frameworks for LCA analyses (ISO standards).
- Step-by-step methodology for conducting an LCA analysis.
- Methods for defining functional units, system boundaries, and timeframes in LCA analyses.
- Selected data sources for Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD).
- Various environmental impact categories.
Skills
Students completing this course will be able to:
- Apply and explain methods within the circular economy, such as the R-hierarchy.
- Apply LCA methodologies to analyze environmental impacts of products, buildings, and infrastructure projects.
- Identify barriers and develop strategies for advancing the circular economy.
- Define functional units, system boundaries, and timeframes for LCA analyses in accordance with relevant guidelines.
- Conduct LCA analyses for simple product- or system-scenarios following established guidelines.
- Compare, interpret, and present LCA analysis results, and discuss their implications for decision-making.
- Utilize Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to perform LCA analyses using relevant calculation tools (e.g., variant analysis).
- Evaluate case studies in relation to circular economy principles and LCA compliance.
Competences
Students completing this course will be able to:
- Define comparable scenarios for competing products or systems, such as supply facilities, buildings, and infrastructures, to analyze their respective environmental impacts.
- Relate the results of LCA analyses to circular economy principles to propose sustainable choices in specific contexts.
Topics
Teaching methods and study activities
​The course is offered in the autumn semester.
The course has a duration of 12 weeks.
Expected workload for the student is 137.5 hours, including 4 lessons per week with a total of 48 lessons.
Resources
​Students will have the opportunity to apply various LCA software tools during the course
- LCAByg – for sustainability assessments of buildings and construction projects.
- InfraCLA – for evaluating the sustainability of infrastructure projects.
- ForsyningsLCA – for assessing the environmental impact of utility and supply systems.
- Other relevant LCA software may also be used depending on project requirements.
Evaluation
Examination
Exam prerequisites:
None
Exam type:
Individual oral exam, 20 min.
The exam is based on a randomly drawn topic with 20 min preparation time.
Internal assessment.
Tools allowed:
All tools are allowed during preparation. Notes from preparation are allowed during exam.
Re-exam:
Conducted as the ordinary exam.
Grading criteria
​Grading based on the Danish 7-point scale.
Additional information
Responsible
Dorte N. Holm, Merete Lindholm, Sigrid Peters
Valid from
8/1/2025 12:00 AM
Course type
Electives<br/>7. semester<br/>Elective for the specialization District Heating<br/>Elective for the specialization Waste Water Supply<br/>Elective for the specialization Water Supply<br/>
Keywords
Circular Economy (CE), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Sustainability Strategies, Environmental Regulations & Standards, Decision-Making in Sustainable Development