CIRCOMOD research on machinery technologies featured at SETAC Europe LCA Symposium 2024

The SETAC Europe 26th Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Symposium, held from 21–23 October 2024 in Gothenburg, Sweden, brought together experts from academia, industry, government, and NGOs to explore the latest developments in life cycle thinking and assessment. Under the theme “Making LCA meaningful: good data, better models, sustainable decisions,” this year’s symposium focused on enhancing life cycle inventory (LCI) data, improving the application of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), and contextualizing LCA for more robust and actionable insights.

The symposium featured a rich programme of presentations, workshops, and discussions aimed at advancing the role of LCA in sustainable decision-making across sectors.

Alejandro Arias Castillo, CIRCOMOD team member from Pforzheim University, contributed to the programme with a presentation on the climate impact and material relevance of various machinery technologies. His research aims to:

(i) Identify and categorize the most representative technologies within the machinery sector; and

(ii) Map the current state-of-the-art research on circular economy (CE) strategies in the sector, with a particular focus on environmental assessments, technological trends, and existing research gaps.

This work contributes to CIRCOMOD’s broader mission of modelling material demand scenarios and supporting evidence-based pathways for a circular and climate-neutral European economy. Alejandro’s contribution sparked interest among participants looking to deepen the integration of LCA with circular economy and industrial transformation goals.

The SETAC LCA Symposium continues to serve as a key platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration in advancing sustainability science and its practical applications.