LCA critical review

Yes, a critical review is required if you intend to communicate your LCA results externally, in line with ISO 14071.

No, the reviewer must be independent from the LCA development process and not affiliated with your internal team.

The duration typically ranges from 1 to 3 months, depending on the availability of reviewers and project complexity.

A panel review is mandatory for comparative LCAs that are shared externally, to ensure impartiality and robustness.

Typically, a panel consists of 3 independent experts, including at least one with deep LCA methodological expertise. The other two are experts in the relevant economic sector.

The LCA commissioner must select an 'external independent expert'. This independent expert, in turn, coordinates the panel selection according to the ISO14044, ensuring independence, expertise, and relevance.

Verification is required to register an EPD in official databases such as the NMD, Environdec or IBU. It validates your LCA and ensures compliance with program rules.

And EPD is also known as the type III environmental product declaration. Without EPD verification and uploading your EPD in an EPD database, the term EPD cannot be used. Without verification, formally you speak of a type II environmental declaration.

A full EPD process typically includes: conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the product, documenting results in accordance with a Product Category Rule (PCR), carrying out an independent verification of the LCA, and registering the resulting EPD in an official database such as NMD, Environdec or IBU. It also involves quality checks, compliance with formatting rules, and coordination with the chosen programme operator.

Yes, most programme operators require verifiers to be approved or recognised under their specific schemes. This ensures consistency, transparency, and credibility in the verification process.