Criteria List for LCA Professional Certification
Open for public comments until 1 March 2008
Please send comments to: Rita@iere.org
Prerequisites for testing: Provide documentation that the following courses or their equivalent have been completed: General Chemistry Statistics Economics Systems analysis or systems dynamics Environmental Toxicology Internship or Complete LCA LCA Professional General 1 Understand basic life cycle concepts 2 Understand different life cycle stages 3 Understand the holistic nature of LCA 4 Applicability to product, process, or system 5 Understand formal definitions of life cycle concepts 6 Be able to describe the main steps for completing a life cycle analysis 7 Be able to explain uses for LCA as a decision-making tool 8 Understand the relationship between LCA and other environmental assessment techniques 9 Understand that there are standards available, and that these are incomplete specifications 10 Understand the policy uses and implications of LCA Life Cycle Inventory 12 Understand the concept of the LCA unit process 13 Understand process LCI 14 Understand the mathematical procedures available for inventory calculation and analysis and the advantages and limitations of these. 15 Understand mass & energy balances 16 Understand economic input-out analysis LCA 17 Understand the differences between process & EIO LCA and their hybrids 18 Understand the relevance of the consequential and attributional approaches for LCA. 19 Understand the difference between ecosphere and technosphere flows 20 Understand System Boundary Expansion 21 Understand allocation procedures 22 Understand how to define functional units and select appropriate ones for LCA Analyses Life Cycle Impact Assessment 23 Understand the concepts of Life Cycle Impact indicators and fate and transport models 24 Be able to identify and describe environmental impact pathways 25 Understand the concept of environmental relevance 26 Be able to list and discuss the most common environmental impact categories used in LCA 27 Know the content of each damage categories and the state of the art on damage indicators. 28 Understand the concepts of environmental impact midpoints and endpoints 29 Understand the sources of characterization factors for each of the main environmental impact categories 30 Know the present state of the art of impact pathway modeling in different categories. 31 Be able to explain characterization factors for impact analysis 32 Understand the relationship between natural science and mid-point impact assessment 33 Understand the relationship between value judgement and endpoint or damage categories 34 Understand the centrality of energy systems in LCA’s 35 Be able to calculate carbon footprints LCA Project Management 36 Be able to write a clear and concise scope statement for LCA projects 37 Be able to develop an LCA project plan including data requirements and timeline. 38 Understand the requirements for critical review 39 Synthesize LCA analysis results into a thorough and concise written report for stakeholders LCA Data Quality Management 40 Know the types, sources and relevance of data used in LCA 41 Find sources of environmental impact data and assess the quality of that data 42 Structure and prioritise data collection for a specific LCA. 43 Identify, document and manage information on data quality and uncertainty 44 Identify the sufficiency and appropriateness of the available data 45 Manage situations where the available data are insufficient 46 Be able to cross-check reference to confirm data accuracy 47 Be able to use mass & energy balances for data quality checks 48 Understand the limitations, weaknesses, and uncertainties in current LCA practice 49 Be able to identify errors in data and avoid mistakes in data manipulation. 50 Understand how data from different sources can be combined in an LCA analysis as well as describe the potential errors in this process 51 Know how to document data and data manipulation in a standardised format. LCA post-impact calculations 52 Understand weighting 53 Understand the use of normalization in LCA 54 Understand the use of grouping in LCA LCA Modeling/Software 55 Be able to make a screening impact assessment (using software) and know the basic LCIA calculation procedure. 56 Be able to perform LCA’s using spreadsheets and matrix algebra 57 Be able to create LCA analyses for products, processes, or systems using a commercial software package 58 Be familiar with available lifecycle tools 59 To know the sources of dedicated LCA data and software and how to find out more about these. 60 Use stream-lined LCA techniques or LCA screening analyses when appropriate for a specific situation or client Statistics 61 Understand the basics of uncertainty analysis including simulation techniques 62 Understand basic statistical concepts including average, standard deviation, and normal distribution. 63 Know how to have a basic test of robustness. 64 Describe the relative accuracy and continuing uncertainties for characterization factors in different impact areas ISO 65 To know definitions from the standards. 66 Know the ISO 14044 basic requirements, especially on comparative assertion. Ethics 67 Understand the difference between professional judgement and personal values 68 To know that it is possible to distinguish good, justifiable practice from unacceptable, unjustifiable practice. 69 Understand the elements of the ACLCA Ethics statement 70 Understand the importance of ethical decision and proper disclosure in terms of data limitations