LCA Made Simple with easyLCA: Streamlined Product Life Cycle Assessment Made Accessible – with a Pulp & Paper Case Study

Editor: Agnes Sulistya, Tasya Salsabilla K. P. (LCI Team)

In recent years, sustainability has moved from being just a “nice to have” to a business necessity. Companies now face growing pressure from governments, investors, and consumers to show real progress. One of the most trusted ways to prove this is through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, LCA is often seen as too technical, complicated, and expensive, making it hard for many businesses to adopt.  

Life Cycle Indonesia (LCI), together with the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Association (Asosiasi Pulp dan Kertas Indonesia/APKI), held the second episode of the Sustainabili-Tea Time with LCI series on 3rd October 2025. The session, led by Dr. Jessica Hanafi (LCI Founder and Principal) and Sharah Saputra (LCI Senior Sustainability Consultant), explained why LCA is becoming more important than ever and demonstrated how it can be simplified and made more accessible for companies through easyLCA.

Looking at Products Differently – The Basis of Life Cycle Thinking

The foundation of LCA lies in what is known as Life Cycle Thinking (LCT). Instead of evaluating a product only at the point of sale or during its use, LCT considers the entire journey from raw material extraction, through manufacturing and distribution, all the way to disposal. This “cradle to grave” approach helps ensure that when we improve one part of a product’s life cycle, we don’t accidentally create new problems in another stage.

As Dr. Hanafi explained during the webinar, applying life cycle thinking makes us more conscious of the decisions we make. Just as a consumer might weigh not only the price of a product but also how long it will last, businesses are encouraged to think about durability, resource use, and impacts across the whole chain. Within this framework, three elements stand out:

• Life Cycle Assessment, the structured process of quantifying environmental impacts.

• Life Cycle Management, which brings life cycle insights into everyday business decisions.

• Design for Environment, an approach that integrates sustainability directly into product design.

• 
  

Together, the three elements form a mindset shift that transforms sustainability from being reactive to being proactive. 

LCA requires a rigorous approach, guided by the seven principles set out in ISO 14040:2006 on Environmental management — Life cycle assessment :

• Life cycle perspective

• Environmental focus

• Continuous improvement

• Relative approach and functional units

• Transparency

• Comprehensiveness

• Priority on scientific approach

  
  

These principles give LCA its credibility. They ensure that the assessment is scientifically grounded, comprehensive, and consistent, making the results acceptable for external reporting, such as to investors and regulators. 

To borrow one of the analogies used in the webinar, conducting an LCA is akin to undergoing a medical check-up: it provides a diagnosis of a product’s environmental health. The results, much like nutrition facts on food packaging, allow stakeholders to understand where impacts are coming from and how they can be reduced.

The Non-Negotiable Need for LCA

The discussion turned to why LCA has moved from being optional to essential. Across the globe, governments are tightening rules through mechanisms such as carbon taxes, carbon border adjustments mechanism (CBAM), and emissions trading schemes. Investors and consumers are demanding transparency, with many willing to reward companies that can demonstrate lower footprints. Meanwhile, procurement systems and financing arrangements are increasingly asking for evidence rooted in LCA.

In 2020, just a few hundred Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)—the standardised way of reporting LCA results—were available worldwide. By 2024, the figure had climbed above 10,000. Barely a year later, in September 2025, the tally had more than doubled again to around 24,000. Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, has experienced a surge as companies sought EPDs to support their export strategies.

How LCA is Reshaping Competitiveness

In Indonesia, this momentum is starting to take hold. The Ministry of Industry, working with APKI and LCI, has developed Product Category Rules (PCRs) for pulp, tissue, and processed paper products. PCRs act like recipe books, ensuring that assessments are carried out consistently within each category. This not only strengthens credibility but also aligns Indonesian products with international market expectations.

Despite the clear need for LCA, many organizations—especially Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)—have struggled with its complexity. Traditional LCA software requires specialist training, deep datasets, and significant resources. 

Recognising this barrier, LCI has sought to “democratise” the process through the development of easyLCA. As demonstrated by Sharah Saputra during the webinar, easyLCA guides users through three straightforward steps:

1. Entering data into user-friendly forms aligned with ISO and EPD standards, cutting out the need for specialist data scientists.

2. Calculating impacts using predefined models and robust emission factors.

3. Analyzing results through benchmarking and hotspot identification.

   
   

This streamlined approach makes it possible for companies, even those without deep expertise, to run credible assessments. Additional features such as automated EPD draft generation further reduce the burden, enabling organisations to publish results with confidence.

At present, easyLCA covers pulp, paper, and tissue products, with plans to expand into other sectors.

Making LCA easier is not simply about convenience. With quicker and more accessible results, companies can establish their baseline environmental performance, explore scenarios for innovation, and meet external requirements with less effort. They can also benchmark themselves against industry standards, identify hotspots for improvement, and feed data into sustainable financing instruments such as green bonds.

easyLCA allows companies to turn sustainability data into a competitive advantage. Instead of being paralysed by complexity, they are empowered to act, improve, and communicate transparently with stakeholders.

From Compliance to Competitive Edge

This Sustainabili-Tea Time with LCI highlighted both the urgency and the opportunity around LCA. Markets and regulators are demanding ever greater transparency and accountability, while tools such as easyLCA are lowering the barriers that have long kept LCA confined to specialists.

As Dr. Hanafi reminded participants, thinking in life cycles reshapes how we see products and decisions. The message from the webinar is clear: the future of business is built on transparency and measurable impact. easyLCA is the accelerator that turns compliance into a competitive edge. It empowers businesses to move beyond complexity and embrace clarity, securing their place in the new, sustainability-driven global market.

References

• ISO. (2006). Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework (ISO 14040:2006). International Organization for Standardization.

• ISO. (2006). Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines (ISO 14044:2006). International Organization for Standardization.

• International EPD System. (2025). EPD Library. Retrieved from https://www.environdec.com/library

• UNEP. (2015). Guidance on organisational life cycle assessment. United Nations Environment Programme.

• Zampori, L., Saouter, E., Schau, E., Cristobal, J., Castellani, V., & Sala, S. (2016). Guide for interpreting life cycle assessment result. Publications Office of the European Union.