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Ateliers

Journée complète

1. Hands-On Coupling of the INRAE-CIRAD MEANS platform tools for multicriteria assessment of agri-food systems | 9.00 - 5.00

Auteurs: Caroline Malnoë (INRAE), Samuel Le Féon (INRAE), Julie Auberger (INRAE), Aurélie Wilfart (INRAE), Christophe Geneste (INRAE), Joël Aubin (INRAE), Aude Alaphilippe (INRAE, UERI), Sandra Payen (CIRAD)

Developing accurate and comprehensive Life Cycle Inventories (LCIs) remains a major challenge in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), particularly for agri-food systems where direct emissions rely on complex models. This workshop introduces the MEANS platform, co-developed by INRAE and CIRAD, to support robust, transparent and reproducible sustainability assessments of crop, livestock and food processing systems.The objective is to provide participants with a hands-on introduction to complementary MEANS tools and demonstrate how they can be combined to address key LCA challenges. The full-day interactive session includes guided exercises using MEANS-InOut (2h) to model the LCI of a livestock or crop system, from system description and embedded direct emission calculations to LCI generation. Participants will then follow one of two modules: MeatPartTool (2h), to compare co-product allocation methods in beef systems, or SEAMPL (2h), to compare reusable packaging scenarios in apple juice supply chains. Two DEXi-based tools (DEXi Dairy and DEXi Fruits) will also be demonstrated to extend the assessment beyond environmental indicators.The workshop targets researchers, consultants, and farm advisors with intermediate LCA skills, providing practical experience to produce consistent LCIs, explore key modelling choices, and deliver reproducible results.

2. IMPACT World+: A Comprehensive, Harmonized, and Operational Life Cycle Impact Assessment Method | 9.00 - 5.00

Auteurs: Elliot Muller (CIRAIG), Maxime Agez (CIRAIG), Georg Seitfudem (CIRAIG), Nadim Saadi (CIRAIG), Cécile Bulle (CIRAIG)

This workshop addresses current limitations of Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods, particularly in the context of food systems, where regional variability, multiple environmental pressures, and methodological inconsistencies can complicate result interpretation. It introduces IMPACT World+ (IW+), a harmonized midpoint–damage LCIA method offering comprehensive coverage (74 indicators), regionalization, time-differentiation and continuous scientific updates, including strengthened indicators for climate change, water scarcity, land use, plastics, and resource use.

The objectives are to demonstrate the relevance of IW+ for food-related LCAs, explain how methodological choices can influence results, and provide practical guidance for its transparent and appropriate application as well as for the interpretation of the results it allows to calculate.

The full-day workshop (7 hours) combines: (1) introductory presentations and comparisons with other LCIA methods (EF, ReCiPe, TRACI); (2) interactive interpretation exercises using food-system case studies and role-based discussions; and (3) hands-on technical sessions on advanced IW+ features such as biogenic carbon accounting, regionalization, and plastics impact indicators. 

It targets intermediate to advanced LCA practitioners and researchers. Participants gain both conceptual clarity and operational skills to apply IW+ rigorously in food-system assessments.

3. Best practices for farm-level GHG emission calculator | 9.00 - 5.00

Contact: - Koen Deconinck, OECD ([email protected]) 
              - Saule Burkitbayeva, Australian National University ([email protected])

Auteurs: Koen Deconinck (OECD), Saule Burkitbayeva (Australian National University Law School)

Farm-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions account for a substantial share of the carbon footprint of agri-food products and exhibit large variation between farms, even within the same region. Over the past decade the number of tools to estimate farm-level GHG emissions has grown rapidly, with more than 200 tools now identified worldwide. While these tools provide valuable insights, evidence shows that they can produce very different results for the same farm because of differences in system boundaries, methodological choices, alignment with standards, and the use of secondary data.

In response, the OECD, in collaboration with the Australian National University, is facilitating a structured process to develop best practices for farm-level GHG emission calculations. The work is informed by an extensive review of existing tools, as well as consultations with tool providers, LCA experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders.

An important step in this process is a full-day workshop at LCA Food 2026. The workshop will focus on refining best practice recommendations through in-person discussion. A final session will explore how farm-level tools could evolve beyond carbon accounting to include additional environmental sustainability indicators, ensuring that the recommendations are robust and future-proof.

Demi-journée

4. Operationalizing the Plastic Footprint in LCA | 9.00 - 12.30

Auteurs: Nadim Saadi (CIRAIG), Elena Corella-Puertas (DTU), Anne-Marie Boulay (CIRAIG)

It is estimated that more than 20 million tons of plastics are emitted annually into the environment worldwide. Once released, plastics redistribute across ecosystems, causing physical (e.g., internal damage, food dilution) and toxic effects due to additives. Recent efforts by the MarILCA group have enabled the inclusion of physical effects of microplastics (MPs) in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) through regionalised multimedia characterization factors. In parallel, the Plastic Footprint Network has developed methods to quantify lifecycle emissions of macro- and microplastics across sectors. However, the methodologies and data required to perform such LCAs are not widely known, slowing down the application of these scientific developments.

This workshop aims to (i) provide information on macro- and microplastics leakage inventories (1hr), (ii) present recent impact assessment developments for plastics and introduce the plastic footprint as a standalone metric at product to national levels (1hr), and (iii) train participants to conduct an LCA including plastic pollution impacts using a new open-access MarILCA tool (1hr). This will be presented in the context of different sectors including packaging, agriculture, etc. The workshop is targeted at LCA practitioners and researchers that wish to integrate plastic emissions into LCAs for improved environmental decision-making.

5. Improving Transparency and Data Quality by Facilitating the Integration of Regionalized Data on Feed Impacts | 9.00 - 12.30

Auteurs: Delanie Kellon (GLFI), Laura Nobel, (GLFI) Marta Ruiz (IRTA),  Kurt Rosentrater (ISU), Nathan Pelletier (UBC)

The Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI) is an independent nonprofit established to develop and maintain a life cycle analysis (LCA) database for animal feed ingredients. Updating its tier 1 datasets with higher tier data based on regionalized modeling is a priority.
Through this interactive workshop, GFLI aims to: support the implementation of transparent and rigorous methods and procedures for generating more accurate and regionally representative data; give participants the opportunity to visualize how regional modeling varies with respect to different ecosystems/agricultural practices, and see how the use of higher tier data impacts footprint results; and share how its new Data-in Generator (DIG) tool can facilitate the calculation of higher tier data.
Through dialogue and practical scenario analyses, the workshop will address key issues such as acceptable criteria and procedures for validating higher tier models, and questions facing data users regarding the comparability of regionalized datasets.
The target audience includes students as well as expert LCA practitioners. The participatory, hands-on workshop format will bring added value by helping participants work through scenario analyses to gain a deeper understanding of how higher tier models differ from tier 1 models, and how calculated results can vary when different tiers of data are used.

6. Exploring How Life Cycle Assessment Can Capture the Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture | 9.00 - 12.30

Auteurs: Catherine Houssard (CIRAIG), Nicolas Roy-Heppell (CIRAIG), Ivan Viveros Santos (CIRAIG), Juliette Sulmona (LVMH)

Regenerative agriculture is increasingly presented as a pathway to mitigate climate change while enhancing biodiversity and soil health within agri-food systems. However, the concept encompasses a wide range of practices and interpretations, making its environmental assessment particularly challenging. Although life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to assess agri-food systems, it still struggles to capture the potential benefits associated with regenerative models.

This workshop will examine the main methodological and operational challenges involved in applying LCA to regenerative agriculture. Topics include the representation of soil carbon dynamics, the integration of biodiversity and ecosystem-service indicators, and the consideration of interactions among practices. Attention will be given to approaches for collecting and structuring field level data across diverse production contexts. Overcoming these challenges is essential to inform decision-making and improve agricultural systems to enhance their environmental benefits.

Drawing on recent methodological developments and applied case studies with industrial partners, the workshop will provide a structured space for dialogue among LCA practitioners, soil scientists, agronomists, data specialists, and industry stakeholders and will foster crossdisciplinary participation and exchange. The discussions will contribute to a white paper aimed at improving the use of LCA to support and guide decision-making toward more sustainable agricultural systems.

7. Integrating Growing Media LCA into broader food production systems | 9.00 - 12.30

Auteurs: Alexander Sentinella (Growing Media Europe), Nele Ameloot (Growing Media Europe, Ghent University), Jeroen Weststrate (Wageningen Social & Economic Research), Elizabeth Migoni Alejandre (Wageningen Social & Economic Research)

Growing media (commonly known as substrates or potting soils) are critical inputs to horticulture, yet they remain insufficiently integrated into broader food LCAs frameworks. This workshop presents recent advances in the LCA of growing media constituents and mixes, developed in alignment with the Growing Media Environmental Footprint Guidelines1. We will demonstrate how growing media LCAs can be consistently integrated with existing sectoral frameworks, including FloriPEFCR2 and Fresh Produce PEFCR3, enabling harmonized assessments across entire food and plant production systems. Through conceptual presentations, case examples, and interactive discussion, the workshop aims to support LCA practitioners, researchers, and industry stakeholders in consistently incorporating growing media into food LCA studies and environmental footprints. Expansion to broader geographies, new materials, and more context specific scenarios will also be discussed.

8. Towards prospective social LCA of novel agri-food systems | 1.30 - 5.00

Auteurs: Nicole Tichenor Blackstone (Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University), Alessandra Zamagni (Ecoinnovazione), Hanna L. Tuomisto (Future Sustainable Food Systems –Research Group, University of Helsinki, Natural Resources Institute Finland)

Despite societal interest in the potential social implications of novel agri-food technologies, there does not yet exist a prospective or future-oriented Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) methodology to help answer these questions. There are a small number of teams around the world that have begun to develop and apply prospective S-LCA, facing significant barriers, creating solutions, and identifying key needs to advance the field. The objectives of this workshop are to 1) develop a new informal network of practitioners working on prospective S-LCA to support methodological developments, 2) discuss and find common ground about the concept of prospective S-LCA, 3) discuss data needs and potential life cycle inventory approaches for prospective social assessment of novel agri-food systems. The result will be the basis of a commentary on prospective S-LCA that interested participants will continue to co-author and submit to the International Journal of LCA after the workshop.

9. Biodiversity assessment in LCA: Concepts, Methods, and Policy Links | 1.30 - 5.00

Auteurs: Anne-Claire Asselin (Sayari), Cécile Bulle (CIRAIG), Aurore Wermeille (Sayari), Pablo Tirado Seco (CIRAIG), François Saunier (CIRAIG)

The IPBES assessment on business and biodiversity highlights the growing role of companies in addressing biodiversity loss, as well as the need for robust tools to assess impacts and dependencies on nature. In this context, this workshop addresses the issue of biodiversity and its assessment approaches within LCA.

The objective of the workshop is to provide agri-food and sustainability professionals with a clear understanding of biodiversity concepts, current methodological advances and limitations in biodiversity assessment within LCA and insights into how LCA-based biodiversity indicators align with emerging frameworks such as the PEF or the Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN).

The workshop (half-day session) is structured into three thematic blocks combining presentations, case-study illustration, and exchanges from participants:

  • biodiversity definitions and relevance for food-systems;

  • biodiversity LCIA and interpretation challenges;

  • policy and reporting frameworks on biodiversity and LCA.

Designed for a mixed audience, the workshop will allow participants to:

  • deepen their understanding of biodiversity impacts, particularly those arising from agri-food systems;

  • build competence in selecting LCIA methods and interpreting biodiversity-related results;

  • position LCA within the broader set of tools available to companies for assessing biodiversity issues and integrating them into regulatory and corporate reporting;

  • exchange experiences with peers facing similar assessment challenges.

10. Harmonizing food ecolabelling methodologies in an international context | 1.30 - 5.00

Auteurs: Zoé Coudert (ADEME), Vincent Colomb(ADEME), Ralph Rosenbaum (IRTA), Andrei Briones (IRTA), 
Koen Boone (Wageningen University & Research), Roline Broekema (Wageningen University & Research, Birgit Schulze-Ehlers (University of Göttingen)

Achieving environmentally sustainable food consumption is essential to addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. Yet a persistent “information gap” limits progress: consumers want to make responsible choices but lack comparable and trustworthy information. Ecolabels aim to translate complex environmental information into intuitive scores at the point of sale. However, the current landscape is highly fragmented, with hundreds of public and private schemes, many focused on single issues such as climate change, leading to confusion and mistrust. The shift toward Life Cycle Assessment-based approaches, particularly frameworks such as the Product Environmental Footprint, enables more comprehensive, multi-criteria evaluation across entire value chains. Still, major methodological and governance challenges remain. Key questions include how to convert multidimensional impact results into consumer-friendly scores (e.g., weighting, colour scales), whether to move from midpoint to enpoint indicators, how to integrate biodiversity and agroecological practices, and how to address toxicity indicators. Data consistency and diverging needs across countries and companies further complicate harmonisation. The Eco Food Choice project convenes experts to explore these technical and governance conditions. Through interactive discussions, the workshop seeks shared principles, priority methodological requirements, and pathways toward credible, harmonised environmental food scoring systems.