Throughout our presence at various life cycle conferences around the world we’ve been asked a number of questions rather frequently, which we would like to answer now also here to enhance clarity and transparency. If you feel that we should add another question to this section, please feel free to get in touch with us!
Life Cycle Innovation as we understand it means that the innovation in operationalizing sustainability efforts should be achieved by taking a Life Cycle Perspective. As such Life Cycle Innovation is not meant to refer to a new approach or method of life cycle assessment or management.
Life Cycle Community is understood here as a community of professionals working in business, science and policy organisations who actively promote the use of life cycle approaches and information.
Becoming a member with us will provide you with a number of member-tailored benefits. For example you get access to our online collaboration space, to our events and committees in which you can become engaged to shape the future of the FSLCI.
In addition to these benefits, by becoming a member you enable us to develop more benefits and services for you and the life cycle community as a whole. Become engaged and help us shape the future of the FSLCI!
Also, if you agree with us that more efforts are needed to inform people about the concept of life cycle thinking so as to enhance global sustainability efforts, your support as a member will be a key element towards realizing that vision!
In the end, only if we manage to really represent a significant portion of the life cycle community, we’ll have the credibility and legitimacy to speak on its behalf!
We’re here to serve and represent the global life cycle community. Join us now and help us realize our vision of a sustainable global society where Life Cycle approaches are established and decision makers have fully integrated them into their regular decision making processes!
As a company member, depending on the size of the organization, you get a number of free personal accounts for the company’s employees with all benefits for individual members.
In addition, company members get some visibility as supporting members of the FSLCI on our promotional materials, such as this website, our flyers or presentations.
Company members also get to send a representative into our Business Advisory Committee, which will work in close coordination with our Board of Directors to develop company-relevant programs and projects.
To learn more about how your company could benefit from becoming a member with the FSLCI, please contact us directly.
There are two ways to become a member with us:
1. Sign up as an individual
Simply go to https://fslci.org/plans/membership-plans/, enter your details and register yourself.
2. Sign up as an organization
Please have a look at our plans for organizations here:Â https://fslci.org/organisational-memberships/. Organizations get a number of individual memberships as part of their organizational membership. To become an organizational member, get in touch with us.
We would like our members to fill our community with live and become active advocates for taking a life cycle perspective in the context that they work in, yet the degree to which and whether you become engaged is entirely up to you.
In contrast to many other international initiatives and organizations the FSLCI does not intent to work on any methodological or data/database questions.
Instead we want to focus on two major things:
- Enhancing coordination and collaboration on both, the individual, but as well the organizational level. For individuals we’ve put an online collaboration platform in place that is meant to help share experiences and knowledge and in going forward serve as a knowledge hub, much like a wikipedia for life cycle questions. We will also organize workshops and webinars on specific questions. With regards to organizations we are continuously reaching out national life cycle networks and will facilitate the global coordination of their work through our Global Networks Coordination Committee. To this end we also intent to work with conference organizers around the world to facilitate their work.
- Focus on communication. For us, spreading life cycle thinking needs to start with explaining to people why taking a life cycle perspective is key to operationalize sustainability. Breaking the overall concept down into easily digestible information parts will be key to broaden people’s understanding. As such we intend to create materials that are tailored to various audiences which can be used
- in companies to convince the senior management or other departments,
- in political debates to provide decision-makers with a better understanding of the implications of the available options,
- in schools and universities to provide students with an overall idea of the concept,
- by the media to better explain to the broad public what life cycle thinking is all about.
In the end, what we’ll do will be determined by our members. It is them for which we’ve put an infrastructure in place and as such they will decide, how to use it and guide us in our work. We’re here to serve the global life cycle community!
The FSLCI is quite unique not only in terms of what it seek to focus on as outlined in the previous question, but also in terms of how its governance is organized. As outlined in our governance section, the entire decision making power lies with our individual members. Members elect the Board of Directors into office, which in return appoints the Executive Committee. As outlined in our charter, members of the Board can only be reelected for one consecutive term. This provision has been put in place to ensure that the the Board remains open to new faces over time.
In addition to the actual governance of the association, projects and activities can be governed through Committees which can be put into place by the Board of Directors. Unless otherwise specified by the Board, Committees are open for all members who would like to become engaged on the specific subject.
The FSLCI’s income is currently entirely based on the membership fees that it has received from its members. As the membership fee has been intentionally set to be affordable for everyone, the financial sustainability of the association will need to be ensured by complementing revenue from individual membership fees with revenue from organizational members.
As such we’re currently in the process of reaching out to interested companies to discuss their possible membership with the FSLCI. In line with our focus on providing services to individuals, companies who join get a limited number of free memberships for their employees.
As with the membership fees, company fees have been set rather low to reduce the entry barrier but also to ensure that the FSLCI will not become dependent on a few organizational members in going forward.
The FSLCI is based out of Berlin, Germany. We’re working out of the Rainmaking Loft Berlin, a vibrant co-working space in the center of the city.
The FSLCI is a non-profit entity that is registered officially with the register of associations in Berlin. Our registration number is the VR 33946 B.
