Workshop 11: How to Communicate Sustainability? Translating LCA Results into Meaningful Messages

Main Presenter: Pauline Ruiz

Co-Authors:Ángel Puente

Workshop Format: Short input by selected speakers; Roundtable

Life Cycle Assessment is widely recognised as a robust, science-based method to assess environmental sustainability. However, translating complex LCA results into clear, credible, and decision-relevant communication remains challenging. While LCA practitioners are comfortable with detailed system analyses and nuanced results, policymakers, businesses, and markets often require simplified messages to support decisions and avoid misinterpretation or greenwashing.

This interactive workshop addresses the question: how can sustainability results be communicated responsibly without losing scientific integrity? The workshop will start with a short introductory presentation using Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) case studies as practical examples of sustainability communication. These case studies are based on peer-reviewed LCAs and deliberately reduce scope, complexity, and length to improve readability while remaining grounded in LCA methodologies.
Following the introduction, the workshop will be structured as a moderated round-table discussion. Participants will be invited to share experiences, expectations, and challenges related to communicating LCA results in research, industry, and policy contexts. The discussion will focus on key questions such as the acceptable level of simplification, maintaining transparency when prioritising or omitting information, and the boundary between effective communication and greenwashing.

Participants will reflect on good practice for communicating LCA results, better understand trade-offs between scientific robustness and clarity, and take away shared insights applicable to their own communication activities.

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