Life Cycle Assessment Boot Camp: LCA for The Health Sector

The healthcare sector is large producer of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution and we urgently need evidence-driven solutions to address the resulting health impacts of health system functioning. LCA literacy and competency is crucial in developing the evidence base to guide solutions in reducing the healthcare industry’s carbon footprint and is essential for anyone considering a career in sustainability, as LCA can be a valuable tool in managing the performance of a health organization.

This course will provide an introduction into the use of life cycle assessment in the healthcare sector and will provide mentorship for participants to perform their own desired LCA study through the duration of the course.

In this course, you will learn:

March 11-12 live-virtual training:
Fundamentals of LCA according to ISO 14040 standards
How to define LCA’s
Use of SimaPro software and databases required to complete an LCA
Process mapping and material flow assessment
Data collection and practice with creating assumptions
Study design advantages and pitfalls

Six-week break
During this time, you will work with your team (or individually, if you do not have team members) to access and assimilate the needed data identified during the first two days of the training to complete your LCA. Each team will have one more check-in meeting with program faculty and staff to assist with troubleshooting and other logistics.

May 1-2 live-virtual training
Data synthesis and analysis
Sensitivity and certainty analyses
Drafting LCA reports and other dissemination strategies
Identify best practices for interpreting and sharing LCA results

Training Co-Director: Cecilia Sorensen, MD, Associate Professor, Environmental Health Sciences at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Training Co-Director: Cassandra Thiel, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health and Department of Ophthalmology at the New York University Langone Health.

This training is designed for any individuals or teams (2-5 individuals) interested in health care sustainability who have an LCA idea in the healthcare space. Professionals at all career stages are welcome to attend, and we encourage trainees and early-stage investigators to participate.

Capacity is limited. Paid registration is required to attend.