LCA-Care Project: Key Takeaways from the 3rd Consortium Meeting in Ruse, Bulgaria
The third face-to-face consortium meeting of the LCA-Care project was successfully held on July 2nd and 3rd, 2025, at the University of Ruse (UNIRUSE), Bulgaria. With the project progressing well, this gathering was an important opportunity for partners to review developments, share insights, and plan the next steps in promoting sustainable practices through life cycle assessment (LCA) tools.
Collaborative Research and Next Steps in Sustainability Education
A major highlight of the meeting was the collaborative work on Work Package 2 (WP2), where project partners presented their publication plans. The group decided to focus on creating interinstitutional teams to prepare joint research papers, thereby enhancing knowledge sharing across institutions.
In line with the project’s educational goals, University of Salamanca (USAL) presented an exciting initiative: a postgraduate course that will be fully online and accessible in multiple languages. The course will cover sustainability, Life Cycle Thinking, and the application of LCA in sectors like agri-food. This course is designed to be a major resource for developing the next generation of sustainability experts.
Innovative Solutions for LCA Tools and Data Integration
The meeting also featured a comprehensive demo of the LCA tool platform, developed under Work Package 3 (WP3). The partners shared their progress in integrating databases to support the LCA tool and discussed the challenges and solutions in ensuring compatibility with open-access databases. These discussions are crucial for ensuring the tool’s relevance and effectiveness for diverse industries.
Exploring Alternative Labels for Sustainability
As part of the ongoing effort to improve sustainability certification, TUAS led a session on exploring alternative eco-labels for the LCA tool. With the EU eco-label not a feasible option for all use cases, partners discussed several alternatives and will work towards selecting the most suitable labels for the project.
Looking Ahead
The consortium also took time to review the timeline for future deliverables and the upcoming evaluation process. A series of online meetings and a face-to-face gathering in Salamanca later this year will continue to drive the project forward, focusing on quality control, monitoring, and expanding the project’s impact.
With strong collaboration and clear goals, the LCA-Care project is on track to make significant contributions to the future of sustainability and environmental management.
Stay tuned for more updates as the project progresses!
For more information about the project please visit https://lca-care.eu/