Since 2016, the center has a close collaboration with seven Swedish government agencies. They meet on a regular basis to share experience and build common knowledge in the life cycle field. These authorities play important roles in shaping future policies and legislation, and off course we are curious about how they deal with life cycle thinking.

The first authority to put spotlight on is Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, which has been collaborating with the center since 1996.

How would you describe your organization’s work with life cycle related issues?

— We work with compiling knowledge and documentation, developing environmental policy and implementing environmental policy. Life cycle related issues are important in several fields as for example sustainable production and consumption. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) plays an important role when performing policy analysis at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. We also use LCA results in our socio-economic analysis to calculate the benefit from measures and policy instruments that we propose.

 Can you give some examples of recent achievements within the life cycle field?

— In the work with Environmental Footprint we have contributed during pilot phase. The work is now continued during a transition phase. During the government assignment of sustainable textiles, LCA served as an important input when proposing measures and calculating benefits from our proposals.

 Which challenges or problems do you face today?

— For us, the  national and global environmental goals/objectives are most relevant and many are difficult to reach. Increased use of LCA could support this process.

— Quality assured access to relevant LCA data which is not as open and available as desired.

— LCA studies can be difficult to interpret and also to understand the assumptions behind the results why there is a risk that that we interpret the analyses incorrectly.

 Why is the life cycle field important?

— LCA is a very good tool for setting relevant environmental requirements. LCA can provide answers to where in the life cycle the greatest environmental impact occurs, if any specific materials or components contribute particularly, and how important the use and recycling phases are.

— LCA is an important tool and input when we perform policy analysis. It serves to make a good problem analysis and to understand which policy instruments that have the potential to give the best effect.

What are the most valuable outcomes of your collaboration with Swedish Life Cycle Center?

— The collaboration with Swedish Life Cycle Center facilitates the access to expertise and networking opportunities. It also gives us a valuable understanding of how different sectors work with life cycle thinking.

Short facts:

In collaboration with the center since: 1996

Main contact person: Sven-Olof Ryding

Read more: http://www.naturvardsverket.se