This study performed a multifactorial carbon footprint assessment and sensitivity analysis of colonoscopy. This was a 1-week, single-center, prospective study including all outpatient diagnostic colonoscopies (n = 66). A cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment methodology evaluated all essential supplies (accessories #1-15), endoscopic procedure (energy consumption, carbon dioxide [CO2] insufflation, bowel preparation, sedation), staff and patient transport, and waste management. The impact assessment was based on sensitivity analysis in different scenarios (base, best, worst) to calculate the Global Warming Potential over 100 years (GWP-100 measured in kg of CO2 equivalent [kgCO2e]). GWP-100 of a single colonoscopy was estimated to be 18.09 kgCO2e in the base scenario, with patient (8.61 kgCO2e) and staff (5.09 kgCO2e) transport, colonoscope manufacture and reprocessing (2.1 kgCO2e), and supplies (1.91 kgCO2e) contributing 47.6%, 28.1%, 11.7%, and 10.6%, respectively. Nitrile gloves, underpads, and a disposable peripheral oxygen saturation sensor accounted for nearly 50% of the total carbon footprint of all supplies. Patient preparation (bowel preparation, sedation, and CO2 insufflation) and energy consumption contributed only 2.0%. Staff and patient travel showed significant variations among worst, base, and best scenarios, with 18.8, 13.7, and 10.2 kgCO2e, respectively. The use of different amounts of medical supplies raised the carbon footprint to 2.38 kgCO2e in the worst scenario or diminished it to 1.56 kgCO2e in the best case. This analysis and multifactorial colonoscopy procedure assessment confirmed patient and staff transport as the main carbon footprint contributors. More sustainable and smarter transport could considerably lower the environmental impact of colonoscopy.

Digital poster design has become a dominant visual communication medium, yet its environmental impacts remain poorly understood despite assumptions of inherent sustainability. This research developed a specialized life cycle assessment methodology to quantify and optimize the environmental footprint of digital poster systems. The framework encompasses five lifecycle stages from design creation through data deletion, employing real-time monitoring and dynamic data collection across a six-month case study with a digital marketing agency. Assessment results revealed total carbon emissions of 7.45 kg CO₂-eq per functional unit, with distribution infrastructure and display operations contributing 89% of lifecycle impacts. Implementation of comprehensive optimization strategies achieved 28.6% reduction in climate change impact through hardware efficiency improvements, temporal scheduling, and cloud platform adoption. Sensitivity analysis identified data center PUE as the most influential parameter, while geographic variations significantly affected regional impacts. The methodology advances LCA application in digital systems by incorporating workload-specific assessments and providing actionable optimization guidance. These findings demonstrate that systematic environmental management can achieve substantial impact reductions while maintaining creative excellence, supporting the digital design industry’s transition toward genuine sustainability rather than merely shifting environmental burdens between lifecycle stages.

While recent studies have estimated the carbon footprint of surgical pathology, they did not consider the many other impacts this activity has on the environment. We aimed to estimate the environmental impacts of the preparation of hematoxylin-phloxine-saffron (HPS) staining, Congo red (CR) staining, and immunofluorescence (IF) staining for a biopsy analysis. We used a comprehensive life cycle assessment methodology of 18 environmental indicators. Life cycle assessment is a standardized and robust method for comprehensively assessing the various environmental impacts of a process throughout its entire life cycle. All contributing items (eg, materials, reagents, electricity) within the different technical steps in the surgical pathology department were considered. For the entire procedure (HPS + CR + IF), the electricity consumption of the cryostat for IF staining was the main contributing item for all indicators (from 19.4%-75.8%), except land use. The other most impactful contributing items were (1) single-use materials used during specimen grossing (second or third largest contributing item for 8 indicators), (2) electricity consumption during slide/block storage (second largest contributor for 6 indicators), (3) materials and consumables used during sample receipt (third largest contributor for 6 indicators), (4) materials used during cryostat section (third largest contributor for 6 indicators), and (5) reagents used during IF staining (second or third largest contributor for 5 indicators). Interestingly, for formalin fixation, the main environmental impacts were represented by global warming, fine particle matter formation, and human toxicity. These data allow us to better understand the environmental impacts of our activities and to propose more pertinent eco-design solutions.

Against the backdrop of global climate change and the “dual carbon” goals, the issue of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions has garnered increasing attention. As a major grain and oilseed crop in China, carbon emissions from soybean production have a significant impact on the green and low-carbon development of agriculture. Although research on agricultural carbon footprints has grown in recent years, existing studies have largely focused on single regions or specific stages of crop production, and analyses of the carbon footprint of production systems in China’s major soybean-producing regions remain relatively limited. This study employs the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to calculate and analyze the carbon footprint of soybean production systems across China’s 10 major soybean-producing provinces, utilizing agricultural input data from 2014 to 2023. The study establishes a carbon footprint accounting system based on two key aspects: carbon emissions from agricultural inputs and soil N2O emissions. It further analyzes the temporal trends, regional variations, and contribution characteristics of each component within the carbon footprint. The results indicate that the average carbon footprint of soybean production in China is approximately 528 kg CO2eq/ha (ranging from 273 to 855) and 0.25 CO2eq/kg of soybean (ranging from 0.13 to 0.46). Specifically, the carbon footprint per unit of area and yield declined simultaneously, indicating a continuous improvement in the low-carbon efficiency of soybean production. Spatially, there are significant regional differences in the carbon footprint of soybean production. Henan, Anhui, and Inner Mongolia have relatively low carbon footprints, while Shaanxi and Shanxi have relatively high levels. In terms of composition, chemical fertilizer inputs and soil N2O emissions are the primary sources of the carbon footprint in soybean production, with chemical fertilizer inputs being the largest source, accounting for approximately 40–60%, and soil N2O emissions being the second major source. Overall, differences among regions in natural conditions, agricultural input structures, and production methods result in distinct regional characteristics in the carbon footprint composition. The findings of this study provide a scientific basis for the low-carbon transition of China’s soybean production system and serve as a reference for the formulation of policies related to green agricultural development.

Identifying materials in tidal energy technology and their effects to human health, ecosystems, and resources: A life cycle assessment perspective

Organizational life cycle assessment: A case study in the fashion industry small and medium enterprises

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are currently seen as an affordable and mainstream renewable energy option to support energy decarbonisation, aligning with commitments of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7). This technology prevails in high irradiance places such as deserts, where some of the largest PV systems are installed globally. However, harsh desert conditions reduce PV systems' efficiency and lifespan, among other negative effects. While research on designing PV systems that endure desert conditions is ongoing, little is known about the environmental impacts of these novel PV solutions. This study uses the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to assess the environmental impacts of four novel PV system designs (HJT 1–4) for desert conditions and compares them with three systems available in the current market (PERC, PERC+ and TOPCon). The functional unit of the study is ‘the production of 1 kWh of electricity AC, considering a PV system connected to a 570kWp grid in the Atacama Desert with a lifespan of 25 years’. The inventories were built using data from tested designs in the desert. 18 environmental impact indicators were included following ReCiPe method, and complemented with energy payback time (EPBT). Results show that the novel design (HJT 3) achieves up to 30% reduction in GWP 100 per kWh of electricity generated compared to conventional monofacial PERC modules, and a 15% reduction compared to TOPCon modules, primarily due to higher efficiency and reduced materials consumption. The Balance of System (BOS) and installation stage shows the greatest impact on PV systems, contributing 46% on average across all environmental burden, followed by the wafer manufacturing (25% on average) and module manufacturing stages (18% on average). Across all impact categories, including EPBT, PERC is the worst performer, and HJT 3 and HJT 4 are the best performers, followed by TOPCon. This study validates the effort of performing environmental impact assessments on new designs, to ensure both technical performance and the environmental and economic sustainability of renewable energy systems.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in the design process allows product engineers to improve product sustainability by knowing the hot spots of environmental impacts. However, early integration of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into the conceptual stage of product designers is often challenging. The challenge will become more difficult when the product engineer uses the LCA approach to collaborate with the industrial designer for the assessment of ecodesign concepts to mitigate adverse environmental impact issues, as design keeps constantly changing to arrive at a better concept. This study proposes a methodology to integrate eco-design and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with the ISO 14006:2020 framework as early as the eco-design conceptual stage. The aim is to provide the “Eco-design LCA (ED-LCA)” assessment feedback to the industrial designer and the product engineer so as to mitigate the environmental impacts through concept sketch or concept design. The proposed study is expected to help establish better collaboration between the industrial designer and product engineer, so as to design an environmentally friendly product with an eco-design LCA approach.

The accurate quantification of carbon footprints in the coal industry is critical for high-quality energy transition. However, traditional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies predominantly rely on static emission coefficients, failing to capture the dynamic fluctuations inherent in mining operations. To address this limitation, this paper develops a time-dependent carbon emission assessment framework covering the entire coal extraction lifecycle. The study first characterizes the temporal variability of emission sources, identifying that carbon intensities are driven by fluctuating production loads, energy consumption profiles, and fugitive methane release. Consequently, emission factors exhibit significant heterogeneity across different operational phases. To precisely capture these shifts, a dynamic evaluation model is established, supported by an IoT-based continuous data acquisition infrastructure. This system enables the iterative recalibration of emission factors at discrete intervals, thereby replacing static estimates with high-frequency, empirically grounded data. This approach significantly enhances the temporal resolution and precision of emissions tracking. Based on the quantitative trends identified, the paper proposes data-driven decarbonization strategies, including process parameter optimization and energy recovery, providing a verifiable technical foundation for low-carbon mining operations.

HighlightsPublic health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?Environmental degradation and climate change are major contributors to human morbidity and mortality.The healthcare sector is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Quantifying and improving the carbon footprint of the healthcare sector could have a drastic impact on environmental health and public health.Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?Reducing the healthcare sector’s carbon footprint will lead to improved environmental conditions and therefore improved health outcomes.Improvements in environmental conditions will have population-wide health impacts.Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policymakers and/or researchers in public health?Data on the carbon footprint of specific clinical practices are limited. More granular emissions data are key to identifying and modifying processes that generate significant emissions.This analysis demonstrates the potential environmental benefits of a home hospital program for neonates, which showed particular reductions in carbon footprint through reduced travel distances and waste generation.The healthcare sector is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Little is known about the impact of individual clinical practices on overall emissions; more granular healthcare emissions data are needed to identify opportunities for resource stewardship. Our objective was to deploy an interdisciplinary team to perform Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) comparing carbon emissions attributable to a novel home-care program for premature infants to those attributable to routine care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). We used LCA methodology to compare the carbon footprint of two weeks of traditional care of infants in our NICU to that of those enrolled in an institutional alternative care program known as “Hope Grows at Home,” which transitions eligible infants requiring nasogastric feeds to the home setting with ongoing NICU team support. Our analysis showed that in-home care produces 77 kg of CO2 emissions (kgCO2e) per infant over a 14-day period, as compared to in-hospital care, which produced 338 kgCO2e. Transportation to a healthcare facility accounted for the majority of emissions in both groups (292 kgCO2e for NICU care and 58 kgCO2e for home care). This finding is likely impacted by our facility’s rural location. Home care reduced solid waste emissions by approximately 94% relative to NICU care (1.74 vs. 26.97 kgCO2e per term), reflecting the home setting’s reuse of feeding syringes and bottles that are routinely single-use in the hospital. Prospective data collection strategies for infants enrolled in home care will further refine our results. Exploring additional interdisciplinary collaborations may facilitate similar analyses, offering more insight into environmental stewardship opportunities within healthcare.

From cadavers to virtual reality: a carbon footprint analysis of surgical simulation for lumbar spine surgery.

Climate change poses the greatest threat to human health in the 21st century. The healthcare sector contributes approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and has a significant environmental impact. Although clinical trials are crucial for identifying effective and safe treatments and preventing disease, their environmental impact is poorly documented. Our study aimed to assess the environmental impact of a publicly funded, academic clinical trial by adapting life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to clinical research. We performed a retrospective, simplified, full LCA using the EF 3.0 methodology on a prospective, double-blind, randomised controlled neurosurgery trial. The trial included 202 patients at 18 university hospitals throughout France. To identify hotspots of interest, 16 impact indicators and their combination into a single score were evaluated. The results showed that climate change (or greenhouse gas emissions) was the most important indicator, accounting for almost 30% of the single score. Greenhouse gas emissions were estimated at 31.6 t of carbon dioxide equivalent. The next most important were resource use of fossils (24%), resource use of minerals and metals (12%), and particulate matter emissions (8%). The main hotspots identified were patient transport and travel by clinical research assistants for source data verification. In conclusion, by using a full LCA approach, our study confirms that conducting a clinical trial has a substantial environmental impact, particularly with regard to greenhouse gas emissions. The main hotspots identified were related to patient transport and clinical research assistants' travel. Trial Registration: The SUCRE study (Treatment of Chronic Subdural Hematoma by Corticosteroids: A Prospective Randomised Study)-clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02650609.

Life cycle assessment of hydrogen delivery pathways: a review

Biomass-for-Energy in Net Zero Pathways: Resource Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Woodchip-Based Energy Generation on Prince Edward Island, Canada).

Assessing the Cradle-to-Gate Environmental Burden of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Manufacturing Using Life Cycle Assessment Methodology

From soil carbon towards system sustainability: Integrating SOC modelling and life cycle assessment to evaluate environmental trade-offs in carbon farming

Toward a transparent life cycle assessment of photovoltaic systems: Addressing regulatory and methodological challenges

ABSTRACT Recovery and valorization of scraps generated during product manufacturing represent a crucial opportunity for material consumption efficiency, reducing the demand for virgin resources and minimizing waste production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis provides a quantitative evaluation of the environmental benefits arising from scrap management strategies. However, the lack of a unified methodology for LCA modeling prevents unambiguous conclusions. This work addresses this topic by focusing on post‐industrial scrap management in a real industrial scenario of plastic packaging production, where scrap is collected, regranulated, and either internally re‐used or sold to other companies. Environmental impacts are evaluated by exploring different LCA modeling approaches (the Cut‐off method, the closed‐loop approximation, and the Circular Footprint Formula approach). At the same time, the system circularity is evaluated using specific indicators. Results highlight that impacts are highly influenced by the chosen LCA methodology and, moreover, the environmental sustainability and circularity might not always be aligned.

Railway sleepers are one of the main components of the railway tracks. This paper provides a comparison of cradle-to-grave environmental sustainability of different types of railway sleepers, including steel, timber, concrete, recycled plastic and fiber composite sleepers, and their environmental consequences. Interest in constructing railway tracks has been increased, many countries are extending their railway network worldwide. Therefore, there is a gap in comparison of newly suggested railway sleepers to the market such as recycled plastic sleepers considering environmental impacts during manufacturing, transportation, application, and disposal process. This review also presents environmental aspects of using each abovementioned sleeper type in case of CO2 emission and recycling opportunities. This research can provide guidelines for industry adoption of different types of railway sleepers compared based on ISO 14040 and identical functional unit for life cycle management and analysis. The main challenge facing sleepers remains manufacturing process, especially, concrete, and composite sleepers, in energy consumption and CO2 emission which causes environmental impacts. However, inconsistencies in data quality, functional unit definitions, and system boundaries limit comparability across studies. Most research focuses narrowly on carbon footprint, with limited attention to broader environmental indicators such as water use and toxicity. This review underscores the need for standardized LCA practices and region-specific inventory data to improve reliability and support sustainable decision-making in railway infrastructure planning and procurement.

Purpose. This paper aims to systematically review and synthesise existing food packaging Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) research, focusing on applications, methodologies, and results to provide insights and recommendations for researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to enhance the methodological relevance, sustainability, and environmental performance of food packaging solutions. Methodology. This study employed a systematic literature review approach, comprising the following steps: data collection and selection, coding and categorisation of data to comprehensively describe and compare the methodology, and synthesis of the results. The literature search was conducted in the Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed databases; the study selection was based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria and followed a multi-stage screening process. The data comprise 88 peer-reviewed English-language journal papers published between 2000 and 2025; results were synthesised through qualitative analysis conducted in the RStudio environment. Results. An increase in LCA studies on food packaging is noted, which is intensifying against the backdrop of stricter regulatory requirements for plastics, packaging, and environmental assessment methods. Most often, such studies are based on data from European countries, with a prevalence of studies on food in general, as well as goods with a short shelf life, which draws attention to the functional aspects of packaging, namely its ability to extend shelf life and minimise waste. Concerning packaging materials, researchers are focusing on the assessment of new and biobased materials, as well as on the comparison of reusable and single-use packaging and recycling options, biomaterials, active, and smart packaging with traditional materials. From a methodological point of view, product-based functional units, packaging assessments using the cradle-to-grave method, and comparative LCAs are typically used. A synthesis of the reviewed cases facilitated the identification of the most common approach for conducting food packaging LCAs. Originality. The typical LCA methodology for food packaging in the European context is based on the application of ISO 14040 (in combination with ISO 14044), ReCiPe, environmental footprint, and product environmental footprint methods, utilising Ecoinvent databases and SimaPro software. An impact assessment based on midpoint indicators is carried out using a combination of 10 indicators, where the most frequent are the following: ozone depletion potential, marine eutrophication, global warming, climate change, freshwater eutrophication, ionising radiation, freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial acidification, acidification, and particulate matter formation. It is advisable to use comparative approaches based on the cradle-to-grave method, enabling a comprehensive impact assessment across all life cycle stages, supplemented by sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Practical implications. The identified variability in assessment methodologies does not ensure the comparability of their results. Recommendations for conducting LCA should be specified in terms of requirements for disclosing information on methodological aspects of research and recommended sets of indicators. When making decisions on food packaging parameters, it is advisable for manufacturers to employ a multi-criteria approach, considering LCA results, functional properties, and economic aspects. At the policy level, decisions on restrictions (or incentives) for the use of certain types of packaging should consider the state of the secondary materials and waste management system, as well as its spatial configuration.