Guide
Help with LCA and documentation
Sole trader or SME without an ESG team? This LCA guide shows how to do LCA documentation without becoming experts or hiring a consultant. Start with the data you already have.
What customers typically ask
Customers, buyers and larger partners ask for help with LCA and product documentation more often. Not jargon. They want to see materials, suppliers and a climate figure you can explain.
Many teams still answer from Excel, PDFs and email. An LCA guide gives structure, so LCA documentation does not live in loose files.
- What is the product made of, and where does it come from?
- What is the carbon footprint, and how was it calculated?
- Can you document it when the customer or an audit asks again?
Where to start without becoming experts
You do not need a full ISO report in week one. You need structure: product, bill of materials (BOM), materials, quantities and suppliers.
Once the data lives in one place, you can build toward LCA, carbon footprint, EPD preparation and a Digital Product Passport.
How LCAB helps
LCAB is a guided platform, not an expert tool. You gather product data, follow a step-by-step LCA, and get documentation you can share.
You can start from Excel or documents and mark gaps instead of guessing.
How to start LCA documentation
01
Collect the product data you already have: bill of materials (BOM), materials, suppliers and quantities, often in Excel.
02
Put the data into LCAB so you can see gaps instead of scattered files.
03
Follow the guided LCA and document what you know. Do not skip what you are missing.
04
Share an overview with the customer, then build toward carbon, EPD preparation or a product passport when you are ready.
Common questions
I am a sole trader and know nothing about LCA. Where do I start?
In LCAB. It is a guided platform, not an expert tool. Start with the product, materials and what you already have in Excel. You do not need to hire a consultant to get started. LCA is the product environmental overview. ESG and the digital product passport (DPP, some people write DDP) are other tracks. LCAB does not certify you.
What is an LCA?
LCA means Life Cycle Assessment. It is a method for describing a product environmental impact across the life cycle: materials, production, use and end of life. In LCAB it is a guided flow, not a demand that you are ISO experts.
How do you do an LCA?
You start with the product, materials, quantities and suppliers. Then you describe the life cycle as far as you can. An LCA guide in LCAB is a step-by-step flow. LCAB does not certify you and does not replace a verified ISO report when that is the requirement.
What is LCA documentation?
LCA documentation is the overview you can show a customer: what the product is made of, how the climate figure was calculated, and which data you have. It is product documentation tied to a life cycle assessment, not just a number in a spreadsheet.
Do we need a full ISO report right away?
No. Most SMEs start with an overview and documentation for customers. A screening can be enough to answer. A verified report comes when the requirement is there.
Can we start from Excel?
Yes. Many teams begin with the spreadsheet they already use for the bill of materials (BOM) and suppliers. LCAB is built to gather that, so you stop managing documentation in loose files.
Want documentation in one place?
LCAB is a guided platform for companies without an ESG team. Start with the data you already have.