Linkcycle (117)

LinkCycleA  platform  for  collaborative  environmental  

life  cycle  assessment

Sahil  Sahni  &  Alex  LoijosGraduate  Students,  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology

PhD  @  MIT  in  LCA  of  

Products  and  

Materials

Worked  as  LCA  

consultant  for  leading  LCA  firm

5+  clients  from  heath  care,  O&G,  and  Public  sector

Conducted  over  25  LCAsand  working  on  LCA  theory

Authored  4  papers  in  LCA  space

MS  @  MIT  in  LCA  of  pavements

Co-­‐founder  of  Carbon  Labels  

company  

Contributed  largest  open  food  LCI  to  Sourcemap

Created  GHG  model  

of  California  industries

Environmental  Consultant  for  

Nike

Sahil Sahni

Alex  Loijos

Software Developers

Rohit Raman Rahul Tiwari Suryesh Chatwani

Database Management Database Management Web Interface design and creation

Co-Directors and LCA Experts

What is LCA?

Includesall stagesof a product / service lifecycle

All environmental impacts carbon footprint, resources and energy use,toxicity, acidity etc.

Allowsthem tostand apart from competitorsor understand their risk

Why are businesses turning to LCA?

Product  Life  Cycle  

Inventory

Raw  Material  

Production

Product  Production

Product  Use Product  End  of  Life

Resources ResourcesResourcesResources

Emissions EmissionsEmissions Emissions

COLLABORATION and TRANSPARENCY

Collaboration grows data quantityRigorous data characterization allows

data quality assessment

Months  of  data  collection,  calculation,  boundary  checking,  peer  review

Problems with LCA LinkCycle innovations

High costs

Expensive & complicated software

Data quality and quantity

2-step LCA reduces time and costScreening Level: quick LCA in 30 minPreening Level: focus on increasing accuracy

FREEMIUM usageFree to use upfront,

only pay for advanced optional servicesSingle  user  software  license:$10,000  -­‐ $40,000  per  year

98%

Of  businesses  t afford  it

Data is not enough

Overall reduction in LCA time by > 50%

LinkCycle Why LinkCycle?

Step  3:  Pilot  with  community  

partners,  help  them  do  LCA,  

collect  feedback  and  improve  tool

Step  2:  Populate  with  initial  LCI  data

Step  1:  Build  LinkCyclePlatform

Taza Chocolate is a local company sourcing cacao from Dominican Republic

Responsible Company: Certified Organic, Direct trade

They bring together associates from diverse industries with heavy impacts: chemicals, paints, electronics, plastics, textiles, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Vapi Industry Associates is in one of the most polluted cities in India Vapi.

Summary

RELEVANCE & INNOVATION

- Imperative to solving a global challenge

- Provides significant improvement

- Harnesses upcoming technologies

- Reduces cost of exiting provisions

IMPACT SHORT AND LONG TERM

- Caters to an underserved community

- Relevant community partners

- Potential for impact to grow

FEASIBILITY

- Strong team with requisite skills

- Defined project goals and capabilities

- Potential to scale into other communities

LCA is the core of all environmental analysis

Increases accuracy, transparency and LCA utility

Web 2.0 + Web 3.0 technologies + Life cycle thinking

Reduces cost and time by 50%

SMBs = 98% of businesses = cannot afford LCA

Association in highly polluted city & Local, organic SMB

Policy, design for environment tools, C-labels, C-credits

LCA Experts + Professors + Software Developers

Conduct, teach & give LCA tool to community partners

More the users, more the collaboration, more the impact can scale into a global LCA platform