The main goal of the Laboratory is to promote the dissemination of knowledge and awareness of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), develop and improve the theoretical and methodological foundations of sustainable life cycle management of products, services, production processes and systems, taking into account their environmental, social and economic aspects (impacts), conduct fundamental and applied research on life cycle assessment, create databases for LCA based on national data, modern methods of life cycle assessment, optimization of production processes and ecological design.
The main tasks of the Laboratory are:
- fundamental and applied research in the field of LCA, aimed at determining the ecological footprint, resource efficiency and the impact of decarbonization on industrial systems, taking into account the concepts of the circular economy;
- creation and verification of national LCA databases to adapt international methodologies to Ukrainian conditions, as well as the development of new approaches to the collection, modeling and analysis of life cycle data;
- development of algorithms and LCA analysis models to assess the economic and environmental efficiency of technological solutions, application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict the life cycle of products;
- optimization of production processes based on LCA, focused on reducing the carbon footprint, resource intensity and negative impact on the environment.
According to the tasks, the functions of the Laboratory are:
- performance of scientific and research work in the field of LCA of products, services, production processes and systems, taking into account their environmental, social and economic aspects;
- development and implementation of innovative LCA analysis methods to assess the environmental and economic efficiency of production processes, including the use of digital technologies, big data and artificial intelligence;
- conducting theoretical and experimental research in the field of LCA and related interdisciplinary areas (ecological design, decarbonization, resource efficiency, optimization of production systems and circular economy);
- formation and verification of national LCA databases containing parameters of local production processes and environmental indicators necessary for accurate life cycle calculations;
- solving scientific and scientific and technical problems to improve the LCA methodology, including the development of life cycle assessment algorithms, integration of international standards and adaptation of global approaches to Ukrainian conditions;
- forming among education seekers competencies to solve complex problems in the field of professional and/or research and innovation activities in the field of life cycle management theory and methodology;
- increasing the level of professional competence and qualifications of customer personnel in the field of life cycle management theory and methodology, life cycle assessment methodology (social, environmental, economic assessments), ecological design and economic, social, environmental optimization of production processes.