Fully online technical training designed around real industry demand, so you can specialize at your own pace.
10/31/2026
Start Date
1 month
Duration
100
Total Hours
6 Modules
Program
Duration
Total Hours
Program
Start Date
ICTESS’s LCA and Environmental Product Declarations Training Course provides specialized technical training in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology applied to construction and building materials. The program covers everything from the standards framework to the professional interpretation of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) under international standards.
You will learn to define system boundaries and functional units, build inventories with recognized databases such as ecoinvent, calculate and interpret environmental impact indicators (GWP, ODP, AP, EP), and use EPDs as a technical tool for material selection decisions on building projects. The course ends with a Capstone Project, where you apply the complete LCA methodology to a real construction product or system.
Growing demand for sustainable buildings and embodied carbon reduction policies are driving demand for professionals who can evaluate the environmental impact of building materials and systems. Green building rating systems such as LEED and Green Globes, along with state Buy Clean procurement policies, require specialists who master LCA methodology and the interpretation of verified environmental declarations.
The course prepares you to apply LCA methodology under ISO 14040/14044, ISO 21930 and EN 15804, evaluate the environmental performance of construction products, correctly interpret manufacturer EPDs, and use this information to support technical decisions on sustainable building and energy retrofit projects.
You will work hands-on with the LCA software used by environmental consultancies (SimaPro, openLCA, GaBi) and professional inventory databases. The course ends with a Capstone Project, where you develop a complete life cycle assessment using the skills from the technical modules.
The LCA and Environmental Product Declarations Training Course prepares you for specialized technical roles at environmental consultancies, sustainable architecture firms, building material manufacturers, and the sustainability departments of general contractors and developers. You could work as a sustainability specialist, product environmental analyst, LEED consultant, or EPD manager at an industry company.
You will learn to carry out complete LCA studies to ISO standards, define appropriate system boundaries and functional units, build life cycle inventories with professional databases, calculate environmental impact indicators, and prepare technical reports that support material selection on building projects.
You will also be able to interpret and compare EPDs from different manufacturers, advise on green building certification processes, evaluate the embodied carbon of construction solutions, and contribute to circular economy strategies in construction. The hands-on approach lets you apply what you learn to real sustainable building projects right away.
Study from anywhere with no commute. Balance your technical specialization with your current job.
Plan your study around your own schedule. Move through the modules when it suits you and review whatever you need.
Learn SimaPro, openLCA and ecoinvent databases, the tools environmental consultancies use on real studies.
Technical video lessons, up-to-date downloadable materials, forums with specialized tutors, and hands-on exercises.
With ICTESS you get specialized technical training focused on professional practice and built so you master the life cycle assessment and environmental declaration skills sustainable construction demands.
What you'll achieve
Apply Life Cycle Assessment methodology under ISO 14040/14044, ISO 21930 and EN 15804, defining system boundaries, functional units and appropriate end-of-life scenarios.
Build life cycle inventories using professional databases such as ecoinvent and GaBi, selecting representative processes and managing manufacturer-specific data.
Calculate and interpret environmental impact indicators (GWP, ODP, AP, EP, ADPE, ADPF) using internationally recognized characterization methods such as TRACI, CML and ReCiPe.
Read, interpret and compare Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) verified under ISO 21930 and EN 15804, identifying functional equivalence and comparability limitations.
Support technical decisions on material and assembly selection through comparative environmental impact analysis with objective, traceable criteria.
The building sector accounts for a large share of energy use and carbon emissions, and attention is shifting from operational energy to the embodied carbon of materials. Embodied carbon policies, green building rating systems and owner commitments are driving the requirement to evaluate and disclose the environmental impact of buildings and materials across their entire life cycle.
A growing requirement in certifications and procurement: Green building rating systems such as LEED and Green Globes award significant credits for using materials with verified EPDs and for whole-building LCA studies. State procurement policies such as Buy Clean California also require EPDs and set global warming potential limits for certain materials.
A key tool for circular construction: LCA quantifies the environmental benefits of reuse, recycling and design for disassembly strategies. As disclosure of recycled content and recyclability becomes more common in product specifications and procurement, LCA expertise becomes essential to evaluate and communicate these benefits with verifiable data.
Competitive edge in the job market: Specialized LCA and EPD training sets you apart from profiles that approach sustainability only conceptually. Mastering standardized methodology, professional LCA software and EPD interpretation makes you a priority candidate at consultancies, manufacturers and sustainability-focused construction companies.
Completing the LCA and Environmental Product Declarations Training Course positions you in an expanding field where demand for environmental assessment specialists is growing, driven by embodied carbon policies and the requirements of green building rating systems such as LEED and Green Globes.
Access to specialized technical roles: You will qualify for roles such as sustainability specialist, building certification consultant or EPD manager. Consultancies, architecture firms and contractors needing to meet embodied carbon requirements increasingly seek LCA expertise.
Command of internationally standardized methodology: Knowledge of ISO 14040/14044, ISO 21930 and EN 15804 lets you run LCA studies with recognized rigor, producing reports valid for certifications and public procurement.
Ability to guide material selection: You will build the skills to compare EPDs and quantify the environmental impact of alternatives, so you can justify material choices with objective data and help projects reduce their embodied carbon.
Recognized professional certificate: The ICTESS professional certificate backs your technical specialization in LCA and EPDs, strengthening your position in the job market and validating your skills with consultancies, manufacturers and construction companies.
This course is designed for professionals and graduates who want to specialize in evaluating the environmental impact of building materials and systems with standardized methodology. Recommended profiles include:
Program details
The Capstone Project is the culminating stage of the course and brings together all the technical skills you develop. It involves the complete development of a Life Cycle Assessment study of a real construction product or system, applying ISO 14040/14044 methodology and the specific requirements of ISO 21930 and EN 15804 for construction products.
The project must include the goal and scope definition with justification of the selected functional unit and system boundaries, the life cycle inventory built with professional databases and specific data where available, the calculation of environmental impact indicators with recognized characterization methods, and a critical interpretation of results identifying the stages and processes that contribute most to the total impact.
The project also includes a sensitivity analysis of the main assumptions, a comparison with EPDs for equivalent products on the market where available, and technical recommendations to improve the product’s environmental profile. The final deliverable must meet the format and methodological rigor of professional LCA studies, showing that you can produce technical reports that could serve as the basis for a verified EPD or support design decisions on sustainable building projects.
ICTESS’s LCA and Environmental Product Declarations Training Course includes hands-on training with the industry’s standard tools: SimaPro for complete product system modeling with multiple characterization methods, openLCA as an open-source alternative with professional capabilities, and access to ecoinvent databases, the international reference for life cycle inventories. You will learn to build product models, import inventory data, select appropriate impact assessment methods, and generate technical reports with results broken down by impact category and life cycle stage. Environmental consultancies and sustainability departments value these tools highly, because they are the programs used to produce professional LCA studies and supporting documentation for verified EPDs.
An engineering or architecture degree is not required, but technical training in construction, environmental science, chemistry or other sciences is recommended. The course is designed mainly for architects, building engineers and industrial engineers, and it is also open to graduates in environmental science, chemistry or physics interested in sustainable construction. Professionals from other fields with experience in corporate sustainability or environmental management can also benefit if they can interpret technical data and work with standardized methods. The content includes thermodynamics, chemistry and industrial process concepts, so a scientific and technical background is key to getting the most out of the course.
The ICTESS Professional Certificate backs your technical specialization in Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Product Declarations, skills that apply directly to LEED, Green Globes and other green building rating systems. Although it does not replace system-specific credentials such as LEED AP or professional LCA credentials such as the ACLCA LCA Certified Professional (LCACP), it provides the methodological foundation needed to manage the credits related to materials, whole-building LCA and EPDs. Certification consultancies especially value professionals who master ISO 14040/14044, ISO 21930 and EN 15804, because they can correctly interpret manufacturer EPDs and carry out sound comparative analyses for material selection on certification projects.
The LCA and Environmental Product Declarations Training Course stands out for its rigorous methodological approach based on ISO standards, ISO 21930 and EN 15804, compared with general programs that approach sustainability more conceptually. While many courses present LCA at an introductory level, this course goes deep into the technical aspects professionals need to carry out their own studies: correct functional unit and system boundary definition, inventory building with professional databases, selection of appropriate characterization methods, and critical analysis of results and uncertainty. It also dedicates specific modules to EPD interpretation, including declared life cycle stages, comparability requirements and the methodological limitations to consider when using these declarations in project decisions.
