Working Groups

Phase 2 Working Groups

We are currently launching our phase 2 working groups, which will operate between November 2026 to March 2028.

There will be eight working groups, which will sit within two distinct work packages.

Work Package A: Life Cycle Skills, Industrial Enablement & Innovation which will will focus on delivering practical capability, standardised tools, and support mechanisms directly to UK industry.
Work Package B: Life Cycle Data and Harmonisation which will be driven by dedicated researchers and technical leads to generate empirical datasets and methodology guardrails.

If you would like to join one of these working groups, you can express your interest up until 20 October 2026.

People stood talking by a glass wall, with the London skyline behind them

A1: Supporting SMEs

Addressing the problems SMEs face when navigating complex environmental compliance, often with limited capital and a lack of internal expertise.

A2: Accreditation

Addressing the UK’s lack of a standardised, nationally recognised professional accreditation framework for LCA practitioners.

A3: Life Cycle Literacy

Addressing the systemic life cycle skills gap which exists across the UK.

B1: Artificial Intelligence

Addressing the risks posed by the unregulated proliferation of AI tools in carbon reporting, including introducing black-box calculations and data hallucinations, and threatening the scientific integrity of regulatory LCAs.

B2: Advanced Materials

Addressing the lack of standard, scalable LCA methodologies for advanced emerging materials (such as nanomaterials and 2-D materials), and the resulting data gaps that slow down their adoption in green manufacturing.

B3: Bio-based Materials

Addressing the methodological inconsistencies in biogenic carbon accounting and allocation methods which create conflicting environmental claims, causing regulatory friction and market uncertainty in the bio-economy.

B4: UK LCA Commons

Addressing the fragmentation of UK-specific secondary environmental data which forces developers and regulators to rely on incompatible, non-geographically specific or proprietary datasets.

B5: Interoperability & Harmonisation

Addressing the immense administrative burdens and double-reporting that UK exporters face due to conflicting international LCA standards, regulatory initiatives (CBAM), voluntary standards and guidelines (PACT, ISO), and complex supply-chain bookkeeping (e.g., mass balance).

You can currently express interest in joining any one of these 8 working groups.

Express interest

Phase 1 Working Groups

Operational: January 2025 – March 2026

a visualisation of 5 working groups and how they interconnect

Working Group 1: Data

Led by Katy Armstrong (Unilever) and Marcus Henry (JLR)

Integrating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into regulatory decision-making in the UK will require robust data strategies. The Data Working Group explored key challenges such as data availability, transparency, comparability, and quality, and provided recommendations to DESNZ.

Working Group 2: Bio-based and upcoming materials

Led by Rosa Cuellar-Franca (University of Manchester) and Marcelle McManus (University of Bath)

This group critically assessed the policy landscape surrounding bio-based materials and circularity, identified key challenges and inconsistencies, and developed evidence-based recommendations to ensure policies support, rather than hinder, sustainable innovation.

Working Group 3: Methodology

Led by Stuart Coles (University of Warwick) and Nick Coleman (Tata Steel UK)

This group took an overview of the LCA methodology landscape and provided insights into how life cycle thinking and assessment can be used to develop policies, benchmarks or targets, and how those can support innovation.

Working Group 4: Practice and Accreditation

Led by Sarah Gray (WRAP) and Paul Hogg (Avalon Consulting)

This group explored the potential for accrediting LCA practitioners, and gave its recommendations on how to proceed with a formalised accreditation scheme in the UK.

Working Group 5: Skills

Led by Rachael Rothman (University of Sheffield) and Andy Rees (Welsh Government)

This group explored the current skills gap in LCA as it relates to regulatory science in the UK. The group provided recommendations as to what training and education in life cycle thinking, and in interpreting LCA results, is needed by policymakers, industry professionals, students, and innovators.