Advancing Green Claims in the Blue Economy with Participation-Enhanced LCAs
Green claims and climate- and biodiversity-compensation schemes are growing fast, but they are also under scrutiny for greenwashing. In the blue economy, covering seafood, seaweed, mussel farming and coastal restoration, environmental performance is highly context-dependent, data are uneven, and decisions affect many actors from producers and certifiers to coastal communities. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a core tool for substantiating claims, yet current practice often treats stakeholder input as an afterthought, even though it shapes system boundaries, data choices and what impacts matter.
This project develops participation-enhanced LCA approaches that make these choices transparent, robust and usable for decision-making. Through surveys, interviews and co-creation with key stakeholders, we will identify where participation adds most value, test methods in blue-economy case studies, and translate results into practical guidance for credible environmental claims and certification. The work also prepares LCA for increased automation by clarifying which judgments must remain human-led in evolving policy contexts.
Objectives and Vision
The project’s objective is to develop and test practical, participation-enhanced LCA methods that improve the credibility, transparency, and usability of environmental claims in the blue economy. We will identify which modelling choices benefit most from structured stakeholder input, and create a replicable process for integrating perspectives from producers, certifiers, policymakers, and coastal communities. The vision is to strengthen trust in climate and biodiversity claims by making value-laden assumptions explicit, evidence-based, and context-sensitive. In the long term, the project aims to enable fairer and more effective decision-making, support responsible growth of seaweed and low-trophic aquaculture, and provide guidance that aligns LCA practice with emerging policy and certification expectations.
Consortium and Collaborative Expertise
KTH, supported by the Beijer Institute, SLU, SU (Baltic Sea Centre) and SEI
Methodology and Innovative Approaches
We combine literature synthesis with empirical stakeholder engagement to design participation-enhanced LCA. Surveys and semi-structured interviews map where and why stakeholder input influences key modelling choices (system boundaries, data quality, allocation, and impact categories). Co-creation workshops then test structured participation protocols in selected blue-economy case studies. Findings are translated into practical guidance, templates, and decision-support tools, and validated through feedback rounds with practitioners and relevant organisations.
Impact and Significance
We combine literature synthesis with empirical stakeholder engagement to design participation-enhanced LCA. Surveys and semi-structured interviews map where and why stakeholder input influences key modelling choices (system boundaries, data quality, allocation, and impact categories). Co-creation workshops then test structured participation protocols in selected blue-economy case studies. Findings are translated into practical guidance, templates, and decision-support tools, and validated through feedback rounds with practitioners and relevant organisations.
Project period
January 2026-December 2028
Funding
Formas
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