Life Cycle Assessment Workshop
Welcome to the Life Cycle Assessment Workshop Ökobilanzwerkstatt !
Upcoming Event
The 21st Life Cycle Assessment Workshop will take place from September 24 to 25, 2026, under the theme “Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Product and Material Cycles,” and will be hosted by the Department of Resource Management and Solid Waste Engineering at the University of Kassel.
In 2026, the event will once again be aimed at early-career researchers conducting research in the field of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) or applying LCA in practice. The focus will be on current issues related to establishing sustainable product and material cycles—ranging from alternative raw materials and innovative materials to sustainable product life cycles and end-of-life strategies, as well as the quantification and assessment of circularity and circular economy concepts. Identifying viable sustainable solutions requires sound evaluation methods, reliable data, and practical case studies. We would like to discuss these topics in a constructive atmosphere and draw inspiration from keynote presentations.
Interested parties are invited to participate with a presentation or poster and submit an abstract by June 15, 2026.
Further information and the abstract submission form can be found here.
What is the Ökobilanzwerkstatt?
The Ökobilanzwerkstatt is an event for early career researchers conducting research in the field of life cycle assessment (LCA) or applying LCA to practical problems. It offers early-career researchers a forum for academic discussion of their work, for networking, and for sharing personal experiences.
For many years, the LCA Workshop was organized by the Department of Material Flow Management and Resource Economics at TU Darmstadt, and since 2026 it has been organized by the Department of Environmental Accounting at JLU. The annual LCA Workshops are organized by universities or research organizations in German-speaking countries that have research groups or programs focused on life cycle assessment.
What's happened so far…
Ökobilanzwerkstatt 2025 in Pforzheim
Under the theme “From Life Cycle Assessment to Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment!?”, the 20th ÖBW took place in Pforzheim from September 24 to 25, 2025. Over the two days of the conference, 30 doctoral students and early-career researchers conducting research in the field of life cycle assessment (LCA) or applying LCAs to applied research presented their exciting work. In six presentation blocks and two poster sessions, topics such as automated mobility, agri-photovoltaics, digital twins, sustainability assessment in education, LCA in small and medium-sized enterprises and industry, as well as innovative energy and water technologies were presented and discussed in depth.
The participants’ presentations were accompanied by a supporting program featuring keynotes on the circular economy and the consideration of temporal aspects in LCA, an interactive session on the LCSA landscape, and barcamps on topics chosen by the participants themselves. Through the diverse opportunities for discussion and the personal exchange of experiences during the social program, the event contributed to the successful networking of early-career researchers.
Participants of the ÖBW 2025 in Pforzheim, photo: Leon Deterding
Ökobilanzwerkstatt 2024 in Stuttgart
Under the theme “Science and Business for Sustainability,” the 19th ÖBW Workshop took place in Stuttgart from September 24 to 26, 2024. In 2024, it was organized by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP and the University of Stuttgart and received a very positive response.
Over the three days of the conference, 36 doctoral candidates and early-career researchers conducting research in the field of life cycle assessment (LCA) or applying LCAs to applied research presented their exciting work. In five sessions, presentations covering the topics of aerospace, civil engineering, eco-design, bioeconomy and agricultural sciences, green industry and Power-to-X, plastics recycling and the circular economy, as well as data-related and methodological LCA work, were presented and discussed in depth.
Participants of the ÖBW 2024 in Stuttgart, photo: Vanessa Zeller
Ökobilanzwerkstatt 2023 in Darmstadt
Under the theme “New Trends in Life Cycle Assessment & Quantitative Sustainability Assessment,” the 18th ÖBW took place from September 27 to 29, 2023, at TU Darmstadt. Over the three days of the conference, 26 exciting projects were presented by doctoral students and early-career researchers conducting research in the field of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) or applying LCAs to applied research. In six sessions, presentations and posters covering topics such as digital solutions for sustainability assessment in companies, energy and recycling technologies, the bioeconomy, the circular economy, and prospective LCA, as well as methodological LCA work, were presented and discussed in depth.
The participants’ presentations were accompanied by a supporting program of keynote speeches by established scientists, which were open for the first time to interested guests and students from TU Darmstadt. Through the diverse opportunities for discussion and the personal exchange of experiences during the social program, the event contributed to successful networking among early-career researchers.
After 18 years, Liselotte Schebek, the ÖBW’s long-standing chairwoman, stepped down upon her retirement and handed over the event to Vanessa Zeller.
Participants of the ÖBW 2023 in Darmstadt, photo: Vanessa Zeller