Micro-credential - Measuring Environmental Impact: Life Cycle Assessment for Engineers

This micro-credential equips engineers and other design professionals with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions based on quantifiable environmental evidence relating to the impacts of their products and services.

You’ll gain a deep understanding of the life cycle framework, and how we can achieve truly sustainable outcomes by balancing environmental, economic, and social considerations in product and project development. You can enable and implement effective strategies in your current role or future career to shape a low-carbon and resource-efficient future and become a leader in more nuanced eco-metrics, such as circularity measurement and assessment.

As part of the course, you will apply your learning to undertake a detailed, hands-on LCA of an engineering product, process or system, and apply life cycle principles to potentially reduce its environmental impacts.

How will this Micro-credential be delivered?

This micro-credential will be delivered fully online for maximum flexibility.

On successful completion of this micro-credential, learners will be able to:

• Explain key concepts related to evaluating the sustainable performance of engineering products, systems, or processes such as carbon footprinting, life cycle assessment, and the circular economy.
• Describe and evaluate the breakdown of contributions within a carbon footprint of given engineering product, system, or process.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the life cycle analysis process by outlining the principles, procedures, and tools to support LCA and complementary assessment methods.
• Produce a complete LCA to appraise the environmental impacts of an engineering product, system, or process.
• Identify opportunities for design improvements in engineering products, systems, or processes to achieve trade-offs or win-wins in terms of environmental (LCA), economic (LCC), social (S-LCA) and holistic sustainability (LCSA) priorities.
• Differentiate between methodological approaches and decision-making in the LCA process and its impacts on the perceived performance of engineering products, systems, or processes.
• Compare and evaluate the similarities and differences between life cycle assessment and more nuanced methods such as circularity measurement and assessment.

Measuring Environmental Impact – Micro-credential – Courses | Trinity College Dublin (tcd.ie)