EarthShift Global at CILCA 2025
Advancing Life Cycle Assessment Through Software, Data, and Methodology
EarthShift Global at CILCA 2025: Advancing Life Cycle Assessment Through Software, Data, and Methodology
EarthShift Global was proud to serve as the main sponsor of the 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment in Latin America (CILCA 2025), reinforcing our long-standing commitment to advancing life cycle assessment (LCA) practice, education, and innovation globally. The recently published Memorias document highlights EarthShift Global’s broad technical contributions to the conference, spanning software training, database comparison research, software sustainability, and positive impact (handprint) assessment.
Through MatterPD, one training course, and four technical papers, EarthShift Global contributed to key conversations shaping the future of LCA – ranging from ecodesign and software-as-a-service (SaaS) impacts to agricultural inventory modeling and sustainability handprints.
Course: MatterPD, the Software for Ecodesign
Presented by: Amalia Sojo Benítez, Joel Bonales Revuelta, César Ruiz Camou, Mariana Ortega, and Ismael Velasco
This course introduced MatterPD, EarthShift Global’s decision-support software for ecodesign, demonstrating how LCA-informed tools can be integrated into early design and development workflows. The session focused on applying life cycle thinking at the design stage, enabling practitioners to evaluate tradeoffs, manage uncertainty, and prioritize sustainability performance before decisions become locked in. The course reinforced the importance of accessible, transparent tools that bridge technical rigor and practical decision-making.
Comparing Inventory Modeling in Commercial LCA Databases: A Case Study of Coconut and Soybean in ecoinvent and Agri-footprint
Authors: Joel Bonales-Revuelta, Juanita Barrera, Mariana Ortega Ramírez, Kiyotada Hayashi
This study examined how methodological differences between ecoinvent 3.10 and Agri-footprint 6 affect impact results for agricultural systems, using soybean production in Argentina and coconut production in the Philippines as case studies. Results showed substantial differences across multiple midpoint categories – including global warming, eutrophication, and acidification – largely driven by variations in background data sources, nutrient modeling assumptions, and emission calculations. The findings highlight the critical importance of database choice, methodological transparency, and consistency when interpreting LCA results.
Environmental Impacts of Software as a Service Design Decisions: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach
Authors: César Ruiz Camou, Ismael Velasco, Amalia Sojo Benítez, Miguel Hernandez
This research explored how software design decisions – including data center location, processor technology, serverless computing, and front-end efficiency – can dramatically influence environmental impacts. The analysis demonstrated that integrated software design choices can reduce climate change impacts by up to 97%, emphasizing that software itself should be treated as a critical functional unit in Information Communication Technology (ICT) assessments. The study reinforces the role of early-stage software ecodesign in reducing system-wide environmental burdens.
Handprint Assessment: Measuring Positive Impact for Sustainability – The Case of Cotton
Authors: Mariana Ortega, Lise Laurin
This paper introduced a handprint (positive impact) assessment for the cotton sector, applying a Sustainability Return on Investment (S-ROI) framework to evaluate environmental and social outcomes alongside traditional footprint metrics. By assessing indicators such as climate change, labor conditions, automation, waste valorization, and traceability, the study demonstrated how companies can identify opportunities for positive impact across a value chain.
Results highlighted that social dimensions represent both the greatest risks and the greatest opportunities for improvement, underscoring the value of holistic sustainability assessment.
Carbon Footprint Estimation Using Life Cycle Assessment of the Agave–Mezcal Production System
Presented by: César Ruiz Camou
In collaboration with: Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo and Universidad Veracruzana
This collaborative study applied ISO 14067 and a life cycle approach to estimate the carbon footprint of mezcal production in Mexico across multiple production techniques. The analysis examined emissions from fossil fuel use, biomass combustion during agave cooking, and waste streams such as bagasse and vinasse. Early inventory results highlight the environmental dimensions of traditional mezcal systems and the importance of LCA in evaluating regionally significant value chains.
Looking Ahead
EarthShift Global’s participation in CILCA 2025 reflects our continued leadership in advancing LCA methodology, software innovation, and sustainability decision-making worldwide. From ecodesign tools and software sustainability to database transparency and handprint assessment, our contributions reinforce the importance of rigorous, transparent, and forward-looking life cycle approaches.
We thank the CILCA organizers and the broader LCA community for fostering meaningful dialogue and collaboration – and we look forward to continuing this work through research, training, and practical implementation.