Requirements for developing PCRs, so the EPDs built on them are consistent and comparable. Version 1 is in use today, and Version 2 is in development.
Search PCRs from multiple program operators by product category, sector, or specification, in one place.
Defines LCA proficiency at every level, for those who perform LCA and those who make decisions with it.
Life Cycle Systems Science (LCSS)
Establishing life cycle systems science as a recognized academic discipline, with a shared core curriculum across engineering, design, business, and science.
The ACLCA PCR Open Standard establishes requirements for developing Product Category Rules, so that PCRs, and the EPDs built on them, are consistent, comparable, and of high quality across programs.
Version 1 is in use today. Version 2 is in development through ACLCA's consensus standards process. It extends the standard to PCR requirements, LCA requirements for PCRs, EPD verification, terminology, and general program instructions.
Version 2 will shape how PCRs are developed for years to come. ACLCA invites everyone who develops, uses, or relies on PCRs and EPDs to take part. ACLCA members can serve on the SRDC and its working groups, public comment is open to all, and anyone can sign up for PCR Open Standard News and Updates.
Version 2.0 builds on Version 1 with a suite of standards that improve international interoperability and set a higher bar for consistency and comparability in product environmental data across industry and government.
Each area is drafted by a working group under the Version 2.0 Committee, made up of leaders from industry and manufacturing, government and policy, program operators, and academia.
Version 2.0 standards are drafted by working groups, approved by ACLCA's Standards and Requirements Decision-Making Committee (SRDC), and published with ACLCA Board approval.
Program operators, manufacturers, trade associations, LCA practitioners, policymakers, designers, and asset owners.
Committee and working group rosters are set based on membership, balance, and expertise.
The framework defines what LCA proficiency looks like, for the people who perform LCA and the people who make decisions with it.
It sets out two pathways. The Professional pathway runs from Generalist to Specialist, Lead Specialist, and Expert. The Stakeholder pathway covers Associates and Executives who use LCA results in policy, procurement, design, and management. Six skill areas apply across both: principles of LCA; issues and fundamentals; experience; policy, regulation, and standards; professional capabilities; and business awareness and governance.
Universities can use it to align courses with practice, employers to build LCA capability in their teams, and professionals to plan their development. It maps to ACLCA's certifications and is maintained by ACLCA's Education Committee as practice evolves.
ACLCA is working with universities to establish Life Cycle Systems Science as a recognized academic discipline.
LCSS gives every field that uses LCA a common foundation of language, methods, and standards, so engineers, designers, business leaders, and scientists work from the same evidence. ACLCA's Education Committee is developing a four-course core certificate that universities can build from existing courses, with discipline-specific specializations to follow.
Join the professional society for life cycle assessment.
Members shape the standards, competencies, and credentials that guide LCA practice, and work alongside the people who apply it across industry, government, and research.
Join ACLCA
Mass Balance Chain-of-Custody draft addendum. Comments close Monday, December 7, 2026.