Brightcon 2026, hackathon and courses

Collaboration: Mixing Tools, Data and People

In the world of environmental sustainability assessment, we have reached a point of abundance: an abundance of data, a diversity of open-source tools, and a wealth of specialized methodologies. But as our field grows, so does the risk of 'recreating the wheel' behind closed doors, rather than pushing forward to create tangible, real-world impact with our tools and data. Brightcon 2026 is about breaking silos, discussing best practices to enhance collaboration, and fostering building on each other’s work.

This year, we focus on Collaboration as the bridge between what we have as of today and actionable solutions.

We are moving beyond "doing LCA" to the broader goals of Industrial Ecology: "connecting the dot" across different types of analyses that complement each other—tracking material cycles (MFA) alongside environmental impacts, or balancing 'what-if' future scenarios with current market realities, and leveraging the power of modern AI tools to answer questions and validate answers faster than ever before.

We invite contributions that explore:

- Open Tools and Development
- Application and Case Studies
- Open Data
- Community Governance, Education and Training
- Application of AI in LCA
- Collaboration

Please explore our the detailed description of the Session Tracks to see how your work fits into conference. Submitters should assign one or more tracks to their work to assist the Scientific Committee in program structuring.

At Brightcon, collaboration isn't just a topic. It’s our format. We prioritize inter-activity and -exchange over observation and listening. Whether you are presenting a Jupyter Notebook with live-runnable code, leading a hands-on workshop, or proposing a spontaneous plenum discussion session, your contribution should nudge the community towards a more connected, transparent, and inspiring space for all of us.

Updates on August 14 2025:

The original call for abstracts closed on May 15 2026. However, given the rapid advances that modern AI tools bring, we intentionally reserved a small number of presentation slots for those working on developments since our deadline. If you've shipped something new, validated an approach, or discovered something worth sharing, we would love to hear from you.

Submissions are now open, limited to the following types of presentation:
- Presentation (with live demonstration)
- Presentation (with slides)

Submissions go through the same scientific review process; time slots will be confirmed upon acceptance.

Deadline: August 24 2026