Brightcon 2026, hackathon and courses

Authors: Timen M. Boeve and Søren Løkke
presenting author

Effective data management and data interpretation are essential prerequisites for conducting robust and decision-relevant Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, particularly within large and complex organisations. This presentation draws on experiences from a PhD project in which an organisation-wide consequential LCA was conducted for Aalborg University, assessing the university’s complete climate impact (See Boeve, 2025).
The study involved extensive collaboration with internal stakeholders and external data providers, where effective data governance and stakeholder engagement proved critical for obtaining accurate and contextually meaningful data. Tailored communication strategies were developed to support data providers in understanding both the required data formats and the role of their contributions within the LCA.
A central finding of the project was that data management in decentralised organisations without a unified data infrastructure is highly dependent on individuals possessing tacit organisational knowledge regarding data accessibility and interpretation. This dependency became particularly evident when a key staff member retired during the project, resulting in the loss of access to previously available data streams. Consequently, a revised data collection framework anchored within the university’s central administration was established to ensure continuity and reproducibility of the assessment process.
The study was conducted over a four-year period during which institutional data management systems and reporting structures changed continuously. These developments created significant challenges for maintaining temporal consistency and comparability across annual LCA assessments. To address these challenges, two complementary approaches were implemented. First, capacity-building activities were conducted with data providers to improve understanding of LCA data requirements and strengthen data quality. Second, a collaborative network of stakeholders and data providers was established to facilitate interpretation of evolving data structures and support alignment between organisational reporting practices and LCA requirements.
The experiences from this work demonstrate the importance of institutional anchoring of data governance, continuous stakeholder engagement, and collaborative data interpretation in enabling reliable organisational LCA studies. The presentation would likely conclude with practical recommendations for strengthening data resilience, transparency, and comparability in sustainability assessments within complex organisations.

Boeve, T.M., 2025. CLIMATE IMPACT-ACCOUNTING FOR AALBORG UNIVERSITY. Aalborg University. https://doi.org/10.54337/aau819586888