Overview
The New Zealand Life Cycle Management (NZLCM) centre is a partnership between Massey University, AgResearch, Landcare Research, Plant and Food Research, and Scion. The centre acts as a focal point for cooperation more widely across organisations, industry and government.
We're leading life cycle management in New Zealand through:
- education, training, and research in both life cycle management and life cycle assessment
- understanding and communicating the environmental impacts of product systems – from raw materials to production, distribution, use and end-of-life management
- life cycle approaches to support decision-making around more sustainable value chains, alternative product systems and reduced environmental impacts.
Our people
Massey staff
The New Zealand Life Cycle Management (NZLCM) centre is hosted by Massey University and the Director is Professor Sarah McLaren. Professor Chris Anderson is the Chair of the Management Group.
Professor Sarah McLaren
Sarah is Director of the New Zealand Life Cycle Management Centre and an Associate Professor in Life Cycle Management at Massey University. Her research focuses on development and application of life cycle assessment (LCA) and related approaches such as carbon and water footprinting, particularly methods for LCA and related techniques, and the relationship between LCA and decision-making.
Professor Chris Anderson
A soil chemist, Chris Anderson's research focuses on the use of plants to extract, degrade or immobilise contaminants in soil. Chris has significant experience in the application of new environmental chemistry techniques to science and technology problems.
Non-Massey staff
NZLCM is a partnership initiative between Massey University, AgResearch, Landcare Research, Plant and Food Research, and Scion.
Dr Kate Parker
Kate is a chemist who is developing new packaging materials using biomaterials, particularly biopolymer foams as an alternative to expanded polystyrene. View Kate Parker's profile on Scion.
Dr Miko Kirschbaum
Miko researches the biophysical controls of net greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture & forestry, developing approaches to better link greenhouse gas emissions to their climate-change impacts. View his profile at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research.
Dr Stewart Ledgard
Stewart's focus is resource use management & the environmental impacts of pastoral farming systems, as well as the application of Life Cycle Assessment across a range of NZ agricultural systems and products. Read about his work at AgResearch.
Dr Brent Clothier
Brent is a Principal Scientist with Plant & Food Research. Brent has published over 300 scientific papers on the movement & fate of water, including life cycle assessment, carbon & water footprinting, & more. Read his profile on Google Scholar.
Study with us
Massey University offers courses in life cycle assessment and life cycle management for postgraduate students, as well as a short course for professionals interested in learning more about the role of life cycle assessment when it comes to decision-making.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Footprinting Principles – 238700
Life Cycle Assessment and Footprinting Case Studies – 238711
Credits 15.0
Case studies, selected to meet learner requirements, are used to examine the philosophical, methodological and empirical issues in LCA and Footprinting across different scales (e.g. product, company, city or country), contexts (e.g., supply chain management, product design, eco-certification, urban planning and public policy evaluation) and sectors (e.g. dairy, energy, fibre, forestry, horticulture, manufacturing, meat, or tourism).
Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment
This short course introduces life cycle thinking as a concept and life cycle assessment (LCA) as an analytical tool to support environmental management. By the end of the course, you will be able to confidently commission an LCA study designed to meet the needs of a specific decision situation and be able to interpret its results to support decision-making.
Partnerships to support life cycle thinking
We are involved in – and facilitate – national and international partnerships to develop and promote life cycle-based approaches to environmental sustainability.
The Life Cycle Association of New Zealand
We regularly co-organise & participate in events with LCANZ, an independent special interest group for those interested in promoting & raising awareness about life cycle thinking & assessment.
International Organization for Standardisation (ISO)
We have coordinated Aotearoa New Zealand responses to inform development of the ISO 14046 water footprint standard, & other life cycle assessment-related ISO standards.
International LCA Food Conference series
Professor Sarah McLaren is a member of the Scientific Committee for this conference which is held every two years & brings together researchers & others interested in applying LCA to food products.
NZ Food Awards
Professor Sarah McLaren is the Sustainability Judge for these annual awards, assessing the life cycle-based environmental & social sustainability attributes of the submitted entries.
Research projects
The NZLCM centre is involved in a number of life cycle assessment projects and studies across a wide range of industries, including national and international partnerships, internal studies and student group projects. These are just a few of the recent projects we have been involved in.
Left: avocado on toast, an example used in the research on nutritional LCA. Top right: Students investigate whether grazing sheep reduce the carbon footprint of wine. Bottom right: Food scraps collected for incorporation into banana swales, Northland.
Construction and building life cycle assessment and environmental footprinting
The design and construction phases in the life cycle of buildings are a great opportunity to lock in environmental benefits over the long-use phase of buildings. We have investigated how to set forward-focused carbon budgets for Aotearoa New Zealand buildings, in partnership with the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ).
Absolute Sustainability of New Zealand Commercial Buildings In the Context of Climate Targets
Budget of New Zealand Buildings: A Sensitivity Assessment
We are also a project partner in an MBIE Endeavour project on Construction 4.0, investigating how to enable sustainable buildings.
Nutritional life cycle assessment and environmental footprinting
We are part of an international consensus-building project on integration of nutritional value into life cycle assessment studies.
We worked with the Queensland University of Technology and the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research to investigate the development and potential application of a nutritional Life Cycle Assessment (nLCA) method to rank meals, using a case study of toppings on toast.
An nLCA approach to support consumer meal decisions: a New Zealand case study of toppings on toast
Horticultural life cycle assessment and environmental footprinting
We undertook a life cycle assessment of Aotearoa New Zealand avocado production, supported by Avocado NZ. The purpose of our study was to guide the development of indicators to support continuous improvement in its environmental profile.
We have undertaken a number of studies into the carbon footprint of apples, kiwifruit and wine, supported by the Ministry for Primary Industries, including:
Updating the carbon footprints for selected New Zealand agricultural products
Our other studies include identifying opportunities for repurposing grape marc, the residue left after extracting grape juice for winemaking, in a report for Marlborough District Council. This is particularly important for Marlborough's expanding winemaking industry.
Livestock life cycle assessment and footprinting
We conducted a life cycle assessment, supported by the NZ Leather and Shoe Research Association (LASRA), to analyse the environmental impacts of Aotearoa New Zealand's tanning system for the first time. Our objective was to provide information to support more sustainable production practices.
Product environmental footprint of New Zealand leather production
We have also investigated the use of attributional and consequential life cycle assessment to assess milk production in Aotearoa New Zealand dairy systems.
Temporal, spatial, and management variability in the carbon footprint of New Zealand milk
We determined the carbon footprint, freshwater eutrophication, and methods for red meat production in New Zealand through the life cycle to overseas markets.
Carbon footprint of New Zealand beef and sheep meat exported to different markets
Eutrophication and climate change impacts of a case study of New Zealand beef to the European market
Methodological issues for life cycle assessment and environmental footprinting
“The devil is in the detail” – this is particularly true in life cycle assessment where methodological assumptions may impact the results, data may be missing, or may be incomplete for some processes.
At the NZLCM centre, our research projects include:
- downscaling global carbon budgets to set carbon budgets at regional or sector or product level.
- using dynamic life cycle assessment to account for time-dependent aspects associated with products and activities.
We've developed methodology to improve:
- estimating water scarcity footprinting
- assessing Eutrophication Potential that recognises the combined role of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Circular economies
The circular economy concept has been widely used to guide international and national environmental policymaking.
We have worked with the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries and the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre to review opportunities for the use of biochar, as well as its potential role in mitigating climate change.
We are accounting for environmental impacts in the circular economy.
Life cycle management
We explored the potential to distinctly represent and include cultural aspects within Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) alongside economic, social and environmental aspects. We conducted a Life cycle sustainability assessment of alternative forestry options for Ngāti Porou in the Waiapu catchment on the East Cape of North Island, focusing on the appropriate recognition of culture.
The distinctive recognition of culture within LCSA: Realising the quadruple bottom line
Our projects also include the uptake of life cycle management by small and medium-sized enterprises in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Effective life cycle management in SMEs: Use of a sector-based approach to overcome barriers
A capability maturity model for life cycle management at the industry sector level
We studied absolute sustainability indicators for Aotearoa New Zealand’s economic sectors.
Left: Rejected produce at a horticultural packhouse; student group project on sustainable horticultural systems. Top right: Avocados used in research on nutritional LCA. Bottom right: Reusable packing crates; student project on sustainable distribution.
Partners
New Zealand Life Cycle Management (NZLCM) centre
- S.McLaren@massey.ac.nz
- Phone (New Zealand)
0800 627 739 extension 84796
- Phone (International)
+64 6 356 9099 extension 84796
- Location
Postal address
C/- Institute of Agriculture and Environment
Massey University
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North