How LCA became part of how Beckers makes decisions
Assessments that used to take days now take seconds
By Susana Hult Torron, Global Product Sustainability & R&D Capabilities Director, Beckers Group
In 2022, Beckers upgraded its Life Cycle Assessment software and shifted from generic industry data to its own production data. The point was accuracy. Customers wanted environmental impact numbers that actually reflected specific Beckers products. What has happened in the four years since is that the capability has evolved from answering these questions to informing the decisions themselves.
While the methodology has remained fundamentally the same, the speed it all happens at has accelerated exponentially. LCA at Beckers still follows ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, still uses production data specific to Beckers operations, still incorporates validated industry datasets. What automation changed is the time between the question and the answer
The journey
The 2022 upgrade, led by then-Global Product Sustainability Director James Maxted, was about better data. Previous LCA work relied heavily on generic industry averages. The new setup let us incorporate our own production data, which meant that when customers asked for environmental information about specific products, the numbers reflected those products.
The following year we applied the improved capability to our first substantive comparative study: a Life Cycle Assessment of three coil coating technologies, including UV/EB curing. The results showed significant CO2e savings from UV/EB compared with conventional techniques. Three independent third-party LCA experts verified the study. This was the moment LCA at Beckers moved from documentation into evidence. It supported real product decisions and became part of the sustainability case for UV/EB technology.
By 2025, the strategic thinking had matured. If measurement was going to shape decisions, it couldn't be locked inside a central team. Beckers rolled out automated LCA calculator software to every country. Local teams could generate their own LCAs on their product portfolios, using site-specific data on energy use, materials, and transport, combined with industry-standard datasets from the European Coil Coating Association (ECCA) and other validated sources. Assessment time dropped from days or weeks to minutes.
LCA in practice: the Life Cycle Analysis highlights the carbon dioxide reduction achievable by switching from conventional solvent-borne systems to UV/EB. Along with lowering carbon emissions, UV/EB curing also impacts Scope 3.10 emissions.
What it looks like now
LCA has moved from a specialized tool to embedded infrastructure. Assessments that used to take days now take seconds. R&D teams use LCA to compare formulation alternatives during development, choosing lower-impact options before commitments are made. Sales teams draw on LCA data in customer conversations, providing the environmental information that Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) require. Local sites generate their own analyses without needing to route requests through a global team.
This changes what's possible. When measurement takes days, it happens at the end of the process, mostly to document decisions that have already been made. When measurement takes seconds, it can happen throughout the process, shaping decisions before they harden. R&D can try dozens of formulation options against environmental criteria. Sales can respond to customer questions in the same conversation rather than promising to follow up. The distinction sounds small but changes how sustainability shows up in the business.
LCA within the wider picture
LCA sits alongside the Beckers Sustainability Index (BSI) and other measurement tools that together give a fuller picture of environmental performance. BSI is Beckers Group's own product-level sustainability score, used across the business to compare and improve product portfolios. LCA provides the lifecycle carbon and environmental impact detail that customers need for their own reporting. Together they support internal decision-making and the external transparency that customers, regulators, and Beckers Group's 2030 goals require.
What continues
What continues is the deepening of practice: teams using LCA more often, in more decisions, at earlier stages. The refinement of methodology as new questions arise. The integration of supplier data as raw material transparency improves across the value chain.
Environmental measurement is only useful if it happens at the speed of decisions. Beckers has spent four years building the infrastructure that makes this possible, and the work of deepening that practice continues.