Raymond Cheung
Advisor & Lead Trainer
Over twenty years in actuarial science and risk management, working across ESG, sustainability and ESG investment.
Actuarial science · Risk management · ESG and sustainability
View Raymond Cheung’s profile// Carbon & Climate
Life Cycle Assessment
Understand the environmental impact of a product across its full life cycle, not just its factory gate.
Product-level assessment following ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, from goal and scope definition through inventory analysis, impact assessment and interpretation.
// Context
Why this matters
Corporate emissions reporting answers questions about an organisation. It does not answer questions about a product -- which is what customers, procurement teams and increasingly regulators are asking.
Life cycle assessment quantifies impact across the stages a product passes through: raw materials, manufacture, distribution, use and end of life. Depending on the question, the assessment may cover the full life cycle or stop at the factory gate.
It is also the analysis that most often changes a design decision, because it shows where impact actually sits. That is frequently upstream in materials rather than in the manufacturing process the organisation controls.
// The engagement
How CER helps
- Goal and scope definition, including the functional unit
- System boundary setting -- cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave
- Life cycle inventory data collection across the boundary
- Primary data collection from operations, and secondary data selection
- Impact assessment across the agreed impact categories
- Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis
- Interpretation, hotspot identification and improvement options
- Reporting prepared to ISO 14044 requirements
- Critical review support where comparative assertions are to be published
// Deliverables
What you receive
- Goal and scope definition document
- Life cycle inventory model
- Impact assessment results by life cycle stage
- Hotspot analysis identifying where impact concentrates
- Sensitivity analysis on key assumptions
- Life cycle assessment report prepared to ISO 14044
- Improvement options assessment
Frameworks and standards
- ISO 14040
- ISO 14044
// Fit
Who this is for
- Manufacturers whose customers require product-level environmental data
- Product and design teams evaluating material or process changes
- Organisations preparing environmental product declarations
- Companies substantiating a product environmental claim
// Why CER
Practitioners, not report writers
CER works from Singapore with organisations across Asia, which matters for this service because requirements arriving from European regulators, regional supervisors and local listing rules do not align neatly.
Engagements run through to implementation: the data collection process, the documentation, the controls and the internal handover, so that the second cycle is cheaper than the first and can be run without us.
Where an organisation would be better served by building the capability internally, CER Academy delivers the same technical material as training.
Meet the people behind the work// Our people
Expertise on this service
// Questions
Frequently asked
What is a functional unit?
It is the quantified performance the assessment measures against -- for example one thousand litres delivered, or one square metre protected for twenty years. It is what makes results comparable, and it is the single most consequential decision in the study.
What is the difference between cradle-to-gate and cradle-to-grave?
Cradle-to-gate covers raw materials through to the point the product leaves your control. Cradle-to-grave continues through distribution, use and end of life. Which is appropriate depends on the question being asked and who is asking it.
Do we need a critical review?
ISO 14044 requires an independent critical review where a comparative assertion is to be disclosed publicly. For internal decision-making it is not required, though it does strengthen the result.
How does LCA relate to Scope 3?
They share data and concepts but answer different questions. Scope 3 measures value-chain emissions attributable to an organisation. LCA measures impact attributable to a product, and covers impact categories beyond greenhouse gases.
Related services and industries
// Related
Services that connect to this
Scope 1, 2 & 3 Emissions
Complete Scope 1 and 2 measurement, and a Scope 3 programme that starts with screening and prioritisation rather than attempting fifteen categories at once.
Scope 1, 2 & 3 Emissions: Explore this service
Sustainable Procurement
Supplier requirements, assessment criteria and contract terms that make sustainability part of procurement decisions and give you the supply-chain data you are being asked for.
Sustainable Procurement: Explore this service
Decarbonisation & Net-Zero Strategy
Reduction levers assessed against cost, feasibility and impact, sequenced into a roadmap with owners, capital requirements and interim targets.
Decarbonisation & Net-Zero Strategy: Explore this service// Sectors
Where this applies
Manufacturing & Supply Chain
Carbon measurement, Scope 3, supply-chain requirements and sustainable procurement.
Manufacturing & Supply Chain: View sector expertise// Insights
Related reading
Regulatory Update
CBAM is live: what Asian exporters are now being asked for
The EU carbon border mechanism entered its definitive period on 1 January 2026. The obligation sits with EU importers -- but the data requirement lands on their suppliers.
3 min read
CBAM is live: what Asian exporters are now being asked for: Read articleDiscuss your life cycle assessment requirements
Tell us where you are now and what you are being asked for. We will tell you what closing that gap actually involves.
Building this capability internally instead? CER Academy delivers the same technical material as training.