Short Description 

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data and outcomes underpin corporate ESG disclosures and reporting frameworks such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and are increasingly being referenced in regulatory contexts. Outcomes from these LCAs influence investment decisions, where good values promote investment in a given ingredient, supply chain, business or even land purchase, and poor values can result in disinvestment.  

Current, standard LCA practices and methods are designed for industrial systems and often fail to capture the full environmental benefits of complex agroecological systems like organic, regenerative, and perennial farming. The result is that complex agroecological systems like certified organic and perennial are undervalued in corporate impact reporting and investment decisions. The goal of this project is to develop a concrete action plan and roadmap for a multi-year collaborative effort to ensure that LCAs more accurately reflect the true value of organic systems.

This initial project stage is supported by a $1.38 million grant from the Chicago Community Foundation at the recommendation of Builders Initiative.