News and events 

The ANALYST project was represented at the ACLCA 2026 Conference in San Diego, USA, where project partners PIEP and TMG Automotive shared different but complementary aspects of the project’s work with the international Life Cycle Assessment community.

​

The conference brought together experts from industry, academia, consulting, government and research to discuss current developments in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), circularity, decarbonisation, sustainability methodologies and Life Cycle Thinking. For ANALYST, this provided a valuable opportunity to connect its work on Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) with broader discussions on life cycle-based decision-making.

​​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​​​​

​

 

Supporting industry through training, validation and co-creation

​

PIEP presented work focused on how training and stakeholder feedback are being used to support SSbD implementation across the PVC value chain.​​

​

Within ANALYST, three use cases are being used to test the project’s integrated approach across suspension-PVC flexible, emulsion-PVC flexible and suspension-PVC foamed rigid applications. These use cases compare conventional PVC solutions with bio-circular alternatives and help assess how safety, environmental, social and economic considerations can be brought together in practice.

​

A central part of this validation process is a dedicated training programme for industrial partners, structured around five workshops. These workshops were designed to guide participants through the different stages of the ANALYST methodology, including:

​​​

• use case definition and characterisation;

• SSbD principles and integration of project tools;

• safety assessment methodologies;

• sustainability assessment through LCA, Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Social LCA;

• digital multi-criteria decision-making, including a demonstration of the ANALYST-DIGI beta platform.

​​

Importantly, the workshops are not only intended as training sessions. They also function as interactive co-creation and validation spaces, where industrial partners can provide structured feedback on the methodology and tools being developed.

​

This feedback is being collected and analysed to support the validation of both ANALYST-BOX and ANALYST-DIGI, helping the consortium identify where the methodology is clear, where additional guidance may be needed, and how the digital tools can be improved before the demonstration phase.

​

This iterative process is particularly important for ensuring that the ANALYST approach does not remain purely methodological, but becomes usable and relevant in real industrial settings.

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

​

​

​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

 

 

 

 

 

Demonstrating SSbD through an automotive PVC use case

​

TMG Automotive presented another practical dimension of the ANALYST project through its work on bio-attributed PVC for automotive applications.

​​

The poster presented at ACLCA highlighted ANALYST’s broader objective of developing an integrated impact assessment approach and validating it through real use cases across the plastics value chain. It also illustrated the three main project innovations: ANALYST-BOX, ANALYST-DIGI and ANALYST-T-PACK.

​

Within the project, TMG Automotive participates in Use Case 2, where conventional PVC is being replaced with bio-based PVC, while a hazardous plasticiser is substituted with a lower-impact alternative.

​

This use case provides a concrete industrial setting in which the SSbD approach can be tested, helping to assess whether safer and more sustainable material choices can be introduced while still addressing the technical requirements of the automotive sector.

​

The work also contributes to several broader project objectives, including:

​

• validating safer and more sustainable materials in automotive applications;

• identifying data gaps and improving project tools;

• defining technical requirements for demonstration activities;

• supporting future replication in other industrial sectors;

• contributing knowledge that may also inform future policy development.

​

The poster concludes that the TMG Automotive use case demonstrates the feasibility of applying SSbD principles within the PVC value chain and shows how industrial validation can contribute to responsible innovation and circular economy objectives.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connecting life cycle methods with practical SSbD implementation​

​

The participation of PIEP and TMG Automotive at ACLCA 2026 showed two complementary sides of ANALYST.

​

On one side, the project is developing the methodologies, training activities and digital decision-support tools needed to make holistic SSbD assessment understandable and usable.

​

On the other, these methods are being tested through real industrial use cases, allowing the consortium to evaluate their practicality, identify data and implementation challenges, and improve the tools through direct industry feedback.

​

For the project, ACLCA 2026 therefore offered more than a dissemination opportunity. It provided a space to exchange with the wider LCA community, follow emerging approaches in sustainability assessment, and strengthen the connection between Life Cycle Thinking, SSbD and industrial decision-making.

​

Through this combination of methodological development, digital support, training and real-world validation, ANALYST continues working towards a more practical and integrated approach to safer and more sustainable materials across the plastics value chain.

​

​

​​​​​​​​​