Waste Diversion
Julianna Radzinski
Tackling Difficult-to-Manage Waste Streams with ...

Difficult-to-manage waste streams are a hurdle for corporations to overcome in their pursuit of reducing waste. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Hannah Julian, Environmental Project Coordinator at g2 revolution, to discuss g2's work with managing materials that are traditionally difficult to recycle, managing pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, working with retailers and manufacturers to establish recycling programs for their materials, giving materials a second life through their Second Life® Solutions, working with small businesses in the beauty sector through their brand GLO™, the drivers behind pursuing and achieving GreenCircle certification, and more.

Waste Diversion
Julianna Radzinski
Textile Waste Innovations for Achieving a ...

Textile waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the United States. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Raymond Randall, Sr. Manager of Textile Recycling at WM, to discuss what WM is doing to drive circularity with textile waste, why textile waste is such a big problem for both the environment and for business, how fast fashion plays a role in textile waste, the textile recycling program at WM, and more.

Life Cycle Assessment
Julianna Radzinski
Deep Dive into LCA, EPD, and PCF with LCA ...

Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), and Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) are essential to reducing your company’s carbon footprint, but many companies have unanswered questions about the process for completing them. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with LCA experts Nicole Meyer and Marquis Miller from Sustainable Solutions Corporation to answer some of the most frequently asked questions they receive about LCA, EPD, and PCF. They discuss the data collection process, timelines, what to include in your LCA, relevant standards and frameworks, Product Category Rules, functional units, how LCA, EPD, and PCF relate to carbon footprint, and more.

Julianna Radzinski
Consumer Perception: How to Craft a Credible ...

A good marketing plan should include communication about your company’s sustainability efforts. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Suzanne Shelton, CEO of Shelton Group, an ERM Group Company, to discuss the consumer research studies Shelton Group has been conducting for the past 17 years, the results of their recently published report The Buzz on Buzzwords: Seven Years Later, the biggest challenges companies have in marketing their sustainability efforts, best practices for communicating sustainability goals and achievements such as third-party certified products and facilities, how companies should handle not hitting a goal, and more.

Sustainability Alphabet Soup: LCA, PCF, and EPD Explained

Understanding sustainability requires more than just knowing the latest buzzwords. Acronyms like LCA, EPD, and PCF are everywhere, but what do they mean, and why do they matter? At Sustainable Solutions Corporation (SSC), we specialize in turning complex sustainability concepts into actionable strategies that drive real impact.

Here we’re using a familiar analogy, making soup, to explain three key sustainability tools— Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), and Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) to help you better understand how these tools are essential for measuring, communicating, and improving environmental performance.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): The Full Recipe

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluates the entire journey of a can of soup, from farm to spoon (and beyond). It’s a comprehensive method for assessing the environmental impacts of a product at every stage of its life cycle.

LCA Evaluates ghg emissions, water, waste & other flows for all of the following life cycle steps:

  1. Raw Material Extraction – Harvesting and processing the ingredients (vegetables, grains, spices) and producing the packaging materials.

  2. Transportation – Shipping raw ingredients to the soup manufacturing facility.

  3. Manufacturing – Cooking, canning, or packaging the soup.

  4. Distribution – Getting the packaged soup to stores and customers.

  5. Use Phase – Heating the soup (energy use counts!).

  6. Disposal – Disposing of any uneaten soup and soup packaging.

Since an LCA measures Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, water use, waste, and other environmental impacts, it provides a full picture of sustainability performance.

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD): The Nutrition Facts

An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is almost like the nutrition facts on a can of soup, but for sustainability. It presents quantified environmental data based on an LCA and follows internationally recognized standards (ISO 14025 and product category rules).

what information is represented in an epd?

  • Global warming potential (GHG emissions)

  • Acidification (contribution to acid rain)

  • Eutrophication (impact on water bodies)

  • Ozone depletion

  • Smog formation

  • Fossil fuel depletion

  • Water use

  • Waste generation

EPDs are third-party verified and valid for five years, making them a credible tool for communicating environmental performance to customers, investors, and regulators.

Product Carbon Footprint (PCF): Counting the Carbon Calories

A Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) is like tracking only the calories in your soup. It focuses exclusively on GHG emissions throughout a product’s life cycle. Essentially, it follows the same journey as an LCA but accounts for carbon emissions only.

PCF exclusively Evaluates ghg emissions for all of the following life cycle steps:

  1. Raw Material Extraction – Harvesting and processing the ingredients (vegetables, grains, spices) and producing the packaging materials.

  2. Transportation – Shipping raw ingredients to the soup manufacturing facility.

  3. Manufacturing – Cooking, canning, or packaging the soup.

  4. Distribution – Getting the packaged soup to stores and customers.

  5. Use Phase – Heating the soup (energy use counts!).

  6. Disposal – Disposing of any uneaten soup and soup packaging.

By focusing on carbon emissions, PCFs help businesses identify opportunities to reduce their climate impact.

Cooking Up Sustainable Solutions

While our soup metaphor simplifies things, conducting LCAs, developing EPDs, and calculating PCFs is a complex, data-intensive process best handled by experts (like us!).

At Sustainable Solutions Corporation (SSC), we help companies assess, communicate, and improve their environmental impact, one (metaphorical) bowl of soup at a time.

Want to learn more about how these tools can help your business cook up a more sustainable and profitable business? Let’s talk!

About the Author

Cara Vought, LCACP
Senior Technical Consultant

Cara has over 13 years of experience in product stewardship and corporate sustainability strategy. She specializes in developing life cycle assessments (LCAs) and product carbon footprints, conducting independent LCA reviews to ISO standards, supporting industry associations and collaboratives in program development, and facilitating audits for sustainable manufacturing initiatives and LEED certifications.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware, with minors in Sustainable Energy Technology and Environmental Engineering. Cara also served as an adjunct professor at Jefferson University, where she taught architecture and design students how to think about materials sustainably. She believes that sustainability is an ever-evolving field that requires continuous learning and adaptation. With a passion for education, she works closely with SSC’s clients to help them expand their knowledge and integrate sustainability into their business practices.

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Earth Day, Every Day: How SSC Is Driving Global Impact Through the Triple Bottom Line

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Every Earth Day, business leaders are reminded that smart environmental practices are more than just good optics—they’re good business. But while many companies are still trying to balance purpose with profit, Sustainable Solutions Corporation (SSC) has spent nearly 25 years proving they’re not mutually exclusive; they’re mutually reinforcing. 

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Decoding Supplier Targets: What Pharmaceutical Suppliers Must Know to Stay Competitive

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Signed by CEOs of major pharmaceutical companies including Novo Nordisk, Merck, AstraZeneca, and GSK, the letter makes it clear: suppliers must prioritize sustainability or risk getting left behind. Pharmaceutical companies are setting firm expectations for their supply chains to reduce carbon emissions and align with net-zero targets, signaling that sustainability is no longer optional, but a critical business requirement.

Optimizing Energy Efficiency: A Practical Approach for Business

Energy efficiency is a crucial component of cost savings and sustainability for businesses. The first step in optimizing energy use is tracking consumption. Understanding how much energy your facility uses, whether you operate a single site or multiple locations, provides a baseline for comparison and improvement.

Life Cycle Assessment vs Carbon Accounting: What’s the Difference and Why it Matters

Understanding the difference between Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Carbon Accounting is crucial for organizations looking to make data-driven decisions, reduce emissions, and improve financial performance. By leveraging these tools, businesses can stay ahead of evolving regulations while enhancing operational efficiency and brand reputation. 

Understanding the Latest Regulations: California SB 253 and 261, AB 1305, and SEC Climate Disclosure Rules with Tanya Nesbitt from Thompson Hine

In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Tanya Nesbitt, Partner at Thompson Hine, to discuss the evolving landscape of climate regulations and litigation; specifically California Senate Bills 253 and 261, Assembly Bill 1305, and the SEC Climate Disclosure Rules. Tanya explains the rise in climate-related lawsuits, the growing scrutiny around voluntary carbon offset disclosures, and the complexities of corporate sustainability reporting. Tune in to learn how these emerging legal challenges could impact your organization’s sustainability initiatives and reporting practices.

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Sourcing and Procurement Team Training: A Critical Element of Your Company's Scope 3 Program

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When developing your company’s Scope 3 program, it is critical to train and educate your sourcing and procurement teams. In this episode, Tad and Julianna discuss the key role your sourcing and procurement teams play in your Scope 3 program, how to bring these teams up to speed on sustainability and Scope 3, how to empower your sourcing and procurement teams to optimize your supplier engagement program with the goal of gathering primary data, and more.

Tackling Difficult-to-Manage Waste Streams with Hannah Julian from G2 Revolution

Difficult-to-manage waste streams are a hurdle for corporations to overcome in their pursuit of reducing waste. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Hannah Julian, Environmental Project Coordinator at g2 revolution, to discuss g2's work with managing materials that are traditionally difficult to recycle, managing pre-consumer and post-consumer waste, working with retailers and manufacturers to establish recycling programs for their materials, giving materials a second life through their Second Life® Solutions, working with small businesses in the beauty sector through their brand GLO™, the drivers behind pursuing and achieving GreenCircle certification, and more.

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Science-Based Targets: How to Meet Supplier GHG Requirements

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New regulations as well as commitments and requirements from large companies are pushing suppliers to set science-based targets. In this episode, Tad and Julianna discuss an overview of science-based targets, the new regulations and what they mean for companies, the growing number of companies that are beginning to require their suppliers to set science-based targets by 2025, how suppliers can start taking inventory of their GHG emissions, the importance of training your sourcing and procurement teams, the benefits of measuring and reducing your Scope 3 emissions, the number of team members you will need internally to gather the data necessary for setting science-based targets, and how to know when to outsource and ask for help.

Scope 3 Emissions: How to Help Your Suppliers Reduce Their Carbon Footprint

Many companies have started to think about measuring and reducing their Scope 3 emissions. The truth is most companies often feel overwhelmed by the scale of this effort and don’t know where to start. In this episode, Tad and Julianna discuss what Scope 3 emissions are, the top Scope 3 category for most companies, how to help your suppliers reduce their carbon emissions, and how to start estimating your company’s Scope 3 emissions from your suppliers.

Textile Waste Innovations for Achieving a Circular Economy with Raymond Randall from WM

Textile waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the United States. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Raymond Randall, Sr. Manager of Textile Recycling at WM, to discuss what WM is doing to drive circularity with textile waste, why textile waste is such a big problem for both the environment and for business, how fast fashion plays a role in textile waste, the textile recycling program at WM, and more.

Deep Dive into LCA, EPD, and PCF with LCA Experts Nicole Meyer and Marquis Miller from Sustainable Solutions Corporation

Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), and Product Carbon Footprints (PCF) are essential to reducing your company’s carbon footprint, but many companies have unanswered questions about the process for completing them. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with LCA experts Nicole Meyer and Marquis Miller from Sustainable Solutions Corporation to answer some of the most frequently asked questions they receive about LCA, EPD, and PCF. They discuss the data collection process, timelines, what to include in your LCA, relevant standards and frameworks, Product Category Rules, functional units, how LCA, EPD, and PCF relate to carbon footprint, and more.

Consumer Perception: How to Craft a Credible Sustainability Message in a Complex Marketing with Suzanne Shelton from Shelton Group

A good marketing plan should include communication about your company’s sustainability efforts. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Suzanne Shelton, CEO of Shelton Group, an ERM Group Company, to discuss the consumer research studies Shelton Group has been conducting for the past 17 years, the results of their recently published report The Buzz on Buzzwords: Seven Years Later, the biggest challenges companies have in marketing their sustainability efforts, best practices for communicating sustainability goals and achievements such as third-party certified products and facilities, how companies should handle not hitting a goal, and more.

An Overview of Carbon Offsets: Are They Right For Your Company?

Many companies have been purchasing carbon offsets to achieve their Net Zero goals. Are carbon offsets right for you and your company? Are carbon offsets actually effective and how should they be used? In this episode, Tad and Julianna answer these questions and discuss decarbonization, science-based targets, and the steps in the decarbonization roadmap. Tad also explains what carbon offsets are, the standards and requirements for carbon offsets, and what the future could look like for carbon offsets.

Incorporating the Circular Economy Mindset into Product Packaging with Kelly McBee from As You Sow

Optimizing product packaging is essential for reducing waste and driving the circular economy. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Kelly McBee, Circular Economy Sr. Coordinator at As You Sow, to discuss the mission of As You Sow, the Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard they developed to rank companies on their progress toward plastic goals, how companies can get better scores in the future, why third-party certifications are so important to the achievement of corporate plastic reduction goals, and what’s next for As You Sow.

Using Sustainable Operations Assessments to Set Your Decarbonization Strategy with Lora Urbaniak from SSC

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Battery Recycling: The Key to Achieving Electrification Goals with Joe Day from Li-Cycle

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