Breathing Life into LCA: How Organisational Sensemaking Brings Environmental Impacts to Life
Authors
Christensen, Maja ; Eghoff, Louise
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-04
Pages
118
Abstract
Turning Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) results into clear and effective design decisions is difficult in practice. Even as regulators and customers demand more environmental transparency, LCA often feels complex and ambiguous to the teams who must use it. This thesis examines the problem at the electronics manufacturer DEIF A/S by combining a consequential “cradle‑to‑grave” LCA (from production to end‑of‑life) of DEIF’s iE 250 energy controller with ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and a cross‑departmental workshop, analysed through sensemaking theory (how organizations interpret information and turn it into action). The LCA identified two environmental hotspots: electricity use during the product’s use phase and the production of integrated circuits. The organizational analysis shows that such findings influence product development only when they are translated into formats and narratives that make sense to different groups. This translation depends on negotiation, dialogue across departments, and the presence of people who bridge sustainability expertise and product development practice. The thesis concludes that successful LCA integration requires prioritizing organizational sensemaking and interpretation rather than relying solely on raw LCA data. Strengthening interpretive and collaborative processes is therefore essential for turning environmental data into meaningful, actionable guidance for sustainable product development.
At omsætte resultater fra livscyklusvurderinger (LCA) til konkrete og effektive designvalg er svært i praksis. Selvom myndigheder og kunder i stigende grad efterspørger miljømæssig gennemsigtighed, er LCA ofte kompleks og flertydig og derfor vanskelig at bruge direkte i produktudvikling. Denne afhandling undersøger udfordringen hos elektronikproducenten DEIF A/S ved at kombinere en konsekvensbaseret “cradle‑to‑grave” LCA (fra produktion til bortskaffelse) af DEIF’s iE 250 energicontroller med etnografisk feltarbejde, interviews og en tværgående workshop, analyseret gennem sensemaking-teori (meningsskabelse i organisationer). LCA’en identificerede to miljømæssige hotspots: elforbrug i brugsfasen og produktionen af integrerede kredsløb. Den organisatoriske analyse viser, at sådanne resultater kun påvirker produktudvikling, når de oversættes til formater og fortællinger, der giver mening for forskellige faggrupper. Denne oversættelse afhænger af forhandling, dialog på tværs af afdelinger og tilstedeværelsen af personer, der kan bygge bro mellem bæredygtighedsfaglighed og produktudviklingspraksis. Afhandlingen konkluderer, at vellykket integration af LCA kræver, at organisationen prioriterer meningsskabelse og fortolkning frem for udelukkende at læne sig op ad rå LCA‑data. At styrke de fortolkende og samarbejdende processer er derfor afgørende for at omsætte miljødata til meningsfuld og handlingsanvisende vejledning for bæredygtig produktudvikling.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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