Environmental consultancy in Melbourne, Life Cycles Lab has launched a program to help organizations and startups pave clear paths to building sustainable products.

The consultancy carries out life cycle assessments (LCA) and shares methods for analyzing the impact of products and services.

Assessment results help companies maximize environmental innovation, minimize negative impacts, and determine the best way to prove and promote their environmental credentials.

The half-day hackathons are held every two weeks in Collingwood, Victoria and cost $3,500 for two people from the same company.

Lifecycles Lab’s customer base includes Woolworths, the Victorian and Australian Governments, Telstra, Diageo and Origin Energy.

Founder Tim Grant said most environmentally conscious companies don’t bring in LCA consultancies early because of the cost and time involved. 80% of all product-related environmental impacts are determined during the design phase.

“Lifecycles Lab exists to develop environmental analyzes at an early stage. Instead of relying on gut feeling and a Google search, we scrutinized ideas to see how the numbers stack up,” he said.

“So many seemingly insignificant early-stage decisions can embed unwanted environmental baggage.”

The program includes one hour of pre-workshop consultation, six hours of training and workshop, access to LCA practitioner, software, data for the Lab Day and a summary report of the initial findings.

With more focus on the climate credentials of companies in the startup space, Grant said Lifecycle offers a fast and affordable solution to jump start businesses.

“The LCA hackathon offers a way to bridge the gap between motivation and know-how,” he said.

“It essentially helps entrepreneurs find where their product or service stands in terms of environmental performance, identifying key opportunities, key resources and pathways to verification, as well as a demonstration of environmental bona fides.”