Course takes place from 7th to 9th of May 2025 at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
COURSE OVERVIEW
The Sustainable Systems Engineering (STEN) group offers a comprehensive training program in Sustainability and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), with a focus on the pharmaceutical industry. The program consists of three modules: foundational concepts, practical skills, and industry-specific applications.
The foundational module covers principles of sustainability assessment and the LCA methodology. The practical module provides hands-on experience with LCA software, while the advanced module focuses on applying LCA in the pharmaceutical sector, including case studies and modeling challenges. Through lectures, case studies, and interactive sessions, participants gain essential knowledge and skills to perform sustainability assessments, with an emphasis on practical applications and critical thinking about sustainability in the pharmaceutical field. Moreover, practical expertise in the LCA process empowers decision-makers to fully comprehend the insights derived from the analysis, enabling them to make more informed and sustainable choices.
Target Audience
This training is ideal for professionals, researchers, and PhD students in pharma, as well as for environmental sciences, engineering, and related fields who wish to enhance their understanding and application of sustainability assessment methodologies
Course has a 3-day programme, split into 3 modules:
Module 1: Theoretical framework of Life Cycle Assessment (1 day)
Module 2: Practical case studies (1 day)
Module 3: Advanced module on LCA in pharma sector (1 day)
MODULE 1: Theoretical framework of Life Cycle Assessment
The following will be addressed:
Introduction to Sustainability and Life Cycle Thinking
Integrating environmental, social, and economic aspects: LCSA and S-LCA
Principles and framework of Life Cycle Assessment (ISO 14040 series)
Goal and Scope in LCA, Life Cycle Inventory, Life Cycle Assessment, and Interpretation
MODULE 2: Practical case studies
The following will be addressed:
LCA software tools
Introduction to specialized software: OpenLCA
Use and explanation of the different databases
Practical case studies in OpenLCA
Analyzing and interpreting results
MODULE 3: Advanced module on LCA in pharma sector
The following will be addressed:
Green Chemistry and process level assessment metrics
Conducting LCA in pharma sector
LCA tailored to pharmaceuticals
Challenges (data collection, methodological choices, accounting for ecotoxicity, etc.)
Concrete case studies
Beyond LCA of classical drug products & environmental sustainability assessment
COURSE PROGRAM
An overview of the different modules can be found in the following document.
Registrations are open for this course, please follow the ‘REGISTER HERE’ link above. If you have any questions please email Mark Gontsarik (mark.gontsarik@ugent.be).