True Cost Accounting (TCA) Networking Event at Biofach 2023.

As part of the Climate Impacts of Food (CLIF) project, the first True Cost Accounting (TCA) Networking Event will take place at Biofach 2023 on 15 February 2023. corsus will be represented at the networking event by the two LCA experts Thea Kreutzburg and Julian Quandt. TCA can be helpful to show ecological and social impacts of food value chains in monetary terms. The basis for TCA is the life cycle assessment. The event in Germany aims to connect true cost accounting and life cycle assessment experts and to discuss the role of TCA for a sustainable agricultural and food transformation.

The hybrid event will take place on 15 February from 08:45 to 10:00 (CET) at the world’s leading trade fair for organic food in Nuremberg and is organised by Olivia Riemer from TMG Research gGmbH together with Amelie Michalke from the HoMaBiLe research project at the University of Greifswald. Over morning refreshments, idea generators, communicators, experts, stakeholders and other interested actors are cordially invited to exchange ideas and network.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the methodological basis for many assessment approaches, including True Cost Accounting. The development of methods for LCA began as early as the 1970s. The international standard valid today was published in 2006 – ISO 14040 and 14044. The standard describes the mandatory approach for estimating the environmental impacts of products (eLCA). The Social LCA (sLCA) was developed to assess social impacts. In 2020, the guidelines to be used for this were published, updating the first guidelines from 2009. TCA uses life cycle inventories and impact assessment results to calculate the true costs of, for example, food by putting a monetary value on the costs of the environmental impacts caused.

More information on LCA and TCA and on the CLIF project at corsus.