Boundless Methodology
Through a combination of industry research, company data, and environmental impact analysis, we’ve built a robust LCA-based methodology and platform to empower cleantech companies to differentiate their products and gain commercial traction faster. We also enable investors to maximize returns with environmental technology validation and data-driven insights.
Baseline Life Cycle Assessment
The Boundless Baseline LCA methodology is designed to rapidly identify and quantify the key sustainability drivers across a product’s lifecycle, while maintaining scientific rigor and strong representativeness of the technology under evaluation. By combining streamlined data collection with robust modeling practices, our approach enables efficient project execution without compromising analytical quality, which is an important advantage for emerging clean technology companies seeking to maximize time and resources.
Our methodology is further distinguished by several core practices that set Boundless apart in the LCA landscape. For inventory modeling, we draw on internationally recognized databases including ecoinvent and GREET, while also leveraging Boundless' proprietary emissions factor database, built through thousands of data points collected via primary research, direct data collection, and systematic literature review, to fill gaps where existing databases fall short. Beyond the inventory itself, Boundless is recognized for its rigorous benchmarking process in comparative LCAs. Rather than evaluating a technology in isolation, we situate it within a carefully constructed apples-to-apples comparison across the relevant industry landscape, ensuring findings are both meaningful and actionable. Finally, every Boundless engagement includes an independent expert review, in which a qualified third-party specialist examines inventory data, modeling assumptions, and technology-specific parameters to confirm alignment with industry best practices and ensure the technology is accurately represented throughout the analysis.
In addition to generating technically sound results, Boundless places a strong emphasis on accessibility and usability. We translate complex sustainability performance metrics into clear, actionable insights through intuitive visualizations, concise interpretation of results, and executive level summaries. This ensures that findings can be effectively communicated across all levels of an organization, from technical teams to sustainability managers, executives, investors and other key stakeholders.
The Boundless Baseline LCA builds on ISO 14044 methods to deliver high-caliber results in significantly less time and at lower cost. We achieve this through streamlined reporting designed to translate complex scientific analysis into clear, actionable insights: while the formal reporting structure is condensed, the underlying model and results remain fully compliant with ISO standards.
Unlike simplified carbon calculators that rely on industry average assumptions and limited user inputs, our assessments are built using company specific operational data, detailed process modeling, and rigorous LCA methodologies. We work closely with our customers to understand the materials, energy flows, supply chains, and operational characteristics that drive life cycle performance, ensuring the assessment accurately reflects the technology being evaluated. The result of this process is a transparent and traceable analysis to support investor, customer, and strategic decision-making.
Before presenting our final results, we draw from our network of 1000+ subject matter experts to review and validate key findings. This unique quality assurance step strengthens the credibility of our analyses and ensures that customers receive an objective, scientifically rigorous, and independently validated LCA report.
Establish Environmental Metrics
We select Environmental Key Performance Indicators (EKPIs) that offer the most truthful insights into the environmental performance of products in each cleantech vertical. We drill down to technologies within industries, such as alternative batteries within the energy storage industry. Environmental performance can be best distinguished at this level of analysis.
Where applicable, we align our metrics to those mandated by the relevant governing standard. For example, when a customer is pursuing an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), we adopt the impact categories required by the applicable Product Category Rules (PCRs). Where no such standard applies, we recommend metrics based on a combination of three factors: the impact categories most frequently assessed across published literature for that technology type, the most pertinent environmental concerns associated with the technology, and the metrics best positioned to help the company clearly demonstrate its environmental improvements and differentiate its performance in the market.
Across our engagements, the most commonly assessed sustainability KPIs include Global Warming Potential (GWP, kg CO₂eq), which captures greenhouse gas emissions across the lifecycle; Cumulative Energy Demand (CED, MJ), reflecting total primary energy consumption; Water Consumption (m³); Acidification Potential (kg SO₂eq); and Eutrophication Potential (kg PO₄eq), among others depending on the technology and sector.
Key Capabilities
Scenario & Sensitivity Analysis
Together, these two tools give companies both the strategic foresight to plan confidently and the analytical transparency to stand behind their results.
Scenario Analysis
Scenario Analysis examines how a product's sustainability performance would change under a defined set of alternative real-world conditions. Rather than adjusting a single variable, scenarios reflect discrete, plausible futures that a company might actually face or pursue, such as transitioning to a renewable energy supply, shifting to a recycled feedstock, changing a manufacturing location, or modeling performance under a future grid electricity mix. Each scenario is modeled as a complete alternative case, allowing companies to compare outcomes across multiple strategic pathways side by side. This is particularly valuable for roadmapping and investment decisions, where leadership needs to understand the relative sustainability performance payoff of different operational or sourcing choices before committing resources.
Sensitivity Analysis
Sensitivity Analysis takes a more targeted approach, systematically testing how much a specific input variable, such as the quantity of a raw material, an emission factor, or an energy consumption rate, affects the overall results when adjusted incrementally. Where Scenario Analysis asks what happens if we make this strategic change, Sensitivity Analysis asks how confident are we with these results, and which assumptions matter most. This helps companies identify which parameters are the most influential drivers of their sustainability performance footprint, prioritize where data quality improvements will have the greatest impact on model robustness, and understand the degree of uncertainty inherent in the analysis.
Confidentiality
Proprietary and confidential information will never be shared, and all customers are required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Objective Research
We do not change data or our reporting structure based on the influence of our customers, investors, or other interested parties.
Expert Reviewed
Vetted, independent experts review all our work.
Commitment to Impartiality and Confidentiality
Boundless is committed to impartiality and objectivity in our life cycle impact analysis, industry research, and operations. We understand the importance of independent and science-based research and carry this responsibility in our daily work and verification activities. We manage any potential conflict of interest that arises to ensure the objectivity of our work.
Impartiality
- Our research work is based on objective evidence gathered through a scientific process. We do not change data or our reporting structure based on the influence of our customers, investors, or other interested parties.
- Boundless has a Scientific Advisory Council that monitors the quality and rigor of our research and critiques our methodology to ensure it meets industry requirements. This Council meets quarterly to discuss our quickly evolving environmental impact research and analysis methodology and practices.
- Our internal staff and external independent industry experts are required to declare any potential conflict of interest they have before the start of an assessment.
Confidentiality
- Boundless provides its customers with the confidence that confidential and proprietary information shall never be disclosed. We provide protection regarding confidential information disclosure in each contract we sign.
- All companies who sign up for LifeCycle IQ are required to sign a confidentiality agreement so as to ensure privacy for all the industry research and analytics, company data and reports, ratings, and rankings that we provide.
Boundless welcomes any comments or concerns regarding our research work, impartiality, or confidentiality, as we are always seeking to improve our work.