Evaluating the EU taxonomy through a lifecycle perspective

• 44% of EU Taxonomy activities use LCA, revealing inconsistent Article 19 use • 23 activities (10.6%) reference ISO standards, leaving room for interpretation and greenwashing • 94% of LCA approaches are found in SC climate change mitigation, supporting the EU 2050 goals • Broader LCA use could boost transparency and reduce risks of greenwashing • Future research should explore applying LCA to other environmental objectives The EU Taxonomy establishes a classification system to identify environmentally sustainable economic activities. It is guided by technical screening criteria (TSC) specified in delegated acts under the Taxonomy Regulation (TR), which mandates a scientific and lifecycle-based approach for the development of these criteria. This study examines the implementation of this lifecycle-based approach, focusing on the integration of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) indicators. LCA serves as a robust methodology for evaluating the environmental impacts of products, processes, or services throughout their entire life cycle. This research aimed to assess the application of LCA within the TSC framework by aligning LCA impact categories with the environmental objectives (EO) delineated in the EU Taxonomy. Analysis of the TSC reveals that LCA based criteria were notably absent in more than two-thirds of the criteria examined. Among the criteria that do incorporate LCA methods, a predominant focus lies on criteria referring to the climate change mitigation objective. This assessment underscores the current adoption status of lifecycle-based methodologies within the EU Taxonomy's TSC. Furthermore, it highlights opportunities to enhance the integration of LCA by considering the mapped LCA indicators to the EOs of the EU Taxonomy.