LCCCP Overview
Suitably qualified and registered LCANZ members are able to become certified as Life Cycle Carbon Certified Practitioners (LCCCPs).
The Life Cycle Carbon Certified Practitioner (LCCCP) certification has been developed to:
- Expand the pool of suitably qualified lifecycle-based carbon footprint practitioners.
- Support and delivers carbon emissions reduction programs using a whole of life perspective.
- Improve the life cycle carbon literacy of the carbon accounting community.
- Educate practitioners on the broader implications of choices in assessment methods, models, and scope setting, among other areas.
LCCCP Certification is offered under an arrangement with the Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS). The certification is recognised in New Zealand and Australia.
There are two levels of LCCCP applicants:
- Experienced applicants are those GHG accounting professionals who have at least five years of experience in GHG accounting and have experience working as lead auditor/verifier of a carbon account.
- Practicing applicants are those GHG accounting practitioners who have at least two years of experience in GHG accounting. Successful practicing applicants are provisionally certified subject to two successful reviews of life cycle carbon studies by a certified LCCCP professional.
Applicants for both streams submit their details and supporting documents through the same application process, and pay the same initial fees. Practicing applicants also pay a study review fee per study. See below for more details.
About the Exam
- The examination is a closed book 1 ½ hour (90 minute) exam in English.
- There are 45 multiple choice questions.
- For each multiple-choice question, the candidate selects the correct answer from four or five possible answers.
- The exam is online and can be taken from anywhere in the world at your convenience.
- Verification methods used by the online testing software (MapleLMS) verify compliance with the closed book nature of the exam.
- To pass the exam, the applicant must score at least 100 points out of a possible 135.
- 3 points are awarded for each correct answer.
- 0 points are awarded for each unanswered question.
- 1 point is deducted for each incorrect answer.
The exam covers General LCA knowledge, Greenhouse Gas emissions, ISO and other Standards, Data Management, Auditing and Verification, and Communication.
An outline of the key competencies to be assessed by the exam is available here. You can use this to guide your preparation for the exam.
All candidates must submit evidence of their experience, as prescribed for their application level, for verification before they are able to book the exam.
Exam Process
Applicants for both streams submit their details and supporting documents through the same application process, and pay the same initial fees. Practicing applicants also pay a study review fee per study. See the fees section for more details.
The general process is:
- Identify which experience level you wish to apply at.
- Complete the online LCCCP Application, including:
- Indicate experience level
- Confirm understanding and agreement to the ALCAS Code of Conduct
- Confirm understanding and expert knowledge of the key competencies assessed by the exam
- Confirm commitment to maintaining certification through continuous professional development
- Upload supporting documentation
- Pay the application fee (which includes the fees for the prerequisite checks)
- On confirmation of acceptance, pay the examination fee
- Sit the Exam
- If required, provide studies for peer review and pay the study review fees.
Read the full Program Framework document here.
Experienced Professional Candidates
Applicants applying to become LCCCP certified under the experienced category must:
- Demonstrate GHG accounting skills gained through experience.
- Demonstrate auditing skills gained through experience.
Evidence:
- Submit evidence of at least five product carbon footprint (or LCA) studies that were completed by the applicant over a period of (more than) five years.
- At least one of these studies must be either critically reviewed (applicant must be one of the listed authors in the study submitted) or published in a peer-reviewed journal that is recognised by the Australian Research Council (www.arc.gov.au).
- Independently verified Climate Active Product & Services carbon footprints qualify under this criterion.
- These studies must represent diversity in products, services, precincts and/or events.
- Multiple publications based on the same study will be counted as one.
- Submit evidence of at least two GHG accounts (or LCAs) for which the applicant acted as an independent lead auditor/verifier of the carbon account.
- The accounts should be for two different clients or entities.
- ‘Independent’ means that the GHG account was prepared by an unrelated third-party (i.e. not from the same organization as the verifier).
- The verification can pertain to GHG accounts for organisations, products, services, precincts and/or events.
- Evidence can be provided by submitting the verification report (clearly stating the applicant as a lead verifier/auditor) and published GHG account.
- LCAs completed using streamlined LCA software (including LCA building software or other pre-verified platforms) – where the user does not have to make decisions regarding methodology (e.g. data quality, allocation, interpretation, etc.) – do not fulfil prerequisites and may not be counted toward the number of carbon footprint (or LCA) studies or audits, whether peer-reviewed or not, as they do not demonstrate sufficient understanding of all aspects of carbon accounting required for LCCCP certification. This includes pre-verified EPD tools – such as those used by the concrete and asphalt sectors in the US.
Practicing Professional Candidates
Applicants applying to become LCCCP certified under the practicing category must:
- Demonstrate GHG accounting skills gained through experience.
- Demonstrate auditing skills gained through experience.
Evidence:
- Submit evidence of at least three product carbon footprint (or LCA) studies that were completed by the applicant over a period of (more than) two years.
- These studies must represent diversity in products, services, precincts and/or events.
- Multiple publications based on the same study will be counted as one.
- Submit evidence of at least one independent GHG account (or LCA) for which the applicant acted as an independent auditor/verifier of the carbon account.
- ‘Independent’ means that the GHG account was prepared by an unrelated third-party (i.e. not from the same organization as the verifier).
- The verification can pertain to GHG accounts for organisations, products, services, precincts and/or events.
- LCAs completed using streamlined LCA software (including LCA building software or other pre-verified platforms) – where the user does not have to make decisions regarding methodology (e.g. data quality, allocation, interpretation, etc.) – do not fulfil prerequisites and may not be counted toward the number of carbon footprint (or LCA) studies or audits, whether peer-reviewed or not, as they do not demonstrate sufficient understanding of all aspects of carbon accounting required for LCCCP certification. This includes pre-verified EPD tools – such as those used by the concrete and asphalt sectors in the US.
