Background One of the key objectives of the EU is to integrate environmental sustainability with economic growth and welfare by decoupling environmental degradation from economic growth and doing more with less. Lifecycle analysis (LCA) is a tool that can play a central role in improving resource efficiency. Improvements in resource and energy efficiency require a focus on reducing the environmental footprint of individual products, as well as of companies as a whole. This requires a cradle-to-grave approach: from procurement/material extraction to downstream activities, including consumer behaviour and interrelations between product components (e.g. product and packaging), use and finally disposal. This may require efforts to train and/or educate suppliers, retailers and consumers. With such efforts, it could be possible to greatly improve the resource and energy efficiency of the building and construction sector (responsible for consuming more than 50% of European natural resources but represents only 10% of GDP), the energy equipment sector (responsible for 31.9 % of European greenhouse gas emissions) and the waste management sector. Objectives The general objective of the project is to help SMEs in France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain to reduce the environmental impacts of their products and services in the building/construction, energy equipment and waste management sectors through the application of lifecycle approaches – including LCA, ecodesign and environmental labelling. This will enhance resource efficiency and reduce environmental emissions relating to the products and services (i.e. the extraction and treatment of raw-material, manufacture, distribution, and use and disposal of the product or service - including all intervening transport steps). The project aims to foster a widespread uptake of these approaches by SMEs by: Demonstrating the environmental and business benefits of applying lifecycle approaches through practical application in 32 businesses; and Building capacity for lifecycle approach implementation through the development of training materials, training of trainers and testing of training materials at the 32 SMEs selected for pilot testing. Trainers and 'LIfecycle Champions' will play the following key roles: In providing physical and online resource centres to support the regional application of lifecycle approaches; and In building capacity in the four project regions for ongoing implementation of lifecycle approaches through an innovative 'Lifecycle Champion' network. Expected results: The project will have a significant impact on the training of personnel who can contribute to the demonstration of lifecycle approaches. Specifically it will deliver: A Lifecycle Maturity Assessment, composed of a guideline for evaluating sectors, nine detailed internal reports for each country/sector and three sectoral summary reports; A network of 13 'Lifecycle Champions' trained in lifecycle thinking and the use of lifecycle tools for SMEs; An online platform and four resource centres based in participating regions to provide support on Lifecycle approaches. Physical resource centres will display noticeboards introducing the project to the public; An online LCA-based environmental impact evaluation tool, tested in 32 SMEs; A guidance document on undertaking socio-economic impact evaluation with a lifecycle perspective, based on the results of the trials in 32 SMEs; A series of nine Lifecycle Awards organised in the four participating regions; The involvement of 40 trainers in four regional lifecycle trainer clubs; training modules will be available online in three languages (French,Portuguese and Spanish); Support for 32 companies as they implement Lifecycle approaches, and it will train nine Lifecycle Champions in coaching businesses; and Four best practice videos, 32 case studies and dissemination plans for each sector in each participating region, with 20 stakeholders involved. This will allow the efficient spread and transfer of the project's tools within the sector and region.