From 19 to 21 October 2026, the SETAC Europe 27th LCA Symposium brought the life cycle assessment community to Bruges, Belgium, under the theme “Designing Tomorrow: Advancing Life Cycle Approaches for European Sustainability Initiatives”. INNOAQUA took part through project partner Sustainn, which presented the project’s approach to assessing circularity and sustainability.
Algae as a Test Case for Emerging Bio-Based Systems
On 20 October, Carlos León Perfecto from Sustainn presented “Towards Integrated Life Cycle Sustainability and Circularity Assessment for Emerging Aquaculture Systems: Insights from INNOAQUA”. His talk was part of a session on how life cycle methods can keep pace with bio-based value chains that are still taking shape. Algae systems, with their early-stage technologies, several co-products and close links to the circular economy, served as the common case study for the whole session.
Circularity as Part of a Wider Sustainability Picture
The presentation introduced the framework developed within INNOAQUA to assess innovations ranging from algae-based ingredients to the valorisation of fish by-products. Its central message was that circularity works best as a complementary dimension of life cycle sustainability assessment rather than as a goal on its own, since circularity indicators do not add up in a simple way and a more circular process can sometimes require more energy.
Bringing Aquaculture Insights to the LCA Community
The symposium brought together researchers, industry representatives, consultancies and public agencies working to align life cycle approaches with European initiatives such as the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.
After presenting the assessment approach to aquaculture stakeholders at Aquaculture Europe 2026, Sustainn shared the methodology with a wider audience of life cycle assessment specialists facing similar challenges across bio-based sectors.
The symposium reinforced the importance of developing assessment methods that can keep pace with emerging bio-based systems. By testing these approaches in real aquaculture cases, INNOAQUA is helping bridge the gap between circularity ambitions and measurable sustainability outcomes.
Want to contribute? INNOAQUA is currently gathering feedback from stakeholders across the aquaculture sector. By completing the Stakeholder Questionnaire, you can help shape how sustainability and circularity are assessed in future aquaculture innovations, ensuring that the framework reflects the realities and priorities of those working across the value chain.
Take part in the questionnaire and help guide the future of sustainable and circular aquaculture.
