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LCA stands for Life Cycle Assessment. It measures the environmental impact of a product across its full life cycle — from raw materials and manufacturing to operation, service, and end-of-life treatment.
LCA stands for Life Cycle Assessment. It measures the environmental impact of a product across its full life cycle — from raw materials and manufacturing to operation, service, and end-of-life treatment.

LCA shows where environmental impacts occur across the full life cycle of a product. This helps customers better understand the footprint of what they are buying.

LCA helps identify where impacts occur across the product life cycle, while circular economy strategies focus on reducing those impacts through reuse, remanufacturing, recycling, and longer product life.

In a transport refrigeration unit, the environmental contributors are raw materials, manufacturing, energy use during operation, refrigerant impact, service activities, and end-of-life treatment. Operational energy use is the largest contributor (up to 80%).

Refrigerants do contribute to life cycle emissions, but in many cases their share is relatively small compared with operational energy use. That is why improving system efficiency often has the greatest overall impact. You can learn how in our fuel efficiency guide.

The biggest opportunity is usually improving energy or fuel efficiency. For many products, the use (operational) phase accounts for the majority of total life cycle emissions. Unit operations LCA can add up to 90 % of the total emissions.

For many refrigeration solutions, the operational phase is often the biggest contributor to total lifecycle impact. It can be up to 90 % of your LCA and is mostly fuel.

LCA is measured by Third party Independent accredited organizations and can verify LCA studies and environmental claims against recognized standards.

An LCA score is most useful when compared with another product assessed using the same method. On its own, a score gives limited context. On Thermo King’s site, you can compare and contrast the LCA score of multiple products.

LCA scores should only be compared when the same methodology, assumptions, system boundaries, and functional unit are used. Otherwise, the comparison may not be meaningful.

If one of our products has been evaluated, you can find the LCA score directly on that product’s page. You can also compare and contrast the LCA score of multiple products.

Yes. Material sourcing can influence Scope 3 emissions and play an important role in broader ESG performance and reporting.

At end of life, batteries can be collected, processed, and recycled, and in some cases may also be suitable for second-life applications depending on their condition.

Batteries may be recycled or repurposed for second-life applications if their remaining performance is suitable.

Yes ! Using recycled steel can help reduce energy use and carbon emissions compared with virgin steel, making it a positive lever for improving overall environmental performance.

Thermo King evaluates suppliers through Trane Technologies’ supplier standards and ESG assessment processes, helping strengthen sustainability performance across the value chain.

Yes. A product’s footprint begins before final assembly and includes raw material extraction, component production, and inbound transport.

The Galway facility has strong sustainability credentials, including carbon-neutral certification and a zero-waste-to-landfill approach. We’re actively working to make sure all our factories can follow in Galway’s footsteps.

Low-GWP refrigerants help reduce the climate impact associated with refrigerant leakage and end-of-life refrigerant handling. However, refrigerants are only responsible for around 10% of a refrigeration unit’s total life-cycle emissions. Fuel-efficiency is a far better way of shrinking total emissions.

AI and software can optimize operating performance, reduce unnecessary energy use, improve temperature control, and support more efficient fleet management. Thermo King collects the telematics data of 200,000 every single day. Through AI analysis, that data can be turned into valuable insights for our customers. How many door openings do they have on average, and can this be improved? Can they support their drivers towards more fuel-efficient driving habits? The list is nearly endless, and every insight is another step towards a more sustainable cold chain.

Yes. With Thermo King’s Rental Solutions, you can buy or rent fully equipped electric refrigerated vehicles, letting you lower your footprint without capital investment.

They can, particularly when they are highly efficient and powered by lower-carbon electricity. The actual result depends on the application, energy mix, and usage profile.

These are original parts restored to meet performance standards. They help reduce resource use and waste while supporting circularity. Here you can find an overview of Remanufactured Parts.

Not necessarily. Even on a more carbon-intensive grid, electric systems can still provide life cycle benefits because they are often more energy efficient.

Natural refrigerants can reduce climate impact because they typically have very low global warming potential. However, refrigerants are only responsible for around 10% of a refrigeration unit’s total life-cycle emissions.

Electric refrigeration can offer strong environmental benefits depending on the operating profile, electricity source, and total system efficiency.

Electrified and hybrid systems can reduce fuel consumption and lower operational emissions, especially when paired with lower-carbon energy sources, such as Thermo King’s AxlePower.

Steel, copper, and aluminum are typically the most widely recycled materials in refrigeration systems.

Depending on condition and application, some Thermo King units can continue operating in a second or even third life. This extended use can deliver additional value beyond what is always reflected in a standard LCA certificate.