Becoming Part of the Solution: How Devatha Nair Applied Hands-On LCA to Dental Care
University of Colorado
Devatha Nair is an Associate Professor in the Department of Craniofacial, Oral and Materials Sciences at the University of Colorado. Working in an academic healthcare environment where sustainability initiatives were increasingly being encouraged across campus, she became interested in understanding the environmental impacts of dental procedures and the waste they generate.
Inspired by the growing institutional commitment to sustainability, Devatha recognized an opportunity to help advance these efforts within dentistry. She saw that people wanted to “do the right thing” but often lacked the knowledge and resources to get started.
Challenge: Growing LCA Relevance and the Need for Practical Experience
Devatha wanted to raise awareness of environmental impacts in healthcare and help build a stronger sustainability culture on the medical campus. But there was a fundamental gap: there was no quantified baseline data on the environmental impacts of clinical procedures.
As someone working in academia and looking to introduce LCA at her institution, Devatha first needed to build her own understanding of LCA and establish credibility through certification. But she also knew that understanding the theory alone would not be enough for her long-term objectives. To turn LCA into something she could actually use in healthcare, she needed practical experience applying the methodology to a real-world project.
As Devatha explained:
“I’ve been reading up about the LCA way before I came to this training. I think it’s one thing to know the theory, it’s a whole another thing to be actually applying it.”
Solution: From LCA Foundations to Hands-On Application
Devatha’s LCA journey started with Environmental Impacts Academy’s CLE Preparation course for ACLCA Certification, which she chose after searching for an LCA training that fit her schedule. The course gave her a structured foundation in LCA, helping her build the knowledge she needed to move forward with her goals. It also allowed her to work towards a recognized certification, an important step as she looked to introduce LCA at her institution.
But for Devatha, understanding LCA was only the beginning. After completing the CLE (Certified Life Cycle Executive) Preparation course, Hands-On LCA Training was a natural next step, as she had a clear goal of applying LCA in healthcare. She wanted to move beyond learning the concepts and gain the practical experience to apply them herself. The hands-on format was exactly what she was looking for:
“In the hands-on portion, the exercises are designed to be practical, real-world examples, and that’s really what we need.”
For her, the most valuable part of the program was the structured progression from practical exercises to a guided real-world project where she could apply the LCA methodology directly to her own work. The exercises helped her translate concepts into practice and gave her confidence in each step of the LCA process. With expert support along the way, she was able to move from understanding the principles to applying them in a healthcare context, something she had been wanting to do for a while now.
As part of this hands-on project, Devatha conducted a process-based attributional LCA of a resin-based composite dental restoration at the University of Colorado.
Build Real-World LCA Capability for Healthcare & Beyond
See how our Hands-On LCA Training provides the structured guidance, real-world exercises, and project support needed to apply LCA in your field.
Results: Bringing LCA to a Medical Campus
The structured support Devatha received throughout the Hands-On LCA Training made it possible for her to complete a full process-based attributional LCA and communicate the results with confidence. Her project became the first LCA conducted across the University of Colorado campus, giving the institution its initial baseline for the environmental impacts of a clinical procedure. The significance of her work was immediately recognized. She was invited to present her findings to the medical school during Climate Day, where her project helped introduce LCA to a broader healthcare audience.
With this foundation in place, Devatha is now actively working towards publishing the results and plans to offer attributional LCA projects to Global Health Track students, expanding applied sustainability learning within the university. In doing so, she is stepping into the role she had envisioned: becoming part of the solution.
As Devatha puts it:
“As a plastics engineer, I recognize that polymer-based materials contribute to environmental challenges in healthcare, but I am also uniquely positioned to be part of the solution.”
Ready to turn LCA knowledge into practical experience?
Build the confidence to apply LCA to real-world projects with hands-on training and expert guidance. Explore upcoming Hands-On LCA programs or book a meeting to discuss which option is right for you.
