Melissa Huff

Melissa Huff

Senior Chemical Engineer

Listening is critical to being an effective consultant. Early in my career as a process engineer, I learned to listen—not just to those in charge, but also to those who focus every day on the challenge at hand. Time and again, careful listening has allowed me to develop better solutions.


Melissa Huff, a senior chemical engineer and project manager at ERG, has developed cradle-to-grave life cycle inventories and life cycle assessments for three decades. Fresh out of college with a degree in chemical engineering, she was hired and mentored in life cycle studies by Bill Franklin, one of the first U.S. life cycle practitioners. Since then, she has conducted life cycle studies for Asian, European, and North American clients, and served as project manager on dozens of public and private LCI/LCA projects. She has watched the LCA field mature and transform and finds it inspiring to be working in such a dynamic and important field. 

At Franklin Associates (a division of ERG), she performs and manages LCAs in many different areas, including packaging, computers, construction, and a broad variety of chemical and consumer products. Melissa also enjoys creating databases for trade associations that are able to become part of the U.S. LCI Database. She has authored and presented many publications providing insight on her projects over the years. 

Melissa holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Outside work, she focuses on her children and enjoys teaching Sunday school.