Life cycle assessment methodology report world steel association rue colonel bourg 120 b1140 brussels belgium t. Recommendations for further research work concerning slca are also presented. Life cycle assessment lca considers mainly environmental impacts along supply chains, from extraction of raw materials to endoflife of products. State of the art and challenges for supporting product policies. Our objective is to analyze the work that lca community has done in social life cycle assessment slca domain in order to define an innovative methodology for agroindustry. The social life cycle assessment slca is a comprehensive methodology which aims to assess the positive and negative social impacts of a product or service in a life cycle perspective 3, 8, 9.
These procedures are based on the principles of international organization for standardization iso 14040 and 14044 and rely on the integration of environmental life cycle assessment e. Psilca a product social impact life cycle assessment. Social life cycle assessment an overview sciencedirect. This paper proposes an elaboration of the aop natural resources. The search was performed in both the title and the abstract fields for the case of the discovery service, in the fields of title and topic for the case of scopus and in all. The international journal of life cycle assessment aims. Different methods and approaches in each life cycle phase are discussed. Social life cycle assessment of a concentrated solar power. Methodologies for social life cycle assessment alexandria. An introduction to life cycle assessment lca nick santero, ph. Similarly, social life cycle assessment slca integrates traditional life cycle assessment methodological steps while having social impacts as focus. The aim of this article is to provide additional discussion on the practical application of s. The goal pursued by those sheets is to provide an handson tool for colleagues wishing to design and conduct slca. First, the slca guidelines provides a map, which describes the context, the key concepts, the broader.
The development of stringent, prescriptive and technically detailed life cycle based guidance promises to be more challenging compared to the product footprinting from a technicalscientific, feasibility and. This article analyzes two recent life cyclebased methodologies that have their focus on the organization, namely organization environmental footprint oef and organizational life cycle assessment olca. Social metrics, to develop their own methodologies fontes et al. International is0 standard 14040 stanford university. Request pdf methodologies for social life cycle assessment goal, scope and background in recent years several different approaches towards social life. Life cycle analyses are concerned with the impact of extended systems sequences of industrial operations on the environment. Methodologies for social life cycle assessment sai platform. For instance, in the case of a manufactured product, environmental impacts are assessed from raw material.
Methodologies for social life cycle assessment request pdf. Social life cycle assessment slca a social life cycle assessment slca is a method that can be used to assess the social and sociological aspects of products, their actual and potential positive as well as negative impacts along the life cycle. Qeconomic costbenefit analysis, modelling, regressions, scenarios qenvironmental lifecycle analysis, material flows, resource accounting, namea, ecological footprint qsocial sustainable livelihoods, human and social capital measurement, participatory processes. The unep guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products proposes a methodology to develop life cycle inventories. Social life cycle assessment an insight subramanian. Methodologies and practice social life cycle assessment slca is a relatively new discipline and it is an expanding field of research. After an initial period characterized by the application of the slca guidelines of the unepsetac life cycle initiative, now practitioners are going through an indepth and critical analysis. Comparing with elca, social life cycle assessment slca is a very young and still developing research area. Methodologies for social life cycle assessment, the. It starts with analyzing different perspectives on natural resources as they. The method of life cycle assessment lca summary the lca is a standardized method which allows the integral record, quantification and evaluation of the environmental damages connected with a product, a procedure, or a service in the context of a given question. With its great flexibility, slca can be applied toward quantifying social impacts on a system. Lifecycle analyses are concerned with the impact of extended systems sequences of industrial operations on the environment. In recent years several different approaches towards social life cycle assessment slca have been developed.
Social impacts economic impacts lifecycle assessment definition. Lca were initially developed for the analysis of simple products, i. Experience with slca is growing and is be regarding the use of generic data as a basis for the assessment. Social life cycle assessment publications office of the eu. Social life cycle assessment slca is a relatively new discipline and it is an expanding field of research. After an initial period characterized by the application of the slca guidelines of the unepsetac life cycle initiative, now practitioners are going through an in. Lca is a novel methodology still under development, used to cover the social aspects of sustainability within lcsa. In 2009, the work of a unepsetac working group culminated in the publication of guidelines for social life cycle assessment slca. Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products. Life cycle assessment lca is the calculation and evaluation of the environmentally relevant inputs and outputs and the potential environmental impacts of the life cycle of a product, material or service sabs iso, 1998. In the case of a product, the system encompasses the entire lifecycle, from raw material extraction to the different endoflife management alternatives landfilling, incineration, recycling, reuse, including the manufacturing stages, transportation, distribution, use. Life cycle analysis lca applied to buildings aims to assess the potential environmental of buildings over the complete life cycle, from materials production to the endof life and management of waste disposal. Assessment andor case study, social life cycle assessment andor case study. Pdf methodologies for social life cycle assessment.
Lca by suggesting a new classification and characterization model that builds upon previous. The scope of conducting an slca is to promote social conditions and the overall socioeconomic performance of a product for all its stakeholders. Goals and scoping3 the scoping step determines which processes will be included, which environmental concerns will be included, what economic or social good is provided by the goods or services in question, resolves any technical issues and. Life cycle analysis lca applied to buildings aims to assess the potential environmental of buildings over the complete life cycle, from materials production to the endoflife and management of waste disposal. The social hotspot database shdb tool is one of the platforms used in the. Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products 5 executive summary the guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products provides a map, a skeleton and a. A life cycle inventory is elaborated for indicators e. Social life cycle assessment slca is emerging as a powerful and necessary tool in sustainability science. Featuring the latest methods and case studies, the book will assist. This publication is a technical report by the joint research centre, the european commissions inhouse science service. Methodologies and case studies gives readers a comprehensive introduction to life cycle sustainability assessment lcsa methodology for sustainability measurement of industrial systems, proposing an efficiency methodology for stakeholders and decisionmakers. It aims to provide evidencebased scientific support to the european policymaking process. Unepsetac, guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products.
Social life cycle assessment slca life cycle initiative. Some methodological issues and potential application to cheese production in new zealand 1 1. The purpose of the project was to develop agresearch capability in social life cycle assessment s lca. Thereby, we attempted to assess the potential to reduce the environmental footprint in these application fields relative to the current petrochemical value. Quantis new earth ageco update of soybean life cycle analysis august 2016 page i quantis main contractor is a leading life cycle assessment lca consulting firm specialized in supporting companies to measure, understand and manage the environmental impacts of their products, services and operations. To assess impact along supply chains, life cyclebased methodologies have been developed over time. Natural environment, human health, and natural resources. Integral survey means the consideration of all steps.
Life cycle assessment lca considers mainly environmental impacts along supply chains, from extraction of raw materials to endof life of products. This book details the primary concepts of social life cycle assessment slca, integration of social aspects in product life cycles, quantification of social impacts in slca, impact categorization in slca, methodological aspects of slca, and detailed case studies. The social life cycle assessment slca is a comprehensive methodology which. Social life cycle assessment an overview sciencedirect topics. Life cycle sustainability assessment for decisionmaking. Only in recent years have they been framed in a life cycle perspective. Life cycle impact assessment lcia in classical life cycle assessment lca aims at analyzing potential impacts of products and services typically on three socalled areas of protection aops. Conducting a life cycle assessment lca there are four main phases of the lca process. Life cycle impact assessment lcia analysis of data to evaluate contributions to various environmental impact categories. In the case of a product, the system encompasses the entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to the different endof life management alternatives landfilling, incineration, recycling, reuse, including the manufacturing stages, transportation, distribution, use. Assistant professor civil and environmental engineering university of california, davis. Life cycle assessment lca considers mainly environmental impacts along. Although slca follows the iso 14040 framework, some aspects differ, are more common or are amplified at each phase of the study.
Analysis of existing environmental footprint methodologies. It is a tool used to assess the stages and impact of a products entire life, from raw material extraction cradle to waste treatment grave. Rethinking the area of protection natural resources in. Lifecycle assessment lca also called lifecycle analysis is a tool for examining the total environmental impact of a product through every step of its life from obtaining raw materials all the way through making it in a factory, selling it in a store, using it in the workplace or at home, and disposing of it. The goal of this chapter is to take into account the social life cycle assessment slca methodology, after six years from the publication of the unepsetac guidelines in 2009, through the analysis of case studies published between 2006 7 and december. Lca, life cycle costing lcc, and social life cycle assessment s. After an initial period characterized by the application of the slca guidelines of the. Social life cycle assessment slca is a methodological approach to evaluating the positive and negative social impacts of a product or a service throughout its life cycle. Life cycle assessment or life cycle assessment lca, also known as life cycle analysis is a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a commercial product, process, or service. Social life cycle assessment methodology for evaluating. Int j lca 2 96103 abstract goal, scope and background. In the life cycle impact assessment lcia, the product or production system is examined from an environmental perspective using category indicators. Social impacts over the life cycle are relatively new, with fewer data sources available. Dec 07, 2007 read methodologies for social life cycle assessment, the international journal of life cycle assessment on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips.
Postdoctoral scholar civil and environmental engineering university of california, berkeley alissa kendall, ph. An overview on life cycle impact assessment lcia methodologies. Nonetheless, the research field is highly interesting since investigation of social aspects allows to detect potential social risks in product life cycles, but can also reveal positive social impacts hidden in product supply chains. Social life cycle assessment sustainability assessment. Phase of interpretation life cycle interpretation is a systematic technique to identify, quantify, check, and evaluate information from the results of the life cycle inventory andor the life cycle impact assessment. Executive summary the guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products provides a map, a skeleton and a. The development of stringent, prescriptive and technically detailed life cycle based guidance promises to be more challenging compared to the product footprinting from a technicalscientific, feasibility and a stakeholder acceptance perspective. Life cycle assessment lca is the calculation and evaluation. European assessment methodologies the national academies press.
The results from the inventory analysis and impact assessment are summarized during the interpretation phase. Co2 conversion covers a wide range of possible application areas from fuels to bulk and commodity chemicals and even to specialty products with biological activity such as pharmaceuticals. Life cycle costing lcc studies are considered for publication in the framework of lcsa three pillar concepttriple bottom line. International journal of life cycle assessment, 185, 11061115. Development of a social impact assessment methodology for recycling systems in lowincome countries. The purpose of the project was to develop agresearch capability in. This task has been commenced in relevant impacts to include in the slca in order to include the the development of the socalled social life cycle assess bulk of the situation. European assessment methodologies wood in our future. Indicators in social life cycle assessment wiley online library. Life cycle assessment ix, september 30, 2009, boston, usa. Unepsetac, 2009, which have been used as a basis for case. Social life cycle assessment sustainability assessment of. For instance, in the case of a manufactured product, environmental impacts are assessed from raw material extraction and processing cradle, through the product.
Methodologies for social life cycle assessment article in the international journal of life cycle assessment 2. Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products 2. Papers on the application of life cycle assessment methodology in single issue studies, such as greenhouse gas analysis as a means to assess carbon footprint, climate change, or global warming potential, will also. Alternative feedstocks and conversion processes for the production of liquid and gaseous biofuels second edition, 2019. Social life cycle assessment slca supplement the guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products published by unepsetac in 2009 and were developed as a public resource to guide the application of slca.
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