Assistant professor civil and environmental engineering university of california, davis. Social lifecycle assessment of household waste management. The life cycle assessment is conducted by iso standards and iea pvps standards specified for pv systems. An introduction to life cycle assessment lca nick santero, ph. Slca is the latest or the most recent addition to the lca methods, which is concerned on the social hotspots or impacts of a product or process over its life cycle lenzo et al. The system boundary considered includes households generating the waste, the sanitation department of kabul city, scavengers, recycling shops, the recycling factory, and the local. Enriching the results of screening social life cycle. This study will help to map the current situation and to highlight the hot spots and weaknesses of the application of the slca theory. Social life cycle assessment is a technique to assess the social impacts of products and organizations from raw material extraction to final disposal.
Slca evaluates the positive and negative social and socio economic impacts along the product life cycle. The word assessment was preferred over analysis since it was felt that an analysis is quantitative in nature while an assessment allows for a broader set of information. At the european level, the parliament has suggested that the commission develop a framework for an integrated lifecycleoriented product policy. Life cycle assessment lca considers mainly environmental impacts along supply chains, from extraction of raw materials to endof life of products. Life cycle inventory life cycle impact assessment life cycle interpretation more focus on the organizations subjective data is, and has sometimes to be, used in slca more qualitative and semiquantitative data both positive and negative impacts guidance. In this guide, youll get an indepth, nontechnical overview of what a life cycle assessment really is, the different approaches to it, how it works in practice and who can benefit from it. 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. The future of building life cycle assessment in practice summary as the architectural and construction industries increasingly emphasize sustainability, more comprehensive methods are being developed to evaluate and reduce environmental impacts by buildings. Pavement life cycle assessment workshop 2 ucprctm201003 guidance documents for pavement lcas performed in any region. At the european level, the parliament has suggested that the commission develop a framework for an integrated life cycle oriented.
Identifying social impacts along the life cycle of their products is becoming increasingly important for companies. The international journal of life cycle assessment int j life cycle assess is the first journal devoted entirely to life cycle assessment and closely related methods. This paper describes the development of the social life cycle assessment methodology. Download social life cycle assessment revisited researchgate book pdf free download link or read online here in pdf.
Psilca a product social impact life cycle assessment. Nonetheless, the research field is highly interesting since. Raquel balanay, anthony halog, in circular economy in textiles and apparel, 2019. Social life cycle assessment of a concentrated solar power. Lca, life cycle assessment, lcsa, slca, sustainability.
The advantages of impact assessment and life cycle assessment lca have been highly documented based on the amount of published academia in the recent years. First, the slca guidelines provides a map, which describes the context, the key concepts, the broader. A dow distinguished award student team is working with sustainability without borders to conduct consumer surveys and a social life cycle assessment to develop a deeper understanding of the social and environmental impact of. In addition, the following research aims to define the trends related to the slca by researchers and consultants. It also presents a range of models, indices, impact categories, etc. In elca, all input materials, waste, and emissions are accounted for at all stages. Social life cycle assessment slca as a possible tool has not been conducted so far within industries with complex international supply chains using mainly companyspecific data. A social lca could be the key to designing truly sustainable products and manufacturing processes.
Reliable lca performance is crucial to achieve a lifecycle economy. This international standard does not describe the life cycle assessment technique in detail. Life cycle assessment lca complete beginners guide. A first set of guidelines published in 2009 provide a map, a skeleton and a flashlight to guide stakeholders engaging in the assessment of social and socioeconomic impacts of the life cycle of products.
Pdf the awareness of considering social impacts of a product supply chain is increasingly raised among corporations and governments. Social life cycle assessment as a management tool core. Please provide your comments to ensure that these new guidelines meet stakeholders expectations. Similarly, social life cycle assessment slca integrates traditional life cycle assessment methodological steps while having social impacts as focus. Social lca explores the behavior of the companies making products. Pdf development of social intensity database using asian. Social life cycle alliance public consultation slca. The unepsetac life cycle initiative social lca project group started the work on methodological sheets in 2005. Social life cycle assessment is a technique available to account for stories and.
The international journal of life cycle assessment 2019 v. In iso 14040 1997 life cycle improvement assessment is no longer regarded as a phase on its own, but rather as having an influence throughout the whole lca methodology. Model preparation of the product life cycle including environmental inflows and outflows. Different from methods incorporating type iii characterization models, another lca modeling approach, life cycle attribute assessment lcaa, is also discussed. Social life cycle assessment revisited article pdf available in sustainability 67. This book highlights the social life cycle assessment slca of the energy and textile sectors, discusses the slca of solar power plants and use phase of the lca model, and also includes models, indices, impact categories, etc. This book details the primary concepts of social life cycle assessment slca. Social impacts over the life cycle are relatively new, with fewer data sources available. Introduce the debateabout the inclusion of the social criteria in life cycle assessment lca and presents the actual framework.
Guidelines for social life cycle assessment slca life. Jan 21, 2010 authors of different sustainability journals, including authors of articles in past issues of the international journal of life cycle assessment have acknowledged the rising interest and the pressing need for a social and socioeconomic life cycle assessment methodology and identified challenges in its development and implementation. This recent approach towards tracking the environmental impact of a specific product or process has been manipulated to better suit each and every need. There is a need to develop a social inventory database for evaluating social impacts of products and services.
Many versions of the sheets were drafted and discussed since then and those discussions have heavily influenced the development of the guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products, published by unep and setac in may 2009. This book highlights the social life cycle assessment slca of the energy and textile sectors. Social life cycle assessment framework for evaluation of. Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products. Life cycle assessment examples of application of iso 14041. Life cycle assessmentit does not consider economic issues, neither social 11.
A conceptual framework for impact assessment within slca. Social sustainability assessment in livestock production. Therefore, an organizational life cycle assessment olca study will be conducted as a test in one emmaus community in switzerland. The main procedure steps for a life cycle assessment are four. Life cycle assessment lca is defined in horne as the compilation and evaluation of inputs and outputs and the potential impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle.
Psilca a product social impact life cycle assessment database. Life cycle assessment lca is the calculation and evaluation. Global guidance principles for life cycle assessment databases a basis for greener processes and products united nations environment programme p. Hence, the iso standard refers to life cycle assessment not life cycle analysis. She began working on lca methodology in 1990 at the u. Goals and scoping3 the scoping step determines which processes will be included, which environmental concerns will be included. The united nations environment life cycle initiative supported by the slc alliance has conducted a revision of the guidelines for social life cycle assessment slca of products slca guidelines which was published in 2009. Social life cycle assessment slca integrates traditional life cycle assessment by having social aspects as focus. In fact, sustainability assessment requires that environmental, social and economic impacts and benefit are taken into account. Aia guide to building life cycle assessment in practice. Research and analysis social life cycle assessment of a concentrated solar power plant in spain a methodological proposal blanca corona,1 kossara p. Some methodological issues and potential application to cheese production in new zealand 1 1. Int j lca 2 96103 abstract goal, scope and background.
Social life cycle assessment slca life cycle initiative. Life cycle analysis lca has become one of the most actively considered techniques for the study and analysis of strategies to meet environmental challenges. Article pdf available in the international journal of life cycle assessment 152. Social life cycle assessment case studies from the. Life cycle assessment department of environmental affairs. The study will be realized in the framework of the road testing of the unepsetac guidance on organizational life cycle assessment. A follow up will likely be required to capture similar information for european studies to be performed as part of the miriam project. The iso standard for life cycle assessment iso 14044 is unclear on whether it allows substitution or not. The guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products. Environmental management life cycle assessment examples of application of iso 14041 to goal and scope definition and inventory analysis 1 scope this technical report provides examples about practices in carrying out an life cycle inventory analysis lci as a means of satisfying certain provisions of iso 14041. Pdf methodologies for social life cycle assessment. Contribution of social life cycle assessment to reach the. Lca is used for identification of all processes for a product or service throughout their entire lifespan.
Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products 2. Course objectives understand the key concepts in lca and be able to solve simple lca problems. The present study constitutes the first social life cycle assessment slca study in afghanistan and aims at assessing the social performance of the waste management system wms of kabul city. The impact assessment should address both ecological and human health impacts, as well as social, cultural, and economic impacts. Completing a life cycle assessment inhouse may require more technical expertise or time commitment than your business can provide. Epas national risk management research laboratory in cincinnati, ohio. Conducting a life cycle assessment lca there are four main phases of the lca process. 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. Social life cycle assessment and health impacts of ceramic.
In fact, sustainability assessment requires that environmental, social and economic. Lca provides an adequate instrument for environmental decision support. Life cycle assessment lca is emerging as one of the most. Lifecycle assessment lca a guide to approaches, experiences and information sources there are great expectations for lca. This stage, during which data is collected, is usually referred to as life cycle inventory lci. Nov 28, 2011 life cycle assessment it is a technique that tries to identify, measure and characterize di erent potential environmental impacts associated to each one of the stages of the life cycle of a product 10. Life cycle assessment 1 life cycle assessment lca is a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental impacts of a product through all stages of its life cycle. With its great flexibility, slca can be applied toward quantifying social impacts on a system. Executive summary the guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products provides a map, a skeleton and a.
Social life cycle assessment framework for evaluation of potential job creation with an application in the french carbon fiber aeronautical recycling sector author. Social life cycle assessment an overview sciencedirect. Guidelines for social life cycle assessment v3 draft. Read online social life cycle assessment revisited researchgate book pdf free download link book now. 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. One click lca, the worldleading construction lifecycle assessment and costing software, announces integration with climate earth, the leading provider of digital epds. Traditionally, life cycle assessment lca was primarily concerned with environmental impacts referred to in this document as elca. This looks at the extraction and processing of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and. Life cycle assessment lca philipp schepelmann philipp. Coupling the assessment of environmental and socioeconomic issues may support more comprehensive sustainability assessment of impacts, benefits, and related tradeoffs. Social life cycle assessment publications office of the eu. A practical approach for social life cycle assessment in. The shdb licenses provide the ability to use the risk information together with a supply chain model in a life cycle assessment software sima pro, quantis suite, open lca to calculate a social footprint, measure positive impacts, identify hotspots.
Slca and sdg, 14062017 contribution of social life cycle assessment to reach the sustainable development goals. The strengths of lcas derive from their roots in traditional engineering and process analysis. The project aims to provide revised guidelines for social life cycle assessment slca. For this part, social life cycle assessment slca comes to mind easily. Screening social life cycle assessment slca can be applied to identify the social hotspots associated with a production activity or supply chain. Social life cycle assessment an insight subramanian. The major stages in a life cycle are raw materials acquisition, manufacturing, consumer usereusemaintenance, and recycle waste management. The purpose of the project was to develop agresearch capability in social life cycle assessment s lca. As a systematic tool, lca analyses and assesses environmental impacts. Reliable lca performance is crucial to achieve a life cycle economy. Spouts is a ceramic water filter manufacturer based in uganda that aims to provide an effective and affordable water filter to households that lack access to clean water. Lca has become a recognized instrument to assess the ecological burdens and impacts throughout the consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material. Workers issues are considered to be a source of key inventory data to assess social impacts, and are crucial in moving towards social sustainability.
The international journal of life cycle assessment home. In recent years several different approaches towards social life cycle assessment slca have been developed. Pdf the guidelines for social life cycle assessment of. Mary ann curran, phd, is an internationally recognized expert in the field of life cycle assessment and management. 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. 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. It also assesses the social geopolitical norms of the nations in which the product is manufactured, used and disposed. In this instance, you may decide to hire a consulting company to assist you with conducting a life cycle assessment. In the life cycle impact assessment lcia, the product or production system is examined from an environmental perspective using category indicators. Social life cycle assessment slca is emerging as a powerful and necessary tool in sustainability science. Postdoctoral scholar civil and environmental engineering university of california, berkeley alissa kendall, ph. Technique to assess social and socioeconomic aspects and impacts along the entire life cycle of products and services basic approach also defined by iso 14040 and 14044 in contrast to elca positive and negative aspects are included. The social impacts of products and service life cycles are increasingly of interest among policy makers and stakeholders.
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