S-LCA applications: a case studies analysis

Abstract

S-LCA is defined by the guidelines established by the 2009 UNEP/SETAC, as "a technique for assessing social (real or potential) impacts with the aim of evaluating the socio-economic aspects of the products and their potential impacts, positive and negative, along their life cycle, including the extraction and processing of raw materials, production, distribution, use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and final disposal"[1]. In addition, the S-LCA follows the same structure presented in the ISO 14040-14044 (2006) standards for the Life cycle assessment method[2][3]. The number of case studies that emerge from the literature show that this tool is a significant success among the scientific community and industrial sector. Based on a systematic review of the literature conducted on the case studies reported in the literature between 2013-2017 based on 48 case studies, we have been carried out and mapped some productive sectors such as the agri-food sector, automotive, metal and textile. This analysis has made it possible to highlight how, especially in the last 2 years, the application to the practical cases of the S-LCA methodology has been increased, as well as the number of integrated use of the two environmental LCA and S-LCA instruments, allowing so the application also to SMEs.