Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) has become the staple methodology for sustainability studies. LCSA is a comprehensive methodology that encompasses the three pillars of sustainability: the environmental (environmental LCA), the social (social LCA), and the economic (life cycle costing) [1–3]. In a context in which policymakers, companies, and society as a whole try to discover ways of being sustainable, LCSA is the only methodology that can provide accurate estimations of the impact of measures taken by decision makers due to its holistic approach.

Despite the undeniable growing popularity of life-cycle-oriented tools, the methodological progress made in academia has often not reached the industry. There is an urgent need to implement LCSA practices across all scales of society. At a political level, LCSA should be included in the decision-making process and the implementation of new policies from a local to an international level. This would ensure that the long-lasting effects of those decisions are tailored to have a positive economic, social, and environmental impact [4]. Intergovernmental and supranational entities (such as the United Nations) are making great efforts in fostering the implementation of sustainability approaches. The new European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals are probably the most notable examples of this. At the industry level, LCSA should be used as a decision-supporting tool in the design process of products and services. Similarly, governmental decisions influence sustainability, and the choices made at the design stage of products and services have significant implications on all three sustainability pillars [5].

This Special Issue aims to explore the current state of the art and the emerging trends in LCSA, with a particular emphasis on integrating the three perspectives on sustainability and implementation in the industry, especially in high-impacting industries such as the building sector, which greatly influences society on an environmental, societal, and economic level. In general, the implementation of LCSA in all areas of society needs to be prioritized. The idea is to foster the implementation of this methodology in real-world applications. Contributions are sought from researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with expertise in developing and implementing LCSA methodologies and frameworks. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) LCSA methodologies and frameworks; the integration of environmental, social, and economic dimensions; case studies and applications; data availability; and stakeholder engagement and communication.

References

[1] Klöpffer W. Life-cycle based methods for sustainable product development. Int J Life Cycle Assess 2003;8:157–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02978462/METRICS.

[2] Zamagni A. Life cycle sustainability assessment. Int J Life Cycle Assess 2012;17:373–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11367-012-0389-8/METRICS.

[3] Finkbeiner M, Schau EM, Lehmann A, Traverso M. Towards life cycle sustainability assessment. Sustainability 2010;2:3309–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/su2103309.

[4] Sala S, Reale F, Cristobal GJ, Marelli L, Pant R. Life cycle assessment for the impact assessment of policies. Jt Res Cent 2016;28380:53. https://doi.org/10.2788/318544.

[5] Pryshlakivsky J, Searcy C. Life Cycle Assessment as a decision-making tool: Practitioner and managerial considerations. J Clean Prod 2021;309:127344. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2021.127344.

Dr. Erwin M. Schau
Dr. Alberto Quintana Gallardo
Guest Editors

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• life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA)
• environmental LCA
• social LCA
• life cycle costing
• sustainability
• decision-making
• industry
• implementation