Social Life Cycle Assessments: A Review on Past Development, Advances and Methodological Challenges
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Data Acquisition and Evaluation
2.1. Data Acquisition
2.2. Data Evaluation
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Past Developments and Milestones of S-LCA Research
3.1.1. First Steps towards S-LCA (1990–2009)
3.1.2. Uncertainty Years (2010–2013)
3.1.3. The Development Years (2014–2019)
3.1.4. Search for Standardization (2020–ongoing)
3.2. S-LCA and the Automotive Industry
3.3. Methodological Barriers in S-LCA
3.3.1. Goal and Scope Definition: Linking LCA Structures to Social Phenomena
3.3.2. Goal and Scope Definition: Unclear Underlying Theory and Epistemological Positions
3.3.3. Goal and Scope Definition: Process vs. Organizational S-LCA
3.3.4. Goal and Scope Definition: Missing Link between SDGs and S-LCA Impact Sub-categories
3.3.5. Inventory Analysis: Defining and Integrating Positive Impacts
3.3.6. Inventory Analysis: Generic vs. Site-Specific Data and the Dependency on Stakeholder Participation
3.3.7. Impact Assessment: Tracking Social Impact Pathways
3.3.8. Impact Assessment: Neglected Stakeholder Categories and the Variety of Impact Sub-Categories
3.3.9. Life Cycle Interpretation: Lacking Comparability and Transparency of S-LCA
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Disclaimer
References
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Review questions | (1) How did S-LCA research develop over the last 20 years? |
(2) To what extent are UN SDGs an integral part of S-LCA research? | |
(3) How and to what extent has S-LCA been used by the automotive industry? | |
(4) What barriers exist and need to be overcome in future research? | |
Literature search | Keywords: Social LCA, S-LCA, SLCA, Social-Life-Cycle-Assessment, Social Life Cycle Assessment, social impact assessment, social life cycle impact assessment, SLCIA, S-LCIA, Socio-economic life cycle assessment, Societal Life Cycle Assessment, Societal-Life-Cycle-Assessment, Social Footprint, Social Sustainability Assessment |
Databases: Web of Knowledge, German National Library, Science Direct, Springer Professional, Wiley, Google Scholar | |
Inclusion criteria |
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Exclusion criteria |
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Evaluation methods | MS Excel and MaxQDA |
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Pollok, L.; Spierling, S.; Endres, H.-J.; Grote, U. Social Life Cycle Assessments: A Review on Past Development, Advances and Methodological Challenges. Sustainability 2021, 13, 10286. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810286
Pollok L, Spierling S, Endres H-J, Grote U. Social Life Cycle Assessments: A Review on Past Development, Advances and Methodological Challenges. Sustainability. 2021; 13(18):10286. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810286
Chicago/Turabian StylePollok, Louisa, Sebastian Spierling, Hans-Josef Endres, and Ulrike Grote. 2021. "Social Life Cycle Assessments: A Review on Past Development, Advances and Methodological Challenges" Sustainability 13, no. 18: 10286. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810286
APA StylePollok, L., Spierling, S., Endres, H.-J., & Grote, U. (2021). Social Life Cycle Assessments: A Review on Past Development, Advances and Methodological Challenges. Sustainability, 13(18), 10286. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810286