Chapter 5 - Life cycle sustainability assessment in the energy sector

Abstract

Environmental assessment based upon the principle of life cycle thinking is well established, encompassing the impacts of a product or process from “cradle-to-gate” or “cradle-to-grave.” However, life cycle assessment (LCA) only assesses environmental impacts, while sustainability is a holistic concept spanning the environment, economy, and society. An increasing body of research tackles this via the more comprehensive approach of life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) which typically incorporates the use of techniques methodologically similar to LCA, such as social life cycle assessment (SLCA) and life cycle costing (LCC).