Economic and Social Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

A product can be environmentally friendly but it may not be economically or socially viable. All inputs that have been determined or quantified to develop the life cycle inventory for the environmental life cycle assessment (ELCA) are used in life cycle costing (LCC) of the same product. Economic factors are important in any engineering decision-making. There is an increasing awareness of Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) and new frameworks/methods have recently been developed at an increasing rate. Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) involves the use of ELCA, LCC, and SLCA tools to calculate the environmental, economic, and social indicators of any product or service. LCSA will provide a measure of current sustainability performance, a clear statement of what might be achieved in terms of future performance targets and a yardstick for measurement of progress along the way.