Integration of ecosystem services and life cycle assessment allows improved accounting of sustainability benefits of nature-based solutions for brownfield redevelopment

Abstract

Nature-based solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognized as a sustainable alternative to conventional remediation for brownfield redevelopment. One of the key advantages of NbS is that they provide ecosystem services (ES) during and after remediation. However, traditional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) does not fully account for the advantages of ES. To address this limitation, we propose a holistic sustainability assessment framework that integrates ES valuation and LCA for brownfield redevelopment planning. The framework is designed to support decision-making by providing a comprehensive environmental analysis of the impacts of different remediation scenarios. The proposed framework is applied to the London Olympic Park mega remediation project as a case study. Three considered scenarios are a business-as-usual scenario, a conventional remediation scenario, and an NbS scenario. The primary and secondary impacts of each scenario, the temporal efficacy of remediation, and the impact on ES are evaluated using the framework. The results suggest that the NbS scenario provides the best trade-off between mitigating contamination risks and economic costs within a reasonable timeframe due to the added benefits of ecosystem services. Overall, the proposed framework provides a comprehensive approach that considers the multiple aspects of environmental sustainability.