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TheHongKongPolytechnicUniversity
DepartmentofIndustrialandSystemsEngineering
HongKongSAR,China
SARA TONIOLO
UniversityofPadova
DepartmentofIndustrialEngineering Padova,Italy
Elsevier
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AnaCarolinaMaiaAngelo FluminenseFederal University(UFF),VoltaRedonda,Brazil
MartaAvesani EconomyforTheCommon Good–Italy,Bressanone,Italy
EricAwere DepartmentofCivil,Chemicaland ManagementEngineering,Universityof Bologna,Bologna,Italy
AlessandraBonoli DepartmentofCivil, ChemicalandManagementEngineering, UniversityofBologna,Bologna,Italy
DeepjyotiDas CentreforUrbanScienceand Engineering(CUSE),IndianInstituteof TechnologyBombay,Mumbai,India
LichunDong SchoolofChemistryand ChemicalEngineering,ChongqingUniversity, Chongqing,China
FabioGambaro UniversityofPadova, DepartmentofIndustrialEngineering,Padova, Italy
SenGuo SchoolofEconomicsand Management;BeijingKeyLaboratoryofNew EnergyandLow-CarbonDevelopment(North ChinaElectricPowerUniversity),Beijing, China
BeijiaHuang Departmentofenvironmentand architecture,UniversityofShanghaiforScience andTechnology,Shanghai,People’sRepublic ofChina
YingHuang Departmentofenvironmentand architecture,UniversityofShanghaiforScience andTechnology,Shanghai,People’sRepublic ofChina
PradipP.Kalbar CentreforUrbanScienceand Engineering(CUSE);Interdisciplinary ProgrammeinClimateStudies,IndianInstitute ofTechnologyBombay,Mumbai,India
RistoLahdelma DepartmentofMechanical Engineering,AaltoUniversitySchoolof Engineering,Aalto,Finland
JinmingLei Departmentofenvironmentand architecture,UniversityofShanghaiforScience andTechnology,Shanghai,People’sRepublic ofChina
WeichenLi SchoolofChemistryandChemical Engineering,ChongqingUniversity, Chongqing,China
RuojueLin DepartmentofIndustrialand SystemsEngineering,TheHongKong PolytechnicUniversity,HongKongSAR, People’sRepublicofChina
ZhiqiangLiu SchoolofEnergyScienceand Engineering,CentralSouthUniversity, Changsha,People’sRepublicofChina
KeboMa SchoolofEnergyScienceand Engineering,CentralSouthUniversity, Changsha,People’sRepublicofChina
YiMan StateKeyLaboratoryofPulpandPaper Engineering,SouthChinaUniversityof Technology,Guangzhou;Departmentof IndustrialandSystemsEngineering,TheHong KongPolytechnicUniversity,HongKongSAR, People’sRepublicofChina
LinoGuimara ˜ esMarujo FederalUniversityof RiodeJaneiro(UFRJ),RiodeJaneiro,Brazil
AnnaMazzi DepartmentofIndustrial Engineering,UniversityofPadova,Padova, Italy
JingzhengRen TheHongKongPolytechnic University,DepartmentofIndustrialand SystemsEngineering,HongKongSAR,China
SaraToniolo UniversityofPadova,Department ofIndustrialEngineering,Padova,Italy
RobertaChiaraTosato UniversityofPadova, DepartmentofIndustrialEngineering,Padova, Italy
HaichaoWang InstituteofBuilding EnvironmentandFacilityEngineering,School ofCivilEngineering,DalianUniversityof Technology,Dalian,People’sRepublicofChina
DiXu SchoolofChemistryand ChemicalEngineering,Chongqing UniversityofScience&Technology, Chongqing,China
ShengYang SchoolofEnergyScience andEngineering,CentralSouth University,Changsha,People’sRepublicof China
SaraZanni DepartmentofManagement, UniversityofBologna,Bologna,Italy
Theissueofenvironmentalsustainabilityisofgreatinteresttoday(UNEP,2011).Theinternationalcommunityencouragescompaniestoadoptcleanerproductionsystemsandtechnologies.Themarketseemstorewardenvironmentallyresponsibleorganizations,andmany companiesaroundtheworldareincreasinglybecominginterestedinenvironmentalissues, introducingthemasstrategicvariablesintheirbusinesses.
However,overtheyears,manyenvironmentalmanagementtoolshaveshownanimportantlimit,thatisthereductionofenvironmentalimpactsofanorganizationoraprocessby allocatingthematothertimes,upstreamordownstreamofthesupplychain,thusincreasing theenvironmentalloadsofothersubjects,suchassuppliers,distributors,customers (O’Rourke,2014).Thisisbecausemanyenvironmentalmanagementtoolsobservetheenvironmentalproblemfromasinglepointofview,theoneofthesingleorganization,whileenvironmentalproblemsaregeneratedbydifferentsubjectsthat,together,contributeina closelyinterconnectedwaytotheoverallenvironmentalimpact.Withaphysicalpointof view,thefootprintofaproductisthesumofthefootprintsofprocessesalongtheproduct supplychainindifferenttimesandgeographicalareas(HoekstraandWiedmann,2014).
Therearemanyexamplesofproblemshifting,wheresolutionsadoptedtoimproveor solveatargetedproblemunintentionallyendupcreatingotherproblemsofenvironmental, economic,orsocialnatureelsewhereforotherstakeholders.Tosolvethisloop,alifecycle approachmustbeadopted.
Emerginginterestinmarketconcernsthegreensupplychainmanagement,whichexplores varioustypesofsupplychainrelationshipsandgovernance,encouragingasustainablemanagementofsuppliersanddistributors(Tsengetal.,2019).Withalifecycleperspective,we considerthetotalityofthesysteminouranalysis,includingtheevaluationoftheproduct’s entirelifecycle,withalong-termtimehorizonandamultidimensionalview.Lifecycle
thinking(LCT)offersthistotality:acomprehensiveanalysisofthetopicitrequires,leadingto solutionsforreducingimpactsinanabsoluteandnotarelativeway.
Asshownin Fig.1.1,aproduct’slifecyclecanbeginwiththeextractionofrawmaterials fromnaturalresourcesintheground,andwithenergygeneration.Materialsandenergyare thenpartofproduction,packaging,distribution,use,maintenance,andeventuallyrecycling, reuse,recovery,orfinaldisposal.Ineachlifecyclestagethereisthepotentialtoreduceresourceconsumptionandimprovetheproduct’sperformance.
Thelifecyclemetaphorisborrowedfromthefieldofbiology.Forexample,thelifecycleof abutterflystartswithanegg,whichburstsandletsacaterpillarout,whichthenturnsintoa pupa,fromwhichabutterflyemerges.Thelattereventuallydiesafterlayingeggsforthecycle toberepeated.Inmuchthesamewayaman-madeobjectstartsitslifecyclebytheharvesting andextractionofresources,followedbyproduction,use,andeventuallymanagementas waste,whichmarkstheendofthelifecycle(Bjørnetal.,2018a).
Tominimizeimpacts,fiveleverscanbeusedinpractice,fromalife-cycleperspective:lifetimeextension,dematerialization,manufacturingefficiency,substitution,andrecovery (OlivettiandCullen,2018).That’swhywetalkaboutLCT.Decisionsmadeconsideringafull lifecycleperspectiveandbroaderimplicationsontheenvironmental,economic,andsocial pillarsofahealthyplanet,allowustoaddressunintendedtrade-offsbetweenthesepillars, andfocusattentiononthekeydriversofchange.Asaresult,progresstowardssustainable developmentisfasterandmoreefficientthanwhendecisionsareisolated(LCI,2017).
Thinkingintermsofthelifecycle,businessesrecognizethateachchoicesetsthestagefor notonlyhowtheproductwilllookandfunction,butalsoforhowitwillimpactthe
FIG.1.1 Atypicalproductlifecyclediagram. LifeCycleInitiative, https://www. lifecycleinitiative.org/starting-life-cycle-thinking/ what-is-life-cycle-thinking/
Natrual resources
Incineration and landfilling
Recovery
Extraction of raw materials
Recycling of materials and components
Disposal
Design and production
Reuse
Use and maintenance
Packaging and distribution
environmentandthecommunityasitismanufactured,used,disposedof,re-used,or recycled.Productscanbedesignedsotheywillhavelessenvironmentalimpactwhenthey aremanufactured,used,anddiscarded.Withalifecycleapproach,companiesareabletocalculatethefulllifecyclecostofthegoodstheypurchase.Thisincludesthepoint-of-purchase priceaswellasthecostsoftransporting,storing,installing,cleaning,operating,repairing, andeventuallydiscardingthosegoods(Hall,2019).
Aswewillexploreinthisvolume,LCTisnotjustamethodologyofanalysis;wecanconsideritaphilosophy,awayofobservingandreflecting,whichleadstoeffectivesolutionsfor overallimprovementofthesustainabilityofproducts,processes,andsystems.Thelifecycle approachpromotesrelevantinnovationsindesigning,producingandusingproductsand services,anditbringsbenefitstoseveralstakeholdersalongtheproductsupplychain;we havesummarizedsomebenefitsin Table1.1.
Tomakechoicesaddressedtolifecycleapproach,designers,manufacturers,andsuppliersneedtoolsforassessingthesustainabilityofalternatives,intermsofpreferability andfeasibility.Themarkettooneedsclearandquantifiedinformation,sothatconsumers andbuyersareabletoevaluatethesustainabilityofalternativeproductsandmakeinformed
DesignersComprehensive,complete,andconsistentanalysis ofallthefactorsthatcontributetotheimpactofthe product
Designersand manufacturers
Marketingstaff anddesigners
Consumersand market
Wholesupply chainand community
Wholesupply chainand community
Localand international governments
Identificationofsolutionsthatimprovetheoverall performanceofthesystem,whichincludesthe performanceofalltheactorsinthesupplychain
Comparativeevaluationofalternativebusiness solutionsindesign,production,purchasing, distribution,use,andend-of-life
Communicationofclearandconsistentinformation andcreatingawarenessinthemarket
Improvementofentiresystems,notsinglepartsof systems
Choicesforthelongertermandconsideringall relatedenvironmentalandsocialissues
Investmentofeconomicresourcestosupportmore sustainableprojects
partialanalysisoftheenvironmental, economic,andsocialimpactsassociated withsinglephasesofaproduct’slife cycle
Identificationofsolutionsthatfixone environmentalproblembutcause anotherunexpectedorcostly environmentalproblem
Inabilitytocomparedifferentdesign, production,andorganizational alternatives
Communicationofmisleading informationanddisorientationinthe market
Shiftofproblemsfromonelifecycle stagetoanother,fromonegeographic regiontoanother,andfromone environmentalitemtoanother
Shorttermdecisionsthatleadto environmentaldegradation
Wastageofinvestmentsinactionsthat donotimprovetheoverall environmentalperformanceorcreate inefficiencies
TABLE1.1 MainbenefitsoftheadoptionofLCTtothestakeholdersalongtheproductsupplychain.purchases.Moreover,localgovernmentsandinternationalinstitutionsmustbeabletohave comprehensiveandrobusttoolstoguidecompaniesandmarketstowardsmoresustainable productionandconsumptionbehavior.Allthesemeasurementneedsfindananswerinthe mostimportantoperationaltoolofLCT:lifecycleassessment(LCA).Thisanalysesthe wholelifecycleofthesystemorproductthatistheobjectofthestudyanditcoversabroad rangeofimpactsforwhichitattemptstoperformaquantitativeassessment(ISO,2006b).
LCAisanimportantassessmenttool,asdemonstratedbythecentralroleitisgiveninenvironmentalregulationinmanypartsoftheworldandthestrongincreaseinitsusebycompaniesallovertheworld(HellwegandMila ` iCanals,2014).ThefocusofLCAhasmainly beenontheenvironmentalimpactsalthough,aswewillseeinfollowingsections,bothsocialandeconomicimpactscanbeincludedaswell,withamoreextendedperspective knownassustainabilityassessment.
Duringthelast30years,worldleadershaveexplicitlyrecognizedtheneedtochange unsustainablepatternsofproductionandconsumption,andlifecycleapproachesplaya keyrole.Demandforlifecycletoolshasincreased,primarilythankstonumerousactionspromotedbyinternationalinitiativestosupporttheinclusionoflifecycleapproachesingovernmentsworldwide.Atthesametime,inamarketperspective,bothcompaniesandcustomers aregivingincreasingimportancetoimpactsevaluationofproductsandserviceswithalife cycleperspective.Today,LCTisafundamentalthemethatinvolvesmultiplesectorsand bringstogethertheknowledgeofmanydisciplines.Itscurrentmaturityisduetoaprogressiveevolutionovertheyears,intermsofpractices,methodologies,andpolicies.Thenextsectiondescribesthisevolution.
Inthe1930s,economistsbegindiscussingtheunsustainabilityofwelfareinaneconomy thatusesnon-renewableresources(Hotelling,1931).Inthe1960s,attentiontowardsadverse environmentaleffectscausedbyenvironmentalpollutionincreasedandtransparentand science-basedinformationbegintobedemandedbyenvironmentalscientists(Carsol, 1962).Thefirstlifecycleorientedstudymightbetheonepresentedin1963bySmithin theWorldEnergyConferenceanditconcernedtheenergyrequirementsfortheproduction ofchemicalintermediatesandproducts(Boustead,2003).Inthisdecade,thefirstlifecycle studiesintheUnitedStatesandNorthernEuropewereconductedbysomecompaniesin thepackagingsector,inordertodevelopproductionsystemswithenergysavingandemissionsreduction.Thesestudies,carriedoutbylargecompaniesinanisolatedmanner,essentiallyfocusedonthefirm’senvironmentalmanagement,aimedatimprovinginternal processes,withoutinterestincommunicatingtostakeholders(Huntetal.,1992).Early methods,inspiredbymaterialflowaccounting,werefocusedoninventoryingenergyandresourceuse,emissions,andsolidwaste.Withmorecomplexinventories,thefocuswasgraduallyextendedwithatranslationfromphysicalflowsaccountingintoenvironmentalimpact evaluations,ascontributiontoclimatechange,eutrophication,andresourcescarcity(Bjørn etal.,2018b).
Inthe1970s,theconcernsoftheinternationalcommunityregardingenvironmentalproblemscreatedbysomeindustrialactivitiesweregrowing(Meadowsetal.,1972).Scientistsrecognizedresourceconsumptionandwasteproductionasthemaincausesofenvironmental problemsandrecommendedtheclosureofthecyclewithreliability,reparability,andrecyclabilityofproductsattheendoflife(Singer,1970).Atthesametime,inchemicalsandpackagingsectors,theinterestinlifecycleevaluationcontinuedtogrow,focusingonenergy consumption,solidwasteproduction,andairemissions.Intheseyears,thefirstpublic andpeer-reviewedLCAstudywaspublished,commissionedbytheUSEnvironmentalProtectionAgencywiththeaimofinformingregulationonpackaging(USEPA,1974).
Duringthe1980s,thelifecycleapproachevolvedinbothapplicationsandmethodologies, thankstocompanies’interestandthescientificdebate.InEuropeancountries,environmentalattentionrelatedtotheimpactsofmilkpackagingincreasesandLCAstudieswere conductedtocomparealternativepackagingsystemsformilkdistributiontoprivateconsumers.Numerousapplicationsoflifecycleevaluationontechnologiesandsimilarproductswithconflictingresultsrevealedtheneedforthedevelopingofrigorous methodologies.Then,knowledgeandmetricsconcerningcause-effectmechanismsinseveralenvironmentalconcernsweredeepenedbyscientists,todefinerigorousimpactsquantificationandavoidburdenshifting.Intheseyears,thefirstimpactassessmentmethod basedoncriticalvolumeswasintroduced(BUS,1984)andthefirsttwopiecesofcommercial LCAsoftwarewerereleased(Gabiin1989andSimaProin1990).Inlinewiththelifecycle perspective,theUnitedNationspublishedthereport“ourcommonfuture”—amilestonein sustainabledevelopmenthistory—inwhichtheimportanceofrecyclingandrenewableresourcesisdeclared(UN,1987).
Inthe1990s,thelifecycleapproachspread.Thisdecademarksthemostimportantstepsfor theconstructionofLCT.TheUnitedNationsproclaimedtheprinciplesintendedtoguide countriesinfuturesustainabledevelopment(UN,1992).Meanwhile,theterm“lifecycle assessment”iscoined(SETAC,1993),andthefirststandardsarepublishedtoharmonizelife cyclepractices(Favaetal.,1994; ISO,1997).Atthesametime,severallifecycleinventorydatabasesaredevelopedbydifferentinstitutions,andnewimpactassessmentmethodologies aredeveloped,includingcause-effect-damageevaluations(Bjørnetal.,2018b).Duringthis decade,thefirstscientificLCArelatedstudyispublished(Guineeetal.,1993)andanacademicjournalfullydedicatedtotheLCAisborn(Kl € opffer,1996).
Withthebeginningofthenewmillennium,theinternationalcommunitygaveafundamentalroletoLCTforconstructionofasustainablefuture.In2002,attheWorldSummitonSustainableDevelopment,worldleadersrecognizedtheneedtochangetheunsustainable developmentmodelandsubscribecommoncommitmenttoimplementsustainableproductionandconsumption“using,whereappropriate,science-basedapproaches,suchaslifecycle analysis”(UN,2002).Inthesameyear,theUnitedNationsEnvironmentalProtectionandSocietyofEnvironmentalToxicologyandChemistrylaunchtheLifeCycleInitiative,focusedon thedisseminationoflifecyclepracticesallovertheworldand,inparticular,toemerging economies(LCI,2002).IntheEuropeancontext,LCTreceivesastrongpushbytheEuropean IntegratedProductPolicy(IPP),whichsupportspolicyinstrumentslikeenvironmentallabeling,greenpublicpurchase,andintegrationofenvironmentalaspectsintostandardsdevelopment(EC,2003).Moreover,in2005,theEuropeanCommissioncreatestheEuropeanplatform
onLCAtopromotethelifecycleperspectiveatboththeoreticalandoperationallevel(Wolf etal.,2006).Influencingmarketdynamics,theEuropeanpolicycontributestothespreadof lifecycletoolsaroundtheworld.
Inthe21stcentury,methodologicalapproachesofLCTimprove:theinternationalstandardsofLCAarerevised( ISO,2006b,2006c ),andlifecycleperspectiveisgraduallyappliedinseveralsectorsandintegratedwithotherdecisionsupporttoolsinalmostall theareaswhereenvironmental,economic,andsocialconsiderationsareimportant.In theseyears,newframeworksaimingtoextendLCAmethodologytoeconomicandsocial aspectsofsustainabilityareelaborated( Guinee,2016 ),andtheconceptoflifecycleis adoptedinseveralstandardswithdifferentmeaningsandapplications( Toniolo etal.,2019b).
Overthelasttwodecades,impactassessmentmethodshavebeencontinuouslyrefined andseveralmethodologiesupdated;from1999todate,morethan20methodologiesoflife cycleimpactassessmenthavebeenpublishedworldwidebyseveralorganizations (Rosenbaum,2017).Throughmethodologicalconsolidation,lifecycleapproachhasalarge andrapidspread,increasingtherangeofproductsandsystemsanalyzedbybothindustries andgovernments.Theinterestinlifecyclestudieshasincreased,duetothegrowingpublic awarenessofenvironmentalissuesandawidespreadacceptanceofsustainabledevelopment (Houetal.,2015).
Whathappensnextisactuality,whichwillbepresentedinthenextchaptersofthisbook. WhatIwanttoemphasizehere,foranoverview,isthefactthat,fromthe2000s,theincreasein LCTinitiativesaroundtheworldhasgonehandinhandwithincreasingknowledgeofenvironmentalproblems.Ontheonehand,greaterenvironmentalawarenesspushesthescientificcommunitytoimprovemethodsforassessingenvironmentalimpacts,whileontheother, itleadsthemarkettorequestmoreinformationonenvironmentalimpactsassociatedwith products.Thus,avirtuouscircuitisestablished,inwhichlocalgovernmentspromoteLCT toolsonthemarket,consumersarebetterinformedandchoosemoreconsciously,companies investinlifecycleevaluationstoimprovetheirproducts,alsocommunicatingresultstothe market.Towitnessthisvirtuouscircuit,wecanseethat,wherethenumberoflifecycleinitiativesincreases,availableinformationconcerningterritorialenvironmentalqualityincreasesaswell,andindicatorsoftheoverallenvironmentalconditionshowaprogressive improvement(Qian,2016).
Fig.1.2 summarizesthemainevolutionarystepsoftheLCTalongthetimeline.Inthis graph,from1960todate,aprogressiveincreasecharacterizingtheLCTstoryishighlighted infourinterdependentdirections:lifecyclepractices,lifecyclemethods,lifecyclepublications,andlifecyclepolicies.Thefirstlifecyclereasoningisdoneinthe1960s,whenenvironmentaldegradationandlimitedaccesstoresourcesstartbecomingaconcern.Inthefollowing years,LCTtakesshapeandisgraduallyenrichedthroughapplication,harmonization,and dissemination.Lifecyclepracticesalsostartedinthe1960s,asisolatedexperiences,recording astrongboostduringthe1990s,duetothebirthofstandardsandsoftwaretosupportthelife cycleanalyses.Sincethe1990s,governmentinitiativessupportingthelifecycleapproach havemultipliedandscientificliteraturehasexploded.Nowadays,thepanoramaofexperiences,methodologies,andpublicationsconcerningLCTisenormouslyrichandinterdisciplinary,thankstothecomplicityofinternationalpoliciesthatrecommenditsuseinall economicsectors.
ThelinkbetweenLCTandsustainabledevelopmentistight.Ontheonehand,sustainabilitypresupposesgivinganoverridingprioritytotheessentialneedscoherentlywithenvironmentallimits,availabletechnologies,andsocio-culturalcontext(UN,1987).Ontheother hand,LCTaimstoconsideralltheimpactsassociatedtoaproductlifecycleinordertoindicatepriorityofinterventionsthataremoreconvenientanduseful(EC,2003).
Sustainabledevelopmentshouldideallyimprovethequalityoflifeforeveryindividual withoutexpendingtheEarth’sresourcesbeyonditscapacity.Withoutafunctioningenvironmentwewillnotbeabletogivefuturegenerationsthesamepossibilitiesforachievingthe levelsofwelfarethatcurrentgenerationsareexperiencing.Researchershaveattemptedto quantifycarryingcapacitiesoftheecosystemthatmustnotbeexceededtomaintainfunctions, aswellasotherecosystemaspectsofinterest.PlanetaryboundariescanbeinterpretedascarryingcapacitiesfortheentireEarthsystemtowardsvariousanthropogenicpressures,suchas greenhousegasesandinterferencewithnutrientcycles(Rockstrometal.,2009).Accordingto estimates,thisexceedancehasalreadyhappenedforfourofthenineproposedplanetary boundaries(Steffenetal.,2015).
Actingtoreducetheimpactontheecosystemis,therefore,necessaryandurgent,butneeds acollectiveeffort.Thejourneytowardssustainabledevelopmentrequiresthatbusinesses, governments,andindividualstakeaction,changingconsumptionandproductionbehaviors, settingpolicies,andchangingpractices.Humanneedsshouldbemetbyproductsandservicesthatareprovidedthroughoptimizedconsumptionandproductionsystemsthatdo notexceedthecapacityoftheecosystem.
Sustainabilityhasthreedimensions:economy,society,andenvironment.Inthebusiness communitytheterm“triplebottomline”wascoinedtoexplaintheimportanceofachieving sustainability;itimpliesthatindustryhastoexpandthetraditionaleconomicfocustoinclude environmentalandsocialdimensions,inordertocreateamoresustainablebusiness (Elkington,1997).
LCTexpandstheestablishedconceptofcleanerproductiontoincludethecompleteproductlifecycleanditssustainability.Sourcereductioninaproductlifecycleperspectiveisthen equivalenttodesigningwithsustainabilityprinciplesinmind.Ineachlifecyclestagethereis thepotentialtoreduceresourceconsumptionandimprovetheperformanceofproducts;in ordertosucceed,allthestakeholdersintheproductchainhavetobeinvolved,usingacollaborativeapproachandintegratingefforts,withthesamegoal:sustainability.Overall,LCT canpromoteamoresustainablerateofproductionandconsumptionandhelpususeourlimitedfinancialandnaturalresourcesmoreeffectively.Wecanderiveincreasedvaluefrom moneyinvested—suchaswealthcreation,accessibilitytowealth,healthandsafetyconditions,andfewerenvironmentalimpacts—byoptimizingoutputandderivingmorebenefits fromthetime,money,andmaterialsweuse.
ThefullconsistencyofLCTwiththesustainabledevelopmentconceptisthereforeconfirmed.Moreover,recentdevelopmentsofthelifecycleapproachexplicitlyadoptsustainabilityasaframework:internationalpolicieshaveadoptedthe“3Ps”ofsustainability,which standfor“people,planet,andprosperity”,andlinkedLCTtosustainabledevelopment agenda(UN,2002).Meanwhile,thescientificcommunityhasdevelopedadvancedmodels ofLCAmethodology,includingthetriplebottomlineperspective:thus,lifecyclecosting (LCC)andsociallifecycleassessment(SLCA),assecondandthirdpillarsofsustainability, areborn,distinguishingeconomicandsocialimpactsofproductsystemsalongtheirlifecycle. Movingtoamorecomprehensiveassessmentofsustainability,thelifecyclesustainabilityassessment(LCSA)isthemostmodernlifecycle-basedapproachtoevaluatescenariosforsustainablefuturesandpracticalwaystodealwithuncertaintiesandreboundeffectswitha comprehensivevision(Guinee,2016).
Fig.1.3 showsthepossiblelinkbetweenLCTandsustainabledevelopmentthroughthe threepillarsofsustainabilityandthemultidimensionalityofLCT.
In2015,the193memberstatesoftheUnitedNationsadopted17goalsto“endpoverty, protecttheplanet,andensureprosperityforallaspartofanewsustainabledevelopment agenda”by2030(UN,2015a,b).Tomeetthegoalsandtargets,sustainabilitymustgainstrong prominenceindecisionmakingsupportforalleconomicactorsalongthesupplychainwho areresponsibleforcreatingsolutionsforthefuture:allcompaniesthatdesign,create,supply, andbuy,allconsumersthatchoose,buy,use,anddispose,alllocalgovernmentsandinstitutionsthatregulate,control,andsupport.
Tosupportsustainabledecisions,fromsmall-tolarge-scaleperspective,themarketneeds comprehensiveandrobusttolls.Toavoidtheoften-seenphenomenonofproblemshifting, wherethesolutiontoaproblemcreatesseveralnewproblems,decisionsmustbetakenwith asystemsperspective.LCTaimstofacilitatetheapplicationoflifecycleknowledgeinthe globalsustainabledevelopmentagendainordertoachievethesustainabledevelopment goalsfasterandmoreefficiently(Wulfetal.,2018).Throughthelifecycleapproach,werecognizehowourchoicesinfluencewhathappensateachphase,sowecanbalancetrade-offs ineconomicandenvironmentalconsequencescausedbyourchoices.