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Implementing the guidelines for social life cycle assessment: past, present, and future
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment ( IF 4.8 ) Pub Date : 2020-08-31 , DOI: 10.1007/s11367-020-01814-9
Olubukola Tokede , Marzia Traverso

This paper takes a critical review of the UNEP/SETAC (2009) Guidelines for social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) of products. This paper, therefore, poses the question: how can the future version(s) of the UNEP/SETAC Guidelines address the challenges associated with implementing case studies in the S-LCA? A systematic mapping review to investigate case studies in the S-LCA has been carried out in which the S-LCA was applied in order to analyse the application of the stages of the methodology. We appraise 58 case studies published between 2009 and 2019 in peer-reviewed international journals and analysed the trends and contributions in relation to the practice of the S-LCA. More published papers were collected between July 2018 and June 2019 (because of the publication of a Special Issue on the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment in March 2018), and critically reviewed to identify key patterns and insights from the case studies. It was found that only 47% of the subcategories specified by the current UNEP/SETAC Guidelines are implemented in the case studies examined. Our review suggests four main initiatives that future S-LCA Guidelines should consider. Firstly, there is a need to encourage case studies that focus on the social impacts of “consumers” and “value chain actors” to understand better the opportunities for enhancing social sustainability considerations of marginalised stakeholder groups. Secondly, indicators cannot be homogenised across all sectors and disciplines, and the relevance of each indicator needs to be localised and justified in respective studies. Thirdly, there is a need for a robust theoretical orientation in the S-LCA—one that is more inclusive and flexible—to improve on contextual relevance in future case studies. Lastly, the revised Guidelines should aspire to provide more clarity on justifying the context and choice of functional units in S-LCA studies. The insights developed in this study are useful for practitioners and scholars involved in the S-LCA. The revision of the Guidelines can ensure that the S-LCA in future case studies can better create opportunities for improving the well-being of all stakeholders. It is instructive that both local contextualisation of indicators and establishing stakeholder concerns through participatory approaches will facilitate an improved understanding of the social impact assessment of products and their potentially positive and negative impacts along their life cycle. Addressing the challenges with the current Guidelines will ultimately strengthen the S-LCA by improving an understanding of relevant indicators, thus allowing for an improvement in social conditions for all stakeholders.

中文翻译:

实施社会生命周期评估指南:过去、现在和未来

本文对 UNEP/SETAC (2009) 产品社会生命周期评估 (S-LCA) 指南进行了严格审查。因此,本文提出了一个问题:UNEP/SETAC 指南的未来版本如何解决与在 S-LCA 中实施案例研究相关的挑战?已经进行了系统映射审查,以调查 S-LCA 中的案例研究,其中应用了 S-LCA 以分析该方法的各个阶段的应用。我们评估了 2009 年至 2019 年间发表在同行评审的国际期刊上的 58 个案例研究,并分析了与 S-LCA 实践相关的趋势和贡献。在 2018 年 7 月至 2019 年 6 月期间收集了更多已发表的论文(因为 2018 年 3 月在《国际生命周期评估杂志》上发表了特刊),并对其进行了严格审查,以确定案例研究中的关键模式和见解。结果发现,在所审查的案例研究中,只有 47% 的当前 UNEP/SETAC 指南指定的子类别得到了实施。我们的审查提出了未来 S-LCA 指南应考虑的四个主要举措。首先,需要鼓励关注“消费者”和“价值链参与者”的社会影响的案例研究,以更好地了解加强边缘化利益相关者群体社会可持续性考虑的机会。其次,指标不能在所有部门和学科之间同质化,每个指标的相关性需要在各自的研究中进行本地化和论证。第三,在 S-LCA 中需要一个稳健的理论方向——一个更具包容性和灵活性的方向——以改进未来案例研究中的上下文相关性。最后,修订后的指南应力求更明确地说明 S-LCA 研究中功能单元的背景和选择的合理性。本研究中得出的见解对参与 S-LCA 的从业者和学者很有用。本指南的修订可以确保未来案例研究中的 S-LCA 能够更好地为改善所有利益相关者的福祉创造机会。指标的本地化和通过参与式方法建立利益相关者关注的问题,将有助于更好地了解产品的社会影响评估及其在其生命周期中的潜在正面和负面影响,这具有启发意义。用当前指南应对挑战将最终通过提高对相关指标的理解来加强 S-LCA,从而改善所有利益相关者的社会条件。
更新日期:2020-08-31
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