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Driven by individualisation as a trend and enabled by new production technologies and increasing digitalisation, mass customisation (MC) and mass personalisation (MP) open up new possibilities to address user demands much better. However, the sustainability achievements of current manufacturing technology could be compromised by this trend as variability in environmental impacts increases. Small lot sizes are likely to increase per piece manufacturing efforts, and reusability and recyclability might be limited. Nevertheless, personalised products can address user demands much better and hold great sustainability potential as well. In order to manage these risks and potentials, sustainability assessments are necessary. This paper first provides a short overview of the current state of sustainability assessment in the field based on existing literature and the current discussion in the scientific community. To contribute to filling the existing gap in the application of sustainability assessments by providing further quantitative results, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is applied to two conceptual MC/MP examples. Operationalised by the carbon footprint, the environmental impacts of customer choices are quantified for the analysed scenarios. The examples are within the field of mobility, one examining return logistics of personalised consumer products, the other analysing lowcarbon vehicle choices based on individual driving behaviour. The aim of this paper is to contribute to embedding LCA as a methodology for the assessment of environmental sustainability in the area of MC and MP and add qualitative assessment to support existing sustainability frameworks in the field.

Growing environmental awareness in society increasingly influences individual everyday decisions, such as which product to buy or how to sustainably use it. Yet, available information to support these decisions is often limited, or difficult to understand particularly regarding sustainability. Effective ways of communicating environmental impacts of individual decisions are required to close this gap. While Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an established tool to evaluate environmental impacts of products and services and support environmental decision-making, the results are typically standardized and based on statistical or averaged data. However, for individuals, this information might be irrelevant, as it neglects personal situation, behavior, information need, or individual level of expertise. In tackling those central issues of personalization in LCA, this article focuses on two main questions: How can individual aspects be addressed in LCA and at which stages of the methodology can LCA be personalized? For this purpose, the ISO 14040/44 standards are analyzed regarding individuality, and current approaches in literature are presented. In an explorative approach, this research identifies two general approaches of personalizing LCA. A personalized Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) enables evaluating the environmental impacts of personal(ized) products and conditions. A broader personalization approach based on the flexibility of the methodological framework of LCA aims at providing understandable and relevant results for individual stakeholders. This article provides an overview, outlines key aspects of this vision, and points out further research needs to bring the concept into application.

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