A framework for implementing holistic and integrated life cycle sustainability assessment of regional bioeconomy

Abstract

Purpose Currently, social, environmental, and economic risks and chances of bioeconomy are becoming increasingly a subject of applied sustainability assessments. Based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) aims to combine or integrate social, environmental, and economic assessments. In order to contribute to the current early stage of LCSA development, this study seeks to identify a practical framework for integrated LCSA implementation. Methods We select possible indicators from existing suitable LCA and LCSA approaches as well as from the literature, and allocate them to a sustainability concept for holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA), based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to conduct a practical implementation of HILCSA, we choose openLCA, because it offers the best current state and most future potential for application of LCSA. Therefore, not only the capabilities of the software and databases, but also the supported methods of life cycle impact assessments (LCIA) are evaluated regarding the requirements of the indicator set and goal and scope of future case studies. Results and discussion This study presents an overview of available indicators and LCIAs for bioeconomy sustainability assessments as well as their link to the SDGs. We provide a practical framework for HILCSA of regional bioeconomy, which includes an indicator set for regional (product and territorial) bioeconomy assessment, applicable with current software and databases, LCIA methods and methods of normalization, weighting, and aggregation. The implementation of HILCSA in openLCA allows an integrative LCSA by conducting all steps in a single framework with harmonized, aggregated, and coherent results. HILCSA is capable of a sustainability assessment in terms of planetary boundaries, provisioning system and societal needs, as well as communication of results to different stakeholders. Conclusions Our framework is capable of compensating some deficits of S-LCA, E-LCA, and economic assessments by integration, and shows main advantages compared to additive LCSA. HILCSA is capable of addressing 15 out of 17 SDGs. It addresses open questions and significant problems of LCSAs in terms of goal and scope, LCI, LCIA, and interpretation. Furthermore, HILCSA is the first of its kind actually applicable in an existing software environment. Regional bioeconomy sustainability assessment is bridging scales of global and regional effects and can inform stakeholders comprehensively on various impacts, hotspots, trade-offs, and synergies of regional bioeconomy. However, significant research needs in LCIAs, software, and indicator development remain.

The Role of Bioeconomy in the Future Energy Scenario: A State-of-the-Art Review

“…Looking at European waste hierarchy, it is evident that combustion should only be considered as an option for the very end of the life cycle of biogenic products, and holistic and integrated life cycle assessment methodology should be applied to bioeconomy systems [100]. Thus far, other renewable energy roles within political bioeconomy strategies are not considered enough.…”

Application of holistic and integrated LCSA: Case study on laminated veneer lumber production in Central Germany

“…1) (goal and scope, life cycle inventory (LCI), life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), interpretation and discussion). The methodical point of departure is our previously developed HILCSA sustainability framework (Zeug et al 2020) as well as the HILCSA indicator and life cycle impact assessment framework (Zeug et al 2021a). For HILCSA in general and for assessing the case study system, we used openLCA, as it offers not only a S-LCA functionality as well as socio-economic databases like SOCA (Eisfeldt 2017) and PSILCA (Maister et al 2020), but also because the openLCA structure aims explicitly for a perspective of integration and implementation of LCSA Zeug et al 2021a).…”

“…For the following LCIA, we created an HILCSA-LCIA method in openLCA. Following the HILCSA indicator set (Zeug et al 2021a), 91 SDGs and SDG subgoals serve as impact categories in openLCA and we quantified each by one mid or endpoint indicator as well as their given normalization factors from the chosen LCIA methods (RESPONSA, SoCa, ReCiPe 2016 End-/Midpoint H and Environmental Footprint (EF)) as well as weightings from stakeholder participation (Zeug et al 2019). The SDGs are applicable as a commonly agreed on goal and indicator framework which was adapted to BE in previous studies (Bracco et al 2019).…”

“…1 i) Integrated and holistic sustainability framework, ii) framework of holistic and integrated life cycle sustainability assessment (HILCSA) (laminated veneer lumber, LVL; societal relations to nature, SRN; life cycle inventory, LCI; life cycle impact assessment, LCIA; integrated product systems in openLCA entail ecological, social and economic inventory data) chain; (ii) SUMINISTRO assesses an technically and environmentally optimal product and feedstock composition. Thus, a number of relevant social, ecological and economic SDGs are not addressed, background activities are not considered as well as there is no common theoretical background and method of holistic and integrated sustainability assessment (Jarosch et al 2020;Zeug et al 2021aZeug et al , b, 2019.…”

“…Following a suggestion from Guinee (Guinee et al 2011), instead of additive, we developed an integrated and holistic LCSA (HILCSA = f (S-LCA, E-LCA, LCC)) which builds on the integrated and holistic sustainability framework and integrates social, economic, and ecological aspects in a common goal and scope, LCI, LCIA, results, and interpretation (Fig. 1) (for details see our previous research Zeug et al 2021aZeug et al , 2020Zeug et al , 2022). Holistic in this regard means to have a broader transdisciplinary perspective, a critical background theory of political economy and political ecology, but as well to not fall short on the implications which may have and impose fundamental societal transformations.…”