Considering LCA in System Architectures of Smart-Circular PSS

Abstract

The realization of smart-circular Product-Service Systems has theoretically promising advantages compared to traditional products. Nevertheless, the sustainability improvement, especially for the ecological dimension is not yet satisfactorily proved. In this paper, the authors examined the current state of research within a systematic literature review with a specific focus on the overlap of the topics: Life Cycle Assessment, Model-Based Systems Engineering, Product-Service Systems, and Circular Economy. The aim is to analyze the potential of a proactive quantification of the ecological impact in an early stage during the development of smart-circular PSS – the system architecture definition. As a result of the systematic review, 27 relevant papers were identified and analyzed and the findings are presented in a structured way. The main finding is that the current state of the art in this research field still is in the conceptualization stage. In addition, a proactive approach is rare and circularity is not considered to its fullest. Quantified use cases do not draw the system boundaries Cradle-to-Cradle and not every of the 9R-strategies is considered. Furthermore, the potentials and challenges of the revealed research gap are summarized.