Contributions to the sustainable development goals in life cycle sustainability assessment: Insights from the Handprint research project

Kühnen, Michael; Silva, Samanthi Luisa; Beckmann, Janpeter; Eberle, Ulrike; Hahn, Rüdiger; Hermann, Christoph; Schaltegger, Stefan; Schmid, Marianne

doi:10.1007/s00550-019-00484-y

Cited by 27 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…It was developed to water- [57], carbon- [58] or consumer footprint [59].We can consider either product (PCF/PEF) -or organization carbon/environmental footprints (OCF/OEF) [60][61][62][63][64]. Footprints measure negative environmental (and social) impacts, while new indicators known as "handprints" define positive aspects in relation to sustainable development [65]. Additional aim is preventing footprints [66][67][68][69].…”

Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Footprints and handprints are additional issues in the scope of LCA. Footprint approach considers the negative, while handprints [65][66][67] -the positive contributions of products to sustainable development. Their practicability and flexibility are helpful in solving the social (and environmental) problems included in the plan of SDGs.…”

Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, novel proposing methodology is still tested and developed [78,84], particularly in the context of data sources, and social features, and collection as well as proper combining the impact pathways with all 17 SDGs. It should be mentioned that LCA focuses per se on the business and individual products, while the SDGs -on governments at global (country) level [65]. Moreover, SDGs are rather qualitative, may overlap, interact or conflict with each other [65,83,85].…”

Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be mentioned that LCA focuses per se on the business and individual products, while the SDGs -on governments at global (country) level [65]. Moreover, SDGs are rather qualitative, may overlap, interact or conflict with each other [65,83,85]. On the other hand, a new methodology it seems to be flexible in relation to corresponding goals.…”

Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life cycle assessment as tool for realization of sustainable development goals - towards sustainable future of the world: mini review

2021

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“One planet, one main goal: good life for all”: it could be a motto of sustainable world. Sustainability is global mega trend in all fields of life to promote prosperity protecting our planet. Sustainable development is a requirement and a priority for all people all over the world. It is defined as development of the current world with a view to the future generations. In 2015, the UN Member States established Agenda 2030, including seventeen “Sustainable Development Goals”, SDG, which should be realized by 2030. Objectives scope all areas of life, namely quality of human life, ecosystem, world peace or partnerships. Each goal has an environmental context. According to the “United Nations Environment Program” (UNEP), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a perfect method in the context of the environmental dimensions of the SDGs. The concept not only concerns the effects of the process/production system or the product/service but also all stages of its life (from cradle to grave), considering the carbon, environmental, consumer or biodiversity footprints. LCA is the only comprehensive eco-innovation indicator and policy implementation technique of sustainable development in companies in terms of eco-efficiency and eco-products. This mini review provides a survey of the current state of knowledge on sustainability and sustainable development as well as the relevance of new holistic methodology bridging SDGs with LCA, on the base of the newest scientific worldwide literature.

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Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sustainable Development Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Life cycle assessment as tool for realization of sustainable development goals - towards sustainable future of the world: mini review

2021

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“…Norris (2015) suggests that both footprints and handprints should be compared with each other, and 'net positivity' be aimed at. Recently, methodological proposals for the use of handprint have been developed to assess how businesses contribute to United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Kühnen et al 2019). Handprint comparisons have been carried out for products, such as diesel fuels (Grönman et al 2019) and applications, such as the cooling of telecommunication base stations (Kasurinen et al 2019).…”

Section: Footprints and Handprintsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reduced carbon footprints of buildings: new Finnish standards and assessments

Kuittinen¹,

Häkkinen²

2020

Buildings and Cities

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The Nordic countries are working towards regional carbon neutrality ahead of the European Union's goals. Finland is aiming at carbon neutrality by 2035, and developing a set of policies, including legislation for low-carbon construction. The new approach includes normative carbon limits for different building types before 2025. Finland's Ministry of the Environment has developed an assessment method and will develop a generic emission database. The database will cover all main types of products and materials, sources of energy, modes of transportation as well as other main processes such as site operations and waste management. Furthermore, the criteria for green public procurement have been developed from the viewpoint of reducing the climate impacts of buildings: incorporating global warming potential and climate benefits. However, there are several open questions regarding both the assessment method and the database. These questions are outlined and discussed. The consideration of the foreseen decarbonisation of energy, the relation of the generic data to specific data and the requirements for generating valid generic data are key issues of discussion. The Finnish assessment method is also compared with the methodological development in other Nordic countries and to the proposed Level(s) framework of the European Commission. Policy relevance The carbon limits for buildings will introduce the construction sector to life-cycle approach and assessment. The scope of optimisation will widen from operational emissions to buildings' full lifecycle. This brings changes to building design, as the carbon footprint limit becomes an additional performance requirement for a building permission. For product manufacturers, this may lead to increased market demand of environmental product declarations and their availability in digital format. From the client side, the introduction of limits opens a possibility for setting quantitative targets that go beyond the legal minimum. Furthermore, the proposed concept of carbon handprint (for positive carbon impacts) may become an award criterion in public procurement. The ongoing normative development in the Nordic countries has timely relevance for the development of the Level(s) framework, a common assessment scheme for the European Union. Fora for discussion and co-development are therefore also required at the European level.

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From negative to positive sustainability performance measurement and assessment? A qualitative inquiry drawing on framing effects theory

2022

Self Cite

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Current approaches to sustainability performance primarily capture the reduction of negative impacts, but are rather silent about creating positive sustainability performance (PSP). This paper draws on framing effects theory to argue why interviewees in our abductive single case study of the life cycle of a laundry detergent struggled to identify PSP. Based on the theory and our findings, we argue that negative sustainability performance is a “sticky” frame in individual perception, and propose a research agenda for PSP that discusses three research routes and key determinants (i.e., systemic mindsets, collective goals and collaboration, and a balanced view for sustainable value) to explain how the dominant negative frames can be overcome to advance PSP. This study contributes to the sustainability management and performance literature by illuminating a current blind spot (PSP) and how the dominant negative frame can be overcome.

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Contributions to the sustainable development goals in life cycle sustainability assessment: Insights from the Handprint research project

Cited by 27 publications

References 59 publications

Life cycle assessment as tool for realization of sustainable development goals - towards sustainable future of the world: mini review

Life cycle assessment as tool for realization of sustainable development goals - towards sustainable future of the world: mini review

Reduced carbon footprints of buildings: new Finnish standards and assessments

From negative to positive sustainability performance measurement and assessment? A qualitative inquiry drawing on framing effects theory

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