Asking Instead of Telling — Recommendations for Developing Life Cycle Assessment Within Technical R&amp;D Projects

Lettner, Miriam; Hesser, Franziska

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-50519-6_13

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 59 publications

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“…Respondents working in research and development (R&D), meanwhile, assigned ratings in a rather balanced way (but focused much more strongly on the subcriterion ability to bear): their judgments mostly fall between those of the other two professional groups, with the most preferred allocation methods identified as physical partitioning and economic partitioning. Subjectivity in allocation choices, as detected in this study, strengthens the view of LCA as an interpretative process [64] in which the reasoning, views and choices behind these need to be understood more fully than is currently often the case.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Practitioners’ Perceptions of Co-Product Allocation Methods in Biorefinery Development—A Case Study of the Austrian Pulp and Paper Industry

et al. 2022

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The utilization of coproducts is a strategy that can be applied to increase the economic and environmental performance of industrial processes and thus reach an objective targeted in several environmental policies. In multi-output production processes, allocation needs to be performed to assess the products’ environmental and economic performance. It is crucial to choose an adequate allocation method, because this choice has been shown to strongly influence overall outcomes. Consequently, rash choices can lead to poor decision-making. Various ways to apply and combine allocation methods can be found in the academic literature, but it is often difficult to find sufficient guidance on how to choose an allocation method for a specific context. This study explores practitioners’ perceptions of the cost and environmental impact allocation methods used in biorefinery development (lignin, fiber fines) by applying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Results indicate that professional background represents a major factor influencing individual preferences and, thus, the selection of specific allocation methods. Policy makers should be aware that practitioners with different professional backgrounds have varying preferences for different allocation methods and that this influences the overall assessments. These factors, in turn, affect the interpretation of results, further decision-making and, ultimately, the realization of environmentally sound and economically viable biorefinery projects. This issue deserves more attention in biorefineries, but also in other multi-output production processes. The findings indicate a need to consider multidisciplinary, diverse views and knowledge when conducting such assessments and to display the underlying approaches transparently.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Practitioners’ Perceptions of Co-Product Allocation Methods in Biorefinery Development—A Case Study of the Austrian Pulp and Paper Industry

et al. 2022

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Proposing a Multi-level Assessment Framework for Social LCA and Its Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals

Groiß-Fürtner

Mair-Bauernfeind

Hesser

2023

Sustainable Production, Life Cycle Engineering and Management

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In the context of sustainable product development, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods are used to gain knowledge about environmental hotspots and derive options for improvement. In light of international efforts to promote sustainable development, Social LCA (SLCA) is an emerging method to assess potential socio-economic impacts of products and services. Even when available data is limited in the early stages of materials, process, and product development, the implementation of SLCA benefits target-oriented research and development to support sustainable development. This article introduces a multi-level SCLA framework for accompanying innovation processes. The multi-level framework starts by prioritizing social aspects and proceeds as more and more data becomes available with generic and primary assessments and sets the results in context to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The application of the multi-level SLCA is showcased via a bio-based value chain. The study aims to identify options for social risk reduction and consequently provide recommendations for decision-makers. The results show that options to increase social sustainability can be realized by reducing chemical and fertilizer use or fostering sustainability reporting. By mapping the SLCA results to the SDGs, it could be found that the bio-based value chain at hand mostly contributes to the SDG no. 8.

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Asking Instead of Telling — Recommendations for Developing Life Cycle Assessment Within Technical R&D Projects

Cited by 2 publications

References 59 publications

Practitioners’ Perceptions of Co-Product Allocation Methods in Biorefinery Development—A Case Study of the Austrian Pulp and Paper Industry

Practitioners’ Perceptions of Co-Product Allocation Methods in Biorefinery Development—A Case Study of the Austrian Pulp and Paper Industry

Proposing a Multi-level Assessment Framework for Social LCA and Its Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals

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