Assessing environmental sustainability of projects with different tools. A life cycle perspective.

Abstract

In recent years, industrial and civil projects and policies usually include improvement of sustainability performance. Many instruments, tools, and targets exist to assess environmental performance and sustainability. Life cycle assessment is one of the most used and robust tools. The aim of this analysis is to evaluate if different approaches can result in different environmental sustainability assessment results. Some case studies based on previous research are listed. Results of selected tools – carbon footprint, design for disassembly criteria, environmental product declaration targets, national targets of the Italian recovery plan, sustainable development goals, green chemistry principles, waste hierarchy objectives, material circular indicators – are compared to the outcomes of the life cycle thinking approach. The assessment of environmental sustainability performance of projects appears to depend on the tool used. Thus, the role of selected instruments, subjective choices, fair communication of results, and sustainability definition are investigated. Finally, future areas of study are indicated.