Sustainability Assessment with Integrated Circular Economy Principles: A Toy Case Study

Abstract

When considering the sustainability of production processes, research studies usually emphasise environmental impacts and do not adequately address economic and social impacts. Toy production is no exception when it comes to assessing sustainability. Previous research on toys has focused solely on assessing environmental aspects and neglected social and economic aspects. This paper presents a sustainability assessment of a toy using environmental life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, and social life cycle assessment. We conducted an inventory analysis and sustainability impact assessment of the toy to identify the hotspots of the system. The main environmental impacts are eutrophication, followed by terrestrial eco-toxicity, acidification, and global warming. The life cycle costing approach examined the economic aspect of the proposed design options for toys, while the social assessment of the alternative designs revealed social impacts along the product life cycle. In addition, different options based on the principles of the circular economy were analysed and proposed in terms of substitution of materials and shortening of transport distances for the toy studied.

Economic Sustainability by Using Life Cycle Cost Information in the Buying Center: Insights from the Public Sector

“…Since such questions are the focus of this research, the advantage of this case study approach is obvious. In addition, this case study methodology is often applied to analyze life cycles and ES [6,7,76] due to specific context factors, such as a unique situation, a long-term time frame, and high complexity. Similar context factors are also expected in the analysis of ES decision making in BCs.…”

“…As such, it would be a sustainable choice to buy a product with a higher price today if lower operating costs can be achieved in the future. Life cycles are widely considered in the discourse about sustainability in general, or for specific applications, such as toys or even circular economies [5][6][7]. Generally, it is no surprise that cost information and cost structures are seen as appropriate indicators for ES (e.g., reference [8]).…”

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Identifying methodological challenges in the social risk assessment of cellulosic ethanol value chains

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