This open access book opens up the question on what is sustainable by exploring how to measure sustainability. In doing this, it gathers academic and industry work from different geographical locations which embed the existing political reality. In particular, the practical use of the LCM methodologies and similar approaches are explored directly in an industrial setting to illustrate how to support decision making towards more sustainable practices. Furthermore, sector specific tools are provided to address limitations in operationalizing LCM practices.
The book is part of the proceedings of the 12th Life cycle Management conference (LCM), it will include 40-60% best papers which will be selected from the abstracts received and published in LCM conference proceeding (corresponding to 30-50 papers considering the 800 abstracts already submitted). The Life Cycle Management (LCM) conference series is a premier global forum dedicated to environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Held biennially, each conference is organized by leading research institutions and industry experts in the field. The primary focus of LCM conferences is to present practical solutions for integrating life cycle approaches into both strategic and operational decision-making across various sectors, including science, industry, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and public institutions. One central goal of the LCM conference series is to bring together practitioners and the scientific community. Therefore at least 50% of the participants of LCM conferences should come from industry and small or medium sized companies and government.
Part I:Methodological and Conceptual Advancements in LCA and LCSA.-
Streamlining life cycle assessment and natural capital accounting:
Identifying synergies and challenges for enhanced Sustainability evaluation.-
Sustainability assessment in industrial R&D: Challenges and contributions to
decision-making.- Integration of life cycle and criticality assessments:
Case-based investigation of lithium-ion battery technologies.- Variability of
electricity mixes: Does using a time-aware database make a difference? How
timing of electric vehicle charging influences LCA results.- Part
II:Digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence enhancing data availability,
traceability robustness in LCM.- Integrating large language models into the
in-silico environmental assessment of new chemicals and materials for SSbD.-
Dynamic digital product passports: Advancing circularity and sustainable
innovation in the steel industry supply chain.- A manufacturer experience:
EPD as "PDF anno 2018" to EPD as "DPP anno 2025".- How unsuitable data and
data choices can negatively influence reliability and costs of
decarbonization efforts, supplier choices and sustainability approaches in
companies.- Towards artificial intelligence and blockchain enabled frameworks
to improve critical review control and EPD verification process.- Part III
Carbon and environmental footprinting in Industry and Business.- A combined
standardization of LCA and mass balance: Allowing the certification of PCFs
for mass balanced products.- Scaling-up life cycle thinking into corporate
footprinting: The Electrolux Group strategy.- Applying matrix-based modelling
for GHG emission forecasting and corporate decarbonization strategy
evaluation: A steel manufacturing case study.- Estimating embodied impacts of
UCL new student centre using construction KPI data.- Integrating LCA in the
design process. A BIM based tool to quantify the environmental footprint of
railway infrastructure projects.- Trenchless technologies for modern and
sustainable infrastructures.- Part IV: Life cycle evaluations of energy
Systems and Technologies.- Life cycle assessment of thermal energy storage in
buildings.- Biomethane splitting: The hindered carbon removal potential of
biohydrogen.- Flying with liquid hydrogen: An assessment of CFRP fuel tank
manufacturing in the aviation industry and its challenges.- Life cycle
assessment and levelized cost of storage of secondary- and primary-use LFP
batteries for energy storage systems.- Life cycle assessment of fluff residue
gasification as a substitute for natural gas.- Part V: Embedding circularity
in LCM.- Life cycle assessment of a novel chemical recycling technology for
conversion of waste to olefins.- Aurora Cavaliere, Massimiliano Materazzi,
Andrea Paulillo, Paola Lettieri, Semra Bakkaloglu and Nilay Shah.- Life cycle
assessment of PVC recycling: Expanding recyclable fractions through the
CIRC-PVC project.- Enhancing circularity of strategic value chains through
life cycle thinking the example of JRC scientific support to the
forthcoming vehicles EU Regulation.-Assessing and communicating potential
environmental benefits of the circular economy: A case study on ski core
circularity.- Part VI:LCM supporting product and organizational reporting.-
Application of LCA for pharmaceuticals: Lessons from a ten-year programme in
AstraZeneca.- Unlocking synergies between PCF and EPD reporting: Industry's
path to a sustainable future or mere fantasy.-Sustainable innovation or
merely reporting? State of the art of assessing scope 3 emissions of
organizational procurement.- User studies on visualisation and reporting of
life cycle sustainability performance of products.- Part VII: Social
Sustainability performance in industry.- Advancing social life cycle
assessment (S-LCA) for public services: Evaluating water supply systems in
Venice and Treviso.- Towards sustainable steelmaking: Selecting social impact
categories and developing reference scales for the German steel industry.-
Integrating social aspects into safe and sustainable by design (SSbD): A
mapping of European project contributions.- Socio-economic and climate
impacts of increased legume production for human consumption in Norway.- Part
VIII Policy, Regulatory Frameworks and Standards.- Green public
procurement: A decision support tool for quantifying environmental impacts of
asphalt mixture projects.-Bridging standards: Harmonising sustainability
assessment methods for biobased products in construction.- Toward an
increasing standardization of LCA data reporting: The experience of
aluminium's industry.- Benchmarking carbon emissions and incorporating
sustainability metrics in road construction procurement.- LCA-RSIN: The UK
LCA regulatory science and innovation network.- From voluntary initiatives
and collaboration to regulation: Embodied carbon progress in Australia and
New Zealand.- The role of LCA in policy for enabling Sustainable Consumption
and Production: A caste study from South Africa.
Prof. Dr. Marzia Traverso is Professor and Head of the Institute for Sustainability in Construction at RWTH Aachen University since June 1, 2017. She received her doctorate in environmental physics from the University of Palermo and is an environmental engineer specializing in life cycle assessment and sustainability performance in the construction and transportation sectors, as well as the strategic environmental assessment of urban transportation systems.
