Social life cycle assessment

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment addresses the environmental, social, and economic pillars of sustainability. Its social pillar is measured via Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA), a methodology used to assess the social dimension of sustainability related to products and organizations from a life cycle perspective. Social sustainability is about identifying and managing supply and value chain impacts, both positive and negative, on people and refers to issues affecting supply and value chain stakeholders such as health and safety, human rights, labor and decent work, and gender equity. This chapter presents an overview of the S-LCA methodology and covers its four phases: goal and scope definition, social life cycle inventory, social life cycle impact assessment, and interpretation. It also discusses Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment (SOLCA), which is the application of S-LCA to organizations, and social handprinting, the quantification of positive social impacts.