ifkad articles

A Critical Analysis of the Integration of Life Cycle Methods and Quantitative Methods for Sustainability Assessment

Roberto Cerchione, Renato Passaro, Ivana Quinto

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and related methods have been widely used for sustainability assessment. However, the integration of these methods with quantitative methods such as mathematical models, statistical methods, and artificial intelligence has received less attention. This literature review aims to examine how these methods have been integrated to pursue sustainability assessment objectives. A systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus database. The search was limited to articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1960 to 2022. The search keywords included Life Cycle Assessment, Social Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Life Cycle Costing, Emergy Accounting, Sustainable Value Stream Mapping, mathematical methods, statistical methods, economic methods, simulation methods, building information modelling methods, and artificial intelligence methods. The literature review identified a total of 150 articles that addressed the integration of Life Cycle methods and quantitative methods for sustainability assessment. The majority of studies focused on the integration of LCA with mathematical models, statistical methods, and artificial intelligence methods. The studies demonstrated that the integration of these methods can improve the accuracy and reliability of sustainability assessments. Additionally, several studies proposed novel methods, such as the integration of LCA with building information modelling and simulation methods. The integration of Life Cycle methods and quantitative methods has the potential to enhance sustainability assessments by providing more accurate and reliable results. However, the integration process requires careful consideration of the assumptions, data quality, and uncertainties associated with each method. Further research is needed to develop standardized guidelines for integrating these methods and to identify the most effective integration approaches for specific sustainability assessment objectives.

IN: Proceedings IFKAD 2023 – Managing Knowledge for Sustainability
PP: 2764-2791