From SLCA to Positive Sustainability Performance Measurement: A Two‐Tier Delphi Study

Michael Kühnen and Rüdiger Hahn

Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2019, vol. 23, issue 3, 615-634

Abstract: Life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) currently has a preoccupation with capturing and repairing negative dysfunctions and pathologies instead of fostering positive features that make a human life sustainable and worth living. With the intention to overcome this imbalance, this paper aims at transferring the shift to a positive sustainability performance measurement (PSPM) perspective in industrial ecology. We argue that positive performance is likely to develop from the lens of social life cycle assessment (SLCA), because sustainability is an anthropocentric concept that puts positive benefits to human well‐being (i.e., the social dimension of sustainability) at the center of the analysis. However, the field of SLCA is highly fragmented, without a coherent theoretical understanding and without a clear prioritization of problems and future research directions. Therefore, we engage in an extensive Delphi study with experts from academia and practice to foster a discussion of lessons learned from SLCA for PSPM. In this way, the paper contributes to a more coherent and deeper understanding of both connected fields. The results emphasize that SLCA has become a defensive risk management instrument against reputational damages, whereas PSPM offers the potential to proactively measure and manage positive contributions to sustainable development. We identify three main challenges (definitional, methodological, and managerial) and two main areas of benefits (organizational and societal) and use them to consolidate the debate on SLCA and PSPM and to provide a roadmap for future research.

Date: 2019
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