Analysis of Worker Category Social Impacts in Different Types of Concrete Plant Operations: A Case Study in South Korea

Seungjun Roh, Sungho Tae, Rakhyun Kim and Daniela M. Martínez
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Seungjun Roh: Sustainable Building Research Center, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588, Korea
Sungho Tae: Sustainable Building Research Center, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588, Korea
Rakhyun Kim: Sustainable Building Research Center, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588, Korea
Daniela M. Martínez: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: As sustainable development has emerged as a priority on the international agenda, increasing emphasis has been placed on “Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA),” wherein environmental, economic, and social performance are comprehensively integrated. This study, as part of an LCSA approach, uses Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) to analyze the worker category social impact for concrete plants in South Korea. For the analysis, three types of concrete plant with different operating systems were selected and evaluated: Direct operation, operated by dedicated concrete manufacturers, and operated by cement suppliers. Eleven major social topics, which were mentioned in the international standards and international institutes, were selected as the subjects of evaluation; the social impacts were evaluated by applying the evaluative criteria for social topics presented in the Handbook for Product Social Life Cycle Assessment of PRé Sustainability. We determined that the highest social impact was found in concrete plants operated by cement suppliers (0.77), followed by plants operated by dedicated concrete manufacturers (0.50), and finally by plants with direct operations (0.09). These results can be applied by concrete plants to improve worker category areas in which they are lacking and by future researchers to evaluate the sustainable development of a variety of industries.

Keywords: Social impact; concrete plant; worker category; social life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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