Social Aspects in the Assessment of Biobased Value Chains

Nirvana Angela Marting Vidaurre, Ricardo Vargas-Carpintero, Moritz Wagner, Jan Lask and Iris Lewandowski
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Nirvana Angela Marting Vidaurre: Department of Biobased Resources in the Bioeconomy, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Ricardo Vargas-Carpintero: Department of Biobased Resources in the Bioeconomy, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Moritz Wagner: Department of Biobased Resources in the Bioeconomy, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Jan Lask: Department of Biobased Resources in the Bioeconomy, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
Iris Lewandowski: Department of Biobased Resources in the Bioeconomy, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-27

Abstract: Social Life-Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) is under continuous development. The Methodological Sheets for Subcategories in S-LCA are a set of guidelines commonly used for the performance of such assessments. They cover a variety of stakeholders and subcategories for the social assessment of products in general. However, they may not necessarily be appropriate for the assessment of biobased value chains of agricultural and forestry origin. The aim of this study is the identification of social aspects relevant for the assessment of biobased value chains across various regions of the world, including those aspects possibly overlooked in the Methodological Sheets for Subcategories in S-LCA. For this purpose, a literature review of empirical studies was performed using the sheets as a reference. The results show that the Methodological Sheets for Subcategories in S-LCA provide good coverage of social topics relevant for biobased value chains, but that the stakeholders “smallholder” and “family farm” are not adequately addressed. Drawing on the empirical literature reviewed, the study emphasizes the relevance of these stakeholders in the analysis of biobased value chains of agricultural and forestry origin, and proposes criteria for consideration in the assessment of this stakeholder.

Keywords: social sustainability; social life-cycle assessment; S-LCA; biobased value chain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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