Social LCA decision support for the safety and sustainability of nanomaterials

Decision making on the safety and sustainability of new materials and chemicals incorporates concerns over human health and increasingly environmental impact. However, social impacts are often left outside of such considerations apart from meeting minimum legal requirements. This study explores the utility of the social life cycle assessment (SLCA) method in informing product-related decision making, focusing on the assessment of social risks, such as workers health and safety, community welfare etc., associated with the production of promising new nanomaterial graphene oxide.
The study performs a comparative analysis of two scenarios for graphene production, adopting a reference scale approach that utilizes indicators and reference values in the Soca SLCA database. Data for the foreground system was collected from a European manufacturer and complemented with database sources. For the background system, Soca database was used.
The results show that background processes cause the majority of social risks. In addition, most significant social risks associated with the foreground processes are dependent on local/national conditions. In the advanced production scenario, reductions in waste generation and improved production efficiency result in significant reduction of social risks in most indicators used.
The findings highlight the value of SLCA for the identification of social risks across the value chain, which can steer decision making toward high-priority sustainability challenges. Simultaneously, the findings raise issues in the accuracy and utility of the results for company-level decision making. Based on the analysis, a multi-tiered approach for SLCA in product-related decision-making is proposed. First, specific indicators and performance reference points should be established at the company level to guide decisions on social
impacts that can be directly influenced. Second, additional indicators at regional and national levels should be integrated to create a comprehensive basis for monitoring social performance and decision-making.