Environmental impact assessment of sustainable consumption and production patterns at macro-scale: state of the art, limitations and possible ways forward

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is intended by many to be a holistic approach aiming towards minimization of negative environmental impacts from the production-consumption systems in society. The way environmental impacts of SCP patterns are assessed at macro-scale has many different operational declinations which build on different theoretical backgrounds, accounting frameworks, as well as methodologies and underlying data. The mainstream methodologies which are currently applied to quantify the emissions and resources associated to societies’ SCP can be broadly grouped in three classes: environmentally extended input-output tables, process-based life cycle assessment and hybrid methods. Subsequently, accounting protocols such as ecological footprint and footprint families in general, pressure indicators and life-cycle impact assessment methods, are applied to these inventories with the aim of assessing the environmental pressures/impacts onto the environment. In this paper an overview of these techniques is provided along with advantages and drawbacks of each methodology.

BENINI Lorenzo;  DEWULF Jo;  SALA Serenella; 

2015-12-02

European Society for Ecological Economics

JRC93898

http://esee2015.org/page/90/academic-programme/,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC93898,