Setting boundaries for future development of social sustainability assessment tools, in (furniture) product development, through a design specification (appendices)
Translated title
Setting boundaries for future development of social sustainability assessment tools, in (furniture) product development, through a design specification
Author
Graunbøl, Sofie Rähr
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2022
Pages
26
Abstract
This article examines why social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) tools are difficult to use in practice, drawing on a case study of the Danish design furniture company SAYSHWO. S-LCA builds on life cycle assessment (LCA), which looks at a product’s journey from raw materials to end-of-life. In 2009, the United Nations published guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products and organizations. These guidelines were intended to provide a common framework for assessing potential social impacts but have, in practice, created barriers for companies trying to apply them. Several important aspects of S-LCA have been overlooked, and current interpretations often become unrealistic and assumption-driven. The study contributes to the field of social sustainability by identifying social assessment tools suitable for design processes from a life cycle perspective to support decision-makers and researchers; proposing a shared definition of social sustainability in design; and setting boundaries for the development of new assessment tools by introducing a design solution that can guide their development process.
Artiklen undersøger, hvorfor værktøjer til social livscyklusvurdering (S-LCA) er svære at bruge i praksis, med udgangspunkt i et casestudie af den danske designmøbelvirksomhed SAYSHWO. S-LCA bygger på livscyklusvurdering (LCA), som ser på et produkts livsforløb fra råmaterialer til bortskaffelse. I 2009 udgav FN retningslinjer for social livscyklusvurdering af produkter og organisationer. Retningslinjerne skulle give en fælles ramme for at vurdere potentielle sociale påvirkninger, men har i praksis skabt barrierer for virksomheder, der forsøger at anvende dem. Flere væsentlige aspekter af S-LCA er blevet overset, og fortolkningerne bliver ofte urealistiske og baseret på antagelser. Studiet bidrager til feltet for social bæredygtighed ved at: identificere sociale vurderingsværktøjer, der kan bruges i designprocesser med et livscyklusperspektiv og dermed støtte beslutningstagere og forskere; formulere en fælles definition af social bæredygtighed i design; samt fastlægge rammer for at udvikle nye vurderingsværktøjer ved at introducere en designløsning, der kan guide deres udviklingsproces.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords