scholarly journals Unveiling the social performance of selected agri-food chains in Costa Rica: the case of green coffee, raw milk and leafy vegetables

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Brenes-Peralta ◽  
María Fernanda Jiménez-Morales ◽  
Rooel Campos-Rodríguez ◽  
Matteo Vittuari
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Raw Milk ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Leafy Vegetables ◽  
Food Chains ◽  
Green Coffee ◽  
The Social

Abstract Purpose Several frameworks coincide in the importance of addressing social impacts to ensure sustainability. However, the agri-food sector, regarded as key in sustainable production, still neglects to identify potential social impacts when applying life cycle approaches. This work contributes to understanding the social performance of three agricultural products from a Latin American and Caribbean developing country as Costa Rica while recognising the challenges of Social-Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) application in this context. Methods S-LCA represents a powerful technique to evaluate the potential social impacts of a product. Three case studies were analysed through S-LCA, using the subcategory assessment method (SAM) to characterise the social impacts and detect hotspots in the production of green coffee, raw milk and leafy vegetables. Primary data was collected through questionnaires to relevant informants and observations. In addition to secondary information, these data and information were used to assess eight impact subcategories for the farmer and worker stakeholder groups and nine subcategories for the local community. Results and discussion The main results suggest that the Costa Rican institutional and market frameworks provide an enabling environment for a generally positive social performance in the studied cases. The assessed stakeholders can fulfil basic needs through access to inputs and services and achieve fair-trading conditions. Child labour, forced labour and evidence of environmental or health risks for the surrounding communities were absent. Important efforts to address the delocalisation, migration and child labour were observed, suggesting the potential development of social handprints in further studies. However, the farm production phase, related to farmers and workers, entails hotspots regarding social security and women’s empowerment. Moreover, farmers appear as the most vulnerable group because of their overall social performance. Conclusions S-LCA helped identify relevant areas of intervention in the context of these particular case studies; however, further research and capacity building are recommended to tackle the detected challenges, both in the agri-food chains and in the use of S-LCA. Furthermore, these findings can aid in future decision and policy-making to improve and safeguard the positive social performance observed in the studied products.

Assessing the social impacts of nano-enabled products through the life cycle: the case of nano-enabled biocidal paint

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vrishali Subramanian ◽  
Elena Semenzin ◽  
Alex Zabeo ◽  
Peter Saling ◽  
Tom Ligthart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Assessing Social Impacts in Current and Future Electricity Production in the European Union

2021 ◽  
pp. 257-273
Author(s):  
Nils Brown ◽  
David Lindén
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Life Cycle Perspective ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gas Supply

AbstractIn this chapter social impacts of European electricity production are compared between the current situation and the REFLEX scenarios for 2050 from a life cycle perspective using the SOCA tool. The analyses indicate that for a limited number of social impact categories the SOCA add-on tool can identify geographic locations where improvement in social performance may non-negligibly improve the social impacts for future energy systems. Results show that gas supply from Russia is a major cause of social impact for all future scenarios in the subcategory “fair salary” due to the fact that the minimum wage is below the living wage in the country. The specific process for electricity generation in Europe contributes to social impacts in the same category to a lesser extent.

The Social Dimensions of Mineral Exploration

SEG Discovery ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
Sarah Mackenzie ◽  
Jo-Anne Everingham ◽  
Pam Bourke
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Strategic Investment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Many ◽  
Positive Engagement

Editor’s note: The Geology and Mining series, edited by Dan Wood and Jeffrey Hedenquist, is designed to introduce early-career professionals and students to a variety of topics in mineral exploration, development, and mining, in order to provide insight into the many ways in which geoscientists contribute to the mineral industry. Abstract Geoscientists are often the first point of contact a local community has with a company conducting mineral exploration. The behavior of the geoscientists and the interest they take in understanding the local community and stakeholders will have ramifications well beyond their direct exploration activities. This article highlights some of the positive and negative impacts exploration can have for local communities (in part drawing on interviews with experienced geoscientists and others involved in exploration). The article explores the increasing complexity of deposits in terms of environmental, economic, social, and political parameters and the increasing scrutiny by local stakeholders and the international community. We argue that, although geoscientists are not social performance specialists, they still need the awareness, tools, and capabilities to understand and manage the social aspects of their exploration activities commensurate with the stage and resourcing of the project. We propose three interrelated aspects of social performance that can be applied during mineral exploration: meaningful and positive engagement, acquiring and documenting a social knowledge base, and strategic investment in the community. Two case studies provide cautionary examples of failure to do so and two case studies highlight how, through careful engagement and strategic collaboration, mutually beneficial and positive relationships can be built from early exploration.

scholarly journals Social organisational LCA for the academic activity of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artitzar Erauskin-Tolosa ◽  
Gorka Bueno ◽  
Iker Etxano ◽  
Unai Tamayo ◽  
María García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Academic Activity ◽  
Industrial Sectors ◽  
The Social ◽  
The University

Abstract Purpose This article aims to estimate the social footprint of a higher education institution (HEI) and its potential contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective. The social organisational life cycle assessment (SO-LCA) of the academic activity of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), in northern Spain, has been performed, in order to estimate its social impacts. Method The assessment has been run using openLCA software and supported on the PSILCA-based Soca add-on for the Ecoinvent v3.3 database, covering 53 social indicators for almost 15,000 industrial sectors and goods in 189 countries. Results and discussion The analysis undertaken reflects social impacts and associated risk levels for four stakeholders: Workers, Local Community, Society, and Value Chain Actors. Labour activity in the UPV/EHU is the sub-process with the greatest social impact, followed by processes related to transport, energy, materials, and waste management. Among the socio-economic context which supports the academic activity of the UPV/EHU (indirect impacts), the existence of traces of child labour and illiteracy outside the Basque Country stands out. Further analysis would be required in order to more accurately determine the geographical location of such impacts, and also to better tackle the concept of social debt. Conclusion SO-LCA may have great potential for HEIs, helping them to identify hotspots, reduce their social footprint, and raise awareness among the academic community, which undoubtedly contributes to the knowledge, progress, human values, and sustainability these HEIs stand for. Graphical abstract

scholarly journals Financial Modelling Strategies for Social Life Cycle Assessment: A Project Appraisal of Biodiesel Production and Sustainability in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaman Sajid ◽  
Nicholas Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Biodiesel Production ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
The Social

Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) is a rapidly evolving social impact assessment tool that allows users to identify the social impacts of products along with their life cycles. In recent years, S-LCA methodologies have been increasingly applied to energy systems and resources with notable success yet with limited reliability and even less flexibility or geographic specificity. In response, this study develops a novel assessment tool, named the GreenZee model, to reflect the social impacts of products and their sustainability using local currency units. The model is developed through evaluating both qualitative and quantitative inputs that capture the perceived monetary value of social impacts. To demonstrate the operationalization of the model, we explore a hypothetical case study of the biodiesel industry in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), Canada. Results indicate that biodiesel production in NL would have positive socio-cultural impacts, high cultural values, and would create employment opportunities for locals. Overall, the GreenZee model provides users with a relatively simple approach to translate a variety of qualitative and quantitative social impact inputs (as importance levels) into meaningful and understandable financial outputs (as strength levels). We argue that building and testing models such as the GreenZee are crucial to supporting more flexible approaches to life cycle assessments that need to address increasingly complex social categories, cultural values, and geographic specificity.

scholarly journals Social Sustainability Assessment in Livestock Production: A Social Life Cycle Assessment Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Rivera-Huerta ◽  
María de la Salud Rubio Lozano ◽  
Alejandro Padilla-Rivera ◽  
Leonor Patricia Güereca
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Social Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Significant Difference

This study evaluates the social performance of monoculture (MC), intensive silvopastoral (ISP), and native silvopastoral (NSP) livestock production systems in the tropical region of southeastern Mexico through a social life cycle assessment (SCLA) approach. The methodological framework proposed by the United Nations Environmental Program/Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (UNEP/SETAC) (2009) was employed based on a scoring approach with a performance scale ranging from 1 (very poor) to 4 (outstanding). Twelve livestock ranches for calf production were evaluated using 18 impact subcategories associated with the categories “human rights”, “working conditions”, “health and safety”, “socioeconomic repercussions”, and “governance”. The stakeholders evaluated were workers, the local community, society, and value chain actors. The ranches had performance scores between 1.78 (very poor) and 2.17 (poor). The overall average performance of the ranches by production system was 1.98, 1.96, and 1.97 for the MC, ISP, and NSP systems, respectively. The statistical analysis shows that there is no significant difference in the social performance of the livestock production systems. This assessment indicates that the cattle ranches analyzed in Mexico have poor or very poor social performance. The results show that socioeconomic and political contexts exert a greater influence on the social performance of livestock production systems than does their type of technology.

scholarly journals Cause-effect chains in S-LCA based on DPSIR framework using Markov healthcare model: an application to “working hours” in Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa B. Hannouf ◽  
Getachew Assefa ◽  
Malek B. Hannouf ◽  
Ian Gates
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Performance ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Working Standard ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Dpsir Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
Analytic Models

Abstract Purpose This study has two aims: first, propose the use of the driver-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework to expand the normal focus of impact pathways in social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) on endpoint impacts to a systematic analysis to find links between the main sources of social issues and impacts; second, develop a new impact assessment method to quantify the lifetime health and economic outcomes associated with social subcategories, for the first time, using decision analytic models. Methods The DPSIR framework is mapped to the corresponding elements of the S-LCA context in relation to the social subcategories defined in the UNEP/SETAC methodological sheets. Next, a more robust approach is developed for cause-impact chains between social subcategories and impacts on human well-being based on decision-analytic models (decision trees and Markov models) using healthcare approaches and data. Finally, the health and economic consequences associated with social subcategories are quantified by using Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and costs based on medical literature and healthcare studies. Results and discussion The method was applied to the “working hours” social subcategory in Canada. The cause-effect chain is built using DPSIR framework in relation to the current social issue in Canada of working more than standard hours. Results of the decision analytic model show that working standard hours is more effective and cost-saving than working more than standard hours from the Canadian healthcare perspective. Working standard hours compared to more than standard hours led to an increase of 0.73 QALY and decrease in cost of $6702 per worker. Based on an estimated 2.4 million Canadian workers working more than standard hours, this resulted in a total gain of 1.7 million QALYs and saving of $16 billion overall. Using cost-effectiveness analysis, possible interventions at multiple entry points of the cause-effect chain within DPSIR framework are proposed to reduce the negative health impacts and associated costs of working more than standard hours in Canada. Conclusions Applying the method on other subcategories could help decision-makers establish the cause-effect aspects of the social performance of their product systems using a quantitative systematic analysis from a life cycle perspective. This approach supports corporate decision-makers to quantify social impacts associated with their product supply chains by calculating QALYs and healthcare costs of their socio-economic conditions enabling them to identify possible interventions to improve the social performance.

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