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Life Cycle Assessment Studies Applied to Different Sectors: Fashion, Construction...
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Life Cycle Assessment Studies Applied to Different Sectors: Fashion, Construction Material and Packaging

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 7563

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Lucia Rigamonti

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milano MI, Italy
Interests: life cycle thinking approach; sustainable products and services; circular economy; environmental remediation technologies; waste prevention; recovery of materials; capture and utilisation of CO2

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable development means meeting the needs of present generations without jeopardising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The challenge is to improve the overall environmental performance of products throughout their life-cycle, taking in mind that social, economic and environmental issues are inseparable and interdependent. In practice, this implies continuous work to improve all stages of the product’s life cycle, from design, raw material production, manufacturing, transport, storage, marketing and final sale, to use, reuse, repair, remake and recycling of the product and its components. In addition, more sustainable patterns of consumption and use are needed. These may necessitate shifts in individual attitudes and behaviour.

This Special Issue aims at presenting life cycle assessment studies applied to three important sectors, i.e., the fashion industry, the building materials industry and the packaging industry. We welcome papers that report case studies that deal with the ecodesign of products as well as with the end-of-life of products in view of the circular economy (especially remanufacturing, reuse and recycling of the product and its components). Papers that deal with new patterns of consumption and use of products of the three underlined sectors are similarly welcome. Papers that cover not only the environmental aspects but also the economic or social ones will be well-received.

Prof. Dr. Lucia Rigamonti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Life cycle assessment
  • Sustainability
  • Environmental evaluation
  • Carbon footprint
  • Economic assessment
  • Social aspects
  • Fashion industry
  • Textile
  • Construction material
  • Construction sector
  • Building material
  • Packaging
  • Plastic

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 4309 KiB  
Article
Assessing Life Cycle Environmental and Economic Impacts of Building Construction Solutions with BIM
by José Pedro Carvalho, Fernanda Schmitd Villaschi and Luís Bragança
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8914; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13168914 - 09 Aug 2021
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3020
Abstract
Worldwide authorities are increasingly concerned about construction’s efficiency and sustainability, leading to the development of high-performance buildings. However, such facts have shifted a significant percentage of the building life cycle environmental impacts from the operation to the product and construction phases. Thus, the [...] Read more.
Worldwide authorities are increasingly concerned about construction’s efficiency and sustainability, leading to the development of high-performance buildings. However, such facts have shifted a significant percentage of the building life cycle environmental impacts from the operation to the product and construction phases. Thus, the need to evaluate and select more sustainable materials and construction solutions arises, to also minimize impacts from these stages. To evaluate those impacts, LCA and LCC analysis are usually applied to assess the building impacts and costs, through the different life cycle stages. Despite the usefulness of LCA and LCC methods during the project phase, they are usually evaluated in the project later stages. It is too complex and time-consuming to gather and process all the required data during the project early stages. With the recent deployment of BIM, the opportunity to automate and shift LCA and LCC analysis to project early stages stands out. Facing the research gap, this study aims to develop a BIM-based decision-making tool for designers to evaluate the environmental, economic, and functional performance of different building construction solutions. To do so, 18 different simulation scenarios have been created in Autodesk Revit with different combinations of external walls, roofs, and floors. Then, a framework was developed in Dynamo to automatically characterize the building elements life cycle environmental impacts and costs, as well as to automate the LCA and LCC analysis during the project early stages. The outcomes can significantly reduce the required time, errors and efforts when performing LCA and LCC analysis, providing designers with real time decision support data and making an important contribution to the use of BIM for sustainability purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment Studies Applied to Different Sectors: Fashion, Construction Material and Packaging)
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18 pages, 4189 KiB  
Article
Sustainability Analysis of Active Packaging for the Fresh Cut Vegetable Industry by Means of Attributional & Consequential Life Cycle Assessment
by Miguel Vigil, Maria Pedrosa-Laza, JV Alvarez Cabal and Francisco Ortega-Fernández
Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 7207; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12177207 - 03 Sep 2020
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3950
Abstract
In order to enlarge the shelf life and avoid the waste of fresh-cut (FC) products, novel packaging techniques with antimicrobial properties have been proposed. In this work, we analyzed the potential environmental benefits of using films reinforced with bactericidal ZnO nanoparticles (NP) for [...] Read more.
In order to enlarge the shelf life and avoid the waste of fresh-cut (FC) products, novel packaging techniques with antimicrobial properties have been proposed. In this work, we analyzed the potential environmental benefits of using films reinforced with bactericidal ZnO nanoparticles (NP) for FC produce packaging, when compared to the traditional polypropylene (PP) films. A biodegradable, polylactic acid (PLA) package and a non-biodegradable, polypropylene package, both coated with ZnO NP, were considered as novel technologies. The eco-profile of the considered alternatives was assessed via two life cycle assessments (LCAs). Firstly, an attributional LCA was performed in order to compare the materials in terms of their production and end of life (EOL) processes, allowing us to extend the conclusions to different food products. Secondly, a consequential LCA was performed taking into account the whole life cycle of the fresh vegetable, with special attention to the environmental implications of the produce losses among the chain. The uncertainties of the models were assessed via Monte Carlo approach. In both cases, the scenarios concerning the PLA and PP active packages with ZnO NP showed a better profile than the traditional techniques, specifically when considering the full supply chain of the FC vegetables in the consequential LCA. As agricultural production is the main contributor to the environmental impact of the cycle, the avoidance of wastes by extending the shelf life through the novel packages leads to the impact reduction of FC products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Life Cycle Assessment Studies Applied to Different Sectors: Fashion, Construction Material and Packaging)
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