331
© The Author(s) 2015
G. Sonnemann, M. Margni (eds.), Life Cycle Management,
LCA Compendium – The Complete World of Life Cycle Assessment,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-7221-1_24
Chapter 24
Managing Life Cycle Sustainability Aspects
in the Automotive Industry
Marzia Traverso , Patrick Kim , Stefan Brattig , and Volkmar Wagner
Abstract An important target on the way to a sustainable development is ensuring
a more sustainable production and a reduced consumption of energy and material
resources. The automotive industry is considered one of the most strategic contributors to reach this objective. On the one hand, the automotive sector represents a
meaningful pillar for the economic stability and social welfare of several countries;
on the other hand, with its huge supply chain, it is often a cause of negative environmental as well as social impacts. In the past, the main focus was the reduction of
environmental impacts in the use phase fi rst, and then along the entire life cycle.
More recently, the attention has moved to include the social performance according
to the three pillars concept of sustainability. If the target of achieving a more sustainable development is clear, the methodology and tools that should be used to
assess the sustainability performance of a vehicle along its life cycle still needs to
be settled. This chapter presents and discusses the benefi ts and challenges of methods and tools that have been used in the automotive industry.
Keywords Life cycle assessment • Life cycle costing • Life cycle management
• Life cycle sustainability assessment • Social hotspot database • Social life
cycle assessment • Social sustainability • Sustainability • UNEP/SETAC life
cycle initiative
1 Introduction
Since the publication of the Brundtland report (WCED 1987 ), a new concept of
economic development has been defi ned. According to it, a real long-term economic
growth cannot be achieved without the insurance of social equality and environmental protection. An overview of intervention areas towards sustainable development
were identifi ed and reported by United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level
Panel on Global Sustainability in the report ‘Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A
M. Traverso (*) • P. Kim • S. Brattig • V. Wagner
Product Sustainability, BMW Group , Knorrstraße 147 , 80788 Munich , Germany
e-mail: marzia.traverso@bmw.de
© The Author(s) 2015
G. Sonnemann, M. Margni (eds.), Life Cycle Management,
LCA Compendium – The Complete World of Life Cycle Assessment,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-7221-1_24
Chapter 24
Managing Life Cycle Sustainability Aspects
in the Automotive Industry
Marzia Traverso , Patrick Kim , Stefan Brattig , and Volkmar Wagner
Abstract An important target on the way to a sustainable development is ensuring
a more sustainable production and a reduced consumption of energy and material
resources. The automotive industry is considered one of the most strategic contributors to reach this objective. On the one hand, the automotive sector represents a
meaningful pillar for the economic stability and social welfare of several countries;
on the other hand, with its huge supply chain, it is often a cause of negative environmental as well as social impacts. In the past, the main focus was the reduction of
environmental impacts in the use phase fi rst, and then along the entire life cycle.
More recently, the attention has moved to include the social performance according
to the three pillars concept of sustainability. If the target of achieving a more sustainable development is clear, the methodology and tools that should be used to
assess the sustainability performance of a vehicle along its life cycle still needs to
be settled. This chapter presents and discusses the benefi ts and challenges of methods and tools that have been used in the automotive industry.
Keywords Life cycle assessment • Life cycle costing • Life cycle management
• Life cycle sustainability assessment • Social hotspot database • Social life
cycle assessment • Social sustainability • Sustainability • UNEP/SETAC life
cycle initiative
1 Introduction
Since the publication of the Brundtland report (WCED 1987 ), a new concept of
economic development has been defi ned. According to it, a real long-term economic
growth cannot be achieved without the insurance of social equality and environmental protection. An overview of intervention areas towards sustainable development
were identifi ed and reported by United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level
Panel on Global Sustainability in the report ‘Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A
M. Traverso (*) • P. Kim • S. Brattig • V. Wagner
Product Sustainability, BMW Group , Knorrstraße 147 , 80788 Munich , Germany
e-mail: marzia.traverso@bmw.de