20
5 Conclusion and Outlook
In this chapter, the authors propose to consider the term life cycle sustainability
management to clearly differentiate the term from other disciplines using also the
term life cycle management. The current literature is summarized, in particular
Remmen et al. ( 2007 ) and Finkbeiner (2011) on Life Cycle Management and Life
Cycle Sustainability Management, focusing on putting life cycle thinking into business practice using relevant tools, including life cycle sustainability assessment
(LCSA) to cover the three dimensions of sustainable development. The authors
show that different companies have different ways of engaging their departments in
LCM practices; they also use different tools and set different priorities.
A particular effort is made to explain life cycle (sustainability) management as
part of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) strategies and policies.
Strategies to change consumption and production patterns need to take into account
the varying responsibilities of different actors in the value chain, including the consumers. Overall, there seem to be high expectations of the future use of LCA in SCP
policy areas such as sustainable public procurement and eco-design directives as
well as consumer information.
With regard to the future, management science will increasingly be brought into
the topic of LCM, as shown for instance through recent work done by, inter alia,
Nilsson-Lindén et al. ( 2014 ), and that there is an important need for capacity building and a great potential for mainstreaming. With regard to capability development
using the LCM Capability Maturity Model (UNEP/SETAC 2013 ) is a good way to
help companies to catch up with leading ones in the area of LCM. The next steps in
companies are to move from projects to processes to establish the LCM team as a
business partner for the long term. For mainstreaming to happen, professional communication targeting the opinion leaders and collaboration among life cycle experts
and networks around the world are important elements for sustainable value
creation.
References
Baumann H, Tillman A-M (2004) The hitch hiker’s guide to LCA: an orientation in life cycle
assessment methodology and application. Studentlitteratur, Lund
Brundtland Commission (1987) Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development
Fava JA (1997) LCA: concept, methodology, or strategy? J Ind Ecol 1(2):8–10. doi: 10.1162/
jiec.1997.1.2.8
Finkbeiner M, Wiedemann M, Saur K (1998) A comprehensive approach towards product and
organisation related environmental management tools. Int J Life Cycle Assess 3(3):169–178.
doi: 10.1007/BF02978825
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
G. Sonnemann et al.
5 Conclusion and Outlook
In this chapter, the authors propose to consider the term life cycle sustainability
management to clearly differentiate the term from other disciplines using also the
term life cycle management. The current literature is summarized, in particular
Remmen et al. ( 2007 ) and Finkbeiner (2011) on Life Cycle Management and Life
Cycle Sustainability Management, focusing on putting life cycle thinking into business practice using relevant tools, including life cycle sustainability assessment
(LCSA) to cover the three dimensions of sustainable development. The authors
show that different companies have different ways of engaging their departments in
LCM practices; they also use different tools and set different priorities.
A particular effort is made to explain life cycle (sustainability) management as
part of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) strategies and policies.
Strategies to change consumption and production patterns need to take into account
the varying responsibilities of different actors in the value chain, including the consumers. Overall, there seem to be high expectations of the future use of LCA in SCP
policy areas such as sustainable public procurement and eco-design directives as
well as consumer information.
With regard to the future, management science will increasingly be brought into
the topic of LCM, as shown for instance through recent work done by, inter alia,
Nilsson-Lindén et al. ( 2014 ), and that there is an important need for capacity building and a great potential for mainstreaming. With regard to capability development
using the LCM Capability Maturity Model (UNEP/SETAC 2013 ) is a good way to
help companies to catch up with leading ones in the area of LCM. The next steps in
companies are to move from projects to processes to establish the LCM team as a
business partner for the long term. For mainstreaming to happen, professional communication targeting the opinion leaders and collaboration among life cycle experts
and networks around the world are important elements for sustainable value
creation.
References
Baumann H, Tillman A-M (2004) The hitch hiker’s guide to LCA: an orientation in life cycle
assessment methodology and application. Studentlitteratur, Lund
Brundtland Commission (1987) Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development
Fava JA (1997) LCA: concept, methodology, or strategy? J Ind Ecol 1(2):8–10. doi: 10.1162/
jiec.1997.1.2.8
Finkbeiner M, Wiedemann M, Saur K (1998) A comprehensive approach towards product and
organisation related environmental management tools. Int J Life Cycle Assess 3(3):169–178.
doi: 10.1007/BF02978825
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
G. Sonnemann et al.