Social sustainability in trade and development policy

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Mar 2018

Purpose Social sustainability may be assessed using a variety of methods and indicators, such as the social footprint, social impact assessment, or wellbeing indices. The UNEP guidelines on social life cycle assessment (sLCA) present key elements to consider for product-level, life cycle-based social sustainability assessment. This includes guidance for the goal and scope definition, inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation phases of S-LCA. Methods for and studies of the broader scale, life cycle social dimensions of production and consumption are largely unavailable to date. The current study assesses social risks associated with trade-based consumption in EU Member States using a life cycle-based compared to a non-life cycle-based approach in order to assess the value-added of life cycle thinking and assessment in this context. Methods Social risk refers to the potential for one or more parties to be exposed to negative social conditions that, in turn, undermine social sustainability. In order to shed light on these risks, a macro-scale analysis of the social risk profile of trade-based consumption in the EU Member States has been conducted by combining intra- and extra-territorial import statistics with country- and sector-specific social risk indicator data derived from the Social Hotspots Database. These data cover 17 social risk indicators in five thematic areas, many of which are linked with the sustainable development goals set by the recent United Nations Agenda 2030. The apparent social risk profiles of EU imports have then been assessed based on consideration of country-of-origin social risk data (non-life cycle-based approach) as compared to a life cycle-based social risk assessment which also took into account the distribution of social risk along product supply chains. The intention was to better understand how and to what extent current trade-based consumption within the EU-27 may be associated with socially unsustainable conditions domestically and abroad, and the extent to which life cycle-based consideration of social risk is necessary. Results and conclusions The analysis confirms the importance of a life cycle-based assessment of social risks in support of policies for socially sustainable production and consumption. Moreover, the methods presented herein offer a potentially powerful decision-support methodology for policy makers wishing to better understand the magnitude and distribution of social risks associated with EU production and consumption patterns, the mitigation of which will contribute to socially sustainable development.

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Social sustainability in trade and development policy

Social sustainability in trade and development policy Nathan Pelletier 0 1 2 4 Eda Ustaoglu 0 1 2 4 Catherine Benoit 0 1 2 4 Greg Norris 0 1 2 4 Eckehard Rosenbaum 0 1 2 4 Alessandro Vasta 0 1 2 4 Serenella Sala 0 1 2 4 0 Global Ecologic Environmental Consulting and Management Services Ltd , Coldstream, BC , Canada 1 European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Sustainability Assessment Unit , Via Enrico Fermi 2749; T.P. 290, I-21027 Ispra, VA , Italy 2 Responsible editor: Marzia Traverso 3 Serenella Sala 4 New Earth , York, ME 03909 , USA Purpose Social sustainability may be assessed using a variety of methods and indicators, such as the social footprint, social impact assessment, or wellbeing indices. The UNEP guidelines on social life cycle assessment (sLCA) present key elements to consider for product-level, life cycle-based social sustainability assessment. This includes guidance for the goal and scope definition, inventory, impact assessment, and interpretation phases of S-LCA. Methods for and studies of the broader scale, life cycle social dimensions of production and consumption are largely unavailable to date. The current study assesses social risks associated with trade-based consumption in EU Member States using a life cycle-based compared to a non-life cycle-based approach in order to assess the valueadded of life cycle thinking and assessment in this context. Methods Social risk refers to the potential for one or more parties to be exposed to negative social conditions that, in turn, undermine social sustainability. In order to shed light on these risks, a macro-scale analysis of the social risk profile of tradebased consumption in the EU Member States has been Life cycle indicators; Policy support; Social Hotspots Database; Social LCA; Social risk; Trade policy - conducted by combining intra- and extra-territorial import statistics with country- and sector-specific social risk indicator data derived from the Social Hotspots Database. These data cover 17 social risk indicators in five thematic areas, many of which are linked with the sustainable development goals set by the recent United Nations Agenda 2030. The apparent social risk profiles of EU imports have then been assessed based on consideration of country-of-origin social risk data (non-life cycle-based approach) as compared to a life cycle-based social risk assessment which also took into account the distribution of social risk along product supply chains. The intention was to better understand how and to what extent current tradebased consumption within the EU-27 may be associated with socially unsustainable conditions domestically and abroad, and the extent to which life cycle-based consideration of social risk is necessary. Results and conclusions The analysis confirms the importance of a life cycle-based assessment of social risks in support of policies for socially sustainable production and consumption. Moreover, the methods presented herein offer a potentially powerful decision-support methodology for policy makers wishing to better understand the magnitude and distribution of social risks associated with EU production and consumption patterns, the mitigation of which will contribute to socially sustainable development. 1 Introduction Due to the globalized nature of the supply chains that support much of contemporary production and consumption, understanding and managing for sustainability objectives present novel and unique challenges for consumers, businesses, and governance bodies tasked with advancing sustainability. This is because informed decision making and effective sustainability management require taking into consideration activities and stakeholders both within their immediate spheres of influence, as well as along global supply chains more broadly. Sustainability is a guiding principle and objective for policy development in the European Union (EU) (EC 2001a) . Indeed, the founding Treaty of the European Union (TEU) specifically includes the objective of Bfostering sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing countries, with the primary goal of eradicating poverty^ (Article 21(2.d)). The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) further specifies that the EU’s external policies must respect the Bprinciples of democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law^ (EC 2008). Toward this end, the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) requires an impact assessment of all major policy proposals vis-à-vis sustainability objectives (EC 2009) . With respect to trade policy specifically, all EU trade agreements must adhere to the core labor standards as defined in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions i (...truncated)


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Nathan Pelletier, Eda Ustaoglu. Social sustainability in trade and development policy, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2018, pp. 1-11, DOI: 10.1007/s11367-016-1059-z